The 13th edition of the National Italian Championships, better known as, was held in Ercolano (Naples). Italian Olympicswhich for the second consecutive year saw the triumph of two girls fromHigher Institute of San Pellegrino Terme. Last year, in fact, it was Asia Persico from the second class of the technical tourism section who won gold in the competition dedicated to the “Junior” Technical Institutes category, while this year Angelica Bonaldi19 years old years of Serinaclimbed to the top step of the podium in the “Senior” Professional Institutes category while Melania Turani15 years old from Villa d’Adda, was awarded a splendid silver for the “Junior” Professional Institutes category.
“An extraordinary team success – comments on prof. Marvin Basileteacher of Italian at the Institute and responsible for the project as well as the group’s educational trainer -. This year the level of the competition, also according to the judging commission, has risen significantly both in the selection phases and in the semi-finals, and in the works presented during the last act of the competition, here in the final at the Adriano Tilgher Institute of Herculaneum”. The tournament saw good competition 65,000 thousand students coming from regions throughout Italy and from Italian schools abroad, also giving the initiative an international value as had already happened in previous editions.
“In the wake of what happened during the 2022-2023 school year – continues Professor Basile, – the students of the professional branch (food and wine, dining room and bar, hospitality) by putting themselves on the line, once again showed, in addition to skill and commitment, an excellent team spirit not only during rehearsals, but also during the afternoon preparatory meetings”. On 22 and 23 February, both the junior (two-year) and senior (three-year) categories reported, once again, excellent results in the National Institute test, the same for all courses (high schools, technical and professional); in fact, according to the data sent to the school representatives, a high score was achieved by all the participants, especially those classified for the semi-final, so much so that the Institute average was higher than both the provincial/regional and national average .
“Although the evidence of the two categories was found more difficult than the previous year, all the students approached the competition very seriously, demonstrating humility, dedication and sacrifice together with healthy fun and serenity of mind. The data speaks clearly. From a comparison carried out, some students who did not pass achieved a higher score than last year. Our first place winners achieved exceptional results, giving us hope for future challenges in the short, medium and long term.”
On the morning of March 21st four students from the San Pellegrino Institute, Erika Cielok And Melania Turani of the two-year period, Jessica Bombardieri And Angelica Bonaldi of the three-year period, they faced the national semi-final test, lasting 75 minutes, under the supervision of the school contact person, the provincial management and the regional contact person. Although the tests in the two categories (junior and senior) were quite difficult, the girls achieved a amazing resultgiven that the professional address of theSan Pellegrino Higher Instituteboth for the junior and senior categories, was the result among the best in all of Italyso much so that the students Angelica and Melania not only qualified for the final with a very brilliant score, but were also the only ones from the professional area to rank in the entire province of Bergamo and the Lombardy Region: the professional one of San Pellegrino Terme he is first in all of Italy for the junior category, while second for the senior category.
“We are proud of this result – confirms Marvin Basile – because it shows that in recent years the work done by the entire teaching team of the Institute is of an excellent level and not only from a practical point of view, but also with respect to the preparation of citizens who work on their personal growth”. The other two professional students, Jessica and Erika, also did very well and very nearly did not qualify for the final on April 18th, both arriving fourth in the national rankings. The junior and senior professional area is first in the Lombardy region in terms of scores, with one average equal to that of prestigious technical and high school institutes. There are 13 girls and boys who participated in the junior competition from 5 different classes, and 19 in the senior category from 9 different classes from third to fifth.
On the occasion of the final and the awards ceremony, the two finalists, Angelica Bonaldi of 5A and Melania Turani of 2A, accompanied by the cooking teacher Francesco Nicolaci and the literature professor Marvin Basile, they faced the tests with great determination. The finalists, 42 Juniors and 46 Seniors (of the three-year period), played the final and participated in the awards ceremony both in person and remotely, connecting remotely. “I am very happy with the goal achieved – he claims Angelica Bonaldithe winner of the Senior category – since it is an objective in which we have believed a lot, so much so that we have been preparing for it since the beginning of the year. Participating in cooking competitions has almost become a habit but this was a different experience”. Even Melania Turani does not hide her satisfaction, “despite the second place, it was nice to have participated and achieved this goal, especially after having met and established a friendship with some boys and girls from various parts of Italy, including the national winner of the professional junior category with whom I a beautiful friendship has been established.”
