L'incredibile Cinque Terre

Ciao a tutti.

I write this on my last day in Italy. Whilst I am sad to be leaving this beautiful country, its people, food, stunning landscapes and the wonderfully warm weather, I am looking forward to seeing you all on my return in just a few, short days. I have posted below some photographs of the breathtaking landscapes and villages of the Cinque Terre. Can you guess what Cinque Terre means in English? That's right, there are five 'lands', or centuries old villages that are built into the coastline of the Italian Riviera. The villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore can only be visited by train or by taking a boat or ferry. Only the locals who live there and services such as the police, ambulances, postal and produce deliveries are able to access the villages by vehicle.

The Liguria region in which the Cinque Terre is built, is famous for its pesto sauce made from the herb basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, salt and pepper. I'm sure a lot of you will have tried it before. It is delicious, especially on hand made pasta. I hope to be able to make pasta and pesto with you all, later in the year.

I am very excited to share with you all the many photos I have taken, as well as a competition I am currently planning for the last week or two of Term 3.

Until Monday, keep smiling, stay warm and sogni d'oro 😊

Signora Isaia

Scuola elementare a Baveno

Ciao a tutti

Today, I leave Baveno and the very beautiful Lago Maggiore and travel to the Cinque Terre (more to come about this spectacular region).

A few days ago, I left a note for the principal of an elementary school in Baveno. Baveno Elementary School is a state school, like Wattle Grove and similar to a primary school in that students are from the ages of 5 to 11. I wrote of our wonderful school and how much I would like an opportunity for our two schools to develop a relationship so that we may all learn about each others' language and culture - just like we are learning from our sister school in Canada. As all schools in Italy are closed for the summer holidays, until mid-September, I have left my letter with the lovely lady who lives next door to the appartment I was staying in. She told me she will be very happy to pass my letter on to the principal when school returns. I have everything crossed we will receive some good news in the weeks to come. Below are a couple of photos I took of the school. It looks pretty different to ours, doesn't it?

This time next week (Monday, Week 6), I will back to see all your smiling faces. Until then..... ridi😁

Signora Isaia

Divertimento sulla funivia

Ciao a tutti

Today, I took a ferry (traghetto) from Intra, near Baveno on the west side of Lago Maggiore to the east side commune of Laveno. Here I went near to the summit of Sasso del Ferro (1,100 metres altitude), by riding in a funivia (cable car). Unlike other cable cars I have been on, these were like open capsules for only 1 or two people at a time. It was a little bit scary to begin with, then the splendour of the breathtaking views over Lago Maggiore, the Alps, the Lombardy Lakes and the Po Plain, had me totally absorbed. The funivia is not only used as a mode of transport but for the restaurants and small shops nestled at the top, to send their rubbish bins to be emptied at the bottom.

Un grande saluto a tutti voi da Baveno, Italia!

A big hello to you all from Baveno, Italy.

To all my wonderful students. I have missed you and think of you most every day. I wish you could all be here with me to experince all that I love about Italy. After a few weeks in different places throughout the UK and Europe, including a brief stop in Venice, I am now in Baveno, a small town in the North of Italy, very close to the Swiss, French and Italian Alps. To give you an idea of distance, we drove from Montriond in the French Alps, through the Alps in Switzerland and then into Italy in less than 4 hours. That's right, three countries in four hours! The town of Baveno is situated on the stunning Lago Maggiore (The Greater Lake). In area, it is the second largest lake in Italy, after Lago di Garda and Lago Como. It is Italy's longest lake, spanning just over 64 kilometres. It runs through both Italy and Switzerland and there are many towns that overlook these Mediterranean waters. It is my third night here and at the moment, we are experiencing a summer storm. There has been lots of rain in the last two hours, but the temperature remains beautiful, currently around 26 degrees celcius. I believe it has been raining a lot in Perth, however, I'm sure it is very much colder.

I am posting a photograph of the view from our appartment. It is 8:30pm and if you look closely, you will see a rainbow. When the weather clears over the next day or two, I will post some more photographs 😊

I trust you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday break and hope you are enjoying the lessons I prepared for you. You have a wonderful relief teacher in Signora Stirling. I know you will all be making me very proud.

Divertiti! Riprendero' presto.

 Signora Isaia

Festa Della Mamma

Throughout weeks one to three, students across all years were introduced to how Mother's Day is celebrated in Italy. A very important day on the Italian calendar, the Festa Della Mamma (Festival of the mum), is celebrated on the same day as we pay tribute to our beautiful mums in Australia - i.e. - the second Sunday of May.
Some of the phrases students were introduced to, included:
Buona Festa Della Mamma (equivalent to saying Happy Mother's Day);
Ti voglio bene Mamma (I love you Mum), and
Tu sei la Mamma, piu` bella del mondo! (You are the most beautiful mum in the world!).
Below are some images of the mini projects students completed for their mums' special day.
Room 24

Room 28

Room 15

Ben tornato! Welcome back!

Commencing in Term 2, all children from years 1 to 6 will start to learn the Wattle Grove Primary School song in Italian. This is set to pose a significant challenge. Not only will most of the vocabulary be new, the rhyme and meter is very different from that which the children are familiar with. Of course at Wattle Grove Primary School, we never shy away from a challenge! It may, however, be necessary to simplify some of the Italian lyrics for the sake of ease and a better melodic flow. As we learn and practice together, we will have a better understanding of what changes may be necessary.

In the first few weeks of Term 2, testing will continue across all year groups in preparation for reporting. We will be learning some new vocabulary to share with our beautiful mums and grandmothers, in time for Mother's Day. As well, all years will either be completing or starting a project focusing on wild animals. This is in addition to year specific vocabulary warm-ups which continue to be incorporated into every lesson. The children will be aware they can access their vocabulary warm-ups, including revision from last last term and last year, right here on the blog!

Toward the end of Term 2, I will be on leave for 8 weeks. More information regarding the work I have set for the children and the teacher taking my classes, will ensue.

I look forward to another dynamic term of teaching your children the very beautiful Italian language
and culture.

Room 13 performing Canzone Saluti (The greetings song).