Alumni News

by Marisa Demers

Assemblies have been at the heart of Potomac since the school’s inception. Initially conceived as a Friday general gathering, assemblies have always been a time to share, perform, listen, learn, and celebrate. When the school moved to its current McLean campus in 1951, assemblies became an important bridge that strengthened community and continuity. To this day, they build school spirit and identity while offering students an incomparable opportunity to speak and perform in front of a supportive audience.

Assemblies give students an opportunity to apply Potomac’s core values of courage, humility, integrity, respect, and perseverance while also keeping alive John Dewey’s vision of a progressive education steeped in active learning, mutual dialogue, and community building.

In the Lower School, Potomac’s youngest members often share what they’ve learned in class, from the value of friendships to how to write a sentence. In doing so, they take their first steps toward becoming confident public speakers. As they grow and mature in the Middle and Intermediate Schools, students act in plays they create themselves and engage in conversations with classmates, as well as with visiting authors and politicians. By the time they reach the Upper School, students assume more responsibility in planning and managing their assemblies, from organizing peer-to-peer discussions on world issues to supporting each other’s health and wellness.

Some traditions are so enduring they feel more like rites of passage than annual events. Many alumni recall their first year on campus through experiences like the Kindergarten Circus or the Lower School Carols. Later, they mark their Middle School years with the maypole dance and athletic competitions at the Greek Olympics. Seniors know their time at Potomac is drawing to a close when they hold the hand of a five-year-old and introduce the young learner to the community at the Opening Assembly. Months later, those same kindergartners hand them a flower and say goodbye at the Closing Assembly.

“Assemblies are memory-makers,” says Michelle O’Hara Levin ’93, The Potomac School’s Lower School dean and librarian, whose two children attend Potomac. “They not only create community in the moment but across generations.”

While assemblies connect the past to the present, they are not frozen in time. Many traditions, such as Winter Lights, have adapted to reflect the diversity of Potomac families. Newer events, including Around the World and club assemblies, provide opportunities for students to share their heritage and religion through dance, poetry, and food.

“We are trying to embrace as many traditions as are in our buildings,” Michelle says. “We want everyone to feel seen and heard.”

She recalls one moment in particular that captures the power of assemblies. A third grader once looked out at an audience of more than 1,000 people, tears streaming down her face as she prepared to speak. As her teacher, Michelle wondered if she had pushed the student too far out of her comfort zone. Then, after watching her take a deep breath and deliver her lines, she saw the crowd erupt into applause and cheers.

“There were many life lessons in those few seconds,” Michelle says. “For the student, it was knowing you can be nervous and still succeed on stage. And the other students practiced what it meant to be a kind listener and how to show up for someone who’s having a hard time. I still tear up thinking about it.”

Read more stories from The Term.