Friday marked the first Lower School Morning Meeting.
Held frequently on Fridays in the Doane Stuart Commons, the student-led event enables parents and Doane Stuart staff to hear from the students themselves what they are studying in their classroom. This tradition involves students from Early Childhood, Kindergarten, and grades 1-4 greeting the families and then taking turns talking about activities in and out of school, including field trips, science experiments, and upcoming projects. Morning Meeting is moderated by a fourth grade student. Friday’s meeting was moderated by Daniel Peters.
Doane Stuart strives to teach its students to be comfortable and confident speaking publicly. The morning meeting is crucial in this in that, for many students, it marks their first-ever time speaking before an audience. Of course, there are shy students who decline at first to speak or are intimidated by the audience or the microphone, but that is part of the process, and so those students are encouraged until they become ready for their part.