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Saturday 15 February 2020

Day 5: Our Last Day of School

Today was our last day at Saint John Bosco College. We couldn't believe how quickly this week went by! Here is how our last day went.

Morning

Our last day of school was full of joy but also a little bit of sadness. Some of us followed a different mentor today for our lessons. In the history lesson, we talked about civil rights, what a funny coincidence that this is the same topic that we are learning about at school in Florence. We also went to English class, Religion, Italian, Math, and Science. Today was Valentine's Day so in Italian class, some of us wrote notes to our Valentines. Today in the hallways of the school we saw a lot of students with roses and stuffed Teddy Bears for the holiday. There were also roses for sale at break time for just one pound each to give to your Valentine.

During the morning break we played football, basketball, and table tennis with our new English friends. We talked more about the differences between the school system in Italy and the U.K, and about football, and interest we all have in common. Some guys asked Martina if they could be her Valentine, but only one of them gave her a chocolate.... We had a snack and returned to the lessons.

For lunch we had fish and chips, and it was delicious. After lunch we said goodbye to our tutors and our English friends, it was a special moment. It was very sad and some of us even cried, but we exchanged phone numbers and made a what's app group to keep in touch with them. It was an amazing experience and we look forward two another adventure next year and to greeting our English friends when they come to Florence in October.


Together for our last day at St. John Bosco College!



We said goodbye to our new friends, but we will stay in touch!


Afternoon

 After school we took the bus and the tube to the center of London. First we visited  Trafalgar Square,  where Bianca Maria, Paolo, and Lorenzo presented their research of its history. Then we visited the National Gallery, where we saw a lot of paintings, especially portraits. Every time we saw a bench, we sat down because we were tired! At the gallery, we saw many paintings by Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even a Leonardo da Vinci and a Caravaggio. After the gallery, we visited Saint James Park, where we saw ducks, squirrels, and swans. Matteo, Martina, and Giulio told us about the Park, and James the I who was the first to introduced exotic animals to its grounds. We liked all the different birds. Cecilia was even talking with the ducks and they replied to her!





We spent some time sketching in the National gallery


And we even saw a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci!



Don Francesco took us to "The Mall" where we could see Buckingham Palace in the distance


We were surprised by the beautiful birds in Saint James Park!


Buckingham Palace is a stunner!


Evening 

After Saint James Park, we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus, it was very crowded. Piccadilly Circus is truly beautiful. The first stop we made there was to Hamley's, a seven-storey toy shop. There is even a section where you can make your own Teddy Bear. Sabrina and Francesca took advantage and made their own custom bears. They named their new bears Ben and Jerry after the ice cream! While this was going on, some of the others ate some tasty typical waffles and drank Harry Potter's Butterbeer. Even after all these delicious sweets, we were still hungry so our chaperones took us to dinner at "Shake Shack" where we ate hamburger and French Fries, (or chips as they say in London)!

After our supper, we went to the "M&M Store" where we got so excited by the bright yellow walls and towers of M&Ms!

We seized the opportunity in Piccadilly Circus to go to a souvenir shop. By this time, it was late. We had a full and enjoyable day. We took our last trip on the tube and came back home.


We spoke about Piccadilly Circus, under the angel

    

We visited Hamley's, where we found Queen Elizabeth II, made from Legos!








Thursday 13 February 2020

Day 4: Back to School!

Today the students of the Istituto Salesiano of Florence returned for a full day of classes to Saint John Bosco College. Here is how their day went:

Morning

Today we woke up at 6:30 a.m. and we had breakfast together. This was our last "nutella day" because we at the whole jar that we brought with us and the markets here don't sell it! We went to school and we waited for our tutors in the assembly hall. While we were there, some English students were shouting random Italian words at us... It was really bizarre! They were just excited to have new visitors.

This morning we started school at 8:40 as usual, but we had a new tutor join us. We were able to meet new students and attend different classes with him in our group. Some of us went to religion class others to English lessons, other to gym and others to sociology. We were actively involved in class. In Math we contributed answers to questions about trigonometry and functions. In English, we learned about rhetorical devices and onomatopoeia. In art class, we painted sky landscapes with watercolors, which was a lot of fun. We also got to see all of the awesome artworks of the sixteen students in the class, which were in many different media like collage and paint. They were very elaborate. Then the bell rang: it was break time!


Guendalina following along in Math class this morning.


Afternoon

When we had lunch, we sat and talked to our school friends mostly about sports, like football and basketball. When lunch was over we returned to afternoon classes with our tutors. We went to science class, where we studied physics. Most of us didn't understand many things because we have not covered physics in school yet. Even our teacher found it difficult! We got to explain Newton's laws of physics to our Prof. Luzzi, which was cool; we won't forget this! Later on, we had Italian class taught by Prof. Luzzi where we talked about Valentine's Day in Italian. In the class, something funny happened: one of the boys made a declaration of love to Cecilia (in Italian!). Unfortunately, she said no. He was so upset! But you know... life goes on, so the lesson continued, and our friend with his broken heart had to pay attention to our teacher.

This is how our school day finished. Today was tiring, but it was worth it! We are really enjoying being at the school where we have met a lot of new fantastic people. We feel so lucky to have this opportunity and we are so sad that tomorrow will be our last day of school in London.


Learning new words from mother-tongue speakers in Italian class, and teaching our classmates how to say our favorite phrases!




Professoressa Luzzi teaches Italian vocabulary for emotions to year 7 students at the college.


Lunch is a time for socializing before classes start again!


Evening

After school, we went back home, where we dropped off our backpacks. Then, we stopped at the supermarket to do some shopping for dinner. Afterwards, we went for a walk in our neighborhood (Battersea). On our walk, we saw the Salesian Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a historic place in the neighborhood. We also walked by the Sir Thomas Battersea School, where the royal children Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, and Miss Maud Windsor are currently studying. After our walk we came back home to work on our journal. Don Francesco held a Mass for us, and we got to relax before pitching in for our group dinner. Today was a fantastic day full of emotions, and we are looking forward to what tomorrow brings.



Enjoying a little bit of sun between the rainy spells in London, outside the Church of the Sacred Heart in Battersea.



Sir Thomas Battersea School, where the royals go!


Helping Don Francesco get ready for another group dinner.




Wednesday 12 February 2020

Day 3: Visit to the Science Museum of London

Today we visited the Science Museum with our mentors from Saint John Bosco College. We spent the day "in giro" in London: Here is what we did:

Morning: Science Museum 

This morning our wake-up call was one hour later because of our school trip; that was amazing! We went to school where we met our friends and talked about Italian and British food, comparing them while we waited until it was time to take the bus to the Science Museum, which was really interesting and interactive.

At the museum, we saw lots of interesting things like the history of energy and how it revolutionized our lives. We also learned about the evolution of medicine. We saw historic trains and cars. We played games about who we are and how our brains work. We saw the steam engine invented by James Watt,  anatomical models in the gallery dedicated to medicine, and an armillary sphere that was made in Florence in the section about clocks. There were also really cool interactive games about the human body and outer space, too. For example, we played a game in the medical section in which we played the role of the nurse and had to choose what to do to save digital patients. 

It was a wonderful experience and we were amazed by the discoveries that we made about medical science, and interesting new technologies, including face recognition. 

Before we left, we visited the gift shop, and did some shopping. :) 


Discussing British and Italian sweets in the morning


We are excited to arrive at the Science Museum!


Getting to know our tutors better


Walking through London arm in arm with new friends


Learning about the heart in the Medical Galleries of the Science Museum


Exploring the inside of the human body with an interactive game


Our students and their tutors after our visit to the Science Museum



Afternoon: Natural History Museum and Borough Market

Afterward, we went to the Natural History Museum, where we experienced the simulation of an earthquake. We saw dinosaurs and taxidermy animals there too.

After the museum, we had a group lunch at McDonald's, and we had lots of problems with the order because we aren't so good with technology, even after the Science museum! But at the end everything was okay, and we had lunch in peace. 

Then we took the tube to London Bridge, and when we got out we had our first sighting of "The Shard" by Renzo Piano. Then, we arrived to the magical place that is Borough Market!
First, we bought some sweets and accidentally fed the pigeons when Sabrina was laughing and dropped her brownie! They are fast and hungry! We looked around at all the food stalls. Emanuele even got a lesson in how to make tea properly from a vendor.


Headed to the Center of the Earth at the Natural History Museum


Shaking in an earthquake simulation!


Headed down into the historic Borough Market


It's hard to decide among the many vendors inside the market


Shopping for, and learning about tea!


Our group after snacking our way through Borough Market




Evening: The South Bank and Saint Paul's Cathedral


In the afternoon, we had a walk altogether around the South Bank. We went to the top of the Blavatnik Building of the Tate Modern, where we could see the outstanding London skyline. 

Along the Thames, Francesca and Sabrina spoke to us about the history of the Millenium Bridge, which is near the reconstruction of the Globe Theater. Don Francesco told us about the Theater and Shakespeare in London.

Afterward, we walked over Millenium Bridge and took in the view of Saint Paul's Cathedral. When we arrived there, we sat together and listened to "Feed the Birds," a song from Mary Poppins that talks about the steps of Saint Paul's.

We are really happy to be here, and we are enjoying our stay in London more every day.


The panoramic view from the Tate Modern. We were excited to see "The Shard!"





Francesca and Sabrina did a great job speaking to our group about Millenium Bridge


Don Francesco shares some knowledge about The Globe and the South Bank


Then we crossed the Millenium Bridge!


We took lots of photos



Our last stop was Saint Paul's







Tuesday 11 February 2020

Day 2: First Day of School in London

Today we woke up fresh and ready for Saint John Bosco College and our first day in a British school!
Here is what happened:


Morning

We woke up at 6:30 a.m. Sara had a hard time getting out of her sleeping bag, but once we were up we were not so tired because we were excited for the new adventure. We had breakfast together at 7:30 and we left the house at 8:00. When we arrived at the College, we met our tutors. Some of them were Italian though they live and go to school in London. What a surprise! With them, we toured the school, which is much bigger than ours. It is like schools in films with different classrooms for each subject. There are three floors and garden, or schoolyard. The gym is enormous, and on the second floor there is a small chapel where students can assemble. We gathered there for a morning prayer. 

After the tour we followed our tutors to their first lesson. We had a lot of fun because some of the students were especially welcoming. 


Early breakfast together. We are ready for school!


Arrival to Saint John Bosco College, checking in!


We are greeted by Gaia, who tells us about the day ahead.


Camilla gave us a tour, and we finished our tour in the Chapel with a prayer.


Some of us had physical education for our first lesson.


In the morning, students take a short break and get fresh air. We took the opportunity to talk to our mentor, Daniel.

Cecilia and Sveva's mentor introduced them to her friends, who are learning Italian!


After break, we learned about the EAL (English as an Additional Language) program; more then 50% of the students at the College have English as their second language, like us.



Afternoon

When we arrived at the school canteen, we were super surprised that there were a lot of people there already. At lunch we met a lot of new friends and we had a lot of interesting conversations about the school, and life in London.  For example, we learned that the school is divided into four houses, and each house has a captain. They have something called "form class" where students have fun quizzes and time to talk and laugh. At lunch, one thing that we noticed is that London in full of different cultures. 

After lunch we spilt into our groups for lessons. One group went to the music class. They played the piano. They learned to play songs from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter. Cecilia played Star Wars for the class, and Manuele and Alessio talked to the music teacher. Another group went to Physics class. They spoke about the force of gravity. For some of us, it was our first time learning physics. For The last hour all of the high school students had Spanish together, and it was so funny that the teacher was Italian! We can't wait to see the students again tomorrow. 


We had to line up for lunch and find seats, luckily our mentor Ivan showed us the way.


Louis and Daniel have lunch with our high school students in the cafeteria.




Manuele and Sveva follow along brilliantly in Math.



Students enjoying time to play the keyboard in Music class. Cecilia even had a solo performance!



Evening

After school we went for a walk around Battersea, and we bought some snacks at the supermarket. We also saw Albert Bridge and took some photos there. Fortunately, it was sunny and windy; in fact with this good weather we had the possibility to enjoy our walk. After that, we came back home and we were given an hour to rest. We also celebrated a beautiful mass using Shakespeare's words in the chapel. Finally, we ate dinner which we prepared together at the Salesian House.

Today was a wonderful day full of new experiences and emotions. We discovered that the British school system is different from the Italian school system. In fact, you have to change classes after each lesson while in Italy you have to stay in the same class for the whole day. Our mentors were very kind and friendly. Some were very helpful because they could translate to us if we didn't understand. It was inspiring to see Italian students succeeding in an English school.


We enjoyed a walk in the neighborhood, Battersea.