The Greek Festival, where 7th grade students create and participate in activities that reflect Greek culture, was held on October 7th in the High School Cafeteria.

Due to the impact Greece had on our society, 7th grade teachers created  an assignment where students could learn about this significant culture more in depth. Greeks have contributed from Olympics to all sorts of advancements in many areas we study today, which was why The Greek Festival was first originated.

“I believe students will truly be able to make connections between different subjects that they study and they are going to see the enormous legacy that we get from the Greeks,” Rafael Giraldo, 7th grade History teacher, said.

The Greek Festival was created three years ago with the collaboration of two subjects; History and Spanish. Each year other subjects have started to cooperate, but this year participation from all areas will be seen.

“I think it is a great opportunity for students to learn about the Greek culture and to connect many different areas, in other words, it is a very good interdisciplinary project,” Juan David López, Middle School’s Principal, stated.

Students went through long preparations where they learned the basics of the Greek culture. In Math, Science and History, students studied important characters in Greek history who contributed to the development of modern ideas. In English class they studied Greek roots, and in Spanish class Greek legends, myths and poems.

“Social Studies is studying the different types of governments that Greeks created, including democracy which is very common today, and in Art they are studying the types of paintings that Greeks invented,” Martha Vargas, 7th grade Spanish teacher, commented.

For the festival, all 7th graders paired up and chose one subject to expand and learn more on. As stated by William Duque, 7th grade Social Studies teacher, each teacher was in charge of their subject and assigned each pair a project for The Festival.

“I believe the Greek Festival is great because it makes the students feel comfortable and proud of their work and it asserts that their investigations will be valued,” Duque said.

The Festival was composed of presentations and activities, form inauguration dances, and poster presentations to Facebook profiles and mini Olympics. As reported by Elisa Abad, 7th grade student, all students had to come dressed up as a Greek character and cook Greek food for those who watched presentations.

“Not only have we learned a lot about Greek culture, but we will have a lot of fun watching and participating in all the activities that will be held this day,” Abad added.

As said by Vargas, this Festival has been a huge success for the quality of work that students on previous years have created and presented. This year more activities were held where everyone, including family members could assist.

“We expect to have visits from all the community including High School students and their teachers because we make the general invitation to all The Columbus School,”Vargas specified.