From chariot races to ancient civilizations, Innovate Academy's Fall Festival reminds us that some of the most meaningful lessons are the ones we experience together.
What do a dunk tank, a chariot race, a painted pumpkin, and a life-size Goliath have in common? At Innovate Academy, they're all part of an education that extends beyond the classroom—and becomes part of a family's story.
Every autumn, Fall Festival transforms the school into a place where history, imagination, and community meet. Scholars exchange their usual routines for costumes, games, hands-on challenges, and opportunities to experience the civilizations they've been studying. Parents become participants, teachers become fellow adventurers, and lessons that began in books take on a life of their own.
This year's festival celebrates ancient Israel, Greece, Egypt, and Rome. But as we spoke with parents, teachers, and Culture Maker Committee volunteers, another theme emerged: while the activities change each year, the memories—and the relationships formed through them—endure.
When Learning Becomes a Memory
For Innovate parent Tawny Britton, the magic of Fall Festival begins with something simple: being invited into her children's world.
"As a mom, I love coming to school and seeing my boys enjoy themselves in their school environment," she shares. "They also love having Mom there, and it's so special to see their excitement when they get to share these experiences with me at school."
Her son Jackson has collected plenty of memories over the years, from pumpkin painting and games to one particularly beloved festival staple: donuts. Even last year's rainy weather, which sent the festivities indoors, became part of the family's story.
Now that Jackson is older, Tawny notices a new kind of anticipation. He's looking forward to dressing up and participating with a growing appreciation for the traditions he has come to know.
"I love watching my kids grow and see their excitement and experiences change from year to year," she says.
That is one of the quiet gifts of a recurring school tradition. Children don't simply remember the event; they begin to measure their own growth against it. What delighted them as younger scholars becomes something they anticipate, understand, and eventually help carry forward.
From the Page to the Playing Field
Of course, some Fall Festival memories are considerably louder.
Ask Madison "Madi" Mazzoli, an Innovate teacher, about her most memorable festival experience, and she'll tell you about going into the dunk tank. She also remembers the delight of watching scholars participate in chariot races.
But behind the laughter lies an educational purpose.
"Hands-on experiences, celebrations, and traditions help children retain what they have learned because they bring the words they read in class to life!" Madi explains. "They now get to have an image or vision of what they read and experience it for themselves."
Costumes offer one particularly visible example. Over the years, Madi has watched scholars creatively interpret the historical periods they've studied, transforming classroom knowledge into something they can wear, inhabit, and share.
For this year's exploration of ancient civilizations, she sees an especially meaningful opportunity to connect disciplines.
"History and the Bible are so intertwined at this time," she observes. "What we read in the Bible directly correlates with what we are reading in history, and sometimes there is overlap."
Fellow teacher Michele Cotumaccio, another enthusiastic fan of the chariot races, points to the connections scholars are making between ancient Egypt and Israel. In class, they've been learning about Egyptian and Israelite kings, comparing their personalities and approaches to leadership.
Fall Festival gives those lessons a memorable setting beyond the textbook.
"Traditions bring friends and families together," Michele says. "Hands-on celebrations help scholars create deeper, lasting memories."
Five years from now, both teachers hope their scholars will remember more than the games. Madi hopes the excitement of the day will remain alongside important knowledge of the ancient world. Michele hopes they'll remember the joy of celebrating together as a class.
Perhaps that's the beauty of experiential learning: knowledge becomes easier to revisit when it's attached to a story worth remembering.
The Parents Who Make the Magic
While scholars may see a festival filled with ancient-world adventures, behind the scenes is another kind of culture-making: parents generously sharing their time, talents, and creativity.
For Ashley Thomas, who leads Parent Connection within Innovate's Culture Maker Committee, watching that collaboration unfold has been one of the most rewarding parts of planning this year's celebration.
"The biggest surprise is always how much hidden talent exists in our school—from master builders to organizers—and how eager families are to connect and contribute when given the space to shine," Ashley shares.
Her team helps connect classroom learning with opportunities for family involvement. Teachers establish the educational vision; parents help bring it to life by sourcing materials, constructing immersive environments, and coordinating volunteers.
It's a practical expression of Innovate's collaborative educational philosophy: school and home aren't separate worlds, but partners in a shared endeavor.
Ashley is especially looking forward to the House competitions and STEM engineering challenges, where scholars and families from different grades will come together in the spirit of friendly competition.
"Watching families cross grade levels to cheer for their House teams, collaborate on the STEM engineering challenges, and bond over shared triumphs is where the real community magic happens," she says.
For Ashley, being a culture-maker means more than helping organize a successful event. It means "intentionally creating spaces where every family feels welcome, valued, and connected."
And that's a lesson children learn not simply by hearing about community, but by watching adults create it.
From Attending to Contributing
Another Innovate parent shared a particularly telling change in her son's relationship with Fall Festival.
After years of enjoying the bounce house, chariot races, pumpkin painting, and the chance to dress up with friends, he now asks what their family is contributing to the celebration—not whether they'll participate.
It's a small shift in language, but a significant one.
A child who once experienced a tradition as something prepared for him is beginning to recognize that traditions are sustained by people who choose to contribute.
This year, his family is especially excited to see scholars' reactions to a life-size Goliath, one of the ancient-world experiences awaiting them.
And while the festival offers an opportunity to celebrate what scholars have learned, it also offers something equally important: a chance to simply enjoy being children.
After weeks of reading, studying, practicing, and growing, there's something wonderful about a school day filled with laughter, costumes, friendship, and play.
A Culture Worth Passing On
The ancient civilizations our scholars are studying left behind extraordinary legacies: stories, architecture, laws, traditions, and ideas that continue to shape our world.
Yet cultures are not sustained by monuments alone. They endure through shared practices, relationships, celebrations, and the stories one generation passes to the next.
In a small but meaningful way, Innovate's Fall Festival invites our scholars to participate in that same process.
They study how ancient peoples built communities while watching their own parents and teachers build one. They discover history through hands-on experiences while making memories that may last far beyond their school years.
And somewhere between the chariot races, the House competitions, the painted pumpkins, and the ancient-world adventures, they learn something that cannot be captured by a worksheet alone:
A culture isn't simply something we inherit. It's something we create together.
Every Scholar a Culture-Maker.
With gratitude to our Community Spotlight contributors: Tawny Britton, Madison Mazzoli, Michele Cotumaccio, Ashley Thomas, and the Innovate families who help make Fall Festival a cherished tradition.
