By Patty Thistle and Sam Dils

On Wednesday, June 14th, the Mount Greylock community welcomed its soon-to-be seventh graders. The Peer Team members, who had convened in the morning for breakfast at the Moonlight Diner in Williamstown, were assigned to lead groups of current sixth graders from Williamstown, Lanesborough, Hancock, and even a handful of school choice students from all over the region.

The sixth graders traversed their way around the practice fields and cross country trails to visit the stations run by seventh graders as part of the second annual Medieval Fair. Stations were held to represent different jobs and aspects of medieval life; there were jousting knights, blacksmiths, actors performing plays; a number of merchants, craftsmen, and artisans, each teaching the sixth graders about what he or she had been studying. The seventh graders stayed in character throughout the entire day, creating an engaging and informative atmosphere. According to Mrs. Ellen Kaiser, who was the brains behind the entire operation, said that the coordination between rise up day and the Medieval Fair was a success, as she had “hoped to engage the sixth graders more than the typical or traditional rise up day.”

This was the first function for the newest members of Peer Team. They were completely in charge of the rambunctious sixth graders, and after the fair, broke up into small groups to play icebreaker games and answer questions the kids had about coming to Mount Greylock. The day allowed the sixth graders to get excited about coming to Greylock; they met some of their future teachers, and got to bond with some of the upperclassmen through their peer team groups. Everyone was full of energy, thanks to the cookout run by teachers, parents, and staff. Peer Team leader Coach Emily Leitt along with Mrs. Kaiser thought the day went well, and allowed the sixth graders to begin to form relationships with the class above them, their teachers and Peer Team members.