By Ellen Siefke
Staff writer
This past week, from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24, Italian Club hosted its fifth annual Italian Club Week. According to sponsor Lyn Scolaro, this was a “perfect” time for such a celebration, in coordination with the Carnevale, or Italian Mardi Gras.
In preparation, students created posters explaining different aspects of Italian culture. Some posters explained different Italian foods and music, while others highlighted well-known cities such as Rome and Pisa. Italian club banners and decorations were also hung in the hallways.
Throughout the week, students participated in different activities to celebrate the year and the club. On Tuesday, students were able to watch “Toy Story” in Italian. In addition, the morning announcements showcased popular Italian singers and their music; Italian teachers played this music during passing periods.
Like the Spanish and French clubs, there was also an Immersion Day, where higher-level students are required to speak the language not only in their Italian classes, but also in other subjects. Scolaro believes this was a huge success with the students and other non-foreign language teachers.
“The kids get really excited for it,” Scolaro said. “What makes it even better is when other teachers come to me and say ‘hey your kids were speaking Italian in my class, and they did a good job.’”
AP Italian Student Angelina Rizzo agrees with Scolaro and looks forward to Immersion Days.
“It really shows how far you’ve come from Italian 1 and 2, where you barely knew anything, to now where you are almost fluent,” Rizzo said.
The only problem involved the daily trivia questions. Normally, the trivia question of the day is displayed on TVs throughout the building and spread on the announcements. Questions typically involve different aspects of Italian history and culture.
However, some days there wasn’t any trivia due to some problems with the technology used. Scolaro thinks this especially hurt participation.
“Kids are so involved these days,” Scolaro said. “It’s hard for them to find the time to get involved [during the week], and the trivia gives them an easy way to do so.”
Despite the trivia problems, Scolaro thinks the week was an overall success.
“It’s all about promoting language, awareness, and celebrating with the whole school,” Scolaro said. “It’s a fun thing. I can’t think of a better way to show off everything [the students] have done and all their hard work.”
“It’s just something that allows us as students to chill and celebrate all the time and effort put into class,” Rizzo said. “It’s a great week to just stand out and feel proud of yourself.”
