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 2010-11 year:


Friday, April 1, 2011
Andrew Bourns/Fourth Wall Arts Salon

Andrew Bourns, George School graduate of 1987, once wrote, “I am convinced that for things to be better, one must keep striving to change ignorance to understanding.” Andrew was dedicated to fighting for social justice and worked as an intern in the office of the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama in 1989. Andrew tragically passed away from a heart attack in 1991. His legacy and desire to work towards justice for all continues on in George School’s Andrew Bourns Social Justice Grants. These grants are awarded to various students each year. This past year these grants were presented to Jacob Folk ’11, Andrea Lindsay ’11, and Nathan Small ’11. In this assembly, these seniors reflected upon their experiences. Jacob spoke of his days serving food, tutoring, and making friends at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Andrea shared stories of work with mentally and physically disabled adults in the blistering heat, and the challenges that this work presented. Nathan explained how rewarding it was to work with children who needed aid to complete their schoolwork and how he also, in turn, helped the children overcome frustration, anger, and self-doubt.

The assembly continued with a presentation on Fourth Walls Arts Salon by Elijah Dornstreich, a George School graduate from the Class of 1993. Fourth Walls is a non-profit arts group based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Each month Fourth Walls holds a salon, which exposes new artists to the Philadelphia community and gives these artists the ability to present their work. These salons attract those intrigued by arts of all kinds (the visual arts, spoken word poetry, dance, etc.) and provokes conversation and examination. Elijah was accompanied by “Miss Wise”, a spoken word poet, who presented one of her original works. This assembly touched upon two things the George School community holds near and dear: service to others and appreciation of the arts. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Friday, March 25, 2011
Seeds of Peace

With what seems like never ending conflict in the Middle East (and all other parts of the world), it is essential that the youth get involved to understand the problems at hand and work towards a solution for all involved. This is what Seeds of Peace is hoping to do—enable the youth to realize the issues they are faced with and attempt to see them in an unbiased way. Seeds of Peace is an internationally-recognized summer camp based in Maine. Over the past eighteen years, Seeds of Peace has brought young people—from not only Palestine and Israel, but also from places such as Egypt, South Asia, Cyprus, the Balkans, and the United States—to Maine in hopes of instilling values of empathy and respect through communication and negotiation. This program’s network now encompasses over 4,300 individuals who have been equipped to advance peace in their day-to-day lives and the world as a whole.

One of George School’s students, Damon McCasker ’13, spoke of his experience as an American mediator at Seeds of Peace last summer. He was able to form friendships with people he would have never been able to meet elsewhere, friends who live worldwide. Doron Shapir, an Israeli and past camper also spoke. He explained how he grew up fighting to protect his Israeli roots and believing that all Palestinians were evil. Through Seeds of Peace, he was able to realize that just because a conflict is present does not mean that the opposing side consists of people that much different from yourself. He came away from Seeds of Peace with an improved ability to listen to others and respect others’ thoughts while sustaining his own. Seeds of Peace opens the eyes of its campers to see that peace is achievable when people work together. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Friday, February 25, 2011
Chinese Acrobats

Four Chinese acrobats arrived at George School and left the community on the edge of their seats during this performance. One young man from the group rode around on a unicycle while balancing upwards of 10 plates on his chin. The sole girl in this acrobatic group hula hooped with what seemed like 75 hula hoops while dancing around the stage. There was jumping and flipping through various obstacles, all of which seemed impossible to get by, but to the community's surprise the Chinese acrobats made their tricks seem like a piece of cake. The auditorium was filled with suspense and the community left thoroughly impressed and puzzled by the abilities of these incredibly limber, brave individuals. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Monday, February 21, 2011
Beppe Gambetta

Italian acoustic guitarist Beppe Gambetta returned to George School to perform a selection of traditional, original, and classical music tunes and songs as part of the Chuck O’Neill Memorial Music Assembly series. His influences extend from his native Genova, Italy to American flatpicking and classical fingerstyle. The influence of American bluegrass and folk music was present in Beppe’s compositions. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Friday, February 18, 2011
Grease Preview

George School’s theater students showcased their talents at this assembly. The community was given a “teaser” performance of the then upcoming show Grease. The Grease cast was introduced through a handful of scenes and songs, all of which made the community eager to see the complete weekend performances. The play’s theme was centered on the teenage love and the lead roles of Sandy and Danny were played by Julie O’Mara ’11 and Harry Rosenthal ’12. The student directors of this production were Kobina Quaye ’11, Devon Beverly ’11, DJ Jaikairia ’12, Jeremy Perez-Schrager ’11, Stephanie Weinstein ’13, and Emily Honer ’11. The community appreciated and enjoyed the hard work of all students and faculty associated with the performance of Grease. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Monday, February 14, 2011
Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic

Dr. Amy G. Lehman, spoke about the founding of the Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic in central Africa. The boat-based clinic is designed to provide basic medical and surgical services to remote populations that may be difficult to reach, as well as to provide preventative care, education, and training. Amy’s stories were powerful, opening the eyes of many to how fortunate we are to have access to healthcare and helped inspire students to use their intellect and abilities to aid those less fortunate. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Friday, February 11, 2011
Sarah Lopez-Duran

George School’s beloved teacher Ralph Lelii opened this assembly with an introduction to his talented daughter Sarah Lopez-Duran. Sarah, an educator like her father, is a professor at Bard College. She specializes in developmental psychology and sexual and gender studies. She came to discuss autism and to educate the community on how a person with autism functions slightly differently. Although she noted differences in those with autism, Sarah also reinforced that those with autism are of no lesser value to the surrounding world than someone without autism. This assembly showed the community that although there may be differences from person to person, we all deserve respect and recognition. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Friday, February 4, 2011
Nicaragua and Arizona Service Projects

George School’s deep Quaker roots are shown by the dedication given to service for others. Each year, many students complete service projects and discover there is a way for all of us to better the world. In this assembly, students who traveled to Arizona and Nicaragua for service this past summer enlightened the community with reflections from their trips. They shared excerpts from journals kept during their time in Arizona and Nicaragua, respectively. Their readings and emotions reinforced the importance of service to others and continued on a longstanding Quaker tradition. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Monday, January 31, 2011
Wing Young Huie: The University Avenue Project

Photographer Wing Young Huie came to speak about his most recent photography project on display in the Walton Gallery for several weeks. The work was selected from his University Avenue Project which was displayed in a six-mile public gallery in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Wing explained that the University Avenue corridor was home to one of America’s highest concentrations of immigrants. His photography documented the diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural realities of American society today. His work helped us realize the truths that we ignore about less fortunate societies around us and helped us to be grateful for the simple things we may sometimes look past. (Report by Meredith Allen ’12)


Monday, January 17, 2011
MLK Day

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, unlike other schools, George School remains in session and dedicates the day to different special activities in honor of King’s life. This year, we welcomed Andre Robert Lee to speak and share his documentary, "The Prep School Negro," during assembly. The movie told the personal story of a young black male growing up at a predominantly white prep school. This assembly provoked many questions and emotions and left the community motivated and inspired on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Report by Sammie Polgar ’12)


Friday, January 14, 2011
International Students

Each year George School’s international students come together to create a unique combination of their talents and put on a collective show for the rest of the community. This year’s assembly featured various acts ranging from a Korean dance group to a detailed view at Chinese calligraphy. Each student brings a different part of his or her culture to share and makes this assembly so special. George School’s diversity truly shines and this wonderful assembly is one of the most prized memories each year. (Report by Sammie Polgar ’12)


Monday, January 10, 2011
Vaudeville Show

Built on the model of an old-time vaudeville show, the annual faculty assembly showcased the talents of faculty, staff, and students. The show began with a lively performance by the Vaudeville Band of "I Wan’na Be Like You," originally sung by King Louie in Disney’s The Jungle Book. The "I’m OK, You’re OK" Chorale, dressed in drab gray monks’ habits, sang the questions and answers to a series of jokes–Q: "What is your full name Dr. Presume?" A: "Dr. Livingston, I presume." The hit of the show was the Crystal Gobleteers who played the George School Hymn using goblets of water as their musical instruments.


Friday, December 10, 2010
Lacey Schwartz

Lacey Schwartz is a director/producer of "Outside the Box," a documentary that traces Lacey’s upbringing in a white Jewish family, discovery at eighteen that her biological father is an African American, and her personal exploration of her mixed-race identity. In the documentary she also explores her connection to other African American Jews in America.


Friday, December 3, 2010
International Women’s History Class

Topics in International Women’s History students presented information about current issues affecting women worldwide, including trafficking, violence, and maternal morality. The presentations were based on the book, Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn. The presentations tackled many tough topics while sharing the stories of heroic women worldwide who have made a commitment to change the status quo.


Monday, November 1, 2010
Marc Elliot

Marc Elliot, a victim of Tourette’s syndrome, an inherited disorder of the nervous system, gave a powerful message today in assembly. Telling deeply personal stories about his own struggle as someone with Tourette’s, he gave a presentation titled "What Makes You Tic?" Through these stories he attempted to convey the importance of global tolerance. He stressed the need to accept ourselves as well as to accept others, as we really know very little about what others may be going through or dealing with in their own lives. (Report by Hugh Karr ’11)


Friday, October 22, 2010
Sankofa Freedom Academy

In this assembly, Dr. Ayesha Imani, hosted by her daughter Nia ’11, presented the entire student body of Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School. A community-based K-12 school, Sankofa teaches students to take their place as educators, leaders, and agents of change. The students created an interactive assembly with the entire audience participating in a great deal of physical activity. They presented skits, songs, and recitations that they do every day, which support the values which Sankofa aims to endow in their students. (Report by Hugh Karr ’11)


Friday, October 15, 2010
Colman McCarthy

Colman McCarthy, journalist, teacher, lecturer, pacifist, and longtime peace activist gave a speech promoting peace studies courses in schools. With an introduction by Chip Poston, teacher of George School’s own peace study course, McCarthy advocated the integration of peace studies courses into all school curriculums. He stressed the importance of teaching students the necessary skills they will need to lead the way in the direction of global peace. Truly a crowd pleaser among students, he chanted things like "no more homework," something he stands for in his own classes. (Report by Hugh Karr ’11)


Monday, October 4, 2010
Journalist Melissa Cornick

Melissa Cornick, a network television producer with a career spanning CBS, NBC, ABC, 60 minutes, Dateline, 20/20, and Primetime, shared stories and provided students with an insight into what it means to be a journalist. She also presented a video story she produced which demonstrated her focus on stories that highlight human rights and civil rights issues. Along this vein she also introduced her website, www.oneifbylandbuckscounty.com, a local community website that celebrates Bucks County and its people. (Report by Hugh Karr ’11)


Friday, October 1, 2010
Quiet Riot, "The Planet Earth Show"

Brothers Bill and David Metter presented their very own "Planet Earth Show." With Bill as narrator and actor and David on sound, students were presented with "the history of the universe" (300,000 years of human history in condensed into four minutes) and watched the story of a miniature island unfold in the wake of a tsunami. Using physical comedy, storytelling, music and sound effects, Quiet Riot conveyed a message of teamwork, sustainability, and leadership. (Report by Hugh Karr ’11)