Here are the first pictures from our Greek Workshop today. It was amazing to see how active and engaged the children were in the activities, the “fire of learning” was burning like mad. We are so grateful to the parent helpers, without you we would not have been able to run all the activities that the kids loved so much. The biggest thank you goes to Fiona from History off the page – as always, she has been awesome. Almost 60 children were sitting silently and were glued to her stories. Fabulous!

We healed the ill, made mosaics, created the most beautiful artwork/tiles, carved into soap, made oil lamps … and finished the day with acting, dancing and feasting.

Dear all,

Here are some inspirations for our Greek Workshop (in courtesy of  www.historyoffthepage.co.uk). It would be awesome, if everybody could dress up in Greek style.

Introduction

On this day your child, will through role-play, experience life as it would have been living in the year 490 BC at the time of the Battle of Marathon, using authentic tools and materials whenever possible to learn skills as apprentices in a wide variety of workshops. As the day progresses, the children will get involved in the issues of the time, with the chance to participate in a range of cross-curricular activities. By the end of the day they will have a really good idea of how it felt like to be a Greek citizen at this pivotal date in history, which led to the rise of Athens as a major power in the ancient world.
There will also be a story-telling session.

A simple costume will help your child really feel part of the day.

Choose your own name for the day:

Boys names include: Aigeus, Aristeides, Amphitrion, Aristoteles, Diomedes, Heracles, Idomeneus, Iktinos, Iphicles, Kallicrates, Meleagros, Pericles, Perseus, Protagoras, Themistocles, Theseus
Girls names include: Alkmene, Artemis, Alkestes, Aithra, Ariadne, Antioppe, Chryseis, Danae, Electra, Elpinike, Hermione, Hippolyte, Iokaste, Kassiope, Nephele, Praksithea, Thetis,

There will be 10 different workstations that children will participate at.

Setting:

The year is 490 BC, and near Athens the battle of Marathon rages on. The pupils will take the roles of Athenian citizens at the time of the battle of Marathon. From the safety of the Agora, the pupils await news of the outcome of the battle, discussing the events that led to this pivotal date in Greek history, and to the rise of Athens as a major power in the ancient world.

Greek Costume:
It would help the pupils engage with the period and role-play if they wore simple costumes. Most Athenians wore clothes made from finely spun wool or linen of various textures. Rich people wore colourful clothes and fine jewellery. Poorer Athenians wore rough, undyed wool. Braid was often used for decoration or as a formal border

Simplest costume: A large plain T-shirt with a belt or cord tie.
A simple tunic (Chiton for girls) is made from a single rectangle of material, the length of the child from neck to knee or calf (plus turnings) by about twice the width of the child from wrist to wrist. Fold in two width ways and stitch the seam. Hem top and bottom. Mark a gap for the head at the centre of the top edge. From the head gap, mark points at 10 centimetre intervals to the end of the fabric. At each point sew a button through both layers. Cut a length of cord for the waist. To wear, the pupil puts his/her head through the centre hole and each arm through the final shoulder gaps. Tie cord around waist.

You may wish to add a Himation, a rectangle of coloured cloth fastened with a brooch or button on the left shoulder.
Pretending to be a particular character from history or mythology is inappropriate and does not help the day in any way.

If you are still unsure, “Professor Google” always has an answer and idea.

Dear students, parents & carers,

We are wishing you a wonderful, rejuvenating and inspiring Christmas Break.

Here is a copy of the homework:  Au2-Wk8-19122019

Thank you for all your hard work, cards and presents,

Updates on the first week back will follow in the evening of 4/01/2020.

Your Year 5 team.