During the week of Oct. 7 – 11, all of Prospect celebrated Italian week. With October being Italian-American Heritage Month, senior Frank De Blasio wanted to coordinate something to honor his heritage. Since each day of the week had a different theme, De Blasio thought it was a special way to share his culture with the school. 

“The fact that [me and the other Italian students] were able to coordinate this week and make it happen was really special, especially when representing my heritage” De Blasio said.  

Italian Week incorporated both food and dress-up days. Monday had trivia and a dress-up day of Italian Flag colors, Tuesday featured Italian food in the cafe, Wednesday had Italian music playing in the school, Thursday was jersey dress-up day and during Friday cannoli and focaccia were served outside of the cafeteria.

De Blasio credits the week to Giuliana Freni, Isabella Iovino and Leah Cira, who all helped to coordinate the events. He also spoke highly of his Italian teacher Natalie Del Percio, who he has had all four years of high school. Del Percio supported the Italian students in planning the week, and she shows a strong dedication to her students, according to De Blasio. 

“She always has free time or makes free time if we are struggling with something,” De Blasio said.

Taking Italian at Prospect was no-brainer for De Blasio. As both sets of his grandparents were born in Italy, De Blasio’s parents incorporate their heritage into their daily lives.

“When given the opportunity to take [Italian] in high school, it was a pretty obvious decision,” De Blasio said. 

His favorite part of the week was selling cannolis and focaccia outside of the cafeteria. 

“Bringing that to the kids at Prospect, especially since some kids haven’t tried [the food] before, was definitely special,” De Blasio said. “It was cool sharing what’s normal to me with other kids.”