Mercoledì 21

Well, the packing is nearly done at school. One day to go before school finishes. The Australian flag and various renditions of "Advance Australia Fair" have arrived from my federal member Duncan Kerr to take to Italy along with the Tasmanian Devil posters so appropriately entitled "Spirit of the Wild" from National Parks and Wildlife. This dreadful, cancerous affliction decimating our devil numbers will be a major focus of my presentations to Italian schools when discussing our flora and fuana. It is something close to my heart and it is very upsetting to realise that such an intriguing and complex animal could share the same fate as the Tasmanian Tiger. It always gives me a great deal of pride and pleasure to showcase our beautiful state in other countries.

I also have Gummy the Koala Beanie Bear and Pingui the Penguin accompanying me on my trip thanks to the advice of some enthusiastic younger members of our school. It was also a major highlight of our week in Unit 4 at Illawarra Primary School to receive a package of postcards, images, magazines(Azzurro, la tua rivista d´Italiano), video clips made by the students and of course the whimsical Diddle from Davide and his students in Campo Tures in Northern Italy. We have been exchanging mail this year and hope to strengthen our students' friendships and knowledge of both cultures. In term 1 next year we will be presenting an Italian expo at Illawarra Primary School to the local community including plays by students in unit 4, film clips, posters and games. The above winter image (Angioletto nella neve) taken in Campo Tures is courtesy of Davide.