Laurier Senior students meet Italian delegation on cultural exchange ‘The intent is to start some sort of dialogue,’ says former principal Mirarchi
Published June 16, 2010 By Martin C. Barry • NEWSFIRST
Photo: Martin C. Barry
Students from Italy and from Laurier Senior High School get to know each other a
little better outside a Laurier
Senior classroom.
Students of Italian heritage completing their last year at Laurier Senior High School welcomed a delegation of officials and students from Italy last month, as part of a three-day cultural exchange to promote dialogue and multicultural understanding.
Film school students
About 20 high school and college students from three schools in Italy were accompanied on the trip by more than a dozen teachers and administrators. The Italian students are currently enrolled in programs at the Federico Fellini school of cinema in Turin, a technology institute near Rome, and a college in Reggio Calabria. The exchange with the film school was considered especially interesting since many Laurier Senior students are interested in pursuing careers in the arts.
“Yesterday we went to the Parliament,” said Giovanna Giordano, president of the Comitato Italiani all’Estero, an Italian cultural organization which promotes the language and traditions of Italy, as she recounted a trip the students took to Quebec City to visit the National Assembly. Since about 85 per cent of the student population at Laurier Senior High is of Italian origin, “everybody here got very excited” when the possibility of an exchange came up, said the school’s principal Nick Primiano.
Many Italians
“I think this a great idea, a cultural exchange,” he added. “There’s also the possibility of our students visiting Italy later on. Possibly next year. But for now, this is to have the students from Italy experience what a day is like at a school like ours in Canada. The whole idea is to form partnerships with educators from other countries. This is a network exchange.”
Saverio Mirarchi, a former mathematics teacher and principal at Laurier Senior High, who helped coordinate the logistics of the trip, said, “The intent is to start some sort of dialogue.” Mirarchi, whose family roots are in Reggio Calabria where many of the Italian students were from, gave an emotional speech in English, French and Italian. “It was particularly moving for me,” he said. “We have far-reaching roots in this school and are very happy that this occurred. The intent here is for students to enjoy a beautiful educational experience and to see new horizons.”
