Lynbrook HS Italian Classes Tour Ellis Island

Story by Rosemary Leonetti:

Lynbrook High School Italian and ESL classes recently took a harbor tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with teachers Maddalena Coletta and Cristina Javett.

The trip was the culminating activity for a unit of study about immigration. The classes had studied the years between 1892 and 1954, when more than 12 million people passed through Ellis Island.

During this time, Italian immigrants came in large numbers seeking economic improvement. The students, some of whom were of Italian descent, were impressed to take in the same vistas of the New York harbor that were viewed by immigrants more than 100 years ago.

Unfortunately, they were only able to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty from a distance, since both sites have been closed to visitors due to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.

After the tour they went to Little Italy for a luncheon at La Nonna restaurant.