Languages Department Spotlight

It has been a busy and exciting start to Term 3 in the Languages Faculty, with plenty happening both inside and beyond the classroom.

Our Greek students have started the term exploring new language and culture. Year 7 students are learning about colours and adjectives, Year 8 students are exploring months and seasons and creating posters, while Year 9 students are stepping into the fascinating world of Homer and The Odyssey.

In Italian, Year 7 students are learning to talk about family, Year 8 students are exploring different types of tourism and responsible travel, and Year 10 students are discovering Italian celebrations and traditions. Our Italian Immersion students are also using Italian across the curriculum: Year 8 students are studying Geography through Italian, exploring concepts such as latitude and longitude, while Year 9 students are learning about Australian History in Italian.

Our VCE Italian students have also had a busy start to the term. Year 11 students are exploring real-world issues such as sustainability and ocean pollution, while our Year 12 students are working hard as they move through their final term of VCE Italian. There has been time for some fun too, with our Year 12s enjoying their Formal at the San Remo Ballroom last Friday, where they showcased plenty of elegance - and some impressive dancing skills! 

Model United Nations - in Italian! 

Five of our Year 11 VCE Italian students - Greta, Connor, Mathilda, Josh and Achilles - recently represented Thornbury High School at a Model United Nations Conference conducted entirely in Italian. We were incredibly proud to see them putting their Italian into action while tackling a real-world global issue. But we’ll let Greta tell you what really happened on the day…

On the 28th of July to participate in the Model U.N. Italian Conference, entirely in Italian! We were pretty nervous considering we didn't have any idea of the other schools' levels of Italian and had only done minimal prep, hoping our improvisation would come through. Luckily – it did! Despite representing the only Scandinavian country in the conference (Norway – Norvegia), we managed to represent our country proudly, with many students and teachers later congratulating us on our delegation skills. During the day, we presented position statements, did caucus debates and voted on amendments – most of which (including ours) were passed! Some highlights were negotiating with Fiji, the U.K. and United States and presenting part of our statement in Norwegian.

It was all super fun, informative and a way to bring much of our Italian knowledge to life in these international-style debates!

Greta Schumacher

Year 11 Italian student

Dante Alighieri Poetry Competition - What a Result! 

We finally have the results of this year’s Dante Alighieri Italian Poetry Recitation Competition, and our students have given us plenty to celebrate! Ten students from Years 9–12 represented Thornbury High School, with an incredible five reaching the finals with scores of 98/100 or above.

Even more excitingly, we have two prize winners:

• Isabelle Turvey – First Prize, Year 9 Non-Dante Poetry Category
• Dana Tingwell – Second Prize, Year 12 Non-Dante Poetry Category

A huge complimenti also goes to Alasdair and Wren (Year 11), Lara and Nora (Year 10), and Leonie, Soracha, Stella and Piper (Year 9) for having the courage and commitment to perform poetry in Italian and represent our school so brilliantly.

On Tuesday, we made the long journey to Melbourne University to compete in the Dante Alighieri Poetry Competition finals. We made it just on time for the year nines to recite their poem. Waiting with the other schools brought nerves but also excitement as we waited for the year twelves to perform. After we had all recited our poems, we waited with excited anticipation to see who made it into the second round of the finals. After some confusion with the categories, one year 9 and one year 12 from Thornbury were called up to be part of the 5 finalists. After completing the final round, we all decided to go to Brunetti’s for a celebratory snack. As we made our way back to school, we encountered some bus delays so we eventually took a leisurely 30 minute walk back to Thornbury. This was a really valuable experience for all students who participated and a great way to build up our confidence in speaking Italian…

Dana Tingwell 

Year 12 Italian Student

On the morning of Tuesday the 14th of July, five passionate and enthusiastic students made their way to the University of Melbourne for the finals of the Dante Alighieri poetry competition. Though we faced a bit of public transport difficulties on the way to the venue, we arrived on time, buzzing with excitement and ready to give it our all. The first round of recitation was a great success, with us all performing in front of kind judges and confident that we had prepared to the best of our abilities. Then, at midday, once the judges had liaised with each other and had a chance to choose a select number of students to go into round two of the competition, the names were announced. I was chosen as one of the five Year 9’s of the competition to progress into the final round, which I was pleasantly surprised by and not expecting at all! The results are out of our hands now, and we are now patiently waiting for the outcome of the competition, which should be announced next week. Overall, it was such an immensely positive experience and it has done wonders for my confidence in speaking Italian!  I also had the pleasure of speaking to some students from other schools, and I even made a friend! While reciting the poems in front of native speakers was nerve-wracking, I think that it was such a wonderful opportunity and that everyone who participated in this competition should be extremely proud of themselves. I am so honoured that I had the opportunity to represent Thornbury High School in this state-wide competition as a Year 9 student, and I hope to be able to do the same in the coming years!

Isabelle Turvey

Year 9 Italian student

Italian Exchange Students: Benvenuti a Thornbury! 

Last week, we welcomed Carlotta, Giulio, Alessandro, Emanuele and Matteo from our sister school in Bologna, Italy, who will spend five weeks experiencing life at Thornbury High School. The students are joining our Year 10 and Year 11 classes, participating in our Italian Lunch Club and connecting with our Year 12 Italian students as they prepare for their VCE Italian Oral Examination. But what is it really like to swap Bologna for Thornbury? Carlotta shares her first impressions.

From Bologna to Thornbury

We arrived in Melbourne on Saturday 1 July, and our host families were there to welcome us and take us to our new homes. At first, we felt a little uncomfortable because we didn’t really know how to behave or find our way around our new homes. But little by little, we started getting into the Australian routine and settling in. We have now started classes, which are a great opportunity not only to learn but also to improve our English. 

We have also started making our first friendships. At the beginning this can be quite difficult because of the language, but we know it will become easier. All the teachers have been very kind and welcoming. Thanks to Miss Florio, we have also had the opportunity to help some students during their Italian lessons and to participate in the Italian Lunch Club, which made us feel even more at home.

Carlotta

Exchange Student from Bologna

A big thank you to our wonderful Languages teachers for everything they do to bring these experiences to life, and a very special grazie to our host families for opening their homes and making our Bologna exchange possible.

What a wonderful start to Term 3 - bravi a tutti!

Chiara Florio

Head of Languages