Sixth-graders traveled thousands of miles across an ocean and into the heart of the Mediterranean Sea last week without leaving their Reeves Middle School classroom.

They had spent the past five weeks learning about ancient Greece: the government, the culture and the religious beliefs.

And at a Greek Festival on Wednesday, they were able to catch a glimpse of ancient Greece for themselves.

“We’ve been learning about this and learning about this, and now we finally get to taste what we’ve been learning about,” said Reazen McAvoy, 11, a Reeves sixth-grader. “It’s been interesting to learn about the ways that the Greeks influenced our lives today.”

Some sixth-graders donned costumes for the occasion, dressing up as gods and goddesses, performing Greek monologues and trying a spread of traditional Greek dishes that students made and brought in from home.

“It’s an opportunity to experience a different culture,” said Deanna Ottavelli, a sixth-grade teacher at Reeves. “This is a type of food that has been around for at least 1,000 years, but some of these kids at our school have never experienced it before.”

There were Greek salads, pita bread for dipping in hummus, honey cheese pie and plenty of baklava — a sweet pastry made with thin sheets of a flour-and-water dough, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and honey.

“It was fun because you get to hang out with your friends and try different foods,” said Megan Schmitt, 12, a Reeves sixth-grader who liked trying the baklava and who dressed up as Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. “It was really different from the desserts we have today. It was really new.”

During one part of the Greek unit, students studied the Hercules myth and then watched Disney’s movie version of the hero’s story.

The Hercules story was a highlight for many students. And comparing the movie with the actual Greek myth — which students were asked to do in an essay — also taught the sixth-graders another lesson, Ottavelli said.

“That was a really good exercise not only in writing but also in opening their eyes to the fact that everything they see in Hollywood isn’t necessarily true,” she said.

Sixth-grader Nicolas Baheux, 12, said he enjoyed the unit on Greece in part because he was able to learn about somewhere he’s never visited before.

“I like learning about different countries and places,” Nicolas said.
“It was exciting stuff. It gives me an idea of what I would do if I go there.”