Languages 

Angel's Italian Poetry Recital in Song 

Year 10 student Angel W did a fantastic job with her poetry recital task in Ms Allen's Italian class, by writing her own music and performing the poem as a song. 

Please click the link below to listen to Angel sing this beautiful piece. Well done Angel!

Luisa Allen, Italian Language Teacher

Buon Ferragosto! Italian's Celebrate a National Holiday

On 15 August, Italian's celebrated an important national holiday on their calendar, known as Ferragosto, or Assumption Day. Italian language teacher Ms Allen shares some interesting facts about this popular summer holiday, that has roots dating back more than 2,000 years.

This is the day when the Catholic church celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary’s ascent to heaven after her life on Earth, much in the same way that the Feast of the Ascension celebrates this for Jesus. 

However, the Assumption of Mary is a fixed date every year - August 15th, whereas the Ascension of Jesus, following Easter by 40 days, has a variable date.

But the August celebrations in Italy pre-date the Catholic church. In fact, the great tradition of taking time off probably dates back to the Emperor Augustus in 18 BC.  “Ferragosto” takes its name from the Latin “Feriae Augusti” – the festivals of Augustus.

The first Feriae Augusti probably occurred in celebration of a military victory, but the idea of taking time off in the summer after the hard work of planting and harvesting is certainly nothing new.

While the August 15th holiday has some religious connotations, most Italians see Ferragosto as the culmination of summer vacation. This is the time to escape from work and book a holiday at the beach or in the mountains. Major cities become ghost towns as regular residents flee with the same common goal: a bit of sun, good food, and plenty of relaxation.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, Ferragosto celebrations have been disrupted. New restrictions include bans on fireworks at beaches, the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors and the closing of nightclubs.

Hopefully next year, Italy (and all of us) will be able to return to sunny days on crowded beaches!

Luisa Allen, Italian Language Teacher

Inspirational work in difficult times: Chinese Projects

Year 7, 8 and 10 students in Mrs Zhang's Chinese class showcased an impressive range of skills recently, as they presented on topics including family trees, school timetables and holidays to China.

Students shared their projects in a range of formats, from posters to PowerPoint presentations, as well as oral presentations via Microsoft Teams. 

Please click through the above photo gallery, that includes screenshots from students including Issern, Sophie, Chantelle, Jia Yue, Jiahang and Charlotte. 

Well done to students on the high standard of work your created. There may be a future in TV for some of you. Keep up the great work! 

Mrs Ning Zhang