Charriot Races, Olives, and Poleis

The 7th grade celebrated Greek history and culture today with Panathanea Day in the Middle School.  Grouped by Greek city-states, or poleis (plural of polis), students competed in Greek Olympics, performed original plays, cooked Greek food, and collected olives from the olive trees.  They have been preparing for this day in their art, history, and English classes.  In art, they made chitons (the Greek version of a toga) and altars based on their polis’ characteristics.  They have also been crafting and practicing their plays for several weeks.  Throughout the day, the students were challenged to work with their fellow city-state members, exhibit good citizenship and sportsmanship during the Olympics, and appreciate the multifaceted aspect of ancient Greek society.

The olives the students are picking will be pressed to make Athenian olive oil!  If you’d like to help pick the rest of the olives for this harvest, join other olive pickers tomorrow, Saturday, November 9, 2012 from 12pm-2pm.