The Becton faculty and staff is continually being recognized with many outstanding rewards, the latest one being for the high school’s very own Italian teacher, Mrs. Bonanno. Although it is only her second year teaching at Becton, Mrs. Bonanno completed the process of applying for a grant for $4,500 through the IACE (Italian American Committee on Education) and was ecstatic to have received it.

“The grant was used to purchase brand new Italian textbooks since those that the department are using are very old and outdated,” she said.

She felt that new, updated material would be advantageous for her lectures, so she was glad to use this opportunity for a complete modification of the textbooks. “It is important to have updated resources when you learn, especially for a world language that is always changing and evolving,” she added.

Mrs. Bonanno hopes that this fortuitous occasion will not only put a smile on her face, but on the faces of each of her Italian-class students as well.  “The Italian classes will be able to become familiar with the culture and language in a more authentic and updated way since the books are new and provide lots of real-life examples of Italian language and culture along with images of Italy,” she said.

With these new textbooks, students will learn more current topics that are aligned with Italian culture and language. For instance, the topic of social media and the importance of technology, which is completely absent in the old textbooks, will be addressed.