As my time here comes to an end I realize I have not wrote anything about the school/classroom itself. I had started many times to write something, but never finished. Well, guess now is the time.
My fifth grade classroom has 17 students in from 6 different countries. There are many more countries represented throughout the entire fifth grade. I have one student from Israel, four students from China, seven students from Italy, three students from the US, one student from Hungary, and one student from Canada. All of these students are at various levels of learning English; some of them have learned it their whole life and are "Mother Tongue" English speakers, as opposed to one of my students who just started learning English in September when she arrived at this school. On top of these students being from various countries, many of them have lived in more than two countries.
Having students from many different countries brings a unique aspect to the classroom. Students are able to share their countries and cultures with the class. One example is during snack time students bring all different snacks to eat, sometimes it is something from their country, and they are more than willing to share their snacks with their peers and even the teachers. One example of this is a snack that all of the Chinese students bring in frequently, duck tongue. The students were a little hesitant to try it the first time, but since then they are asking all the Chinese students for duck tongues. I even tried it and it was pretty good! Things like this really bring the class together and let the students realize many more cultures in the country.
This has been a fabulous experience for me because I have been able to be exposed to many more cultures. It has also been great to see how a classroom, with so many different cultures and language levels can work together every day. It has been a great learning experience as a teacher and feel that I am very prepared to work with students of varying English language levels. I think this experience has also helped me think of many different ways to teach my students about various cultures, because I think that is very important.
I am really going to miss these kids when I leave and am so grateful for everything they have taught my about their countries, cultures, and myself as a teacher!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
December, 8: Immaculate Conception
December 8th is a holiday in the Catholic Church, it is the day of the Immaculate Conception. Here in Italy, it is a national holiday, therefore we had off from school. Alissa and I decided to spend the day together since this will be our absolute last day we could spend together, just us, in Rome.
Our day started with a visit to Galleria Borghese which I had heard from everyone is fabulous! I was very excited because there are lots of great works of art in this gallery. Our ticket reservations were for 9AM and they told us we needed to be there by 8:30AM to pick our tickets up or they could give them to someone else. The gallery is located in the Borghese Gardens (yes, the same gardens that just a few days before we were caught in the rain during our picnic!) and we, well Alissa, had a general idea of where in the gardens the gallery was located. We decided to walk up bc it's not that far of a walk and it was a nice morning. We reach the gardens and we see signs that lead us to the gallery which we were very happy about. Although, we end up reaching the gardens at about 8:40AM so we needed to get moving! After following the signs for awhile we are positive we see it through the trees and run towards it, only to realize it is the exit of the gardens. So we turn around and see we walked right by the gallery, and if we had taken a second to look at the signs we would have noticed! We have now realized that Borghese Gardens is not our friend after two different incidences! haha So we arrive, right before 9AM, and are able to get in. The museum was just as amazing as I've heard it was.
We were only allowed two hours in the gallery so we left at 11AM. At this point we decided to get lunch bc we are starving!! And head towards the Spanish Steps bc that is where we want to be after lunch. We find a nice little place, away from the crowds, to each and enjoy just sitting and relaxing for awhile.
On the holiday of Immaculate Conception there is a big celebration/ceremony in Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps piazza). In this piazza there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary and on December 8th faithful come to the statue to pay their respects and they leave flowers at the base of the statue. Firemen also go up their ladder and lay a wreath of flowers around Mary's outstretched arm and bouquets of flowers at the base of her feet. On our way to to the Galleria Borghese we saw the firemen putting flowers at the top of the statue and a few people were already bringing flowers. The other big event is at 4PM the pope arrives and speaks to the crowd. When I found out about this whole celebration we decided it would be really neat to go see. So after lunch we decide to sit on the Spanish Steps for awhile since it was only 1PM, but first walked to see all the flowers around the statue. There were crowds of people all around and it looked like people were already sitting along the sidewalks/barriers that had been put up waiting for the pope. We sat on the Spanish Steps for about an hour, enjoying the sun and people watching, and then decided to get up and stretch our legs. We picked the perfect time to get up because as we walked towards the statue we realized they were starting to clear the street, so we found a spot right along the barriers and waited. There were lots of prayers, the president of Italy walked right in front of us (at least that who we think he was! haha), a choir who was phenomenal sang, and then the pope drove by. We were probably about 20feet from the pope!! It was the most surreal experience ever. The pope then spoke, all of which we could not understand bc it was in Italian, but after looking up a translation of it he spoke a lot about Mary and who she was. (Translation of what the pope spoke about if you're interested) Although we could not understand a lot of what was happening it was so great to experience a celebration like that and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to be there!
Our day started with a visit to Galleria Borghese which I had heard from everyone is fabulous! I was very excited because there are lots of great works of art in this gallery. Our ticket reservations were for 9AM and they told us we needed to be there by 8:30AM to pick our tickets up or they could give them to someone else. The gallery is located in the Borghese Gardens (yes, the same gardens that just a few days before we were caught in the rain during our picnic!) and we, well Alissa, had a general idea of where in the gardens the gallery was located. We decided to walk up bc it's not that far of a walk and it was a nice morning. We reach the gardens and we see signs that lead us to the gallery which we were very happy about. Although, we end up reaching the gardens at about 8:40AM so we needed to get moving! After following the signs for awhile we are positive we see it through the trees and run towards it, only to realize it is the exit of the gardens. So we turn around and see we walked right by the gallery, and if we had taken a second to look at the signs we would have noticed! We have now realized that Borghese Gardens is not our friend after two different incidences! haha So we arrive, right before 9AM, and are able to get in. The museum was just as amazing as I've heard it was.
Galleria Borghese
We were only allowed two hours in the gallery so we left at 11AM. At this point we decided to get lunch bc we are starving!! And head towards the Spanish Steps bc that is where we want to be after lunch. We find a nice little place, away from the crowds, to each and enjoy just sitting and relaxing for awhile.
On the holiday of Immaculate Conception there is a big celebration/ceremony in Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps piazza). In this piazza there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary and on December 8th faithful come to the statue to pay their respects and they leave flowers at the base of the statue. Firemen also go up their ladder and lay a wreath of flowers around Mary's outstretched arm and bouquets of flowers at the base of her feet. On our way to to the Galleria Borghese we saw the firemen putting flowers at the top of the statue and a few people were already bringing flowers. The other big event is at 4PM the pope arrives and speaks to the crowd. When I found out about this whole celebration we decided it would be really neat to go see. So after lunch we decide to sit on the Spanish Steps for awhile since it was only 1PM, but first walked to see all the flowers around the statue. There were crowds of people all around and it looked like people were already sitting along the sidewalks/barriers that had been put up waiting for the pope. We sat on the Spanish Steps for about an hour, enjoying the sun and people watching, and then decided to get up and stretch our legs. We picked the perfect time to get up because as we walked towards the statue we realized they were starting to clear the street, so we found a spot right along the barriers and waited. There were lots of prayers, the president of Italy walked right in front of us (at least that who we think he was! haha), a choir who was phenomenal sang, and then the pope drove by. We were probably about 20feet from the pope!! It was the most surreal experience ever. The pope then spoke, all of which we could not understand bc it was in Italian, but after looking up a translation of it he spoke a lot about Mary and who she was. (Translation of what the pope spoke about if you're interested) Although we could not understand a lot of what was happening it was so great to experience a celebration like that and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to be there!
A parish bringing flowers to the statue and saying prayers the entire time
Statue of Mary, you can see the wreath of flowers and other flowers placed at the top by firemen
Flowers left by faithful. This was just one side of the statue, the flowers were all around it
Crowds of people, looking down from the Spanish Steps
The choir walking in
Lots of people!!!
The pope
Monday, December 5, 2011
Pretty much, best weekend ever!
So, this past weekend was just about the best weekend ever. Many reasons why and it starts on Friday morning in school. Every Friday the three fifth grade classes get together and have a Fifth Grade Meeting. Throughout the week students are given Falcon Flyer Tickets (they are AOSR Falcons) when students are caught displaying life goals such as responsibility, flexibility, friendship, things like that. All the students put their tickets in a basket and we pick three out, recognize them for their good work and then they can pick one person to give them a compliment. When I walked into the room Ms. J (one of the fifth grade teachers) asked me to help her run the meeting, bc there are usually 2 people running the meeting. At the end of the meeting she asked if anyone had any questions or comments. One of the boys from her class, who I have for science, raised his had and said he had a question for Miss Kolessar. He looked at me and said "Miss Kolessar, will you be Alissa's bridesmaid???" And all the other kids in the class each held up a letter of bridesmaid. I was so shocked I couldn't believe it. And then I turn and two girls had let Alissa in the room. It was such a great way for her to ask me and I was honored that she asked me to be such a big part of her special day! And all the other girls that she lives with were in on it. So after that I couldn't stop smiling the whole day bc I was so happy.
This was also the last full weekend Alissa and I had together, just us so we were already planning on having a great weekend. Friday night we cooked a great dinner complete with DISNEY PRINCESS PASTA! And just relaxed for the night. Saturday we went to the Capuchian Crypt which was really amazing to see. In this crypt they have displayed the bones of thousand of Capuchian Friars in unique ways. It looked like artwork, done by bones. We unfortunately couldn't take any pictures in there, but I definitely bought some postcards. After that we sat by the river for a little near Castel St. Angelo and then stopped off at the apartment. We then made our way to the Villa Borghese gardens and picked up some food for our picnic lunch there. When we got to the gardens we found a bench to sit on and within a minute of us sitting down it started to rain. We were optimistic and figured it would stop soon, as it usually does. We made our sandwiches and started eating, soon enough the rain started POURING down! So we took our sandwiches and stood under a tree so we were protected a little more. After a little while the rain stopped and we found a place we could rent a bike for two people. We had so much fun riding around the park in that, trying to to crash into anything! We went home to change into drier clothes, went to church, picked up pizza and spent the rest of the night in bed watching 13 Going on 30 and eating pizza.
This was also the last full weekend Alissa and I had together, just us so we were already planning on having a great weekend. Friday night we cooked a great dinner complete with DISNEY PRINCESS PASTA! And just relaxed for the night. Saturday we went to the Capuchian Crypt which was really amazing to see. In this crypt they have displayed the bones of thousand of Capuchian Friars in unique ways. It looked like artwork, done by bones. We unfortunately couldn't take any pictures in there, but I definitely bought some postcards. After that we sat by the river for a little near Castel St. Angelo and then stopped off at the apartment. We then made our way to the Villa Borghese gardens and picked up some food for our picnic lunch there. When we got to the gardens we found a bench to sit on and within a minute of us sitting down it started to rain. We were optimistic and figured it would stop soon, as it usually does. We made our sandwiches and started eating, soon enough the rain started POURING down! So we took our sandwiches and stood under a tree so we were protected a little more. After a little while the rain stopped and we found a place we could rent a bike for two people. We had so much fun riding around the park in that, trying to to crash into anything! We went home to change into drier clothes, went to church, picked up pizza and spent the rest of the night in bed watching 13 Going on 30 and eating pizza.
Capuchian Crypt (the church)
Pretty Christmas decorations we saw while wandering the city
Eating our yummy sandwiches under the tree
Our abandon picnic bench and the rest of our picnic
Riding the bike!
On Sunday we went to the Barberini Gallery and it was really great to see! Then we walked around the city a bit more, grabbed lunch and headed back to Piazza Navona for the highlight of our day! As I've mentioned, there is a Christmas Market in Piazza Navona and there is a CAROUSEL! Since the very first day they started setting up the market Alissa and I saw the carousel and decided we needed to go on it together, and what better weekend to do it than our last weekend together. We also had treats we'd seen advertised that we wanted to get. We decided to start with the carousel. We got on two horses next to each other and then were told we needed to move. We understood that I was one a horse meant for children, not adults, I needed to be on a bigger horse, but could not understand at first why Alissa needed to move since she was on a bigger horse. It turns out her horse was broken. So we finally got on appropriate horses and thoroughly enjoyed our ride!! Then it was time for our food! They sell these large doughnuts that they heat up and you can get with Nutella or sugar on. We split a doughnut with Nutella and got a candy apple to split too. I mean, when in Rome... right?? So we pigged out on both of those things and when we were absolutely stuffed we decided it was time to head home. After doing some work at their apartment I decided to come back to my apartment and end the fabulous weekend.
So excited to be on the carousel!!!!!!!!!
With our doughnut, that is half of the doughnut that I am holding. I'm telling you they are huge!
Now on to the candy apple!
Eating our way through the Piazza Navona Christmas Market!
It's going to be tough to say goodbye to all the girls I've met here, especially Alissa. And it's going to be tough since I live so far away from all of them (they are all from the midwest), but I'm so grateful to have met them all. They've made my experience here just that much better!
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