Tag Archives: Italy

February 22, 2010. Gianna Mazzeo planned carefully for our latest Grade 7 Skype with Istituto Tecnico Industriale Statale (Liceo Scientifico Tecnologico) in Barcellona. We gathered the students and called our Italian partners, but to no avail; no answer. Finally, our students had to leave for the next period class. I disconnected the cables and was about to close Skype when Barcellona called. Signora Mazzeo rushed after her students and brought them back. The Italian class had been locked out of their videoconferencing room since it was after the school day in Italy and the technician had already gone home. This is an example of the challenges we face in connecting schools in different time zones. The teachers in Italy had to keep their students after school to speak to us; we had to schedule our students as early as possible during the school day.  The students  had a good conversation with the time available. This was a spontaneous conversation centered on the theme of family. They spoke without notes. Their comfort level is increasing each time they connect. The opportunity for authentic conversation forces both sides to use their skills and vocabulary. Many thanks to Signora Mazzeo for her tenacity and flexibility, two critical traits in connecting across such a distance.

January 15.

Introduction of ‘family’ nouns with Signora Mazzeo’s family in Messina including her sister, Santina; brother-in-law Cosimo, and son Tiziano, cousin Santa, and the family pets Birba, the dog and the fish, Titi, and birds.

Our Italian teachers held up signs with the vocabulary words: Mogliei (wife), Mamma (mother); sorella (sister); cugina (cousin), marito (husband); papa (father); fratello (brother).

Students then asked questions such as: How many people are in your family? Who are the family members? Does the family have pets and what are their names? These questions and others reinforced their knowledge of the nouns.

This was a very genuine and friendly exchange; low key and very engaging. Learning at its best! Many thanks to Signora Mazzeo and her family who was willing to give their time to our students.

January 7. Laura Alessi’s grade 8 class Skyped with her husband’s family in Genoa, Italy. Laura Manzoni and Chiara LoPinto answered questions in Italian about life in Italy, including the current fashions.  Baby Matilde Casaretto participated as well!

Gianna Mazzeo’s grade 7 class Skyped with Signora Parisi’s class from Istituto Tecnico Industriale Statale (Liceo Scientifico Tecnologico) in Barcellona, Messina. The session was a first introduction. Students asked and answered questions in both languages. We hope to continue sharing language and culture in the future.

October 21, 2009. Ciao! Gianna Mazzeo used Skype to help prepare her Suffern Middle School students for a test while visiting her family in Messina, Italy. Signora Mazzeo found a school in Italy who would like to collaborate on projects with our students. This was a fun way to test the Skype connection in our new videoconferencing room. It worked!