In the classroom this week we learned about the great earthquake and fires of 1906 in San Francisco. Several students talked about the golden fire hydrant only a few blocks from Harvey Milk that played a role in saving the Mission neighborhood at that time. We watched a PBS video about the Italian American community in North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf and how a banker named Amadeo Giannini helped his community and city rise from the ashes after the devastation. (San Francisco public middle school A.P. Giannini is named after him.) His legacy, now called the Bank of America, has a branch that, like the golden fire hydrant, is just a few blocks from our school.
In the kitchen we made minestrone, a vegetable and bean soup with roots that date back to ancient Rome. Everyone did an incredible job of getting a lot of different ingredients prepped and simmering in our pots. The pasta we used is called orecchiette, which means “little ears” in Italian. A perfect meal for a cold winter’s meal outdoors!
