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CAVALLO CAPERS

Nadia and her puppet Pinocchio travel around Italy and also celebrate Christmas Italian Style
An Italian Adventure and An Italian Christmas Adventure have been popular in classrooms, showing through film and photos the places which for so long Nadia had shown her students through books. Add a little mischief from Pinocchio and you have a great resource.

• The DVD is approximately 1 hour of footage from around Italy.
• The Resource Book which accompanies the DVDs  enhance  teaching. It includes the words to all songs, colouring activities, art and drama activities, quizzes, in fact everything you need at your fingertips. 

Introducing ULPA
Dear Colleagues,
Languages and Cultures network for Australian Universities (LCNAU) has been delighted to be supporting the OLT-funded project to establish a national languages portal. University Languages Portal Australia was launched at the LCNAU Colloquium in November, and from the feedback received already, we know this will be a welcome resource for both the secondary and tertiary sectors. Indeed, ULPA is a fantastic tool for language teachers and students alike, enabling users to find out which languages are taught at which universities in Australia, along with information on cross-institutional enrolment, whether languages can be studied online and the value of learning languages. While ULPA focuses particularly on languages offered at beginner level, information is also included for secondary students keen to continue on with their language studies at university. The little animation below gives an introduction to what ULPA has to offer.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPIjgQal_Y

​The ULPA project team would be very grateful if you could assist in dissemination and promotion of the site, as well as providing feedback on areas for improvement. The following would be particularly helpful:

• Spend time looking through the site (ulpa.edu.au) and send through any comments via the 'Contact' page;
• Let people know about ULPA by circulating the attached flyer to schools, careers advisers and secondary school students;
• Share the link to the YouTube video on your website or Facebook page. 
• "Like" the ULPA facebook page
• Add a link to ULPA (ulpa.edu.au) from your institution's/association's webpage and/or share it from relevant Facebook pages.

We are sure that you'll find ULPA a valuable resource in encouraging students to learn - or continue learning - languages.

Best wishes,
Dr Anya Lloyd-Smith
On behalf of the LCNAU Committee and the ULPA Project Team

ATOOSA Nooralizadeh Asl is on her way to becoming a brain surgeon thanks to a scholarship giving refugee students educational opportunities in Australia.

The Year 11 student is one of nine Prairiewood High School pupils students with specific educational needs or talents awarded Public Education Foundation and NSW Youth Housing scholarships.

“I find the information very hard to recognise so my results are not what I have been used to,” Atoosa, who received The Friends of Zainab Scholarship, said.

“The scholarship is helping me to hire a physics tutor who teaches me in a small group so I can keep up and a maths teacher who teaches only me at my pace.”

Atoosa would like to study medicine at university and become a brain surgeon.

Lauren Canta was told to start packing her bags for Italy, after receiving The Mamma Lena and Dino Gustin Foundation Scholarship.

The Year 11 student will travel to Rome in December for a six-week intensive Italian language course through EF International.

“Learning Italian at school is really difficult because I’m learning it via correspondence,” Lauren said.
“I can speak it a little bit but going to Italy is going to help a lot with my HSC.”
The scholarships will provide life changing experiences for young people in public education.
Without the extra help, the students may struggle to reach their full potential.
“We have many students of low socio-economic backgrounds which lessen their ability to be competitive in Australian society on many levels,” student mentor and teacher Denise Smith said.
“The scholarships acknowledge the extent to which the students are prepared to strive and give them a chance.”

■ Medical: Jarita Lay and Anne Chung
■ Pinpoint: Vanessa Tran
■ Refugee: Atoosa Nooralizadeh Asl
■ Italy: Lauren Canta
■ NSW Youth Housing: Ayisha Ali, Landon Cao, Dean Vassalli and Jacob Scott

Fairfield Advance - June 21, 2014.

Francesca Smith said she originally wanted to learn to speak Italian so she could talk to her Italian relatives.

The year 11 Wade High student now has the opportunity of a lifetime - an all expenses paid trip to Rome for a six-week intensive language course.

Francesca, who has an Italian background, was only one of two students' statewide to be awarded the Mamma Lina and Dino Gustin Foundation Scholarship, set up to encourage students to learn Italian.

She was flown to Sydney last week to be a part of the Public Education Foundation Awards night at the city's town hall where students from throughout NSW and the ACT were recognised for their high academic achievement.

Francesca's Italian teacher Katrina Wolfenden admits to being a little bit jealous of her student's incredible opportunity.

"It was open for people in all NSW and ACT who were going to study Italian in year 11 and Francesca was good enough to beat all of them," she said. "It's so good that Francesca was able to win it from a country public high school."

To win the award, Francesca not only had to achieve good report cards, but also make a significant contribution to the life of the school and participate in extra curricular activities.

She was also required to demonstrate a strong interest in the language and culture of Italy and prove she was keen to study Italian in the HSC and possibly beyond.

"I wrote a recommendation as well and chatted to other teachers to see if they would support that and the Principal had to write a support statement too," Ms Wolfenden said.

Along with the scholarship, Francesca receives a range of Italian textbooks and a Lenovo laptop.

Francesca couldn't hold back her excitement about the trip, which starts in December.

"I can't wait to see how different things are; it's my first trip overseas so I'm looking forward to learning about the culture," she said.

Francesca will stay with a host family for the duration of her time in Italy and will also have the opportunity for some sightseeing on the weekends.

The other scholarship recipient, who will accompany Francesca to italy, is from Prairiewood High School in Sydney.