On Wednesday, June 13th, the seventh grade class presented their Medieval Fair to their fellow students and parents. This is the third year that the fair has been done, run by seventh grade history teacher Mrs. Kaiser, science teacher Mrs. Moore-Powers, and the rest of the seventh grade team. The fair was also shared with the upcoming seventh grade classes from the three neighboring elementary schools. Wednesday was their annual “rise up” day, in which the students come to Mount Greylock and spend the day with the Peer Team, exploring the fair and learning about the school. This is the second year that the Medieval Fair and Rise Up Day have been combined. “It makes the day more interactive with our incoming students and allows my students to have a real audience,” says Mrs. Kaiser, explaining why she chose to have an interactive project like a fair rather than other, less action-packed projects. It did involve tough research, but according to the seventh grade students, the hands-on project helped them to have a better understanding of what life was like in the middle ages. “You spend a lot of time on what you will say to the students or what activity you will have,” said seventh grader Elizabeth Bertolino. “It was fun to work with most of the people in my class and in my grade.”

As for the fair, each student is assigned a role or a job from the medieval ages by Mrs. Kaiser, and they are expected to research their role and create a character, as well as collect supplies for their props and costumes. The process of organizing and preparing for the fair is a long one, and the seventh grade class has been working on their research papers, pieces, lines, sets, and costumes for weeks. Students had many different jobs, from putting on plays about medieval wars, to building their own catapults, to gathering and mixing chemicals as young alchemists. With the other props, costumes, and lines to speak, the seventh grade class captured what life was like in medieval times while being able to share something meaningful with friends and family.