spotlight on service
Connecting with the Community TASIS students are meeting and getting to know the local community more and more through a variety of local service groups and language lessons.
photos
video
O
ften our local Global Service Program (GSP) groups are
around Montagnola. Many of the locals, particularly the more elderly,
overlooked due to the wide reach of our other groups,
were surprised that Cori spoke Italian and made the effort to form a
but these initiatives are crucial to the people they serve
relationship with them. She saw this as an opportunity for her GSP
and help the School’s connection with our community. For many
group to begin building connections with the greater community.
years, a group of students has spent time with groups of senior citizens from Montagnola and other nearby villages, sharing their
Intergenerations pairs two students with one Montagnola resident.
stories over cups of tea. Called Tea Time, the activity gave students
Once a month they meet at Osteria Donada in Montagnola
time to practice their Italian and learn about other generations.
for coffee and conversation or card games. In December, the
A few years ago, the location shifted to a local nursing home, Al
students decorated cookies and sang songs with their residents. If the
Pagnolo, where students and residents played games, cooked, and
weather is nice, the groups might go for a walk as well. “I encourage
made art together.
the students to ask their resident about their youth, their families, their lives and to tell them about their own. Often the locals share
This year, the group’s advisors, Cori Shea and Zuleika Tipisimana,
their worries and the students cheer them up. It is a great opportunity
decided to try something different and bring back the original
for our students to spend some time outside of TASIS.”
model of Tea Time by having half the group meet with locals in Montagnola while the
The owner of Osteria Donada, Sebastiano, has been impressed with
others continued the work
the relationships growing between the students and residents. “It
at Al Pagnolo. “I felt it
is important to put their two realities together,” he said. “Once in
was important to bring
Montagnola, everybody used to say hello to one another, but not so
the local element back
much now. This will also do a bit to help the relationship between
to this group,” Cori said.
TASIS and the locals.”
The name was changed to Intergenerations to stress
All students must be in at least Italian 3 to join, with the exception
this exchange that is rare
of two who meet with an English-speaking resident. During
nowadays.
their meetings when they aren’t with their residents, the students write reminders and cards for their resident as well as brainstorm
When Cori arrived at
conversation topics that might spark a meaningful chat. In the
TASIS in 2013, she often
future, Cori and Zuleika hope to talk with the students about the
took the time to speak
sensitivities that surround aging, and expand the group to include
with the people she saw
even more Montagnolans.
regularly on her walks 22 eTASIS