MASQUERADE

The Masquerade is Seven Arrows’ most important festival of the year; Masquerade is a wonderful visual amalgamation of all that students have learned in history, literature, art, music, and more.

Festivals are an integral part of Seven Arrows culture, but the Masquerade is more than a festival. It is the culminating performance of our Global Cultural History curriculum at each grade level, synthesizing hours of research and evaluation, of choosing a historical figure to emulate, of studying not only the character but also the fashion and art of the day. By preparing for and participating in the Masquerade, students can truly “show” what they know in a very public way.

To prepare for the Masquerade, students write a report, design a historically accurate costume, and distill the written report into a brief dramatic monologue that they will perform. Projects are developmentally appropriate and vary in length and depth: A kindergartner’s written report may be as simple as a picture labeled with invented spelling, whereas sixth-graders’ reports show a depth of understanding and attention to detail that only seven years of journeying through the Masquerade process can produce.

The Masquerade celebration is a performance task, but students are assessed in multiple ways, including the written component (mechanics, organization, and content), ability to research and progress effectively through the process (accuracy of facts, etc.), oral interpretation, synthesizing/summarizing skills, critical thinking (capturing the “essence” of a character), and performance skills.