Date: Fri 16-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Medieval-feast-Beatey-NMS

Full Text:

A Medieval Feast At The Middle School

(with photos)

BY ANN MARIE COHEN

Lords and ladies feasted in "castle" banquet halls at Newtown Middle School on

Friday, April 9. Georgia Beatey's grade six English classes have worked long

hours on the study and re-creation of the Middle Ages.

Once inside the halls of the "castle" you were transported to medieval times.

Violin and harp music played in the background as the festivities began. Long

tables were lined with "gold" plates and candelabras. There were no utensils.

The menu consisted of red and white "wine," baskets of broken bread, and

various fruits and nuts, pound cake and scones. For the entr‚e, roast chicken

was served. Ms Beatey said that the typical fare of the day, pig and swan,

would not be possible to prepare.

The four classes totaling 93 children have been engaged in this long-term

project under Ms Beatey's supervision since January. The assignment included a

researched written report on an aspect of this era that interested them.

The students were to organize a banquet complete with music, food and handmade

costumes scheduled on April 9. Ms Beatey reminded the children that there were

of course no sewing machines in those days so the period costumes should

remain simple.

Part of their garb was to feature their own coat-of-arms using books of

heraldry in the classroom as a reference tool.

Before feasting, students put on an original skit on medieval times, complete

with witches spells and magical dust potions. The students drew on their

research to present their characters.

The theme of Kosovo was tied into the skit as the aides in camps helped the

destitute.

Students commented on how glad they were to live in today's world where

fairness and opportunity exist. In medieval times, those persons standing

between someone and his desires were often killed.

Ms Beatey said, "I loved working with these students, they knocked me out. I

handed them a very large rubric in January and they came through! I had a

smile on my face for days. Another side of their learning is that they begin

to admire their accomplishments, a side of themselves they may not have known

existed. They're proud of themselves and others are proud of them."

And many are proud of Georgia Beatey as well. "Her enthusiasm is contagious,"

remarked Linda Oswald, middle school administrative assistant. "When Ms Beatey

does anything she gives 100 percent!"