Languages

Another busy year for the Languages students at De La! The Years 9, 10 and 11 Italian classes took part in the Dante Alighieri Poetry reading competition once again with some outstanding results! The first round of the competition was held at the College and 5 of our students gained a place in the finals — three Year 10’s and two Year 9’s. It was the first time in the College’s history of 20 years entering the competition!

The finalists David Ghaly, Matthew Mercuri, Raphael Canty, Liam Chai and Julian de Thomasis then presented at Melbourne University where they competed with 174 students across Years 9–12. The competition organizers relayed the message that De La Salle College is gaining a reputation as fierce competitors in the competition — high praise indeed, since the competition runs statewide! Stefan di Medio gained a special award when he entered a multimedia competition where he was required to make a DVD with soundtrack, telling the story of an Italo–Australian involved in some aspect of music. This is the first time any student from our school took part, and Stefan came away with a special mention and high praise for our College! The Years 11 and 12 Italian classes, in their respective ‘Headstart’ programs covered units on “Il Caffè – una passione italiana! Coffee – an Italian passion!” and “I piatti festivi – festive foods” and topped their year off with a lesson on how to make true Italian coffee accompanied by the Italian Christmas cake Panettone. The Years 9 and 10 French classes took part in the Alliance Française Poetry Competition and gained some sound results. Nigel Menezes won a place as a finalist! The Year 10 French class rounded off their year with a Fête de la Cuisine Française. All this activity will prepare the students well, as most of them go on to the next year of study in their chosen language. Some students are preparing to take part in a cultural and linguistic tour to either Italy or France in April 2014.

Alliance Française — VCE

In August our senior French students (VCE French Unit 2) went to the Alliance Française in St Kilda for the Berthe Mouchette Competition. They were, understandably, very nervous. The students were very motivated as the task was excellent preparation for their end of Year 12 oral examination. They all approached the task in a positive manner. This was made even easier by the prospect of performing in front of the young and charming staff at the Alliance Française. One by one, they came out beaming with joy and relief. It was pleasing to see how excited all the students were at the end of the session. They all commented on the value of the experience. The experience was enhanced by a visit to a local pizzeria for lunch at the conclusion of all presentations. We are looking forward to repeating the process with this group at the same time next year as the stakes will be even higher so close to their final oral examination.

Alliance Française Year 9

In May this year, fifteen boys from Year 9 participated in the French poetry competition run by Alliance Française. This is an annual competition with the senior boys from De La Salle taking part. This year the Year 9’s did very well with some excellent results. The boys represented the school well — not only were their results good but their behaviour outside the school grounds (travelling to and from the venue) was outstanding. The boys represented De La Salle in an exemplary manner.

Notre déjeuner

Pour notre dernière classe de français du trimestre, nous avons eu un déjeuner français avec notre professeur, Madame Di Giacomo, dans la cantine de Kinnoull. Nous avons tous apporté quelque chose à manger ou à boire. Il y avait des éclairs, des croissants, des baguettes, des tartes, des crêpes, des macarons et de la limonade. Nous avons tous vraiment aimé la nourriture et nous avons passé une bonne journée. On the last day of Term 3, in our last French class for the term, we had a lunch together with our teacher, Ms Di Giacomo, in the Kinnoull canteen. We all brought something to eat or drink. There were éclairs, croissants, baguettes, tarts, crépes, macaroons and lemonade. We all really liked the food and had a great time. It was a good way to finish off the term and look towards the holidays. Everyone put in a good effort to bring French food and drinks on the day and some even baked something special.

Nick Amon Jeudi après-midi. Il faisait beau et le parfum était magnifique. Nous nous sommes assis devant une table pleine de nourriture française. Sur la table, il y avait du pâté, des baguettes, du fromage français, des crêpes, un gâteux incroyable et un choix de desserts français aussi. Dans un instant, ils ont disparus et nous avons mangé tous les aliments. Le goût était excellent! Après ça, nous avons discuté nos vacances en français. Une dégustation et une expérience incroyable pour tous les élèves de français! Thursday afternoon. It was a nice afternoon and the aroma was magnificent. We sat down to a food-filled table of French cuisine. There was delicate paté, warm bread, extraordinary French cheese, soft crepes, an incredible strawberry tart and a wide assortment of French desserts. In an instant, they all disappeared! The taste of the food was excellent! A discussion about our holidays followed along with other topics in the beautiful, French language. It was an incredible experience and an incredible lunch for Year 10 French students!

Nigel Menezes