9th grade closes Greek Olympics with Symposium and Ceremony

1/23/2024

What does it mean to see “Life as a Heroic Journey”? In the 9th grade, our students seek to discover just that. Through the lens of the virtues of self-knowledge, sporting spirit, and fortitude, they discover what a heroic journey truly is through their study of the Greeks in history and through the reading of The Illiad and The Odyssey in English class. Alongside these themes, the class competes in their own Greek Olympics throughout the first semester.

This Grade Level Experience begins with an Olympic opening ceremony at the beginning of the year, as the class is divided into smaller groups taking the name of a city-state such as Sparta, Alexandria, Cairo, Cuzco, Babylon, Ur, and Rome. From raising their flags at the beginning of the school year, to a closing Greek Symposium feast complete with entertainment, the class learns the virtues of leadership, teamwork, and perseverance.

Throughout the rest of the semester, students competed in activities in a couple of their classes, from creating a tableau in their history class and “homeostasis races” in their science class. Outside the classroom, they competed in minute-to-win-it challenges, an epic tug of war game, foot races, and even a building exercise with spaghetti noodles and marshmallows.

At the closing Greek Symposium, each team provided themed dishes for a class potluck meal, and performed a short skit. The afternoon was an opportunity for the class to reflect on the semester’s experiences, reminiscing the memories they made as they overcame the challenges and grew closer as a class. At the class’s closing ceremony, the teams Cuzco (gold), Alexandria (silver), and Cairo (bronze) took the podium.

To end the ceremony, they handed the torch to the current eighth grade class, the Class of 2028, as they will assume the Olympic challenges next year.

Learn more about our Upper School academics and Grade Level Experiences here.

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