Middle School Assembly Focuses on Humanities Classes

The Middle School has been providing a window into their classroom life during several community assemblies held throughout the year. Previous assemblies have focused on STEM/STEAM courses and electives, as well as the arts; the most recent Feb. 26 assembly highlighted various Humanities courses, including Carolyn Donovan's 6th Grade English class and Dwayne Williams's 8th Grade History class. FLAME members Mia D. and Rhodes B. hosted the assembly, introducing the speakers and topics.

At the start of the assembly, 7th graders took the stage as the "elders" leading the "Ceremony of Twelve" event from Lois Lowry's dystopian novel, The Giver, which the 6th grade is currently reading in their English class. Sixth graders were then assigned their "lifelong careers" in this reenactment of the fictional event, with roles such as Speaker, Department of Justice, Manager of Controlled Visibility, Human Resource Manager, and Advancement Specialists. Students were later grouped based on the assignment given during the assembly to meet with the "community elder" (a.k.a., a member of the SSFS staff) and learn more about the jobs that make our own community function. 

After this reenactment, the 8th Grade History class students took the stage. Maddy W. explained that the 8th graders in Dwayne's History class had been challenged to think carefully about what words and symbols best capture the idea of "America," and how each defines the rights and responsibilities of citizens and citizenship. The class studied carious court cases related to citizenship and various poems addressing this topic, from authors like Langston Hughes, Emma Lazarus, John O'Donohue, and Lucille Clifton, among others. Then students read their own original poem about citizenship, with their flag design graphics behind them.
 

As Rhodes shared in his closing of the assembly, 

"Those were powerful commentaries about citizenship in the U.S. today.... The presentation of both dystopia and citizenship in this morning's program has been a good reminder to think about our Quaker SPICES, community and stewardship in particular. We can use this assembly to help us stay aware of how fortunate we are to be in a community where our individuality, ideas, and creativity are celebrated. As we go forward with our days, we can think about how we, as community members, steward and care for this community and how to make sure that no one feels as though they can't be a "citizen" of SSFS."