For many years, language students at OLMC have taken part in poetry recitation competitions in Italian and French. These events have afforded students the opportunity to work on perfecting their pronunciation and expression while immersing themselves in the culture of the countries where the languages are spoken. In addition, the memorised lines of poetry ‘stick’ in students’ minds and serve as useful models of correct sentence structure.
This year, for the first time since 2019, Italian students who elect to participate in the competition will once more travel by coach to the University of Melbourne to participate in the Dante Alighieri poetry competition on Monday 29 May.
The French poetry competition, run by the Alliance Francaise de Melbourne, is also taking a step closer to being a ‘live’ competition for the first time since Covid restrictions were imposed. Over the last three years, French students in Years 8-10 have had to film themselves reciting their poem at home, with the videos then being submitted for judging. This year, students who decide to participate in the competition will be required to recite their poem live via Zoom (from the College) at their scheduled time on the day of the competition. The exact date in May is yet to be confirmed.
Another change this year is that, for certain year levels and languages, we have decided to make the poetry competition an optional extension activity. This opportunity is open to all students who would like to push themselves to achieve in their spoken language.
As Easter draws near, I wish students and families Joyeuses Pâques, Buona Pasqua and iisutaa omedetoo. In France and Italy in particular, Easter is an important time. Have a look at these websites (France and Italy) to find out more about Easter traditions in those countries.