When the 25th annual Pentathlon Festival was canceled last spring, it was just one of many ways that COVID-19 disrupted established traditions and routines for many on campus. The festival, which is an athletic, artistic, and poetic combination modeled after the ideals of the Greek Olympics, has become a cherished fifth grade right of passage that culminates their year-long study of ancient cultures.
That’s why yesterday’s festivities for what are now the sixth graders, were so special.
“I promised the parents that I would give their children the experience of the Pentathlon,” said Movement teacher John Saccone, who is the main organizer and keeper of the event. “As school started this year, I said I was going to do the Pentathlon somehow.”
Despite the challenges, the games moved forward with camaraderie and cheer. While score was kept— the scoring method during the events focuses on form— it was the feeling that the sixth graders had at the end of the day that was most important. “We want them on this day to be able to rise up, stand up, and know that they can be a goddess or a god,” said Saccone.
“It was beautiful,” said Saccone. “You could see the children needed this. It’s part of the school’s history.”