A pair of young historians got the attention of school trustees at a meeting of the Flin Flon School Division board.
Grade 6 École McIsaac School students Niki Keramydas and Cassidy Alexander presented their award-winning Heritage Fair project on Greek history in Manitoba to school board trustees during the Nov. 27 meeting. The project details how aspects of Greek culture and tradition spread to Manitoba and the north – particularly Thompson, where a large proportion of Greek immigrants settled in the late 20th century. Keramydas’s family was part of that group.
Trustees were impressed with the Grade 6 students’ project, which included Greek pillars on their project board, special Greek garments with dancers and a map of Crete sewn into the hems and fresh-baked Greek bread and cookies.
A piece from a 2017 issue of The Reminder that profiled prominent Greek immigrant and businessman George Rodarakis – Keramydas’s grandfather – was also part of the display.
The pair have combined on Heritage Fair projects twice now. Their first project dove into Alexander’s heritage, researching Métis culture in Manitoba. Last year, they took a similar strategy in studying Keramydas’s heritage.
At the 2018 Red River Heritage Fair, the students received an honourable mention from the Manitoba Historical Society, one year after their Métis project received a similar award.
Alexander and Keramydas will enter a new project in this year’s Heritage Fair, set to take place in the new year.
