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Middle School Assembly Celebrates the New School Year
Antonia Ehlers, director of communications


For more than two decades, Nueva's lower and middle school students have gathered together weekly during assemblies to share ideas, entertain each other, and be entertained. These assemblies are a distinctive tradition that include hearing from guest speakers, experiencing visits from international exchange students and alumni, and enjoying myriad musical performances. 

While assemblies look different in remote learning, Division Heads Megan Terra and Karen Tiegel still see great value in assembling together. So during the first week of school, they made sure their students gathered on Zoom.

“Everyone was nervous about starting the year in remote learning, but it felt great to be back together,” Karen said of the Aug. 25 middle school assembly. “It was so much fun to see the faces of the students and the teachers, and to hear about their hopes for the new year!”

Led by Karen, students were introduced to Assistant Head Zac Carr, Dean of Student Life Hillary Freeman, and grade level Deans Cynthia Kosut, Colin Tribble, Dalton Lobo Dias, and Lora Saarnio. Each adult offered a brief summer reflection and asked the students various questions. During each of the seven rounds of questions and answers, students wrote on their white boards and shared their answers. Below is a snapshot of the fun Q&A, complete with the students’ responses:

Q: What are you excited about for the year?

A: “Lit club.” “Seeing my friends.” “Getting to know my teachers.” “Learning new information.” 

Q: What advice would you give to new students and teachers?

A: “Go to clubs.” “Don’t procrastinate.” “Reach out to new friends.” 

Q: What are you grateful for?

A: “Getting to start school again.” “Electricity.” “A healthy family and friends.”

“This whiteboard activity gave us a chance to set goals for the year, meet new students and faculty, and listen to Karen’s hilarious commentary,” said seventh grader Kayla L. “It was truly done in Nueva style, making something that seemed impossible to recreate during current circumstances into something that exceeded a normal middle school meeting. Even though this middle school meeting looked and felt different from than the usual ones, it still embodied the Nueva culture that I know and love.”

“The assembly was really well run,” said seventh grader Owen D. “It was engaging and informative, and Karen running it was so much fun. The RLP 3.0 is so great—it feels just like school. I think I’m going to learn and grow this year, just like I would if I were on campus.”

Click here to view the video that Karen shared with the students.

 

 


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