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Fisher Middle School seventh-grader John Freier, 13, (center), who plays a jouster, and Freier's horseman Colby Moore, 12, (left), tumble to the ground after their jousting opponents knock them down. The opponents, horseman Michael Thomas, 13, and jouster Andrew Clark, 12, rejoice at the far right. Jousters sat in chairs inside wheelbarrows and tried to knock each other to the ground with plungers as their horsemen pushed the wheelbarrows and rushed the opponents. The event was part of the school's annual Medieval Faire.
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Faire Play
By Rebecca Ray
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
For a day, seventh-graders at Fisher Middle School learned how to joust, make armor and "illuminate," or decorate, letters on manuscripts at the school's annual Medieval Faire. The seventh-grade history teachers at the school organized the Faire to bring history alive for their classes and enhance the information about medieval times, a classroom.
Seventh-grader Dylan Gavin, 12, (right), clad as a knight, waits in front of Fisher Middle School with other royal subjects before history teacher Barry Siebenthal introduces them at the opening ceremony of the school's Medieval Faire.
Students and adults wore medieval garb, such as long velvet dresses, pointed hats and silver knight's helmets.
Each seventh-grade history teacher randomly selected students to compose a royal court that comprised a king, a queen, princes, princesses, knights, squires, ladies in waiting, jesters and monks. Teacher Barry Siebenthal, announced the royal courts' arrivals at a special assembly that began the Faire, which took place on Friday, April 27. The royal courts got to sit in the first few rows.
Seventh-grader Jessica Wacher, 12, juggles as she plays a court jester during Fisher Middle School's Medieval Faire.
Next, falconer Robert Shallow from the organization Falcon's Court of Yorba Linda, talked about falconry. It's a form of hunting with birds that began in China about 4,000 years ago. Shallow showed the students a Harris's hawk, a great horned owl and a falcon that was a hybrid of a peregrine and gyr. Shallow discussed each species and had the birds do a flying demonstration.
After cafeteria workers served the students a "feast," each student chose to do two activities that included stained glassmaking, candle making, floral wreath-making, mural-making, log toss, tug-of-war, sack racing and horseshoes.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
