The 4th Grade Greek Odyssey Sleep Under: An Epic Night at ISB

Did you know that George O’Connor’s graphic novel series, The Olympians, is the most popular series in the ISB Library? This inspired the Library team and the Middle School Booklets Club to host an immersive extravaganza that would transport 4th Graders to Ancient Greece!

Earlier in the year, 4th Grade students had a mysterious visit in their Library class from Hermes (ISB parent Alessandro d’Ansembourg), inviting them to the evening’s festivities. From that moment, 4th Graders weren’t exactly sure what to expect from this new ISB tradition, but they were certainly intrigued! Leading up to the event, 4th Graders read Greek myths in their classrooms and Library class, while behind the scenes, students, parents, and teachers volunteered their time to create decorations, write scripts, and so much more! The result was a true celebration of imagination, storytelling, and creativity.

“The Sleep Under was something fun for both the kids and the people organizing it. It was a special event and we had never done anything like it before.” -Mischa, 7th Grade

When the 4th Graders arrived at ISB on the evening the Sleep Under, they were delighted to meet each other dressed in togas. As Greek lyre music played, students were guided by lantern-wielding pans and muses into Athena’s Workshop. Thanks to the talents of lighting designer and ISB parent Lucrecia Briceno, the Cafeteria, Movement Room, Learning Commons, and Music Room were completely transformed to the setting of a Greek myth beyond all of our imaginations! Teachers and administrators appeared one by one, dressed as Greek goddesses and gods. The odyssey kicked off with an original song, written by Director of Middle School Richard Brownstone, and performed with the musical and vocal talents of teachers and students. As Poseidon, Mr. Brownstone was searching for his missing trident.

Students were divided into four teams (Team Persephone, Team Apollo, Team Artemis, and Team Poseidon) that they would remain with throughout the night on their hunt for the trident. Each student was given a custom-made button to signify what team they were on. Before the quest truly began, students participated in a wreath making workshop, creating felt crowns to sport throughout the night. In Ancient Greece, wreaths were associated with Greek attire and celebrations, and it was believed that wearing these wreaths would bring you closer to the gods, and the leaves you chose would indicate which god you were looking to for favors. In order to fit into the ancient world and win favor with the gods, students donned their wreaths and set off for Mount Olympus (ordinarily known as the ISB Library)!

The immensely popular author and illustrator of The Olympians series, George O’Connor, made an appearance as Pan, rocking Hermes shoes and horns (as Pan explained, his goat legs were at the cleaners). George led the kids in a “Create Your Own God” workshop on Mount Olympus, among hand-painted mountains, blue-hued lighting, and clouds. Enchanted, the students worked with George to create a new goddess called “Alexatricos,” the goddess of computers and modern technology. O’Connor left his illustration of this new goddess hanging in the Library, where she can be visited and enjoyed by the community. As 4th Grade student Milo explains, “She has a computer head of a robot, a torso, a wire skirt, robotic horse legs, and radio to speak.” The workshop culminated in a lively Q&A, during which students asked George questions about publishing.

Next, ISB parent Michele Clarke-Ceres performed an original dynamic comedy routine as the goddess Thalia in “Thalia’s Comedy Cloud!” 4th Graders cracked up and clapped along to the beats of Thalia’s rap song which included the refrain:

“I am the Greek Goddess Thalia…God of Comedy,
I’ll make you laugh, giggle, and jump – that’s my remedy.”

Since the event, 4th Graders have been heard reciting some of Thalia’s lines and cracking each other up.

“Bringing centuries-old Greek gods to life in 2019 – through rap – was a lot of fun. It was a real pleasure working with Maria, her team, and fellow parents!”
-Michele, ISB Parent

“We were amazed by the number of people — teachers, students, parents and outsiders — who were inspired by this brilliant idea to transform ISB into another world, and who helped to create a truly unique night of magic, fun and learning. Seeing the excitement of the kids in togas at the threshold and hearing the non-stop avalanche of stories on the trip home was a treat…it’s a gift that our son will not forget. A huge thank you to the library staff and everyone involved! Homer would have been jealous.” –Tal Nawy, ISB Parent

A special thank you to Lucrecia Briceno for designing the lighting, Regan Penaluna and Eileen Ley for spearheading the decoration team, Richard Brownstone for writing the music, Molida for directing the Booklets’ play and creating the trivia game, and Michele Clarke-Ceres for performing as not just one, but two goddesses.

This event would not have been possible without the help of our Library team and Middle School Booklets: Maria, Maggie, Amelia, Anna, Elsie, Filipe, Filippa, Lara, Jillian, Margaux, Marina, Max, Mischa, Verena, teachers and administrators: Amanda, Chavelly, Danielle, Delphine, Hector, Jocsan, Joe, Kelly, Isabelle, Marc, Melanie, Molida, Natalie, Paulina, Richard, and Verónica, student volunteers: Amalia, Camille, Clio, Darian, Elsie, James, Jonas, Jonny, Kaleb, Loic, Marina, Marvin, Mathis, Milo, Paloma, Seres, Simon, Tiago, and Wade, parent volunteers: Florencia Tateossian, Gretchen Drobnyk, Ashna Chopra, Heloise Bebear, Jasmine Chu, Jennifer Wheary, Jimena Bruguera, Marianne Gimon, Melissa Magallanes, Miwa Koizumi, Pauline de Vivie de Regie, Rudy Ceres, Shayna Wellington, Sophie Amieva, and Stephanie Arpage, friends: Karen Eberle, Sophie Forker and Tae Won Yu, and author and illustrator George O’Connor! Our Greek feast was prepared by local restaurant Avlee and the sweet treats were baked by Nia Judelson.

“The Sleep Under was something fun for both the kids and the people organizing it. It was a special event and we had never done anything like it before.” -Mischa, 7th Grade

A big thank you to all who helped to make this evening magical. This event was a beautiful showcase of our community’s creativity, generosity, and talents. Click here to view a slideshow, made by the Library and the Booklets, with more photos from the event.