Our cards have arrived at the Istituto Comprensivo “Luigi Chiesa” in the town of Spino d’Adda, near Cremona, Italy.
The Washer-Woman
Σύγχρονη γραφή: The Washerwoman
A great swart cheek and the gleam of tears,
The flutter of hopes and the shadow of fears,
And all day long the rub and scrub
With only a breath betwixt tub and tub.
Fool! Thou hast toiled for fifty years
And what hast thou now but thy dusty tears?
In silence she rubbed . . . But her face I had seen,
Where the light of her soul fell shining and clean.
Η πλύστρα
Yπέροχη μελαχρινή παρειά, το φεγγοβόλημα των δακρύων,
το φτεροκόπημα των ελπίδων, η σκιά των φόβων—
κι ολημερίς να τρίβει και πάλι να τρίβει…
ίσα που πρόφταινε να πάρει ανάσα από σκάφη σε σκάφη.
Ανόητη! Πενήντα χρόνια να μοχθείς
και τι έχεις τώρα παρεκτός τα σκονισμένα σου δάκρυα;
Να τρίβει σιωπηλή… Το πρόσωπό της όμως είχα δει,
κει όπου της ψυχής της το φως έπεφτε λαμπερό και καθάριο.
Otto Leland Bohanan (1895-1932) was an African-American poet, composer and singer from Washington, DC.
The Book of American Negro Poetry
εκδ. Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922
La Blanchisseuse / La Lavandière
The Washerwoman, c. 1863, Paris, Musée d’Orsay
Oil on wood, 49 × 33.5 cm, by Honoré Daumier
The painting highlights the harsh reality of manual labour, the burdens of motherhood, and the quiet dignity maintained in the face of adversity.
Ο πίνακας αναδεικνύει τη σκληρή πραγματικότητα της χειρωνακτικής εργασίας, τα βάρη
της μητρότητας και την ήσυχη αξιοπρέπεια που διατηρείται παρά τις αντιξοότητες.
1. Observing the Artwork
What do you see?
What is the woman doing?
What feelings does this painting evoke in you?
How does the woman feel? Is her work easy?
What might she want to do or say?
What do you notice about the child?
Why is the child with her?
2. Acting Out the Characters and Their Inner Voices
Roles (4 children)
The Washerwoman (sits on a chair)
The Child (sits next to her)
The Woman’s Inner Voice (stands behind her)
The Child’s Inner Voice (stands behind the Child)
Script
Washerwoman:
“We still have a long way to go.”
Child (aloud):
“Mum, I’m tired! My legs hurt.”
Woman’s Inner Voice (behind her):
“I wish I could stop for a moment… This work is so heavy, and I’ve got my son/daughter with me. No one understands what I’m going through!”
Child’s Inner Voice (behind the Child):
“Mum always has to carry everything… Why can’t anyone help her? Where is Dad?”
3. Reflective Discussion—Connecting with Today
What emotions did you notice?
Who has taken on the responsibilities?
Who helps?
How would the scene change if the father were present?
How would this situation look today?
Have things changed at all?
What chores do women and men do at home nowadays?
Is it right to have “jobs for boys” and “jobs for girls”?
How can we all help?
Last night, something magical happened in New York… The Statue of Liberty decided she’d stood still long enough. With a flick of her giant torch and a very dramatic stretch, she stepped off her pedestal and began walking proudly under the stars.
Tourists gasped, taxi drivers nearly fainted, and one seagull demanded to know why nobody had warned him.
But Lady Liberty didn’t mind. She simply marched down the harbour like a supermodel on a cosmic catwalk, her torch shining brighter than the moon, enjoying her well-deserved night out.
Rumour has it she’ll be back by sunrise—
even statues need a little stroll sometimes.
Hawaiian pizza is a pizza invented in Canada, topped with pineapple, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and either ham or bacon.
Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, in 1962.
The name of this creation was not directly inspired by the U.S. state of Hawaii at all; Panopoulos chose the name Hawaiian due to using canned pineapple from the Hawaiian Pineapple Company.

In the jungle red and bright,
Sat a chimp so small and light,
With a book of tales in blue,
Smiling wide the whole day through.
Every page a world to see,
Filled with leaves and mystery,
Bananas danced and parrots sang
And laughter through the forest rang.
He giggled loud at monkey kings,
At frogs that dreamt of golden rings,
At clouds that shaped like tasty pies
And trees that tickled butterflies.
So if you wander, tired or blue,
And don’t know what you’d like to do,
Just grab a book and find your grin—
Like that green chimp with joy within!
grin = πλατύ χαμόγελο· προφέρεται διαφορετικά από τη λέξη green
The word “poetess” is still understood, but it’s rarely used today.
Here’s why:
• It was once common to use gender-specific forms like poetess, actress, or authoress to refer to women.
• In modern English, most people prefer gender-neutral terms, so both men and women are now simply called poets.
• Poetess can sound old-fashioned or even patronising, depending on context, because it unnecessarily highlights gender.
You might still find poetess in historical writing or when referring to someone from the past (e.g. “Sappho, the ancient Greek poetess”), but in contemporary English, it’s best to use poet for everyone: “I’ve always admired Toni Morrison, a woman writer and poet who speaks so beautifully about life.”
Maria Polydouri (1 April 1902 – 29 April 1930) was a Greek poet who belonged to the school of Neo-romanticism.
She fostered a feeling of dissatisfaction and decline.
Although she wrote poetry from an early age, her most important poems were written during the last four years of her life, when, suffering from tuberculosis, she was secluded in an Athens sanatorium, where she died in 1930.
Diary
Monday, 15 June 1925
[adaptation]
The same question fades in our eyes every time we meet by chance in the street.
And yet we walk past each other, without any strength to take the road we’ve left behind.
I always turn and look at that road.
Don’t leave me! I would live the most joyless life without you.
But you never turn back.
Who knows in what harbour of happiness you think of me now, and you dare not…
Here I am, waiting.
Don’t leave me!
Ημερολόγιο
Δευτέρα 15 Ιουνίου 1925
[διασκευή]
Το ίδιο ερώτημα σβήνει στα μάτια μας κάθε φορά που συναντιόμαστε τυχαία στο δρόμο.
Μ’ αντιπερνάμε, χωρίς καμία δύναμη να πάρουμε το δρόμο που αφήσαμε πίσω μας.
Γυρνώ πάντα και τον κοιτάζω αυτόν το δρόμο.
Μη μ’ αφήνεις! Θα ζήσω στην πιο άχαρη ζωή χωρίς εσένα.
Μα δεν γυρνάς καθόλου.
Ποιος ξέρει σε τι ευτυχίας με σκέφτεσαι τώρα λιμάνι και δεν τολμάς…
Εδώ είμαι και καρτερώ.
Μη μ’ αφήνεις!
The Forest
The Forest, look, has leaned
into the embrace of the Night.
Redolent of an intoxicating scent,
it is sighing together with the nightingale.
The moon above it
is rising strangely
and—in the mirror of the brook—
is laying down its magic.
Το Δάσος
Το Δάσος, κοίτα, απόγειρε
στης Νύχτας την αγκάλη.
Μύρο αποπνέει μεθυστικό,
στενάζει με το αηδόνι.
Το φεγγαράκι πάνω του
περίεργο προβάλλει
και στον καθρέφτη του ρυακιού
τα μάγια του ξαπλώνει.
Spring
Spring has blossomed here as well, on every branch of every tree.
The parks are full of flowers, too.
But their festive joy is telling me just one thing—
that I am far away from you, Athens.
H Άνοιξη
Φούντωσε η Άνοιξη και δω σε κάθε δέντρου κλώνο.
Τα πάρκα λουλουδίσανε και κείνα.
Μα δε μου λέει η γιορτερή χαρά τους, παρά μόνο
πως λείπω μακριά ’πό σέν’ Αθήνα.
The 28th of October celebration was heartfelt and full of pride. The children recited poems, sang patriotic songs, and performed short plays that brought to life the heroic moments of 1940. The value of unity and standing together against the invader was highlighted. The people’s brave “No” still inspires us today!
Martin Luther King Jr. was a brave man who believed that everyone should be treated fairly, no matter the colour of their skin. He was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement and used peaceful protests to fight against unfair laws that kept black people separate from white people.
One of his most famous speeches was the “I Have a Dream” speech, where he said that he dreamt/dreamed of a world where children of all colours could play and learn together in peace. He showed the world that love and nonviolence are stronger than hate.
King Arthur is celebrated as a legendary ruler of Britain and a timeless folk hero.
According to early Welsh sources, Arthur was a valiant leader of the post-Roman Britons, fighting bravely against the Anglo-Saxons in the late fifth and early sixth centuries.
In Merlin, a French poem written by Robert de Boron around 1200, the famous “sword in the stone” motif is introduced. In this tale, Arthur becomes King of Britain by pulling a sword from an anvil set upon a stone in a churchyard on Christmas Eve.
As Merlin had foretold, only “the true king”—the rightful heir of Uther Pendragon, chosen by divine will—could perform this miraculous act.
Arthur’s reign is often associated with Camelot, his legendary royal [castle and] court. Camelot is depicted as a place of splendour, justice, and chivalry, where Arthur gathered his loyal knights around the Round Table. This table symbolised equality, unity, and shared purpose, as no seat was higher than another. From Camelot, Arthur and his knights embarked on heroic quests, including the search for the Holy Grail, creating one of the most enduring legends in European history.
A central theme of Arthurian legend is that King Arthur never truly died. Instead, he is said to be resting in a distant, hidden place, awaiting the moment when Britain will need him once more.