FARMINGTON—Sixth grade classrooms at Canyon Creek Elementary transformed into ancient Greece last week for their annual Greek Festival, complete with Olympic games and authentic Greek food for lunch.

“It was a big effort by our nutrition coordinator who ordered everything in advance to make it a special day,” said Principal Julie Ferreira. “They fixed meatball skewers with pimento and made a Greek inspired salad with green olives. They went above and beyond to make a great meal for all the kids.”

Things were different this year for the festival because of COVID, she said. “Kids could come and enjoy lunch in safe proximity and in a clean environment. Nutrition services were really the link in making it so memorable for the kids.”

In the classrooms, students dressed in togas played Olympic Games followed by a medals ceremony. “This is the culminating activity for our Greece unit,” said teacher Polli Wakley. “We’ve been studying it for about six weeks. The kids had a ‘race to Ithaca’ to spots in the story from the Odyssey and Odysseus’ travels after the Trojan War. They would move their ships around the map and earn drachmas (coins) for passing history and myth quests.”

The kids who won the race became Gods and Goddesses at the festival, she said. “They created all the games and the medals. One student made a medal on a 3D printer. It’s a fun way to end the study of Greece.”

Alia Wood was one of the Goddesses and wore a gold leaf crown. “Our table earned coins by being good and passing off the myth quests,” she said. 

Molly Cook and Maleia Moala both enjoyed the festival. “It’s really cool and challenging to learn about different cultures and their beliefs and religions and the myths they made up,” said Cook.  

“Basketball was pretty fun, getting points and cheering people on,” said Moala. “This was my favorite thing this year learning about Athens and Sparta and the myths.”