MELBOURNE – For one day, St Anne’s Primary School in Sunbury was decked out in green, white and red, transforming its classrooms and grounds into a journey through Italy.

On Friday 31 July, students and teachers celebrated Italian Day, an event dedicated to Italian language and culture that complements the school’s Italian language program, introduced three years ago.

Above all, the day was designed to give students an opportunity to engage with the language and culture in a fun and interactive way, taking learning beyond the traditional classroom. Costumes, music, games, creative activities and, of course, Italian food filled a busy program, giving children the chance to discover different aspects of Italian culture and traditions.

From early in the morning, there was a festive atmosphere throughout the school. Some students arrived dressed in Italian-inspired outfits and costumes, while others opted for the colours of the Italian flag, turning the schoolyard into a sea of green, white and red.

Among the most popular activities was a game closely associated with Italian tradition: bocce. Students competed in a series of tournaments, putting their accuracy and concentration to the test while discovering a pastime with ancient origins.

Creativity, meanwhile, took centre stage in the classrooms. Using modelling clay, the children tried their hand at making different shapes and varieties of fresh pasta. It was a simple and original way to explore one of the most recognisable elements of Italian food culture, turning it into a hands-on activity that even the youngest students could enjoy.

A piece of the history of Italian migration to Australia was also brought into the school through Emilio Ela Rose’s Ciao Italia incursion.

The activity took students on a journey back to the 1950s and ’60s, when thousands of Italians arrived in Australia, bringing with them everyday objects, customs, food, music and dances that were still relatively unfamiliar in the country at the time.

It was an opportunity to teach a new generation not only about Italy, but also about the contribution Italian migrants made to Australian society and how traditions once regarded as new or unusual gradually became part of everyday Australian life.

There was also plenty of enthusiasm for the games organised in the classrooms. Using a pizza box, students created a miniature soccer field and then tried to score a goal by blowing a ping-pong ball through a straw.

Just as entertaining was the “wool spaghetti” challenge, in which students had to thread strands of wool through pictures of the school principal’s and deputy principal’s mouths.

Students also drew some of Italy’s best-known landmarks, from Rome’s Colosseum to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, giving them another way to explore the country’s artistic and architectural heritage.

And, of course, no celebration of Italy would have been complete without its food. At lunchtime, students and teachers enjoyed pizza prepared by local restaurant VICS, with some unable to resist going back for a second slice.

Organised by Italian teacher Carlo D’Amico with the support of the wider school community, Italian Day brought learning and fun together, giving St Anne’s students an experience that was very different from an ordinary school day.

After three years of learning Italian, the event also offered students a chance to bring what they have learnt in class to life and to discover that a language carries much more than words: it tells the story of a culture, its history and its traditions.