The HHS Italian Club has brought a little bit of Italy into the high school in October as part of its celebration of Italian-American Heritage month. According to the Committee to Observe October as Italian-American Heritage Month, the purpose of this month is to inform citizens about the impact Italians and Italian-Americans have had, not only on our civilization, but on the arts and sciences as well.
This impact is seen everywhere in the high school this month. The Italian Club had a celebratory breakfast at the beginning of the month and also sold rubber “Italia” bracelets. When you walk into the library you will see a display of many books on Italy, highlighting its history, foods, culture, and cities. As you walk in the hallways, you will see flyers all around giving facts about Italy, its language and heritage. During the final week of October, there will be a trivia contest about the facts of Italy. The winning homeroom will receive a box of Italian pastries. The winner of the Library Media Center’s trivia contest will be drawn on November 1. The lucky raffle winner who knows that the nickname of Rome is “The Eternal City” will win a pizza from Puzo’s Restaurant.
Why October? you might wonder. The month was chosen because Columbus Day is in October. History has recorded that it was Italian citizen, Christopher Columbus, who discovered America. Many Italians may emigrated to this country and brought with them pride in the many accomplishments of their native country. Of course we all know and love Italian food. (Pasta may have come from the Asians but the Italians were the people who introduced it throughout the United States.) We also admire the great art of Italians such as Leonardo da Vinci who painted the famous Mona Lisa (housed in the well-known Louvre Museum in Paris, France.) And of course the scientific discoveries of Italian physicist, mathematician, and astronomer Galileo Galilei form the foundations of modern science.
Italian Club advisor, Marisa Margarucci is happy with the efforts of her students this month, saying, “An understanding of the history and culture of a country is an important part of learning a world language. Focusing on the many contributions by Italians to our culture is a great way to celebrate Italian-American Heritage.”