2023 has been a very exciting year for the Languages Department. We have welcomed two new staff members to our passionate team of teachers: Mr. Giuseppe Battaglia and Mrs. Tina Rodriguez. We have also welcomed back Ms. Sandy Zhai who has been working with the Chinese classes. Ms. Anna Aguizzi and Ms. Esia Grezzi, Italian Assistants with the Dante Alighieri society, have supported students in the classroom. We would like to thank all the Learning Support Assistants who work in our Language classrooms and often learn the language along with the students.
The Department has been busy reinvigorating the overseas Language Study Tour program which will kick off in 2024 with the Italy Tour. Merici will support students continuing their language studies with an opportunity for in-country immersion and cultural experiences.
We welcomed back students Gabrielle Shoebridge from Germany, Lily Sluis from France and Harriette Macguire from Italy after their 2022/2023 Exchange programs. Merici has six students departing for exchange over the summer holidays in pursuit of an international experience or in support of their language acquisition study at Merici. We have also welcomed an Italian exchange student for Semester 2, Alice Dassiè, who joined Year 11 and was hosted by a Merici family.
Students have engaged with various cultural events around Canberra, with excursions to international film festivals and community organised cultural days. Italian students travelled to Sydney to support their learning about Italian migration and culture in Australia. Chinese students engaged in a day of cultural activities including Tai Chi, Tea Ceremony, sticky rice dumpling making, Calligraphy, Fan making and Paper Cutting.
Through the IB Middle Years Programme, Year 7-10 Merici students inquired into the form and function of language, cultural identity and interacting with purpose. In our senior classes, students engaged with topics about individuals and society studying themes of education, relationships, the working world, travel, migration, traditions and lifestyles. The languages curriculum at Merici College is certainly knowledge-rich and relevant for young people entering a globalised world.
Language teachers have shared their love of language and culture with prospective Year 7 students, delivering immersive lessons for Be a Merici Girl Days. We have dived into the cultures of the Spanish, French, Italian and Chinese speaking worlds with cultural awareness and celebration days.
Languages are a window into another world! We thank all the families, staff and students who have engaged enthusiastically in all the language and cultural opportunities Merici has to offer.
Student reflection by Mary David-Hoole, Year 9
On September 20, our Year 9 Spanish class went to ANU for Hispanic Day. Gabriel Covarrubias, a Mexican artist, introduced us to Hernando Ramirez’s poetry and the impact and inspiration it provided for him as an artist. The poetry was in Nahuatl which is an indigenous language used by the Aztecs from Mexico. The poetry explained ideas about culture and nature which were also conveyed through Gabriel’s artwork which were intriguing. We then learnt about the demographics of Latin American countries. We explored the statistics around population and its implications. We then went to the Latin-American Embassy stalls to learn more about their culture; Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay were among the showcased countries. We finished by eating some traditional Latin American snacks such as empanadas, yucca chips and salsa. I would be interested to learn more about the origin of Latin American countries and how the Spanish came to these areas.
Ms. Clare Freeman
Languages Coordinator
