FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com october 16, 2014 • The Courier sun 43 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICIANS FROM ST. FRANCIS PREP TOUR LONDON WITH FAMILIES AND PREP CHAPLAIN, FR. BILL SWEENEY On June 30th, 101 members of the St. Francis Prep Music Department - students, teachers, staff, parents, siblings, and even grandparents - embarked on a three-concert tour of London, England. In addition to their own performances, Prep’s largest touring group ever experienced all that London has to offer, old and new, at sights such as Westminster Abbey, The Globe Theater, and the Tower of London. We were even treated to a performance of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. But perhaps the most unique part of the trip was our visit to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studios where we were able to immerse ourselves in the “wizarding world!” Given we are a faith-based community, we attended Evensong at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a private Sunday Mass celebrated by Prep’s chaplain, Fr. Bill Sweeney, at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Notting Hill. Both of these special events were arranged just for us by our tour company, Worldstrides International Discovery. But the centerpiece of the trip was our own performances. Our Jazz Band, under the direction of Music Department Chairperson, Dr. Robert Corbino, and Prep Singers, under the direction of David Kobayashi, presented a Members of the St. Francis Prep Music Department and families at Windsor Castle concert at St. Paul’s Church at Covent Garden (the Actor’s Church). Our Jazz Band and Chamber Orchestra (under the direction of Robert L. Johnston), gave an outdoor show at the Royal Embankment Gardens Bandshell, along the Thames River. And finally, the Singers and Orchestra performed at Medieval Hall, a 13th century banquet room on the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral (we even drove past Stonehenge on the way there)! It was an amazing opportunity to share our musical gifts “across the pond,” as well as experience the history, culture, cuisine, and Faith of one of the jewels of European cities. Look for us to be “on the road again,” during the summer if 2016, when we visit Italy, including Assisi, the home of our patron, St. Francis! Please call Dr. Robert Corbino, David Kobayashi, or Robert Johnston at (718) 423- 8810, x255 for details. ADVERTORIAL ST. FRANCIS PREP; A MIRROR OF QUEENS, A MIRROR OF THE WORLD According to nyc.gov, Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. And St. Francis Prep is a mirror of Queens and that diversity. And it is a diversity that is celebrated both in our Academic offerings, and 19 ethnic clubs open to all students. Prep is a place where that diversity is not only celebrated, but embraced. The best way to embrace diversity is to learn about different cultures and traditions. Prep’s Foreign Language Department, led by veteran, award-winning teacher Joseph Licata, offers students the opportunity to study one of four languages and their cultures: French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Our Foreign Language program is fully articulated to include four levels of French, Italian, and Spanish, and three levels of German. There are courses for Native Speakers, as well as Honors and Advanced Placement courses. We even offer courses in French, Italian, and Spanish for college credit. The philosophy of our Foreign Language Department states, “The successful acquisition of a foreign language is not necessarily rote memorization of verbs and their endings, nor grammatical concepts that cannot be applied to everyday life. In line with The American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages, the Foreign Language Department has undertaken the task of applying those standards to our daily instruction in the classroom. It is through these widely accepted standards that we endeavor to make the learning of a foreign language in our society useful and enjoyable to all of our students. The fi ve main areas of learning a foreign language are as follows: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities.” And it’s that last one, “Communities,” that’s crucial to a Prep education. Students who have immersed themselves in the study of language and culture at Prep will be honored on Thursday, October 23rd at 7PM in St. Francis Prep’s auditorium during our Foreign Language Awards Night. Part of the study of language and culture means taking advantage of traveling to different countries. Prep students have enjoyed trips to Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and right here on our own continent. Oftentimes, trips are culture and language based, but other times, they are service based, such as Prep’s trip to Peru this past summer, offered by our Offi ce of Campus Ministry. Students worked at a home for students who don’t have resources for medical treatment, helping those less fortunate. Students from our Art department traveled to London to participate in a one-week, customized theater and dance Prep Students and Faculty at Hogar San Francisco de Asis, a home and hospital for poor and destitute children in Lima, Peru. trip, including a private acting class in Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and dance classes in dance studios in London’s West End. We are also in the midst of a student exchange with the Albert-Einstein-Schule. Prep students spent three weeks living with their German host families, attending classes, and sightseeing in Frankfurt, Regensburg and Berlin. The Prep students’ German partners arrived in New York last week for a three-week stay. Future trips include Paris, Rome, and even the home of the namesake of our school, St. Francis – Assisi! For more information on the Foreign Language Awards Night, please contact Prep’s Chairperson of Foreign Languages, Mr. Joseph Licata at (718) 423-8810, x227, or jlicata@sfponline.org. For more information regarding our upcoming trips abroad, please contact Prep’s Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Student and Staff Development, Mr. Joseph Castellano at (718) 423-8810, x209, or jcastellano@sfponline.org. ADVERTORIAL
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