An all-school assembly planned by the Community Time Leadership Committee was held in Taper Gymnasium on Dec. 3. All community assemblies occur during Community Time on the first cycle of each month and follow the same basic structure. The assemblies start off with musical performances to spotlight different student artists and welcome the student body. The performance is followed by a short, personal story from an Upper School administrator, announcements from Student Council, an arts feature and closing remarks. The December assembly featured Julia Meyer ’27 singing and playing the guitar, Assistant Head of School for Community and Belonging Janine Jones sharing a story about her father, and a performance by the Jazz Singers.
Community Time Leadership Committee member Ivy Wang ’26 said planning the assemblies is a process that involves many people and a lot of effort.
“It takes a lot more effort than people see because we have to do a rehearsal from beginning to end the day before,” Wang said. “ The team is doing an amazing job. Mr. Plourde is an innovative genius with so many ideas, and everyone is good at making his visions turn into a reality.”
Wang said that the assemblies each quarter focus on the school’s four main pillars: excellence, purpose, integrity and community.
“We hope that these pillars will mesh together under the overarching theme of belonging,” Wang said. “We want to increase belonging for both students and faculty. Traditionally, the school has operated like a college where faculty only participate in teaching lessons, making it seem very isolated. Now, faculty [must] be at all events. We also try to integrate them into student seating to increase community and connection.”
Performing Arts Teacher Zanaida Robles, who led the Jazz Singers performance during Wednesday’s assembly, said she was glad she accomplished her goal of getting the whole school engaged and entertained.
“I wanted to showcase our talented Jazz Singers ensemble,” Robles said. “But mostly, I just wanted everyone in the room to try singing together. I am thrilled with how it turned out. Not only did everyone sing, but it turned out to be really fun.”
Robles said she looks forward to watching other performances at future assemblies.
“To me, these assemblies are less about passive performances and more about getting the community involved in doing something together,” Robles said. “I really want to see and learn from the upcoming arts features from other arts disciplines. We’re blessed with extremely talented, passionate and inspiring arts faculty. I can’t wait to learn from them during future all-school assemblies.”
Sarah Huang ’27 said she enjoyed listening to the Jazz Singers performance.
“It felt like a teaser,” Huang said. “They are really good and I really liked hearing them sing and bring the holiday spirit.”
Wang said she wishes people would be less pessimistic about the assemblies and approach them with a more open mind.
“These community time events are happening either way, so people should be a little more grateful that we’re trying so hard to make these different and engaging instead of just a speaker series,” Wang said. “It is futile to include negativity, and people have so much more fun when everyone comes with a brighter energy. Having more optimism gives the events more potential for it to do what we want, fostering a tight-knit community.”
