Article by Phoenix writer Michelle Paszek ’24:
On Wednesday, October 26th, the One Heart One Mind Many Cultures Club celebrated Italian Heritage in room 223 after school.
Mr. Cioffi, one of the history teachers at Kellenberg, started the event with a presentation about his family’s Italian heritage from off the coast of Naples and how that impacted his life.
He also showed a video clip from Stanley Tucci’s TV series “Searching for Italy,” which explores traditional Italian cuisine. This clip was focused on the Sunday rabbit dinner in Naples.
Mr. Cioffi shared, “The one tradition for me in my family was the Sunday dinner, the family dinner. Although we don’t usually have rabbit, this has stayed with my family through the years. Food unites us. It truly does.”
Following his presentation, Junior Kylie O’Connor, who works at an Italian restaurant, demonstrated how to properly fill a cannoli. She said, “I’m Italian on my mom’s side of the family. I remember my grandma always makes this cannoli dip for us every time we see her at Christmas and it’s become a kind of tradition for us.”
Students were then given the opportunity to try filling their own cannoli shells before eating the pastry and receiving their passport stamp for the One Heart One Mind Many Cultures Club.
Students can collect passport stamps by going to the various events the club hosts throughout the school year. Future event details will be shared through announcements and posters around the school. Prizes will be given to the students with the most stamps at the end of the year.