Even the weather took a slightly
Mediterranean turn as the sun shone brightly (if not
warmly!) on Thursday the 10th. of December when the
pupils and staff of St. Mary's launched their
"Giornata Italiana" - This venture is funded by the Dept. of
Education and Science as part of an E.U. initiative
supported by the E.S.F. St. Mary's is one of only four
schools in the entire Cork area chosen to pilot Italian
due mainly to the high standard expertise among the
existing staff, many of whom hold N.U.I. degrees in
various languages Indeed, some
of the Italian classes are given by the Principal
herself, Sr. Pauline Murphy. "La Giornata
Italiana" centred on the visit to the school by
Professor Bernard Hickey, a graduate of Trinity College
Dublin, who is the Director of the Inter-Faculty
Linguistic Centre at the University of Lecce in Southern
Italy. He has been a vital source for the establishment
of links between Italian children and the pupils of St.
Mary's and his visit was awaited with mutual eagerness. Fr. Peadar
Murphy, Chairman of the Board of Management, welcomed the
assembled guests who included members of the Schools
Inspectorate, the Co-ordinators of the Pilot Project,
representatives from local schools together with members
of the Board of Management and Friends of the School
Committee. Every child in the school was included in the
celebration which was a delightful mix of music, drama,
dance, art, history and language with a display of
Italian Cuisine added for good measure! The entire event
was conducted as an inter-cultural experience and it was
wonderful to witness the interaction of Irish, English
and Italian throughout. The narrators for the day
switched between languages with great ease. The Schools
Choirs sang multi-lingual renditions of various pieces
including "Santa Lucia" and "Silent
Night" while the Infants gave a rousing chorus of
"Fra Martino" and "Tante Auguri a
Te". Fr. Tim Fouhy was the very patient and gifted
accompanist. Fourth Class gave a lively and graceful display of Italian Folk Dance. Other entertainment included Drama, Recorder Recital, Tin Whistle Recital, Irish Dancing and Italian Cooking. Following the performances, Professor Hickey toured the school and was particularly impressed by the Computer Laboratory and the Prayer Room together with the very vivid visual displays throughout the school. Sponsorship for the event was provided by the Commodore Hotel, H.B. Ice Cream and Tesco. |
a celebration of
the many links between Ireland (particularly Cobh) and
Italy. It was also an opportunity for everyone to show
the results of their first term studying Italian as part
of the Modern Language Pilot Project.
