Stamford Junior School delight in the spirit of Italy

Stamford Junior School (SJS) recently celebrated all things Italian as part of their annual modern foreign language’s day. Each year the children celebrate a different culture with this year’s focus being Italy - Il Bel Paese – the beautiful country. The day began with an assembly in which an Italian student from Stamford High School, Lidia Curtis, read an Italian poem about the Carnival, and SJS children gave a presentation of their favourite aspects of Italian culture. The children also enjoyed listening to Vocechoir sing an Italian song, conducted by music teaching staff, Mr McIllrae and Mrs Bond. The children were then tasked with various Italian themed workshops.During the day, Reception children designed their own pizzas and even had a go at cooking pasta! Year 1 children impressed everyone with their beautiful Venetian masks and gondolas, while Year 2 created their own “gelateria” – ice cream parlour and restaurant menus. Year 3 researched Italian symbols and famous Italian people, resulting in a beautiful collage in the shape of a boot – Italy’s shape on the map. Year 4 groups painted their own versions of Mona Lisa’s and various Italian landscapes, as well as creating cardboard models of the leaning Tower of Pisa. Year 5 delighted with their performance of the famous song “Funiculì, Funiculà”, which they had prepared in their music lessons with Mr Leetch. Finally, Year 6 impressed the School with their acting skills – guided by a theatre director, they put together a play about the Roman emperors in only a few hours.After an Italian-themed lunch, the whole school had the chance of admiring some modern and beautiful classic Italian Fiat cars, kindly donated by Rockingham Cars, which were displayed in front of the school. Following this, all the children displayed their work in the assembly Hall and taught each other what they had learned from their research. At the end of the day, those collected by their parents, enjoyed a delicious ice cream from Mr Gino.Italian teacher, Mrs Popa commented: ‘The children and staff fully entered into the spirit of the day with some splendid dressing up, and they should be proud of their achievements. All in all, we had a beautiful day.’