Assemblies at George School are different. They will probably challenge your opinions and worldviews, inspire you, and give you and your friends a lot to talk about. Here are some highlights of assemblies from the 2007-08 year:


May 19
Recognition Assembly

Head of School Nancy Starmer paused before the recognition announcements began to acknowledge everyone who is a part of the George School community. The recognition announcements began with seniors who have made the Head of School's List, the Honor Roll, and/or both lists for six or more terms during their time at George School. Faculty announced the recipients of the Pi Letter Awards, the Laramore Awards, the Caroline Buck Book Award, the Rhode Island School of Design Award, and the Argo Poetry and Prose Awards.

Nancy Starmer announced the faculty recipients of endowed chairs and professional development grants for the 2008-09 academic year and recognized faculty and students who will be leaving at the end of this academic year. The student editors of Opus, the school yearbook, announced this year’s yearbook dedication. All audience members were invited to sing "The George School Hymn" to conclude the assembly.


April 28
Career Workshop

Career Workshop is an annual assembly period that introduces students to a variety of career options. Purcell McKamey '67, whose professional name is Jim Purcell, presented one of fifteen seminars, describing his career as an actor. Eight additional alumni presented workshops—Kareem Afzal '93 (alternative fuels engineer), Robert Burchman '96 (money manager), Andy Cantor '77 (magazine publisher), Andy Chen '91 (disaster relief), Tony Cino '94 (international trade specialist), Peter Ingerman '52 (self-described mad genius), Jevon Thoresen '97 (media marketing), and Benjamin Walmer '94 (architect). In addition, George School parent Len Brown (criminal justice system) presented a workshop. Other represented career fields included chemist, chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, newspaper editor, physical therapist, and TV news director.


April 7
Folk Arts Rajasthan

Seven musicians from Rajasthan, India, performed traditional music, gave individual demonstrations of their instruments, and had musical competitions with one another as the audience clapped along. Selections included a traditional desert welcome song, a celebratory wedding song, and a sacred song about a temple in Rajasthan. The musicians, members of the marginalized Merasi community, came to the United States through a cooperative relationship with Folk Arts Rajasthan, a nonprofit organization that works to preserve and promote Rajasthani culture.


March 28
Kahan Chandrani '07, "Corporate Social Responsibility"

Kahan Chandrani of Gujarat, India, is a 2007 graduate of George School. He has spent six months working in the Corporate Social Responsibility Department of Suzlon Energy Limited, one of the world's top suppliers of wind turbines, which are used to generate wind energy. During the assembly, Kahan explained why he believes it is important for individuals and corporations to make their actions sustainable. Stating that sustainability goes hand in hand with social and environmental responsibility, Kahan presented facts about global warming, pollution, and inequality, and their impact on the future of the planet. Kahan pointed out that corporations have the power to influence millions of lives through their actions, and that a corporation can become socially responsible only if its individual employees act in socially responsible ways. He then listed various ways in which individuals can make their behavior more sustainable, such as purchasing clothing made through fair labor practices, reducing paper consumption, using more efficient modes of transportation, and buying local, organic food.


February 22
The Rimers of Eldritch
GS theater production

George School theater students gave a behind-the-scenes look at their production of The Rimers of Eldritch in order to promote the performances scheduled for February 22 and 23 at 8:00 p.m. A drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, The Rimers of Eldritch centers on a mysterious murder in a small Midwestern town. Through a non-chronological structure with recurring dialogue and scenes, the play reveals the identity of the murderer while exploring the consequences of intolerance, hypocrisy, and dishonesty in the lives of the townspeople. The play employs themes that are characteristic of Lanford Wilson's work, such as conformity and the predicament of social outcasts.


January 21
MLK Day
"Platanos and Collard Greens" play

George School's nineteenth annual all-day commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day began with a performance of the off-Broadway play Platanos and Collard Greens, presented by a professional theater group at an all-school assembly. A romantic comedy that addresses stereotypes, prejudices, and myths that exist between African-Americans and Latinos, the production has been performed at over seventy-five colleges and universities across the country.

Beginning at 10:45 a.m., various workshop sessions on campus encouraged participants to discuss and reflect in a variety of ways on Dr. King's message of multiculturalism, diversity, and peace. The workshops were led by professors and graduate students from Temple University, members of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey, George School students who attended the National Association of Independent Schools' annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference, and various George School student organizations. The day's events concluded with an all-school meeting for worship in the afternoon. In addition, a group of students and faculty participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in Philadelphia.


January 14
O'Neill Musical Performance

Hip hop and spoken word artists Yako, Core Rhythm, Duv, and Mike Supreme performed at this assembly. They invited students to participate in several parts of the performance, including a demonstration of "beatbox" vocal percussion, a dance demonstration, and an improvised song about objects that audience members held in the air. The upbeat music drew an enthusiastic response from the audience, as did Mike Supreme's humorous dance moves.

This assembly was funded by the Chuck O'Neill '94 Musical Performance Fund, which was established by Tom and Kate O'Neill in memory of their son Chuck, a 1994 graduate of George School. Chuck's brother Tim O'Neill, a 1999 George School graduate, spoke at the beginning of the assembly, describing Chuck's love of music.


January 7
South Africa work camp

Students who participated in George School’s spring 2007 work camp in South Africa spoke about their experiences. Their trip represents the fifth service project that George School has held in that region. The students remembered teaching, painting, and playing soccer with children at elementary schools; playing with children and helping to clean at an orphanage; visiting a tuberculosis clinic and a medical center for the children of young women living with HIV/AIDS; painting a mural for a man in a facility for disabled adults; and visiting Robben Island Prison, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated from 1964 to 1982. The students also expressed their gratitude for the hospitality of the host families they stayed with in two different townships near Capetown. Each George School student is required to complete a sixty-five-hour service project before graduation. All projects take the form of direct interaction with people who are disempowered because of social, racial, economic, or health factors. The projects vary from intense, two-week experiences in school-sponsored domestic or international work camps, to once-a-week experiences that extend throughout the school year, to preapproved independent projects.


December 14
ESL

Students in George School’s ESL (English as a Second Language) program gave performances to share elements of their cultures with the community, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the audience. A group of Korean students danced to a popular song from Korea; Vietnamese students gave solo performances of popular songs from their country; Chinese students performed on a traditional Chinese harp; a group of Chinese students presented a humorous skit about “kung fu” table tennis; and a Japanese student performed a fan dance. George School has one hundred students of foreign nationality or Americans living abroad, from twenty-seven countries.


December 10
"Perspectives on the War in Iraq"

Edna Valdepeñas, associate dean of students and diversity hiring coordinator at George School, spoke to honor the life of her brother, Marine Lance Corporal Eric Valdepeñas, who died in the Iraq War at the age of twenty-one. Eric was one of several Marines who helped to save Baby Mariam, an Iraqi infant who needed surgery for a rare condition. Thanks to the Marines’ efforts, Mariam eventually received care in the United States. Edna showed a documentary film about her brother, in which members of her family remembered Eric as a good brother, uncle, son, and friend. Edna also shared the words of some of the Marines who knew her brother, and spoke of the grief that she and her family have experienced since Eric’s death. Edna received a standing ovation.


December 7
"Green Building and the Sustainability Equation" by Sandy Wiggins

Sustainable design expert Sandy Wiggins is the chair of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the country's primary coalition of building-industry leaders who promote environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy buildings. The USGBC reports that in the United States alone, buildings account for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global climate change. During his presentation, Sandy explained that environmentally responsible architecture can have a major impact on the health of the planet by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of buildings. He described The 2030 Challenge, which invites the architecture and building community worldwide to adopt standards that will make all building construction and renovation carbon-neutral by the year 2030. Sandy also urged students to be aware of the environmentally responsible decisions they can make every day, such as using public transportation instead of a car, and turning out lights when they are not in use.

"Sandy designed the planned Friends Center green renovations in Philadelphia and has extensive experience with green design," said Head of School Nancy Starmer. George School's Library Design Committee has consulted Sandy regarding the green design for the school's planned new learning commons and library. Sandy is founder and principal of Consilience LLC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—a consulting and real estate development company that aims to build communities that are environmentally, socially, and economically responsible.


November 30
Freedom from Chemical Dependency Foundation (FCD)

Every year during one weekend, George School brings consultants from the Freedom from Chemical Dependency Foundation (FCD) to campus to run workshops for all new students. FCD is a nonprofit organization that works to prevent substance abuse. At the assembly, Dave Waterman, one of the year's consultants, described the losses that he suffered as a result of his drug and alcohol abuse and urged students not to make the same mistakes he did. All George School freshmen and new sophomores are required to attend two of the weekend workshops run by FCD. New juniors and seniors are required to attend one workshop.


November 2
Postmortem
Fall Theater Performance

Students in Maureen West's Theater Performance class and Scott Hoskins's Stagecraft class offered a preview of the mystery/thriller Postmortem in order to promote the full productions scheduled for November 2 and November 3. Although the plot of the play is fictional, the main character and the setting are not. The protagonist, William Gillette (1853–1937), was an American actor and playwright famed for his onstage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Postmortem is set in his Connecticut home—a medieval castle that the actor designed himself. In the play, which takes place in 1922, an offstage murder mystery develops when William and the cast of his most recent Sherlock Holmes production spend a weekend in his castle. In the course of the play, William takes on the role of a detective in his real life when he suspects that someone in the castle is trying to murder him.


October 15
SAGE (Students Associated for Greater Empathy)

This assembly was a presentation about SAGE, a student-run organization of peer counselors who are trained to listen, give support, share information, and make referrals. In order to introduce themselves to new students and explain the group’s purpose, the SAGE students performed a series of skits. The skits addressed situations that might prompt a student to seek SAGE counseling, such as homesickness, dealing with stress, or depression. The peer counselors reminded students that they are always there to listen or to refer them to professionals.


October 5
Open Doors

Members of the organization Open Doors—an alliance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and straight students—read personal essays and testimonies from various sources about the painful emotional experiences that can occur as one comes to terms with one's sexual orientation and deals with other people's perceptions of oneself. The readings and performances included a skit about the importance of treating others with respect, as well as several monologues, film segments, and a poem.


October 1
Nicaragua work camp

Students who traveled to George School's sister school in Nicaragua—El Centro Educativo Nicaragüita—in the spring of 2007 spoke about their experiences doing service work at the school. They described fond memories of working as teachers' helpers, cultivating new friendships with the students at the school, bonding with their host families, facing the challenges of communicating in a second language, learning about Nicaraguan culture, and witnessing the realities of poverty. George School has sent faculty and students on a service project to El Centro Educativo Nicaragüita every year since 1992. Each George School student is required to complete a sixty-five-hour service project before graduation. All projects take the form of direct interaction with people who are disempowered because of social, racial, economic, or health factors. The projects vary from intense, two-week experiences in school-sponsored domestic or international work camps, to once-a-week experiences that extend throughout the school year, to preapproved independent projects.


September 28
"Interreligious Dialogue at GS"

Chip Poston, head of the George School Religion Department, introduced this assembly, in which several students and a faculty member spoke about their personal religious beliefs. Chip said that he hoped the assembly would encourage everyone in the school community to feel comfortable speaking about their own faith and stated that it is important to share our deepest truths with one another because we often learn the most from those whose experiences are different from our own. Members of the George School student organizations Havurah (a Jewish culture group), LOGOS (a Christian interest group), and Young Friends (a Quaker support group) spoke, along with math teacher Dorothy Lopez, who shared her perspective as a Muslim. “I thought it was very well-received,” said Olivia Henry ’09, one of the speakers from Young Friends, after the assembly. “To show the school that we as a group contain many different perspectives was a good experience for everyone.”


September 21
Salifu Kamara, boy soldier from Sierra Leone

Twenty-one-year-old Salifu Kamara described his experiences as a child soldier in Sierra Leone’s civil war and stated that he has decided to devote his life to peace and love. Salifu was born in Sierra Leone and forced to join the army of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) at the age of nine. He has spoken to a conference at the United Nations and is seeking asylum in the United States. At the assembly, he summarized Sierra Leone’s history and explained how the struggle for control of the country’s diamond resources led to the civil war—a conflict in which approximately 50,000 people were killed between 1991 and 2001. During the war, Salifu was captured, taken into the army, and trained to use an AK-47. His captors gave him and the other children drugs to desensitize them. Eventually Salifu made the courageous decision to leave the army, and he managed to escape alive. The violence of the war claimed many of his family members, and he is now believed to be the only survivor of his immediate family. Salifu completed high school in Sierra Leone and at the age of eighteen created an organization called Global Defense for Disabled Children and Youths. He stated that he is grateful to God for his survival, and that he has resolved to use his experience to transform violence into peace, to support the rights of children in Sierra Leone, and to work against child hunger in his native country. During the question-and-answer period, an audience member commented that Salifu does not seem angry about the atrocities he has experienced. Salifu explained that he accepts his experiences as a testimony that must be shared in order to promote love, sharing, and compassion. Salifu concluded the assembly by singing two songs in his native language. He received a standing ovation.


September 7
Deans: Emergency procedures

Dean of Students Nate McKee and Director of Safety and Security Doug Walters reviewed the procedures for a campus lockdown. The school would go into lockdown mode in the event of an emergency to keep students safe. Doug also demonstrated how to use a fire extinguisher, telling students to use the acronym PASS to remember the steps: P (pull the pin), A (aim at the base of the fire), S (squeeze the handle), and S (sweeping motion directed at the base of the fire).


September 3
Opening Assembly/First Day of Classes
 
Head of School Nancy Starmer encouraged students to view the new academic year as an opportunity for discovery as they learn together and from one another in an environment of mutual respect. The school as a whole, she said, will be making new discoveries as it implements some curricular changes—including the addition of a Mandarin Chinese course—and works towards becoming more environmentally sustainable.

In honor of Labor Day, Nancy recognized the work that George School's environmental services, food service, maintenance, and grounds departments had done to make the opening of school possible. She also recognized the work of the administrative offices that had been open during the summer. New students were welcomed, and new faculty and staff were introduced to the community. A slide show illustrated the athletic, academic, and orientation activities that occurred during the two weeks before the first day of classes. To close the assembly, the audience sang "The George School Hymn."