With the school smashing records in terms of the number of high achievers for Italian, the Brunswick centre and Distance Education program were the clear standouts.
In 2021, 62 per cent of Year 12 Italian students at VSL Brunswick (eight out of 13 students) and 41 per cent of students in the Distance Education program (12 out of 29) received a score of between 40 and 50.
The state average for Italian stands at 6 per cent.
Adriano Morandini (Distance Education) and Amelie Portis (VSL Brunswick) became the two highest scoring students for VCE Italian in Victoria, both receiving a perfect score of 50.
Italian coordinator at VSL Distance Education, Rosa Vitelli, said the students’ achievements are all the more admirable considering that many of them do not have Italian heritage or speak the language at home.
“Both at VSL Brunswick and Distance Education, the Year 12 classes welcomed hard-working students from many diverse ethnic backgrounds, including Egyptian, Australian, African, Fijian, Vietnamese and Serbian,” Vitelli added.
“One thing all of our students have in common is their love and passion for the Italian language and culture, and their desire to keep this rich culture alive in Australia.”
Year 12 Italian teacher at VSL Brunswick, Giulia Tomat, echoed this sentiment, praising her students for their motivation, hard work and enthusiasm.
“The majority of students displayed a high level of maturity and diligence, completing Year 12 Italian while still in Year 11,” Tomat said.
A government school dedicated to the provision of language programs for Victorian students who do not have access to the study of those languages in their mainstream schools, VSL constantly produces high-performing students of Italian thanks to the dedication of its teachers.
Area manager at VSL Brunswick, Vanda Matruglio, said many of the high-achieving students at Brunswick have attended Italian classes there since they were young children, allowing them to form strong relationships with their teachers and the school.
“Saturday morning Italian classes have become a part of life for our students and, in many cases, teachers and peers represent an extension of their own family,” Matruglio added.
Meanwhile, students in the Distance Education program receive one-on-one tuition with their teacher, allowing for a learning path tailored to each individual student’s needs.
With devoted teachers such as Vitelli and Enzo Calati at their disposal, Year 12 students were supported right up until their final exams, regardless of the physical distance.
“Last year saw the Distance Education team abandon the telephone and adopt the Microsoft Teams platform for all face-to-face communication,” Vitelli said.
“This platform made language learning more real and often sessions went well over the allocated time, simply because of student enthusiasm and the rapport that was established between teacher and student.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a tumultuous situation for schools over the past two years, VSL has managed to adapt and continue to shape highly successful students with a passion for Italian language and culture.
“Last year represented a watershed in the adoption of new teaching technology and methodology,” Vitelli concluded.
“We hope that as life returns to normal, we will be able to preserve and enhance many of the technological gains made in 2021.
“As language educators, our main goal, however, is to continue to encourage students of Italian ancestry to keep their language and culture alive and to introduce students from all other backgrounds to the rich Italian language and cultural heritage.”
