Medieval Fest to be a week-long event again
For the second year in a row, the middle school’s
Medieval Fest will be one week long, and this year it’s thanks to a
grant from the New York State Alliance for Arts Education.
The $2,000 grant will help pay a team of medieval
education performers to spend an entire week at the school, whose
sixth-graders have held the annual festival for many years. Until 2007,
however, it was just one or two days long, according to history teacher
Sheila Lobel.
The school district and the Parent Teacher Association have funded the
festival for years, and continue to do so. Last year, the school was
able to combine that funding with a grant from the Capital District Arts
Council to bring in the medieval performers, Bells and Motley, for a
whole week, and that made a world of difference, Lobel said.
“The students always have enjoyed the festival, but three extra days
allows us to add a number of activities that really increase the
excitement. It’s a lot of work, but the students love it. They learn so
much about medieval times because we hit so many different levels,” she
said.
 To
get the grant from the Alliance, Lobel was required to demonstrate how
the week-long curriculum would conform to New York State learning
standards, what was learned from last year’s festival, and how this
year’s would be improved.
Bells and Motley - John and Sondra Bromka in real life - teach students
about medieval music, art and clothing, and bring the era to life for
students. During the week, students learn to write poems and ballads in
English class based on medieval-themed books, create catapults to send
Cheerios flying through the science lab, prepare technology timelines of
the Middle Ages, and learn dances of the time period.
On Medieval Feast Day, students are encouraged to wear costumes like
those they learn about during the week. That day, students went through
four workshops taught by the artists and core teachers.
This year’s Medieval Fest will be held March 31 - April 4. The Medieval
Feast will be held Friday, April 4.
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