Democracy Day: Lower School

Lower School’s Democracy Day kicked off with a lively assembly in the Scott Theater, inspired by The King Penguin by Vanessa Roeder. Percival, the King Penguin (played by Meredith Hudgens Cunningham ’04), enforces the rules because she’s the king. But the other penguins (played by Tammy Wolford, Katy Thompson Hobbs ’97, Rachel Fineman, Barbara Meyers, Aimee Jenkins and Heather Goldman) aren’t feeling it. Tired of the pushback, Percival sets off in search of more obedient subjects. Spoiler: His journey teaches him that living in a community means compromise and flexibility, thanks to meeting the Emperor Penguin (played by Trey Blair). The book and assembly emphasized this year’s theme, E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One).

Following the assembly, students dove into classroom activities centered on democracy and conflict resolution. They learned the seven steps of democracy (listen, learn, choose, join, speak, act, lead), played a game of telephone, and discussed the power of listening as the foundation of good citizenship. In the “This or That” game, students made choices (recycling vs. electric cars? bike lanes vs. sidewalks? integrity vs. respect?) and shared their reasons, with the opportunity to change their answer after hearing others out.

“Lead by Example” had students writing persuasive journal entries on how they can lead by doing. They also explored citizenship with "The Citizen Tango" and tested their knowledge with a few U.S. citizenship Kahoot questions.

In PE, teamwork took the spotlight. The lesson: just like in democracy, success means everyone working together toward a common goal, whether or not you're keeping score. They played games where cooperation was key, moving as a team to accomplish tasks.

In science, students tackled group projects inspired by Sophia Valdez for Prez, designing inclusive playgrounds. They brainstormed, sketched, and created models with inclusion in mind. Music brought patriotic vibes with a parachute activity to “You're a Grand Old Flag,” rhythm instruments to “Stars and Stripes,” and steady beat games to Sousa marches. French and Spanish teachers discussed how elections work in other countries, and art students (grades JK-2) continued their projects with third graders diving into American artist Jen Stark's work, and fourth graders designing graphic T-shirts based on the theme, Out of Many, One. One from Many.

And there's more: Lower School students will continue their exploration of E Pluribus Unum throughout the year in their Families sessions, connecting what they learned about democracy to the School’s core values.