Excited and nervous was the school for the big event! Chaos in the corridors and classrooms, where the students and staff were trying to make everything impeccable.
The week before, all the students had been assigned specific roles in making this day a success. One of them was decorating the classrooms where Sara was in charge, but we all contributed to this and tried our best by helping her. Together, we created abstract designs which spoke about peace, harmony, diversity and love.
Sithis managed the buffet and Oliveira handled the photos and videos. We (Elisabetta and Farah) took care of the school tour by showing the guests around and explaining to them how the school functions.
At 12 PM, it was time for all the guests to arrive. The Mayor of Oderzo Maria Scardellato, along with the Senator Franco Conte and the councilor of Veneto Region Pietro Dalla Libera, were requested to inaugurate our school by cutting the ribbon which was in the colours of the Italian flag (green, white and red). Honoured and proud we all were at that moment. Not being Italians but feeling as if we were a big family.
Soon after, we were seated at the library where the speeches were being addressed. We listened to the speeches of the head of GSO school Giordano Casonato, who focused on the students and the importance of education, the director of Brandolini school Don Massimo, and the public authorities. Closing the speeches was Kim Philot, who is our IB coordinator and English teacher.
We enjoyed so much her speech: first of all, it was in English, whereas the others were in Italian. It was tough for Farah, Oliveira and Sithis to understand them. Secondly, her speech was awesome because she said true things such as “all the teachers are here to teach, but also to learn as the students do every day.”
After that moment full of emotion, both for students and for GSO staff, we had a little buffet with a lot of delicious food. Then, all the guests were invited to the school tour that we led. We had a lot of fun doing it and speaking with the guests: we spoke about our school daily routine and showed them the whole building, the technological stuff such as the projectors and the wall whiteboards where you can write on.
At 1.30 PM, we had lunch with the whole GSO staff, to celebrate the day and to spend time together.
It was a day truly full of emotions for everyone. We were, and still are, very proud to be part of this community and we hope everything will go on the right way.
Elisabetta Casonato and Farah Minwalla
GSO students