Centre For Italian Studies’ Annual Poetry Competition

On 9 June, all Year 8 students studying Italian participated in the Centre For Italian Studies’ annual Poetry Competition. Students were given a list of poems to choose from, and had to memorise, practise and then recite their poem in front of a judge who came to our school. Even with little notice on that day, the students absolutely shone! A few students received a Certificati di Lode (Honours) or Merito (Merit) and all students were praised for their hard work. A huge auguri to Eloise Holborn (48) on placing fourth in the overall competition. With almost 500 participants and 12 schools across Victoria this is a huge achievement! Well done to all students who participated. Brave ragazze!

Languages Week

During Languages Week, on the Italian Republic Day, a gelato van visited our College giving staff and students the chance to enjoy a sweet treat!

Our Language Leaders organised a challenge to build the tallest possible free-standing Eiffel Tower using only matchsticks and blu tac. Students from all year levels worked together to create their structures. The tallest tower, by only a few millimetres, was made by a group of Year 12 students.

Students also took virtual reality tours of France, Italy and Japan. Using headsets, they wandered the Champs-Élysées, the Vatican, The Cherry Blossoms of Japan and inner-city Tokyo.

Year 8 Manga Workshop with Manga Artist, Kenny Chan

On Thursday 2 June, our Year 8 Japanese class had a Manga Workshop instructed by Manga artist, Kenny Chan. He taught us the history and origins of Japanese Manga and showed us simple techniques on how to draw Manga characters. Kenny introduced us to different styles in the genre and demonstrated helpful tips to visually display the characters personality. Overall, the presentation was very engaging and informative and we would definitely recommend this workshop to other students. 

Kassedy Mazur and Isla Busuttil
Year 8

On 2 June the our Japanese class had a Manga workshop. We were taught how to draw Manga characters faces. How you draw the shape of the features on the face affects the outcome of your drawing. We learnt how sizing matters in drawings to see the face form in different ways (cute, scary, etc.). Learning how to draw these characters was an easy to understand learning experience as we were taught step by step by a drawing instructor who came to the school to teach us. It was very enjoyable and it would be something I look forward to doing again.

Elyssya Bucky
Year 8

Bastille Day

On our third day back this term it happened to be Bastille Day, the French National Day. In class, we watched a YouTube Clip about the French Revolution and learnt that the Bastille was stormed on 14 July 1789. We then listened to the gruesome words of the “Marseillaise”, the French national anthem, comparing them to our own “Advance Australia Fair”. We then went out to the back oval to try the French bowls game “boules”. We got very competitive after Mr Smith had given us the rules and told us that the winner would be the one closest to “le cochonet’ (little pig) which we would call the jack in English.

Eva Da Silva-Bolt
Year 7