It is always one of the most exciting weeks for third-grade teachers, students and their families at Blackridge Elementary School. “Fantasy Week” transforms classrooms into the land of Hogwarts with a curriculum based on the popular Harry Potter story and characters.
In this episode of the Supercast, hear how teachers managed to recreate “Fantasy Week,” using their magic and creativity to make the lessons come alive virtually.
Audio Transcription
Superintendent:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today we take you into the world of Harry Potter with potions, wands, dragons, and wizardry. It's all a part of one of the most exciting weeks for third grade students at Black Ridge Elementary School. But this year, due to school dismissal, teachers had to work their magic to make what is called "Fantasy Week" happen in homes with virtual lessons that had students thoroughly engaged and excited about learning. Let's start with third grade teacher, Becky Mariani, who explains what "Fantasy Week" is all about and why Black Ridge wouldn't be the same without it
Superintendent:
Interviewing over zoom, of course, making sure that we are socially distanced and in the background, it really looks like you are a part of the House of Ravenclaw. Tell me how this all works.
Becky:
I actually am a Ravenclaw to the very core of my being, but this is a little bit different every year. In third grade, we studied the different genres of reading and writing. This particular year was a little bit challenging because when we got to fantasy, we have what's called Fantasy Week and we create a school of witchcraft wizardry, and the kids go to magic school for an entire week and they do all their reading and writing and even their math and all of their science is done in the realm of fantasy. So they're divided up into houses, just like they would be at Hogwarts. And then they go to the Black Ridge School for that week.
Superintendent:
So does the hat sort everyone into their house?
Becky:
It does. That's the very first thing that happens when the kids come to school. They go through a sorting ceremony. We put the hat on their head and they get sorted.
Superintendent:
Wow. And is it competitive throughout the week?
Becky:
Yes, we're all vying for house points and this is one of my favorite things about it, because as they're sorted into the four different houses, I will have all four houses in my class and all the other classes will have members of the four houses. So instead of classes competing for points against each other, that's houses competing for points. So if I have four to six Ravenclaw in my room, they may be doing really well, but Ravenclaw in another classroom might be struggling. So they'll balance each other out at the end when we add all the classes and all the points.
Superintendent:
Wow. So there's an element of unity and competition all at the same time.
Becky:
Absolutely.
Superintendent:
That's exciting. I know that competition can be very motivating for students. Do you see a higher level of engagement during Fantasy Week?
Becky:
I would say it about quadruples. They will do just about anything to get those points. And this year was kind of fun. We've been able to do some things online that we couldn't do in the classroom. So they've had a little Claws class point tracker and it's tracked the points every day and they've been able to keep track of the totals and you should see the chats going on. As soon as that, you can tell when the house points have been updated, because the chats just start firing and you see them talking about, we're not here, we're here. So even from home, they're following this.
Superintendent:
So which house seems to be ahead right now?
Becky:
Well, today is the house cup today. Dumbledore is going to present the house cups. So I actually already know who won. Oh, but I can't tell you, not yet because the kids don't know, but when we left off yesterday, RavenClaw won a slight edge over the other houses.
Superintendent:
Wow. And I saw that Dumbledore is in fact quite tall. Who is your Dumbledore?
Becky:
Oh, I have got to tell you about this. There's a family in the neighborhood. Suzanne and Don Johnson. And they help people with decorations and she makes these costumes. So Don is our Dumbledore. He dresses up and he comes in. He actually would present the house this year. He recorded it for us, and then Suzanne is our professor. She teaches class.
Superintendent:
Wow. Well, in the photos, he's very convincing and it's obvious the faculty has leaned into this all the way. Your outfit, the backdrop, I believe you even have a cage in the background with owls in there. Yes. Look at that. The props are really something else. How long have you been doing Fantasy Week?
Becky:
I've been doing it probably going on about eight years now.
Superintendent:
So over the years, do you accumulate more and more accoutrements to recreate the House of Ravenclaw?
Becky:
Well, my oldest daughter moved out and so her entire bedroom is full of these things and she's not allowed to move back because I don't have a place to put them. So the answer to that would be, yes.
Superintendent:
Do people bring you things or give you things because they know that you're Ravenclaw and they find Ravenclaw things to give you.
Becky:
They do. They do. But typically I wouldn't have been just Ravenclaw. If we were here in the classroom, I would have represented all houses, but because it was different this year, we decided ahead on house. So I've got everything else.
Superintendent:
So you're the head of the house. But normally you would represent all the houses throughout the week.
Becky:
Because I wouldn't want one house feeling like they were favored.
Superintendent:
Sure, sure. When they're all blended into your classroom, what normally happens during Fantasy Week? If we were not on a dismissal, what are some of the things that you would be doing that you haven't been able to do?
Becky:
Well, there's quite a few. We would have a Charms Class where they learn to use their magic wand and due to the beautiful remote candle situation that you can buy, we can actually teach them spells that make the candles go on and off. We can teach them the spell that makes water shoot, because if you've ever gotten one of those little syringes and really pushed it, you can shoot water about 30 feet across the room. If you really want to, we can get the spell. I've got a little one that shoots fire. So there's a lot of things like that we can do live that you just can't recreate online.
Superintendent:
Wow. That sounds fantastic.
Becky:
We can't play Quidditch.
Superintendent:
Quidditch? Tell me how does Quidditch work?
Becky:
Okay. Quidditch. You get to classes in the gym and they have a broom. If you do anything and you're not on your broomstick, it doesn't count. So their broomstick is a pool noodle and they have to be on the broomstick all the time. The basketball has hula hoops hanging from it, and they're worth different points depending on how low they are. And then, of course, you've got kids with foam bats, whacking foam balls at other kids, as they're running around, trying to shoot baskets into the hoops, but the game doesn't end until that one seeker catches the bouncy rubber yellow ball. That's the snitch that's floating around. So Quidditch is huge.
Superintendent:
It sounds absolutely awesome and unforgettable.
Becky:
I think we're going to invite next year's class back to play with us and have a first and second year tournament since they weren't able to do it this year.
Superintendent:
That's a great idea. I'm sure it was a big disappointment to the kids that they weren't able to be part of the tournament I would imagine. What are some of the things that you've done to adapt to online learning and to move Fantasy Week online?
Becky:
Certainly, making the recordings has been a big one. We've done a lot of recording of the lessons. That's one thing we've done, but I was talking a little bit about her biology, where we get to do plants and we study plants. And so normally we would bring them into the classroom and we would study these magical plants and write about them. It's all about writing the fantasy. So this time we got to send them out into the world and they got to go out and look for plants that they found were interesting and write about them and create magical stories about the plants and the actual world. So that was a big thing.
Superintendent:
It's a great time to get them out into their world a little bit, get them outside and discovering some things.
Becky:
Yes. In fact, there was another one we were able to do differently. We do a dragon hatching. It's all about writing fantasy. So on one day they get this dragon egg and they have to learn to take care of it. Then we were able to have them sit for 24 hours. So depending on the color of the egg, they had to find a certain condition spot. Some had to be outside, some had to be in a completely green place. Some would only hatch if they kept them in a very dark place. And so we were able to utilize them, having to take their eggs outside into the world, to get them to hatch where we couldn't do that here in the classroom either.
Superintendent:
Sure. Wow. That's incredible. There's no detail you haven't thought of in making this a full interactive experience. How did all of this start? How did Fantasy Week begin?
Becky:
Well, there is a teacher and I need to credit her. Her name is Reagan Faye. She works down in the Washington District right now. She was trying to get her kids engaged in the different genre. They didn't seem to care about what genre they were reading. They were missing that question a lot on test. What genre is this? We don't know. So we started finding different ways to introduce the genres. And this is hers. She happened to be a Harry Potter fan. So it started with one day as Fantasy Day. And then, it grew into a couple of days and now it is Fantasy Week. And next year we're talking that we will probably have to expand a couple of days to catch the tracks. It started with her.
Superintendent:
Immersive and that's the best kind of learning. And I have no doubt that it's unforgettable for the kids that get to be part of it. And I absolutely will be there next year to witness Fantasy Week myself. I can't wait to see a good game of Quidditch in person. That's fantastic. What are some of the feedback that you get from students about this event?
Becky:
Less this year because they're not right here in front of me, but if it's a good tale at all, when we went online with school and it started to look like we wouldn't be coming back, the single biggest question I got from parents and kids, what's going to happen to Fantasy Week because they know when you hit third grade, it's part of your third grade experience. So they didn't really ask about grades or how we were going to manage that. They did want to know how are we going to do Fantasy Week.
Superintendent:
It's kind of a rite of passage. I'm a third grader so I did Fantasy Week.
Becky:
It absolutely is. The feedback is just across the board positive. I think because it's so writing intensive this year at home, the kids have struggled with the writing a little bit. We're not there to help them with the writing. One of the hardest things to do from home has been writing. But beyond that, boy they've been engaged and active and just doing their best.
Superintendent:
It sounds as if the Fantasy Week activities just combined very nicely with what they need to be working on. Anyway, math, science, writing, reading.
Becky:
Yeah.
Superintendent:
And it's very imaginative and creative and engaging. So bravo, congratulations. This is fantastic. Is that your phone?
Becky:
It is. And I probably should have turned that down a long time ago. I'm sorry.
Superintendent:
No, it's okay. I figured it was probably me again.
Becky:
No, that's Professor McGonagall. Oh, okay.That's my online school. Sounds like your phone and your computer is dinging constantly.
Superintendent:
It's obvious to me, how much you care about the kids that you teach. You've been working really hard to make things work for them still amidst all of this. Your Fantasy Week is really amazing. It's really something. And for you to continue to do that and to go to all this work on top of all the extra work you're doing is just remarkable. So congratulations to you and the whole team. I love it. I honestly cannot wait to be there next year and see it in person. Anything else you'd like to tell us about Fantasy Week?
Becky:
Well, I can't say too much about the house cup because that's going to be awarded in about 30 minutes. So I'm guessing most of third grade will be online waiting for that one for sure. I just wanted to take a minute to mention that. I don't know if you see the pictures, the kids are all wearing a school uniform performance were donated by one of our families here at the class, in the school through Utah Tax Specialists. So he actually donated the shirts for Fantasy Week this year. And I wanted to be sure and mention how much we appreciate that and just what a great thing. The community has really come together and helped us out and been there. And there hasn't been anybody that said, no, we can't do that. Or we won't do that. It's more been, let's find a way to do that. And my team as well has jumped on the crazy train with me and said, yes, let's do this.
Superintendent:
Well. Like I said, this is exactly the type of learning we like to see. Its teachers pulled together and unified. It's students competitive and unique and engaged in unified, but it pulls in parents and the community in ways that you just can't replicate. So that's fantastic. I'm so excited for you and good luck to each house and be the best.
Becky:
Thank you so much. Stay with us. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we'll stop by Professor Jamie Watkins' virtual classroom, to talk with some of her Harry Potter in person and hear about the potions they've created to deal with COVID-19.
Break:
Do you want to know what's going on in Jordan School District? Get updates on the latest information that could impact you and your child, or just find an uplifting story about the good things happening in schools throughout the district. Check out our website at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Let's connect at Jordan District.
Superintendent:
Professor Watkins. It's nice to be in the great hall with you.
Professor Watkins:
Yes, you too. Thank you.
Superintendent:
I see you have platform 9 3/4 behind you there.
Professor:
Yes.
Superintendent:
That's a really impressive on location. Nicely done. And these third graders, tell me about the project they've been doing.
Professor:
So it's a Green Gotch track and they were assigned this track on Wednesday. And basically we just told them to use cardboard materials, tape, and paper, and then they were to come up with a track. The goal was to be the longest working track. That is, and as you can see, they've used a lot of different household materials and their creativity. And so far, we've had all successes. I've noticed that those marbles roll exactly where they're supposed to. Yeah, they're doing great. Mason, can you tell me what house are you in? Mason.
Mason:
Slytherin.
Professor:
You have a bit of a Slytherin luck. Let me see. You've got a little Malfoy going on. I think I see. Do you have a slitter and flag behind you there? Mason?
Mason:
Yeah.
Superintendent:
That's great. Nice job. What do you like most about Fantasy Week Mason?
Mason:
You get to use your creativity.
Superintendent:
What are some of the things you've done creatively this week?
Mason:
The spells.
Superintendent:
What did you do with spells?
Mason:
Practice on my sister.
Superintendent:
Practice on your sister. Wow. What did you turn her into?
Mason:
Aa toad.
Superintendent:
Wow. Wow. Have you turned her back yet or have you decided you liked her better as a toad?
Mason:
Better as a toad.
Superintendent:
Okay. Well fair enough. As long as your parents allow that, I guess you can do that as long as they'll let you. Is she your older sister or younger sister? Okay. Well that seems about right.
Professor:
So all of those students were assigned potions classes and they made potions. But at one point that they were able to make their own potion, using their own creativity.
Superintendent:
Oh. So tell me about your own personal potion.
Professor:
Hey, your potions book. You need to open up the big dusty, old one that I'm sure you have in the kitchen where it's written in. It turns you into whatever creature you desire.
Superintendent:
Oh. So the person who takes the potion gets some choice in the matter. And what did you use to make your potion? Can you share that with us or is that more of a secret? What ingredients are in your potion?
Professor:
Mason, do you want to hold it up and show us seven dragon tea, the men to breath, three eyes of a toad, feather of a Phoenix.
Superintendent:
Can you get those on Amazon or where do you go to get those?
Professor:
Yes.
Superintendent:
Oh, of course. Of course my mistake.
Professor:
Hold up your potion again. It's delicious.
Superintendent:
Did you try it?
Mason:
No, I have like 10 more days until I can. First years are not allowed to drink potions.
Superintendent:
I see. So if you were to have some Mason, what animal would you want to turn yourself into?
Mason:
A cobra snake.
Superintendent:
A cobra. Wow. Watch out for those mongooses. Okay. All right. Well thank you Mason. David, can I ask you a question? What house are you in, David?
Superintendent:
You're in Slytherin. What do you like about Fantasy Week?
David:
That it's Potter for any fan to see. We get to do magic and coaching..
Superintendent:
Sophia, what do you like most about Fantasy Week?
Sophia:
That I get to be with my teacher and my classmates.
Professor:
Sophia joined our class while we were off track. And so we have never got to actually meet face to face.
Superintendent:
Oh, wow. Well, Sophia I'll bet everyone's looking forward to meeting you too. Professor Watkins, what do you like most about Fantasy Week?
Professor:
I like actually the night before we released all of our lessons, it felt like Christmas Eve. It was so exciting. And I couldn't wait to see how excited they would be when they received their wizard kits and all the pictures they've been sending in. It's just been so magical and I just enjoy the magic part of it. I liked the owl pellet. It was fun.
Superintendent:
Tell me about the owl pellet, Sophia
Sophia:
Seven jars. And I just liked it because my snip ones.
Superintendent:
For skulls. Who's that?
Sophia:
An eight. Josh, Mason.
Superintendent:
Oh, Mason. Tell me that again. Mason,
Mason:
Mine had four heads and eight jaws, six heads and jaws. David, yours had six heads and five jaws. Nine had like mine had like two mice. So like two bodies of medicine. Really? You have to get yours.
Superintendent:
Two heads.
Superintendent:
Sophia. What do you like most about Fantasy Week?
Sophia:
I liked making potions. I like making pygmy puff again, sweetie. It picked me.
Superintendent:
Puff.
Sophia:
It's a little creature that can't survive on its own. So we adopt.
Superintendent:
And what's its name?
Sophia:
Cutaway Cuddly.
Superintendent:
That's a good name. It looks like it lives up to its name. Joe, what do you like most about Fantasy Week?
Joe:
I liked the potions.
Superintendent:
What potion did you make?
Joe:
I made a cure potion for all sicknesses or diseases.
Superintendent:
Wow. That's good timing. This is exactly the time we need to cure all potion. Great job. Ricky, Joe, David, you have your hand up. Tell me about your potion.
David:
As four or five rocks mermaids here. It can make a clone of you.
Superintendent:
Like you just drink it and you sit down next to you. Is the clone the one that you would make clear the table and load the dishwasher?
David:
Yes. Not just those that also clean the dishes for me because I always have to clean in my sister. My son would do my sister's dishes.
Superintendent:
Oh wow. So your clone would do all of the dirty work. Is that what you're saying?
David:
Also do my home only when it's bad homework, not good homework.
Superintendent:
Like making potions. You guys have some great ideas and some great potions. I love it. Sophia, tell me about your potion.
Sophia:
It's called Bye-COVID.
Superintendent:
It's called Bye-COVID.
Sophia:
Yeah.
Superintendent:
So we'll get rid of COVID. Right? That's very practical and creative. Thank you for sharing this with me. I have not talked with any students that had such great potions before, so thanks you guys. Great job. Thank you.
Thank you, Professor Watkins for all the extra work you're doing to make this happen. When you already had lots of extra work, trying to teach online. So thank you. This is fabulous. I can understand why it felt like Christmas Eve when you were waiting to give the kids this experience the next morning. This is fantastic. And like I told Professor Marianne, I cannot wait to see this next year.
Professor Watkins:
Yes. Yes it is. It is phenomenal. She is definitely the brain behind all of this.
Superintendent:
Well, thanks again for spending time with me. Thank you so much. We're going to take one more quick break before we wrap things up with Black Ridge Elementary school principal, David Butler.
I'm Steven Hall, Director of Jordan Education Foundation. In today's challenging and uncertain times, it is more important than ever before to support one another. Here at the Jordan Education fFoundation, we invite you to join us in making sure children are not going hungry. Your $10 donation to the Foundation will help us feed one student for a weekend. When food and meals may be very scarce for some, with food and hygiene supplies and the Principal's Pantries at Jordan School District being depleted and in higher demand than ever before. Every financial contribution made will help us to keep the pantries filled for students who would otherwise go without. The Jordan Education Foundation exists due to the generosity of people who care about kids. If you would like to donate to help children from going hungry, please visit Jordan Education Foundation.org, or contact the Foundation at (801) 567-8125. Thank you together. We can make a difference.
Superintendent:
We're here with David Butler, Principal at Black Ridge Elementary school to talk about Fantasy Week. How are you this morning?
David:
I'm doing great. How are you?
Superintendent:
I'm doing great. So this is Mr. Butler's first year at Black Ridge and so he has experienced Fantasy Week for the first time as principal. Unfortunately he has experienced it only online, but exciting things have happened this year. What was your first impression of Fantasy Week?
David:
You know, I have heard about Fantasy Week from the day that I got here at Black Ridge and all of the kids really look forward to it. And when we went out of school due to COVID-19, the teachers were especially concerned that their kids got to participate in Fantasy Week. Seeing what they've done online has just been an inspiring experience. It's just blown me away.
Superintendent:
Tell me about some of the things that have particularly impressed you that have been happening online to continue the Fantasy Week tradition.
David:
From what I understand in the past, they've decorated their classrooms and it really brought a full experience to the kids. And so this year they really felt like with school being out, they needed to bring that experience online. And so we had a couple of parents decorate their whole basement and they filmed videos and dressed up like Dumbledore and all the vendor and Professor McGonagall, even sorted the kids using a sorting hat and made these videos that the kids participated in, learning at home but felt very immersed in what was happening.
Superintendent:
That's amazing. It's a great example of families and the community diving in and being connected to the school and what's going on there.
David:
Yeah, they even had another parent donate their student uniforms and the kids all got a t-shirt that they had to color the color of their ties. Anyway, it was great to see everybody pitch in and help. I know that man's name was Bill Koehler. We appreciate him from Legacy Accounting, he donated the uniforms.
Superintendent:
That's fantastic. What is your role as principal in all of Fantasy Week?
Speaker 5:
You know, as the principal this year, I kind of watched. I know they had told me that I would be dressing up like Dumbledore and going into each of the classrooms, but where they did everything online, the parents really stepped up and did all of the videos and everything that way. And so I have kind of just overseeing and watched in awe as the teachers and the parents have been involved and made this happen.
Superintendent:
Do you have your Hagrid costume ordered for next year?
David:
You know, I actually have been thinking about which one I'm going to order, so we will be ready. I'm leaning towards Old geez. What's his name?
Superintendent:
Hagrid with the kind of a cool costume. I can see you pulling off a Hagrid and I think that would be good. What what do you have next to you there? You've got the house cup you have there? This large goal?
David:
Yes, this is the house cup. And every year we put the winners and this year Hufflepuff won a cup. It started in 2016 at Black Ridge and you can see here that Hufflepuff is the winner. The teachers love this because it helps the kids be part of something that's bigger than just themselves and even their classroom. And they felt like they needed that more this year than any other year due to being out of school.
Superintendent:
It really is admirable, the effort that's gone into this. Teachers are already working so hard, doing so much extra. Parents are under stress and for everyone to chip in and go above and beyond to make sure this happens no matter what and happens with style is really inspiring.
David:
Yeah. I agree.
Superintendent:
Anyone who isn't familiar with Fantasy Week might just think that it's all fun and games and the learning stops during this week, but that's not true, is it?
David:
No. They integrate all of the curriculum into these activities. I know that the students do science and math and a lot of writing. In fact, they do a research project. One of the writing assignments, for example, is on a dragon egg that had hatched and they had to come up with their story, a narrative story on that. They have watched and done these potions. And I think one of the students' favorite activities was "do-it-yourself-potion", where they came up with what they wanted to put in a potion. One of them actually delivered one to the school and it was really quite gross. It was a caterpillar in honey and he would give it to our secretaries.
Superintendent:
And what did he tell you that caterpillar in honey would do? What was that potion's power?
David:
I actually didn't get the backstory on that. The secretary just brought it in and said, "Oh my gosh, what do I do with this?"
Superintendent:
Well, as I spoke with students earlier. Some of them claim to have cured Coronavirus with their potion, which I thought was pretty awesome. It was really impressive to talk with the students and teachers earlier. What have you seen from teachers that has surprised you through Fantasy Week?
David:
You know, just their sheer dedication. You know, they've decorated little parts of their classrooms to make their own videos. They've worked with parents to make sure the videos are just stellar. They've obviously gone above and beyond because they love their students and care about them so much. That's what's been inspiring to me. We just have some amazing third grade teachers that are willing to stop at nothing to make sure that these kids have this experience
Superintendent:
Being new to the school, were you surprised at how the community came together to make sure that Fantasy Week happened no matter what?
David:
Yes, I was. I was blown away to be honest. There were two parents I really feel like we need to mention. It's Don and Suzanne Johnson. Don and Suzanne Johnson just stopped at nothing. You know, Don dressed up like Dumbledore and was out front at the school when all of the kids came to pick up their items. He also dressed up like all Vander and taught them how to use their wands. At one school, Susan Johnson dressed up like professor McGonigal and did the sorting hat. She was also here when the kids picked up their wands and their potions and their uniforms and everything else that got sent home with them. And so we really appreciate Don and Suzanne as well. Great, great parents.
Superintendent:
What are some of the reactions you've heard from the kids to Fantasy Week and how it's gone?
David:
You know, the kids have been just totally excited. I've been surprised at how many emails I've received from parents stating that their kids are telling them to send me pictures. And it's really fun to see the pictures that have been sent. It shows the kids sitting in front of their computers with their teacher on the screen, dressed up and they're doing potions and learning how to use their wands. It's just inspiring to see.
Superintendent:
It sounds like the learning and the experience is completely immersive.
David:
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
Superintendent:
All right. Well, thanks a lot for the time, Dave. We really appreciate it.
David:
Not a problem.
Superintendent:
I can't wait to come next year. I'll be there for sure. Okay. Awesome. Thanks Dave.
David:
Thanks.
Superintendent:
We'll see you on the Hogwarts Express this fall, but in the meantime, remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see out there.