Working off the seventh grade curriculum, members of the Phoenix team at Park View Middle School have studied about the Middle Ages, more specifically feudalism.

The idea originated from Mrs. Larkin, who is the Phoenix Team seventh grade social studies teacher. Students have presented PowerPoint projects on various people from the period and studied about how the average peasant lived during this time.  

“I wanted them to learn about and study how feudalism works. The jobs, the pyramid of society, how people truly lived,” said Larkin.

“We did not take a field trip this year out of school, so we came up with this idea instead. We did not need a bus and we just needed to pay for the food and stations and prizes,” said team math teacher Joanne Spaziano.

Students were assigned an occupation based on a number that was drawn when they returned their "field trip" permission form and money.

“They participated in a banquet and were seated according to number from the King and Queen and Royal taster down to the peasants. Those at the upper echelon will of course were served first,” Spaziano said.

For the banquet, the food was prepared by Chef Martha and the students at the Career and Technical Facility. The menu consisted of: Royal roast fowl, roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables, breads and churned butter, royal cheese, mini cakes and sweet nectar of lemon water.

“All that translated to chicken, roast potatoes and veggies, breads and butter, cheese, cupcakes and lemonade,” said Spaziano.

With probably the most important job in its day, the food taster who served the Royal Family was played by Arianna Cunha.

Once she had sampled all the food on her plate, and proclaimed it safe to eat, the buffet was open.

The king was Akram Abdelrehem, and his queen was Hayley Lindberg. Rounding out the royal family was the prince Luke Fontaine and princess Kalliana Marek.

Throughout the meal, Larkin would lead the students in cheers of “All hail the King/Queen, long live the King/Queen.”

After feast, the students took turns at different stations performing tasks and playing games that dated back to the Middle Ages.

Alexia Sterpis, who was a lady in waiting, enjoyed the entire lesson.

“I liked working on the plague projects. What happened back then is very different from the lives we live today. I know I could never live back then,” she said.

For crafts, there were Illuminations coloring, which are Middle Ages art based on the letters of a name. Make a Plague Bag; better known as sachets, used to drive away the foul odors created by the deceased and dying bodies from the Black Plague.

For the games they juggled and played ring toss and cornhole.

They also got a chance to try a trebuchet, which is a catapult that shoots marshmallows. During the Middle Ages, they had catapults that shot pellets and rocks.

Sam Charos who was a knight, and Richard Livesey who was the barber, shared the same thoughts on the time period.

“I can’t believe that people would let doctors drill holes in their heads to get rid of the plague, and all the superstitions they believed,” Sam said.

Richard was bothered by the way the garbage was dealt with.

“There was no garbage trucks, no garbage pickup, they would just throw it into the streets, and the rats would come. That’s how they kept getting sick,” he said.

FIT FOR A KING:

After getting approval from the food taster, King Akram Abdelrehem, stepped up to the Royal buffet line. IT TAKES A VILLAGE:

Costumed members of the Phoenix team pause from the royal revelry to take a picture at the Middle Ages program on June 14.