Students from St. David’s Catholic Elementary School joined together on Friday, March 25 to celebrate their community’s cultural diversity by holding their first Italian Day.
To begin the day, students listened to “Canto Degli Italiani” which is the national anthem of Italy. Festivities that followed included mask making, a parade and a tarantella dance competition, in honour of Italy’s annual Carnevale. Students had the opportunity to buy pasta and meatballs prepared by the Caruso Club and staff’s family members (mothers, aunts, grandmothers etc.) also baked homemade Italian cookies for the entire student body. Diana Colilli, professor at Laurentian University and President of the Caruso Club attended the school’s celebration and donated a book she authored entitled “Italian Faces” to the school. School Vice-Principal, Tina Timpano helped coordinate the day’s events and spoke of the importance of embracing the community and its diverse culture. “ At St. David’s we encourage our students to learn about each other’s cultures and family histories,” Timpano said. “Through these types of celebrations, we are encouraging equity and inclusivity in our school and in our community – and we are thankful for community partners like Diana Colilli who help us make our celebrations so special for our students.” Students and staff embraced their Italian theme by dressing in green red and white, painting Italian flags on their cheeks, showing slideshows of Italian images and listening to Italian music. Teacher Maria Cimino also helped in the coordination of the day’s event and was thrilled by the students’ enthusiasm. “At St. David’s we really embrace cultural diversity, and our community partners – like the Caruso Club, have really supported our efforts and for that we are very thankful.” Seeing as the entire school enjoyed the day’s events so immensely, the staff has already begun brainstorming for the next culture day at St. David’s.