No comments have been posted
Town Meeting: A Student-Led, Multimedia Performance
By Grace DeSeta, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing
This article appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of the Tower Hill Bulletin
Ba da dum, ba dum, ba dum dum dum...
This article appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of the Tower Hill Bulletin
Ba da dum, ba dum, ba dum dum dum...
That’s the sound of the Town Meeting drums, followed by students singing the catchy tune:
Celebrate this special day.
Celebrate in each and every way.
We’re here to celebrate this special day.
Celebrate… today!
Town Meetings are student-produced variety shows featuring writing, poetry, news, artwork, dance and music. The multidisciplinary stage productions were introduced into the curriculum in 1997 and quickly became a favorite Tower Hill tradition.
“We wanted them to be a celebration with our entire Lower School community,” said longtime fourth-grade teacher Laurie Edinger. “We got together, formed a committee, allowed the children to make submissions and started celebrating their work. It has been a wonderful adventure.”
Each fall a Cultural Explorers Board is formed, made up of fourth-grade students and teacher-advisors who review writing pieces submitted from Grades 2 through 4 throughout the school year. Students place their submissions in the Cultural Explorers Mailbox, designed and painted by a group of fourth-graders in 1999. Students are encouraged to submit original poetry, stories and plays for the board members to determine if the writing is ready to be celebrated with the Lower School community. The board meets during recess to choose the finest samples of Lower School work for the week, which may be displayed on a hallway bulletin board, shared in classrooms or read during lunch as a WOW (Writer of the Week).
“Faculty representatives from across the divisions later get together and review these celebrated pieces to choose those that they feel are exceptional in their quality and fit with the theme of the Town Meeting,” Edinger said.
Occasionally there are guest performers from across the three divisions, both faculty and older students, who share their talents during the show. The first Town Meeting of the 2016-17 school year featured the Upper School Vocal Ensemble singing White Winter Hymnal a capella using body percussion. The fourth-graders have been trying to teach themselves the song and all the moves from that performance ever since!
Town Meetings provide fourth-graders leadership opportunities to not only perform, but also to produce the show. Emcees determine the script, the order, the theme and how content is going to be presented. Reporters share updates about what is going on around school, from a new rock-climbing wall in the gym to the third-grade Iditarod project, with photographers and a camera crew in tow. Interviewers ask questions of students being featured in the show, and readers offer to read for younger students who may be uncomfortable on stage. Techies work the sound and lights from the booth with Theater Department Chair Matt Kator. They also operate the projector that allows the audience to view the celebrated work on the big screen and broadcast the shows live via the school’s Facebook page.
“Next year is our 20th anniversary of celebrating Town Meetings,” Edinger said. “I think it’s just phenomenal. I think it makes Tower Hill special; I love it! Town meetings are open to anyone. If you can find a seat, you are welcome to come.”
