Year 3/4 

Visita al Museo Italiano and Brunetti's.

Last week we embarked on an adventure to the Museo Italiano and Lygon Street. Positano and Lampedusa (3/4 A & C), set off on Wednesday with Chiara, Lucrezia, Sophie, and our marvellous parent volunteers: Adam, Justine, and Carol. Capri and Vulcano (3/4 B&D) went on Friday with Lucrezia, Sophie and super-volunteers Jenny and Noel.

We caught the tram 6 down Lygon St and walked to the Museo Italiano.

Maria Brancolino greeted us and kicked things off with a presentation in Italian about what Italian migrants typically packed in their suitcases as they journeyed to Australia. We picked up some new words along the way including caffettiera, arricciagnocchi, mattarello!

After lunch in the Museo courtyard where students got to play make-believe as they pretended they were setting sail on a boat, we split into two groups: one group indulged in gelato from Brunetti's, ordering their scoops in Italian (though bubblegum flavour has no translation in traditional Italian gelato culture). The other group embarked on a museum treasure hunt, using images to uncover clues and solve puzzles. Then the two groups swapped.

On Friday, Capri had the unexpected opportunity to meet Fabio Angelè, the son of Giorgio Angelè (Brunetti's owner), who was delighted to discover that school students had been learning about his father's experience as an Italian migrant. 

The students revelled in the freedom of exploring the museum without the usual "don't touch that!" stress. Their enthusiasm was infectious! And let's not forget the gelato—definitely a highlight. After deepening our understanding of how immigration has changed our local community, of the reasons for immigration and the lasting impact of Italians on Lygon St, we hopped on the tram 6 back to school, stanchi ma soddisfatti.

Change

Year 3/4 are exploring the big idea of ‘change’ in our Unit of Work. Students are considering how history helps us develop a sense of connection to our local community, through the inquiry of continuity and change within our local community. 

We started this unit with an excursion to the Merri Merri Creek, with Joe, our excellent Aboriginal Cultural Guide, who shared information about life for the Wurundjeri people before colonisation. Our students discovered many facts  about traditional Wurundjeri culture, including eel fishing techniques, how canoes were made, the word for baby, "boop boop", as well as listening to a Dreaming story about how the kangaroo got its tail.

The students were brilliant, managing the trams, actively listening and playing together in the park.

A big thank you to our parent and grandparent volunteers. We appreciate your support. You make these special experiences possible.