On Tuesday, June 23rd, The Society for Italian Culture of Long Island held its annual awards ceremony in the Garden City Public Library. Each year, the society recognizes students who have distinguished themselves academically. This year, Matthew Conway, a student in Mrs. Sorace's eighth grade Italian class, was presented with a certificate of high achievement, as well as a monetary award for his excellence in the Italian language by Mrs. Alessi, the director of The Society for Italian Culture of Long Island.

Two weeks prior to the ceremony, Matthew was interviewed by Mrs. Alessi for almost an hour. During this interview Matthew spoke in Italian about his trip to Italy. He discussed the special visit to his grandfather's beautiful hometown, Malgolo, a small town located in the region of Trentino Alto Adige, in northern Italy. He also spoke of the famous sites he visited in the cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice. Needless to say, Mrs. Alessi was extremely impressed with Matthew and saw how evident his love for Italy and the Italian language was.

Matthew was also the recipient of the Long Island Language Teachers' Award. This plaque is awarded to the student who has the highest academic average in the study of a world language.

Matthew, Congratulazioni, and continued success in the study of the Italian language! Bravissimo!