Italian Students Celebrate Carnival

Mr. Leo’s third year Italian classes prepared masks as they readied for their own carnival celebration.  At the end of the Christian celebration of Epiphany, Italy celebrates Carnival in preparation for the Christian season of Lent.  The most distinctive characteristics of the festival are the elaborate costumes and masks people use.  In class students researched the culture of Carnival, including the traditional making of the masks.  Then they designed and created masks of their own.  Click https://www.flickr.com/photos/dmps_academy/sets/72157650853000396/ to see pictures of the masks they created.  Students wore the masks they created from their own passions and interests in class on February 13.  The masks included feathers, gemstones, paint, and paper mache perfectly molded to the wearer’s face.  Students from all the Italian classes voted on their favorite “maschera” and the winner was awarded the prize of Most Beautiful Mask.  This was a fantastic day at Academy for Italian students as they continue the long tradition of bringing the Italian language and the Italian culture to life in the classroom!