[Ponte Alto] Medieval Day Demo

[Megan Ladd]

Cross-posted from the Book of Faces:

Greetings Pontoons!

It’s almost summer, and you know what that means: Medieval Day is coming to
FCPS! As many of you know, I am an elementary school speech therapist in my
mundane life. Once again, the 5th graders at our school (Sunrise Valley
Elementary School in Reston, VA) have been learning about the Middle Ages
in preparation for the big finale: Medieval Day! On Friday, June 7th, all
the 5th graders (and their teachers) will dress up in Medieval clothing and
enjoy a day of good, really old fashioned fun. They will have games,
snacks, crafts, music/dancing, a banquet, and a medieval market.

The teachers have asked if I could again get some of “my SCA people” to do
a presentation about the Middle Ages like we have the past three years.
It’s generally the highlight of the day for many students (and adults)! The
time we’ve been given for our presentation is 1:45-2:30. (I would love for
people to plan on arriving around 1:15-1:30ish to set up, but it’s not a
huge time commitment, so even stopping by for a late lunch may be possible?)

If we can get several people (in garb, naturally) to show-and-tell for
about 5-10 minutes each on some Medieval topic, we could easily fill the
time we’ve been allotted. We have a nice, big indoor “pod” area where we
can set up beforehand, have tables for “please touch” displays, etc.

Unfortunately, being an elementary school, we cannot have fighting or
archery, but bringing arms (no live steel…rattan is fine) and armor in for
the kids to see is great. Bows and arrows are fine to bring and show, but
cannot be shot. Some great ideas to share about would be: clothing, armor,
fiber arts, musical instruments, singing, cooking, woodworking,
blacksmithing, dancing, scribal arts, and general life in the Middle Ages.
Performances (instrumental/bardic/dancing) would be awesome, as long as
they’re pretty short, as we have limited time. We’re open to whatever YOU
would like to talk about! You’ll have a rapt audience of 60 or so 5th
graders to share your passion with!

They are looking more for specific information about the Middle Ages, but
sharing information about the SCA is fine too, as long as the focus is on
actual history. (I just wanted to clarify that it is not an SCA demo, per
se, but rather a Medieval History presentation, provided by SCA people.)

This year, my son Sebastian (Sebastian of Ponte Alto) is in 5th grade, and
is REALLY looking forward to joining us for the mini-demo, and sharing his
awesome hobby with his friends. After the presentation, the Medieval Market
will be opening up for business, and all presenters (who would like to
stay) will be given shillings to spend at the various stalls and shops. The
kids have been researching the Middle Ages and crafting things to sell to
visitors, and it’s always fun to see what they’ve come up with.

Please post here, PM me, or email me (eliisaharman at gmail.com) if you could
be of assistance for this mini-demo. I know it is during the work day, but
I’m hoping that some folks could stop by for an hour or so to help out? I
would appreciate it, as would the Barony, the kids, and school. (Also, if
you cannot come yourself, but would be willing to let us borrow some things
to display, please also let us know that as well!) Visitors will need to
bring a drivers license to check in at the office before entering the
building. Thanks, and look forward to seeing you there!

Yours in Service,
Lady Annika Siltanen
(mka Eliisa Harman)
Chancellor for Youth Activities
Barony of Ponte Alto

TLDR: Volunteers needed for Sunrise Valley ES’s Medieval Day on Friday,
June 7th from 1:30-2:30ish. Come in garb and bring something medieval to
share about...performances, demonstrations, and please-touch displays
encouraged, no actual fighting/shooting archery or live steel weapons.

School address: 10824 Cross School Rd. Reston, VA 20190 (easily accessible
via the toll road)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://seahorse.atlantia.sca.org/pipermail/ponte-alto-atlantia.sca.org/attachments/20190605/47caee25/attachment.html>