A Fly on the Wall of Assembly Hall
A Message from the Head of School Storytelling is a powerful tool to foster connection and deepen learning. It allows us to see one another more fully—and to better understand the community we are building together.
Assembly Hall buzzes with community, music, performances, and joyful, active learning. A fly on the wall has a front-row seat to it all—imagine the stories it could tell.
Last March, we invited Michele Norris and Melissa Beard to lead a professional development workshop for our employees, based on Norris’ recent book Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity. Through six-word stories written by people across the country, we explored how even the briefest narratives can reveal identity, experience, and truth. That experience prompted us to reflect on our own stories and challenged us to consider how we might deepen our understanding of every adult in the Shady Hill community.
Visiting Artist Ada-Ari and Grade VI Gradehead Craig Morgan TTC ‘19 at Lower School Assembly. Ada-Ari is an author that promotes diversity and inclusion in children’s literature.
One result of that reflection was the launch of a shadowing project, where employees in different roles spent a day walking alongside one another to gain insight into the work that supports our students each day. At our April professional development day, colleagues shared their experiences—expressing new appreciation for the diverse roles and contributions that together create an extraordinary experience for our students.
Mr. Nunez hugs Nile the whale, a lifesize inflatable humpback that takes Grade III’s Thematic Study to the next level.
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Kindergarteners search for shapes in Assembly Hall with the help of Kindergarten Gradehead, Ms. Choi ’22. Grade V performing the Fan Dance in the Chinese Spectacular.
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As we continued to strengthen relationships and community, our summer reading, How to Know a Person by David Brooks, further shaped our thinking. We began the school year in professional learning groups, sharing reflections and building stronger working relationships. In collaboration with our Equity Team, Division Heads developed a storytelling project that invited employees to reflect on and share an identity story with the broader community during our December professional development day. As David Brooks writes, “Perhaps to really know another person, you have to have a glimmer of how they experience the world. To really know someone, you have to know how they know you.” These moments of storytelling allowed us to glimpse one another’s worlds—and, in doing so, strengthened our sense of trust, belonging, and connection. Why spend so much time on storytelling? Because when individuals feel seen, known, and valued for their lived experiences, they feel a sense of belonging— and with that comes a deeper commitment to contributing their best to the community. This belief guides not only how we work together as adults, but also how we teach and support our students each day. I hope you will enjoy the updates that follow in this State of the School. They are part of Shady Hill School’s ongoing story—and reflect our shared commitment to fostering ethical citizens, critical thinkers, and creative changemakers for tomorrow. Warmly,
Grade II students answer the Bailey Box question posed by Head of School Mark Stanek at Lower School Assembly.
Students in MovementSpace perform at the Middle School Art Share.
2025-26
Mark