In Muggio
Wednesday 11th November dawned bright and early for Mrs Cooper and Miss Steele who, by the time you were getting up, were already winging their way across Europe en route to our partner school in Muggio, near the city of Milan in Italy. This was part of our Comenius project, Preserving Our Worlds, funded by the British Council’s Lifelong Learning Programme.
During the 5 days they stayed in Monza, famous for the Royal Palace and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and they had the opportunity to explore the quaint cobbled streets and admire the architecture, although they found the shopping a little rich for their tastes (and wallets).
They were officially hosted by Casati Primary School but also visited a newly refurbished nursery school (3-6 yrs) and a middle school (11-14yrs) which are under the same administration. As well as visiting the classrooms the teachers were entertained with traditional songs and dances including the Tarantella, and also enjoyed a wonderful meal hosted by the parents. In Italy pupils begin to learn English in the first class (aged 6-7 yrs) and the teachers were impressed by how well even the first and second classes could converse with them.
The teachers also sampled a little Italian culture with a visit to Leonardo Da Vinci’s fresco of the Last Supper and a night at the spectacular La Scala Opera House, to see the ballet, Giselle.
The next part of the project comparing local produce and so on the last day we travelled to the region around Lake Garda to see how olives were grown, harvested and turned into olive oil before visiting a vineyard and winery. Next term pupils from all the countries will exchange story boards on the journey of their local products, from field to plate, and their favourite recipes will be compiled into a special European recipe book.