99. The Greek Festival

The Greek Festival has been the highlight of the Dalton 6th grade experience for generations. One of the oldest ongoing traditions at Dalton, this intellectual journey takes months of preparation and creates lifetime memories. Greek Festival Tile by Anna Rich ’14, Chiton courtesy of Charlotte Rich, Chiton courtesy of David Markowitz ’07.

The Greek Festival is the quintessential transdisciplinary project and has been the highlight of the Dalton students’ 6th grade experience for generations. The Festival is the culmination of efforts in History, Math, English, Theater, Music, Dance, and Art.

Students study Ancient Greek life with an emphasis on their unique form of democratic government, philosophy, social justice, art, drama and architecture.

Math students collaborate to research, design and construct a scale model of an Ancient Greek temple. New developments in technology have allowed them to enhance their replication of the features of these classical structures.

In English, students study Greek mythology and the stories of the Trojan War. They write “persona poems” using their knowledge of the attributes of these ancient characters. To bring them to life they research, read, revise, and meld the information into a “script” that forms the basis of the Greek Festival performance.

In the Performing and Fine Arts, students are exposed to the elements of Greek Drama, Music, Dance, and Art. Their talents are on display in the musical interludes, choreographed dances, and chiton costumes that are featured throughout the production. Individually created clay tiles are on display outside the theater.

This intellectual journey is among the oldest traditions at the Dalton School. The months of preparation unite the students and form the basis for memories that last a lifetime. We know Helen Parkhurst would be pleased with both the process and the product of this cooperative effort.
—Pam Brighton, Laura Aziz, Ivy Leibowitz, Maggie Dobbins, Sixth Grade House Advisors