Rachel's prima scuola. Three, four, and five year olds attend here before moving over to the Elementary building. If Paul is potty trained by September, he will get to go here also! The teachers tell me they are already prepared for him now that they have had Rachel. I think they are in for a surprise. : ) note: fattoria is a farm, not a factory
Well, school is out here in Italy except those grades that are taking exams, which just so happens to be Peter and Jessica. Jess will be taking her written and oral examinations on the 12-19th of June and they are quite difficult for her since everything is in Italian. She has received a lot of help from the teachers and from her tutor. In addition to their written tests, the students have an oral exam in which they stand up in front of the board of teachers and just get asked random questions from the things they have learned throughout the year. Jessica has been given extra help, because they have given her specific topics which they will question her on. She is going to have to understand the questions and be able to respond in Italian, so she is working really hard. Peter has all oral exams, except that his teachers are asking him questions in English and he is allowed to answer in English. It is still difficult because his books are all in Italian. Nicole has done well and will be passed to the next grade as will Rachel. The schools here end with a big production either dramatic or musical. Jessica's class did a full on opera! And Peter's school did a huge 3 hour production filled with songs and dances in Neopolitan dialect. Their grand finale was the song "Oh sole mio" which is an old Neopolitan love song. Pavoratti sung it many times, and Peter is going to be singing it this Thursday at our Ward Talent Show, so I'll be sure to get that on tape for the blog! Unfortunately, I lost my camera and was unable to capture any of Jessica's or Peter's 
performances, but I borrowed a digital camera from my friend to get some of Rachel's graduation from Kindergarten. Hope you enjoy the pictures! I loved the performances so much and in typical mom fashion had real difficulty keeping back the tears!! (I'm such a baby, I cry anytime my kids perform!) 
performances, but I borrowed a digital camera from my friend to get some of Rachel's graduation from Kindergarten. Hope you enjoy the pictures! I loved the performances so much and in typical mom fashion had real difficulty keeping back the tears!! (I'm such a baby, I cry anytime my kids perform!) Rachel played an antico farm woman for her first parts, and a cow for some others. Here you see her dressed as half cow, half farmwoman with her friends in between performances.
This is Rachel running away from the director of the elementary program after receiving her diploma. She was so fast and it was so crowded, I couldn't get a shot of her actually receiving the diploma!
7 comments:
Oh wow, I love it! Good luck on your finals, Jess and Peter! You two are very intelligent and capable, so I have no doubt that you'll do wonderfully. Congratulations Rachel and Nicole on passing to another grade! That is awesome, you two :)
Paul, it's time to man up and ditch diapers ;) We want you speaking Italian by the time you're back in the states.
Denise, what excellent Italian :) You need to write more in Italian, and we'll all try to guess what it is you're saying. lol.
Denise,
Did you end up making or buying the "farmer-girl" outfit that Rachel is wearing? It is super cute, and she is super-cute in it!
Good Luck Jess and Peter! I know how nerve racking it may be but just do the best you can and it will be over in a week and you can enjoy your summer!
Love you all!
Becky
p.s. You guys need to go to the Ercolaneum soon. I talked with a MD who went to Italy around the same time I was there and he said it is better than Pompeii. More well preserved frescos and mosaics!!
What an exciting time for you all. I hope you can look back and be proud of your progress. (I know I am proud of you!) I think Rachel looks like such a cute euro farmer. Thanks for the cute pics, and I'm sad I missed the opera (how impressive.)
I love the pictures and the video!
I'm sure Peter and Jess will do fine in their exams!
Sorry I haven't kept up on my brother's trip, but we've spent this last week getting everything ready and spotless for pictures and ready for people to come see our condo.
I hope my brother wrote to you, he told me he would. He was really thankful for all the help you were willing to give him, but in the end he thought it would be better to change plans and go to Rome instead of Napoli. Anyway, thanks again for all the help!
Camilla, I'm soo sorry that those dates didn't work out. It just so happened that the only 3 days we were gone were the days he would be here. Please tell him that we would be happy to try it again if he ever gets another chance. Looks like we will be in Rome at the same time...but I doubt we'd see each other since we will be in the mission home the whole time with the youth conference.
Wow, what productions! Amazing that they put on operas in high school. Congrats to everyone and good luck to those who haven't finished their exams yet. You're all doing so well!
That is so cool! Good job kiddos! I wish I could have been there, an opera?! Next time you write in italian, translate (there are some of us who don't have any knowledge of foreign languages, me) Keep up the hard work everyone!
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