What a GATE day !

Today the GATE Club theme was International Masterchef as each GATE Language invited native speakers into our classrooms to demonstrate and explain their country's culinary culture. Instructions and recipes were provided in the target language and students listened, watched, took notes and practised their cooking preparation skills. The day's aim was to give students a taste of the country's cuisine. In German there was Strudel and Black Forest cake, Chinese had noodles and fried rice (the smell was incredibly inviting and the taste was even better). Indonesian had noodles and Italian had Tiramisu, Pasta All'Amatriciana and Pasta Alla Carbonara. We must thank all our native speakers and helpers including Simonetta Mencaccini, Alice Marini, Genny Mancusi, Geoff Davis, Hong Qi and . Our Languages Team gave our GATE students a memorable experience, an enriching insight into an element of culture that is as integral as a country's language to their identity; their food. We look forward to the next GATE Club for more exciting learning adventures !

Launch Of The Asian and European Language Hubs

Wow, what a day it was for Languages at Mount Lawley on Tuesday 18th May. Our whole school assembly was the forum for the Launch of the Asian and European Language Hubs. This is an initiative that will see our school form vital partnerships with our partner primary schools to build bridges between the primary and secondary sectors.  

We look forward to working closely with, Coolbinia, Inglewood, Maylands, Kyilla, Yokine, Mount Hawthorn and West Leederville primary schools to provide a strong, continuous and seamless languages learning program that incorporates innovative high quality teaching and learning programs. This hub will combine the efforts of educators in both sectors, primary and secondary and embed a truly collaborative approach to public education with a differentiated curriculum as a key component of the new programs.

We trust that these new relationships will continue to grow stronger over time to provide reciprocal benefits to the primary and secondary schools connected through the hub. Representatives from the primary schools were invited to the launch to accept their certificates of partnership from our Principal. We were pleased to have special guests including Lois Joll from the Department of Education and Geoff Davis (AM) the founding teacher of Chinese in Western Australia share the moment with our whole school community.

A short video presentation of the LawleyItalia Tour was screened and we were delighted to have the Year 8 and 9 Chinese choir perform for us. Thanks to Ashleigh, Scarlet and Belinda who shared their experience of the Italy trip with us all. It was a proud day for Languages and we look forward to the  building bridges program becoming stronger each year.

LawleyItalia 2010

On the 24th March 2010, 16 students and 3 staff members departed Perth for the inaugural LawleyItalia Tour of Italy (Giro D'Italia). What an adventure it turned out to be ! We stopped off in Dubai before touching down a Roma and we hit the ground running, visiting such beautiful places as Napoli, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Pompei, Firenze, Pisa, Siena, Milano, Tirano, Bormio, Baruffini, St Moritz, Venezia, Verona, Murano, Burano, Vicenza and Padova. Along the way we climbed a few cupole and campanili saw masterpieces by artists such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Donatello and Raphael (not our own very talented Mr Raphael, the older Italian Raffaelo).

We ate our way through pizza, pasta, spaghetti, fettucini, tagliatelli, ravioli, gnocchi and had at least un gelato al giorno (an ice cream each day). We stayed in hotels that were over 400 years old and travelled in l'autobus, il tram, il traghetto, il treno, la metropolitana, la gondola and a water taxi.

We met so many lovely people and learned so much about life, language, laughter, culture, friendship, history and family. We made new lifelong friendships. We discovered the power of positive thinking, even when an Icelandic volcano attempts to keep you grounded and away from your loved ones. It was the trip of a lifetime and we experienced so many precious memories that we will treasure forever.

LawleyItalia 2010 - The adventure never stops !

Inaugural Lawley Italian Language Assistant

As a Specialist Languages School it is imperative that we have assistants and native speakers in our learning environments that can inspire and motivate and guide our language learners. We are very lucky indeed to have with us Genny Mancusi. She will provide our school with a range of resources and learning opportunities including one-on-one conversations in the target language, cultural knowledge specialist classes and language learning strategies. Benvenuta Genny, it is wonderful to have you on the Languages Team !

Genny Mancusi

Ciao a tutti, mi chiamo Genny Mancusi e vengo da Trento, una piccola citta’ situata nel nord-est dell’Italia, in una regione chiamata Trentino. Ho 27 anni e questa e’ la mia prima volta in Australia ed e’ fantastico! Il tempo e’ bellissimo, la gente amichevole e questa scuola e’ stupenda. Le uniche due cose che mi mancano dell’Italia sono: il caffe’ espresso e la pizza, ma vedro’ di trovare una soluzione a riguardo..

Ecco qui alcune informazioni su di me, per farvi sapere cosa ho studiato e perche’ ho deciso di fare quest’esperienza.

Ho frequentato il Liceo Classico G.Prati a Trento, dove ho studiato Letteratura Greca e Latina, Letteratura Italiana, Filosofia, Storia, Storia dell’Arte, Inglese, Tedesco, Scienze e Matematica.

Dopo il Liceo ho frequentato l’Universita’ di Lettere & Filosofia di Trento, dove mi sono laureata in Scienze dei Beni Culturali Musicali.

Prima di venire in Australia ho lavorato  per un anno come programmatrice musicale presso una radio locale e poi ho completato un Master in Tourism Management (Turismo Sostenibile), ed e’ stato veramennte interessante. Quindi, come potete vedere, la musica e i viaggi intorno al mondo sono le mie piu’ grandi passioni.

Ho deciso di venire in Australia non solo per scoprire posti nuovi e per conoscere persone nuove, ma anche per iniziare un nuovo lavoro come Assistente di Lingua, perche’ in futuro vorrei lavorare come insegnante. Mia madre ha lavorato come insegnante per molti anni e mi ha ispirato quando ho deciso di lasciare l’Italia per iniziare questa nuova e sfidante esperienza.

Faro’ del mio meglio qui alla Mt Lawley high School e sono sicura che questa sara’ una delle piu’ belle esperienze della mia vita. Il mondo e’ pieno di amici che aspettano solo di incontrarsi.

Grazie a tutti e piacere di conoscervi!

Ciao a tutti, my name is Genny Mancusi and I come from Trento, a little city situated in the North-East of Italy, in a region called Trentino. I am 27 years old in this is my first time in Australia and it’s fantastic! Weather is beautiful, people are friendly and this school is amazing. The only two things I do really miss are: Italian espresso and good Pizza, but I will find a solution about that..

Here there are some informations about myself, just to let you know what I’ve studied and why I decided to do this experience.

I attended the Liceo Classico G.Prati, in Trento, where I studied Greek and Latin Literature, Italian Literature, Philosophy, History, History of Art, English, German, Science and Math.

After that I attended the Lettere & Filosofia University of Trento, where I graduated in Scienze dei Beni Culturali Musicali. Before coming to Australia I worked for one year in a local radio station as radio programmer, and I also took a Master in Tourism Management (Sustainable Tourism), and I found it absolutely interesting. So, as you can see, music and travel around the world are my biggest passions.

I decided to travel to Australia not only to discover new places and meet new people, but also to start a new job as Language Teaching Assistant, because I wish I’ll become a teacher in the future.

My mother has worked as a teacher for many years and she inspired me when I decided to leave home for starting this new, challenging experience. I will do my best while working in the Mt Lawley Senior High School and I’m sure this will be one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. Il mondo e’ pieno di amici che aspettano solo di incontrarsi. The world is full of friends that are waiting to meet.

Thanks to you all e piacere di conoscervi!

Languages Parent Support Group - Languages Soiree`

The LPSG inaugural Languages Soiree` was a wonderful success. It was a great opportunity for parents of Language students to gather together in a relaxed atmosphere and have a chat with each other and the Language teachers. Everyone brought a plate of delicious food to share and savour (yes I had 3 pieces of Andrea's cake but who's counting ?). Thank you to our wonderful staff members who made themselves available for the event, I know our parents appreciated your presence and I certainly did too. Many thanks to our LPSG committee members who planned, organised and coordinated the event, including preparations and clean up afterwards, your passion and dedication inspires me. Merci beaucoup to Jayne Faranda for her exquisite guitar playing (she is such a star !). I love seeing the children of parents and teachers playing together and I know the LPSG has some exciting plans for future events. Please continue to support them and if you would like to be kept informed by being on the mailing list contact our secretary, Sondra Tate at sondra@iinet.net.au

Arts Festival - Asian Language Hub In Action

Well it seems I'm still not entirely over my jet lag. The latest entry for the LawleyLanguages blog was entered into the LawleyItalia blog. Here is the link so you can find out what a wonderful event was held on campus last Friday. Gong xi to the event coordinator Dr Irving and all the staff and students who made the Lawley Arts Festival 2010 such a funtastic success.

http://lawleyitalia2010.blogspot.com/2010/05/arts-festival-asian-language-hub-in.html