On the last day of the Spring term, six Year 12 Italian A level students went to the Oxford Literary Festival with Mrs Stewart and Ms Jennings to hear an interview with Alessandro D’Avenia.

Alessandro D’Avenia is a best-selling Italian author from Palermo, Sicily, also a secondary school teacher in Milan. His first book, Bianca come il latte, rossa come il sangue (White as milk, red as blood), has been translated into 23 different languages and made into a film. At the festival he was presenting his third book, Ciò che inferno non è, which has recently been published in an English translation, What hell is not.

The author was interviewed by Oxford lecturer and tutor at Keble College, Teresa Franco. Alessandro began by reading a passage in Italian and then in English, choosing to focus on the moment when his RE teacher and local priest, Don Pino Puglisi, lay dying in the road after being shot by the Mafia. Alessandro works through the five regrets most people have when they die. Exceptionally, Don Pino had none of these regrets. He died with a smile on his face and even compassion for his attackers. He understood the community, Brancaccio, in Sicily, where they grew up. He understood the “hell” of growing up in the stranglehold of the Mafia. He had devoted everything to loving the children and their families there in an attempt to show them a different way of living, or “what hell is not”. Alessandro was drawn into the community when Don Pino invited him, then a 17-year old boy, to come and lend a hand in running activities for the children during his summer holiday. What hell is not is Alessandro’s portrayal of his own story and his encounters with Don Pino. The inspirational teacher and priest is the reason Alessandro himself became a teacher.

Throughout the interview our students had the excellent side-benefit of listening to the beautiful music of the Italian language being spoken, testing their own comprehension and then listening to the translation given by the interpreters. It was a fascinating insight into this linguistic skill and process.

The content of the reading and discussion was very moving and thought-provoking. Our Head Girl, Grace Bacon, had already read the English translation before attending. She said “I haven’t been this engrossed in a book in a long time!” and is now reading the original in Italian. Other students bought the book following the interview, and were treated to a personal book-signing and chat with our new favourite Italian author!

Reasons for Alessandro D’Avenia’s success include the real-life experiences and questions he addresses in his books, classic and classical themes and stories he weaves into his work, and his heart for young people. Indeed his first three books all focus on a (different) teenage main character, navigating relatable personal issues in their secondary school years. These first three books are: Bianca come il latte, rossa come il sangue (available in an English translation entitled: White as silence, red as song ), Cose che nessuno sa (Things nobody knows) and Ciò che inferno non è (What hell is not). They are all available from The Italian Bookshop or Amazon, and I would wholeheartedly recommend each, whether or not you are studying Italian!

There will be some adult readers who have studied Italian, perhaps with Enrica Loi, and I know she would give her recommendation also. We discussed the publication of this third book and the town of Palermo, Sicily, where it is set, when she was still working at Presdales. You will also enjoy using your Italian to read the column Alessandro D’Avenia writes every Monday for the Corriere della Sera. Find it online directly, or via my weekly retweet if you follow my Italian Twitter account, @presdaliani.

So much to enjoy with la dolce lingua!

Ms Jennings

On Wednesday the 7th of March, a group of seven Year 10 girls travelled to Savoy’s Place in London for the Industrial Cadet Awards Ceremony. The team consisted of: Ayesha, Becca, Amelia, Phi, Talitha, Saidhriti and Evie. In the summer term of 2017, three Presdales groups participated in a regional competition (sponsored by GSK) where each team had to prepare a ten week project about worldwide issues e.g. energy resources. Each group had to prepare a team report about their project, a model of their idea and a presentation for the judges. Every participant received a nationally recognised bronze Industrial Cadet Award, for their hard work and contribution to the project. My team, Presdales Brilliance, chose the topic ‘Our Healthy School’ and created a website from scratch entitled ‘Think Aloud’. In the regional stage of the competition, our team won the award for Best Overall Project and so had the opportunity to meet the other regional winners from around the country.

Our team chose to focus the project on mental health as we believe it plays a fundamental role in our wellbeing, as well as having an important effect on our academic performance, which we thought was very relevant to students our age. The website is full of helpful information to spread awareness about mental health and what it is, as well as blog posts centred on a focus of the week, helplines, calming music and links to informative videos. The main aspect of our website is that it combines professionally sourced advice as well as personal experiences, in a way that is student friendly and enjoyable to read. Our website was made by students, for students and so we believe that Think Aloud is the perfect combination of professional and personal. Our aim is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and promote its importance in a way that encourages people to discuss it. Our motto, ‘think allowed, think aloud’ says exactly this: we want to express that everyone should openly talk about and explore mental health and our website helps do just that. We chose to create a website in particular as it is easily accessible, can be constantly updated, has a low carbon footprint and is extremely cost-efficient.

After travelling through London, we arrived at Savoy Place and began to set up our display board. Throughout the day, our team had the opportunity to meet industry bodies through networking and promoting our project as well as meeting other winners and learning more about their projects and ideas. We also sat in on the awards ceremony to listen to speeches by the Prince of Wales and industry CEOs, encouraging young people to take up careers in STEM. As well as this, we each answered a recorded interview question regarding our Industrial Cadet experience. What I think was the highlight of the day was getting to have a private interview with His Royal Highness Prince Charles: we were one of two groups who had the opportunity to do this! We were asked questions about our project, our Industrial Cadet journey and plans for the future. Each member answered the questions confidently and we had all perfected our royal curtseys! After lunch, our group also attended an engineering and science lecture by special guest, Johnny Ball, who gave us an insight into some particularly interesting examples of engineering in action in today’s world.

Our team is planning on completing our silver Industrial Cadet Award, where we plan to incorporate the website into school life at Presdales; perhaps promoting it through assemblies, for use in form times or at home. I also plan on consulting the rest of the school council on their ideas on how to integrate Think Aloud into our school. In the future we are also considering developing a Think Aloud app and social media presence in order to further reach out to teenagers and improve accessibility.

I believe that the variety and diversity in our team was one of the main reasons that we worked so well as a unit; we could have rich discussions and make well informed decisions. From this experience, I have most definitely learnt knew skills: networking, teamwork and decision making, and the journey has inspired me to extend my scientific knowledge and experience and go into a STEM career in the future. Personally, the Industrial Cadet experience has allowed me to develop key skills that I have built during my time at Presdales. For instance, public speaking, opportunities like this and the Mock Trial in year 9 have really helped me grow these kinds of skills that will be vital for success in later life.

On behalf of my team, I would like to give a huge thanks to our GSK mentors, Steph and Kaye, for all of their guidance and advice through the journey, as well as Ms Walsh and Mrs Barnes for their help in getting us to London. Not to mention, Ms Walsh’s hard work behind the scenes to allow our team this opportunity of a lifetime!

Ayesha (Year 10)

I am very fortunate to have been able to go on the German trip, it was a great experience. I loved waking up every morning and looking forward to the fun filled day ahead. It was very interesting to learn about Germany’s culture. I also enjoyed spending time with my friends and meeting new teachers. Isabelle Gardiner (Year 9)

I had a really great time in Germany. One of my favourite parts was going on the river cruise. We travelled up the River Rhine. Inside the boat, we were served hot chocolate and cake! It was so nice as the temperature outside was about -2 degrees and we were all very cold! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Holly Yeoman (Year 8)

On Thursday morning we travelled to K?ln. We went to the Lindt factory. It had three floors you could see the chocolate being made and then heard about the history of the chocolate. On one floor there was a large chocolate fountain and you could dip wafers in it. Finally we went to the shop and bought presents for our family and friends. Freya Chandler (Year 8)

The Germany Trip 2017 was amazing! We experienced lots of different things, like their beautiful Christmas markets. Despite the cold, winter weather, I had so much fun going around trying new foods and buying little souvenirs. We also did activities such as going to a cathedral in K?ln which was the largest most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. However, my favourite part of the trip was when we went to Phantasia Land. Phantasia Land is a big theme park with lots of different rides, including the fastest one in Europe! I had never been on a roller-coaster before, it was thrilling! We also went to see a spectacular light show; it was the best firework display I have ever seen! I would really recommend this trip and, if I could, I would do it all over again. Maisie Pryke (Year 8)

I loved Germany! It was fantastic, especially Phantasia Land. It was so fun. I went on the FASTEST ROLLERCOASTER IN EUROPE! It was scary but the adrenaline rush was definitely worth it. It swung you upside down, round and round. I’m not really sure how many loop the loops I did – I had my eyes closed the whole time. I loved the Lindt factory – the Germans sure do know what they’re doing with chocolate. The chocolate fountain was delish! Kirsty Thomson (Year 8)

On the trip we visited Cologne Cathedral. The building was amazing. It was so tall. 515ft to be precise. What surprised me was that even after two wars, it was still amazing. I really liked the stained glass windows as they were bright and colourful and didn’t stick to a certain theme like other cathedrals. Outside the cathedral were the Christmas markets. There were loads of stalls selling different things. Even though it was cold and started snowing we still managed to get loads of shopping done. I really enjoyed the trip because we did lots of fun activities. Amelia Gilmartin-Smith (Year 8)