Ciao !

Max and Simon attend Qatar Academy where Tim is also the Assistant Principal for the Middle School. The school uses the International Baccalaureate curriculum which works to "develop students with a broad knowledge base, strong academic and intellectual skills, and the ability to apply their knowledge and skills to the world beyond school." (quoted from QA Parent Guide to the Middle Years IB Program)

Having a broad view of the world comes from course content, classmates from many different countries and cultures, and a variety of extra-curricular activities. One of Qatar Academy's out-of-school activities is called the "Week Without Walls". Max's WWW was in Italy. In May he traveled with 29 other students to Venice and Florence for the purpose of exploring Human Ingenuity through art and architecture.

Florence is called the birthplace of Renaissance Art. Max visited the Art Gallery Bargello, to see Renaissance jewelry and paintings, and the Uffizi Museum, which has famous Italian paintings by DaVinci, Botticelli, and Raphael. One of Max's highlights was a visit to the Accademia Gallery where he stood next to Michelangelo's famous sculpture "David". The sculpture is 14 feet high and was completed in 1504. It is said to be a pose of David just moments before he defeated Goliath.

Max's group climbed Giotto's Tower (85 metres, 500 steps) for a look over the rooftops of Florence. Max took over 700 photos during his week in Italy. A lot of these are famous art, sculptures, paintings but some are those things important to a 14 year old boy.

Italian food was, of course, a big hit ! Pasta, Pizza, Gelato ! We have pictures of it all!

Half way between Florence and Venice is the community of Maranello where the Ferrari race cars are made. Given that Ferrari cars are very popular in Qatar, it was a natural pit stop. And it takes human ingenuity to build cars, right? The Ferrari Museum displays vintage cars, latest models, and lots of memorabilia from the racing world. Max even got to take a spin in one!

The city of Venice is actually a series of islands, separated by canals and linked by bridges. One of Max's dreams has been to ride in a gondola on the canals and he was able to do that! The class also took the vaporetto public boats between the islands to do their sightseeing, shopping, and go to the airport on the last day.

One of the student's activities was to explore the Venetian tradition of mask decoration. Each student decorated a mask and was able to keep their creation as a souvenir. This painting of the Mona Lisa (not the original) hangs in Leonardo's Machines Exhibition.  The exhibition is a display of 40 of Leonardo daVinci's most famous inventions, including his flying machines. Max loved this too!

The class also visited the Murano glass factory. Murano is famous for its role in developing objects such as eye glasses and telescopes. But it also makes objects of beauty. Max was amazed by this Italian artwork. One man created this delicate horse in less than two minutes. Max bought a gorgeous Murano vase.

Max also brought home an original oil painting by a local artist that he met in the market. One of Max's traditions when we travel is to buy a piece of local art. His room is hung with many and varied works of art. This latest Italian purchase is a beautiful painting of a typical street in Venice.