Johnston High School sends stutents off to Italy

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Although the Pannese Society of Rhode Island is small in numbers, the Johnston-based Italian-American non-profit is now the state’s leader in International Student Cultural Exchanges.

That became fact Tuesday when four Johnston High School students, who were armed with knowledge of the Italian language and customs, boarded a Peter Pan Bus Company motor coach in Providence and headed for Logan International Airport in Boston where they began a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

JHS students Allison Vessella, Sara Echeverria, Miguel Azanon and Mark Cruz were bursting with excitement as they arrived at the bus terminal where they were met by Joseph Spremulli, president of the Pannese Society.

Spremulli, whose long-standing non-profit raised upwards of $5,000 to help fund the four students trip to Panni Foggia, Italy, as part of the Town of Johnston’s Sister City Program that was instituted by the Pannese Society, took the time to talk individually with all four students and wish them well during their two-week stay in Italy. He also added what Lou Mansolillo, who is accompanying the four students as the executive coordinator of the Sister City Student Cultural Exchange, called “a special touch of class for our students.”

Spremulli presented each of the four students with a mini-American flag, an official Pannese Society pin, an American flag pin and two pens from the Italo-American non-profit.

“We want you kids to have a great trip,” Spremulli told the four students and their parents and, in some cases, grandparents. “Wishing you God’s blessings; have a safe trip and we’ll see you when you come home.”

Once the customary group and individual photos were taken, Emilia Ruggiero, the Italian-Spanish teacher at JHS who Mansolillo said was a huge help in coordinating this trip, wished the students well and asked, “Now, does everyone have their passports?”

With that, the Johnston delegation, as Spremulli and Mansolillo called the small group, left the bus terminal at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and later arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston, where they boarded a Lufthansa Airlines flight that would fly to Frankfurt, Germany then on to Naples, Italy.

When the group landed in Naples at 11:55 p.m., they were greeted by officials from Rucci Hospitality ed Associazione Culturale Odysseus and didn’t have much time to check in and freshen up as the host committee had planned a welcome dinner and reception. That trend, Mansolillo explained, “will continue throughout our visit.”

For example, the JHS students will enjoy participating in an excursion today and tomorrow that includes a tour of the town and laboratories where honey, cheese, prosciutto and liquor are made. Saturday, they’ll meet their host families at the town hall in Panni welcomed by Mayor Pasquale Ciruolo, who has planned a special luncheon.

The JHS students will also attend several schools and tour different parts of Italy before returning home – and going back to school – on April 25.

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