Class II Presents the Annual Greek Symposium 

History Faculty Josh Constant created the Greek Symposium—a fixture of the Class II curriculum since 2009—as a way for students to practice their research and collaboration skills. Sharing results from six weeks of focused study, the Class II projects examine the “golden age” of Greece—a time of great prosperity and learning in Greek history. 

History Faculty Amy Lieberman and Annie Huntoon are the organizers of this year’s showcase, which brought history to life for the whole Winsor community. After studying Athens and Sparta, Class II students examine the Persian Wars, the rise of powerful Greek city-states, and the key figures, battles, and strategies that ultimately led to the defeat of the Persian Empire and the golden age of Greece. 

Held in the Wildcat Room, students staff tables and don Greek attire such as chitons for the festive event. Creativity is on display with projects covering a variety of subjects that communicate research in imaginative and engaging ways. Attendees could take a personality test to determine what type of sculpture they would be. A memory game challenged players to match Greek gods with their role in mythology. An online fashion competition pitted two people against each other to identify different types of Greek fashion, and a Vogue-style fashion magazine highlighted fashion from the era. There were pigment-mixing demonstrations, a puppet show, posters, iMovies, slideshows and more. 

Held over a two-hour window, Lower School and Upper School students as well as faculty and staff drop in to peruse the displays. Class II families are invited as well, relishing the opportunity to see interactive History Department coursework firsthand.

An important step in project development involves brainstorming topics and research questions and narrowing to a thesis statement. This year’s topics included sports, crime and justice, philosophers and mathematicians, drama, sculpture, medicine, architecture, among others. Students are then placed in groups of two or three according to their interests. Over the next several weeks, students dive into learning about their topic through research—using books, online databases, and websites. Students also meet with Assistant Director of the Virginia Wing Library Danielle Smogard to learn skills like evaluating a website and how to use Noodletools and Winsor databases.