First USC Game

Yesterday, my friend Jennifer invited me up to LA for my first USC game. USC was playing Arizona State and it was bound to be a great game! It was a decent game and we (USC) thought we would win for sure. Then, the last 5 seconds of the game happened where ASU threw a Hail Mary and won the game. Not a fun way to end the game, but it was still so much fun!
Ieri, la mia amica Jennifer mi ha invitato ad andare a vedere una partita di football. USC (io sono andata li per il mio master's) giocava una squadra dell'Arizona. Doveva essere una partita molto bella. Noi (USC) stavamo vincendo, e poi, nei ultimi 5 secondi, l'altra squadra ha fatto un touchdown e abbiamo perso. Quella parte non era bella, pero' tutto il resto si!

The crew!

It was a scorcher at the Coliseum

Fight on Trojans!

Me and Jen (and Bode)!

Despite the loss, it was still a great night at the Coliseum!

MAT(at)USC, USC, Walking

The Classroom Project

Starting up a classroom is no cheap task! Between Staples, Target, Costco, IKEA, Lakeshore, and Barnes and Noble, I easily spent more money than I care to say setting up my classroom (think upwards of $700). School started and each weekend, I found myself back at those stores buying more things! I teach in a Catholic school where you'd think we would have more money. It's the complete opposite. We were asked to only have 2 trashcans in our rooms because the liners were getting too expensive!

Almost everything in my classroom are things that I have purchased out-of-pocket: borders, books, paper, markers, etc. I, very willingly, spend money to make sure I have extras of everything so that students have what they need for class. This adds up after a few weeks, months, and years. If I spent over $700 in the first month of school, I can't imagine how much I'll spend the rest of this year!

My students are there to learn. They can only be expected to learn if they have all of the tools they need. If students don't have pencils, whiteboard markers, erasers, or notebooks, they don't have their tools. If I don't have printer access, binders to store master copies, or paper, I don't have my tools. These Staples gift cards will go to a good cause in any classroom. I just hope one comes to mine!

The Classroom Project is a USC initiative for K-12 teachers to win one of 30 prizes that total over $3,000 to purchase classroom supplies. This campaign also gives a voice to educators everywhere that are spending money out of pocket for their classrooms. Now is the time for communities to show their support for teachers while raising awareness about the need for additional supplies in the classroom. 

MAT(at)USC, Teaching, USC

Graduation Day!!!!

Get ready for many new updates!

I graduated with my Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Southern California on May 17. It was such a great day and I am so fortunate to have been able to be surrounded by lots of wonderful people. I won't bore you with words, so here are the pics!
Mi sono laureata con il mio Masters di insegnante dalla Universita' di Southern California il 17 maggio. E' stata una giornata bellissima, e sono molto fortunata di aver avuto tantissima gente che e' venuta! Non scrivero' molto allora vi faccio solo vedere le foto!

Hannah came and we went to Coronado

Chiara also came and brought me a fun shirt and bracelet!

 My mom flew in the night before so with me, my mom, Hannah, and Chiara, we went to Palmilla, this fun Mexican restaurant in Hermosa Beach. It was so good!
La mamma e' arrivata la serata prima allora con le donne siamo andate a mangiare messicano in questo ristorante a Hermosa Beach.

Hannah, Chiara, and I had made the obvious stop at Crumbs on Thursday so we cut into them on Friday when my dad and brother arrived.
Con la Hannah e Chiara siamo andate a prendere le cupcakes. Le abbiamo mangiate venerdi' quando il papa' e Simone sono arrivati.

Graduation time! 

Me and Jennifer

The card I had to fill out so they would
say my name right. Which they did!

So excited!

Dinner after graduation

On Saturday morning, before we headed back to San Diego, we stopped in Santa Monica. It was a beautiful day! 

Sabato mattina, ci siamo fermati a Santa Monica. Era una giornata bellissima! 

Beach, Graduation, MAT(at)USC, Teaching, USC, Vacation

LA in a day!

On Saturday, I met up with Brooke and Jennifer (from my USC program) for a brunch. We brunched (it's a verb, check it) at One Pico which is inside the Shutters on the Beach hotel. Oh my. It was a beautiful place! The food was extremely tasty as well! Nor did the cocktails disappoint.
Sabato, mi sono incontrata con le mie amiche Brooke e Jennifer a Los Angeles per brunch. Siamo andate a mangiare in un ristorante dentro un albergho sul mare. Era stupdendo! Il mangiare era molto buono ed le cocktails erano ancora piu' buone!

We sat right by the window

French martini!!  YUM! 

So fun! 

Then, since I was already in LA, I thought it would be time to meet up with Arian (Jay's sister). She took me to the LA County Museum of Art which had some pretty neat exhibits. We wandered over to the La Brea Tar Pits right next door after the museum. Then, we ended our afternoon with a stop on Rodeo drive for some Crumbs. It was so much fun spending time with her! 

Poi, visto che ero gia' a Los Angeles, mi sono vista con la sorella di Jay, Arian. Lei mi ha portato al museo d'arte. Dopo di che, siamo andate a vedere le tar pits che sono di fianco. Alla fine del pomeriggio, siamo andate su Rodeo Drive per prendere delle cupcakes. Ci siamo divertite tantissimo!!! 

Urban Light

Right out front of LACMA

The view - you can see Hollywood!

This exhibit was pretty cool. It was called Metropolis II. All of the cars are custom made and they just constantly run through this giant city. 

Questa parte era molto bella. Tutte le macchine sono fatte a mano ed erano fatte per questa esposizione. 

The Tar Pits! 

Reunited with Crumbs!

I went with the Good Guy and the Cannoli. 

Excellent choices if I say so myself. :-) 

MAT(at)USC, USC, Vacation, Walking

Master Longo

As of last Friday, I am officially done with my Master's in Teaching!!!! Woo-hoo!!!! It's been a long time coming and I can't wait to get my own classroom! Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this, especially my parents who are awesome. I love you all and look forward to sharing my experiences with you!

Da venerdi' scorso, ho finito con la scuola!!!! C'ho messo un po' di tempo, pero' sono molto contenta di avere finito. Adesso mi sto applicando per delle posizioni qua a San Diego e non vedo l'ora di avera la mia classe. Grazie a tutti che mi hanno dato una mano, piu' che altro, i miei genitori che sono stupendi. Vi amo tutti e non vedo l'ora di cominciare la mia nuova avventura!

Graduation, MAT(at)USC, San Diego

PACT-ness

PACT has been submitted and I am that much closer to being done with my master's!!! Woot-woot! PACT is required by both USC and the state of California for my teaching credential. It was an enormous task and I'm quite happy to be done with that.
La mia specie di tesi e consegnata e ho ancora un mese e poi avro' finito con il mio masters! La mia tesi si chiama PACT ed e necessaria per lo stato di California e il mio programma. Era una cosa abastanza pesante e sono molto contenta di averla consegnata!

On a lighter note, how about them Giants? Up 2-0 against the Tigers in the World Series, pretty awesome. I think it comes to no surprise that it's all because of me. Think about it: in 2010, the Giants won the World Series for the first time in ages and I was living in California. In 2011, I was living in SLC, and the Giants didn't really have an exemplary season. Fast forward to right now, Giants in the World Series. Just saying........GO GIANTS!!!!
I Giants di San Francisco sono nella World Series! Adesso sono avanti 2 partite a zero. Io penso che si solo perche' io sono tornata in California. Hanno vinto la World Series due anni fa (quando abitavo in California). L'anno scorso non sono venuti manco vicini. E poi, quest'anno, ci sono ancora, ed io abito in California. Allora io penso che stanno vincendo solo perche' ci sono io. Go Giants!!! 

MAT(at)USC, Miscellaneous, San Diego

Brunch in Laguna Niguel

On Saturday, I headed up to Laguna Niguel (about one hour north of San Diego) to meet up with some friends. I met up with Brooke and Jennifer whom I met through my master's program. It was so fun to spend time with them and talk about everything. Even though we only knew each other via our program, it was as if we had known each other for ages! I love that I'm living so close to people in my program and can get together with them!
Sabato sono andata a nord a Laguna Niguel per incontrarmi con due ragazze della mia scuola. Era molto divertente conoscerle di persona e abbiamo passato ore a parlare e divertirci. Anche se ci conosciamo soltanto tramite le clasi che faciamo, era come eravamo amiche da sempre! Mi piace essere cosi vicina a gente nel mio programa perche' cosi ci possiamo incontrare!

Brunch outside

Breakfast burritos, fresh fruit, mimosas, strawberry pie

Brooke, Me, Jennifer

Food, MAT(at)USC, San Diego

Featured!

I was just featured on a student spotlight on the MAT@USC blog! Check it out!

http://mat.usc.edu/student-spotlight-giulia-longo-salt-lake-city-ut/

MAT(at)USC

Catching Up!

It's been a while since I've blogged (well, longer than normal)! Here's what I've been up to........
E' un po' di tempo che non scrivo! In questi giorni, io ho.........

*Finished my first semester/session of grad school! It was very intense, but I learned a TON and can't wait for the next session of classes that starts on January 16 (yes, that is like a month break, woohoo!)!
**Ho finito la mia prima sessione di graduate school! Era un po' dificile, pero' ho imparato tantissimo e non vedo l'ora di cominciare la prossima serie il 16 di gennaio (si, e' appena piu' di un mese!)!

*Took the CBEST. PAIN IN MY A&%! But really. It sucked. Not fun. 4 hours of grueling multiple choice questions. And I take another (more difficult) test in January, the CSET. But I think I passed the CBEST, so yay!
**Ho fatto il CBEST. Non mi e' piacuto molto. Erano 4 ore di domande che erano tutte confuse di qua e di la. E adesso faccio un altro esame piu' dificile a gennaio. Pero', penso che questo esame sia andato bene, allora bene!

*Attended TWO cookie exchange parties (separate posts to come). And they were both AWESOME.
**Andata a DUE feste dove si scambiano dei biscotti/ricette. Ed erano tutte due divertente!

*Made a bajillion homemade twix (separate post to come). But really, they were delicious and I will continue to make them all of next week.
**Ho fatto tantissimi twix. Ma erano davvero buoni e ne faro' ancora tantissimi in questi giorni.

*Made ratatouille. Heaven.
**Ho fatto il ratatouille. Squisito!

*Finished all my Christmas shopping/gifts/etc.
**Finito tutte le mie spese di natale.

*Watched a ton of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. McDreamy, McSteamy, ahh! :-)
**Guardato un sacco di Grey's Anatomy su Netflix. McDreamy, McSteamy, ahh! :-)

*Spent time with the fam - Christmas card pictures, dinners, cooking, etc.
**Passato molto tempo con la famiglia - biglietti di natale, cene, facendo da mangiare, etc.

Happy Holidays! 

Cooking, Dad and Mom, Holidays, MAT(at)USC, Salt Lake

Old Schoolwork

I've always kept my old textbooks and schoolbooks, I've never sold them back. Why? Not really sure. A lot of it is just laziness but it's also because I've found that I reference my old books and notes today. Great example today because I was reading about Piaget's theory of cognitive development and I remembered that I had studied that in an ESS class I took at the U. I headed downstairs and funny enough those notes were at the top of the pile! I like referencing them because maybe when I wrote it then, I understood it differently so now I have multiple descriptions of the same story. Those are my two cents!

Io ho sempre tenuto i libri e appunti di scuola vecchi. Non gli ho mai venduti o dati in dietro. Perché? Non lo so. Un Po e' perché non ho voglia di portarli in dietro. Pero e' anche che io vedo che li uso! Guarda oggi. Stavo leggendo di una teoria del developimento nei bambini e sapevo che l'avevo già studiato. Allora sono andata giù e ho trovato i miei appunti! Adesso invece di avere solo quello che dice il mio libro, ho anche quei appunti che avevo fatto anni fa. Allora se lo chiedi a me, io ti dirò che vale la pena di tenere i vecchi libri e appunti!

MAT(at)USC