Could it be that winter break has brought us an early spring?  I hope that students had time last week to play outside, relax, and maybe even work on their Greek projects!  They are beginning to make their way to school to decorate our classroom, and all should be in by the end of the week.  We will be sending home an invitation to our showcase next Tuesday, 3/7, and will post it on the team website as well.

This week we'll be finishing up in-class projects which will be displayed at the showcase.  Additionally, students will be preparing a piece of Greek poetry for performance.  Finally, as part of our "Celebration of Ancient Greece", Mr. Kachulis will teach us some traditional Greek dances!

Homework:

Essays should have been turned in.

Projects are due by Friday.

Practice for poem performance.

Share showcase invitation with parents/caregivers.

Gather a simple Greek god(dess) costume (this can be a flat bed sheet that can be tied into a toga, or an actual costume from a past Halloween or dance recital, or girls may have a flowy dress...add a rope belt, sandals, wreath of laurel/flowers, a symbol of the god(dess)...anything that makes you look like an ancient Greek!

Mr. Kachulis is "kicking off" (BTW, congrats Pats!!) this week with a discussion of Greek drama and poetry.  In addition to learning about the role of drama--comedy, tragedy and satyr plays--in ancient Greece, students will explore ways to perform the verse in which it is written.  Working in small groups with a bit of ancient Greek poetry, students will first analyze the language for meaning, then think about how to use their voices, bodies, emotion and musical instruments to perform their piece for the class.


Later in the week, students will engage in a myriad of group activities involving: Greek root words, idioms that originated in ancient Greece, lines of imagery from the myths, words of wisdom from Greek philosophers and playwrights, modern-day allusions to ancient Greece and mythology, and the inspiration of the Muses. All of these projects will be displayed at our showcase on March 7 to which families are invited (invite on team blog and will be sent home with students).


HOMEWORK:  Work on essays and projects.  Essay draft should be finished by 2/10 for self-editing and revision.  Please refer to schedule on back of project instructions.