As part of their World Language Week, Walt Whitman High School was honored to welcome the Consul General of Italy in New York, Fabrizio Di Michele. Signor Di Michele was taken on a tour of Whitman and visited an AP Italian class and an Italian 3 class, along with Dr. Daniele Castellani, the Italian Consulate’s Education Office Director, and Dr. Berardo Paradiso, president of the Italian American Committee on Education (IACE) on Thursday, March 13th.

For the last several years, Dr. Paradiso and IACE have worked with South Huntington in securing a grant from the Italian government that helps fund our district’s Italian language programs.  Board of Education President Nicholas Ciappetta explained that the grant money has been used “for materials and the curriculum at Whitman, Stimson, and Silas Wood with the goal of really keeping the Italian language alive in the schools, and promoting and growing it. We wanted to show him how our Italian classes are operating and what they're learning.” 

In addition to their classroom visits, our special guests got to observe classes in science research, cybersecurity, and automotive technology. Signor Di Michele was very impressed with the high school and even commented, “I would like to study here.” 

In the Italian classes, Signor Di Michele conversed with our students in his native language.  He was happy to see that they were not only learning about Italian grammar but also Italian pop music, art, and holiday celebrations.  “It’s a nice way to also learn the culture. And I explained to [the students] that they are lucky because learning languages opens up your mind and makes you a citizen of the world,” said Signor Di Michele. 

He noted that it also helps families in our district with Italian ancestry to identify with their past. “It’s a way for them to reconnect with their parents’ or grandparents’ or great-grandparents’  country and discover their cultural origin,” said Signor De Michele. “So for us, it's very important to support this process, but we also promote the Italian language as an instrument to get to know Italy better.” 

The Consul General’s hope is that knowledge of the language and culture leads to more travel to Italy - which is exactly what a group of Whitman students did during the February break.  Accompanied by Ms. Honovich and Ms. Costanza, they visited Florence, Pisa, Verona, Venice, Asisi, and Rome.  Saluti!

The Consul General of Italy in New York, Fabrizio Di Michele, along with Dr. Daniele Castellani and Dr. Berardo Paradiso, received a tour of Walt Whitman High School from principal John Murphy.

Signor Di Michele and guests visited classes in science research, cybersecurity, and automotive technology.

Whitman’s Italian visitors were impressed by the 600 gallon state-of-the-art reef tank that the high school students use for a number of different independent research opportunities.

Mrs. Stefanelli-Fasano welcomed Whitman’s Italian visitors and district administrators to give them an idea of a typical day in AP Italian.

Signor Di Michele conversed with some of the students in the Italian classes he visited and learned more about what they were learning, both about the language and the culture.

During the 2025 February break, Whitman students along with Ms. Honovich and Ms. Costanza visited Florence, Pisa, Verona, Venice, Asisi, and Rome.