The All-School Assembly is a long tradition at Colorado Academy. It is something that we are committed to as a school, because it allows us to pull our entire community together for a shared experience. After discussions last year, we are making one change which we think will help promote student growth and leadership. Typically, our Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Angel Vigil, is the master of ceremonies for our assemblies. We thought it would be meaningful and educational to have students play that role. This year, we are piloting a Colorado Academy Student Speakers Club which will give select students the opportunity to welcome guests and introduce performers. It may seem like a simple thing, but how many of you regularly get up and speak in front of more than 900 people!

Today, Sam Sweeney, Ellie King, Aly Gallagher, and Liam Caplan introduced our performers, as well as spoke to their peers about the school’s expectations for assembly behavior. They did a great job. Mr. Vigil will work with these and other students throughout the year on a number of goals:

• How to project competence

• How to handle stage fright and personal and physical nervousness

• How to prepare and organize assembly information
• How to interview assembly presenters

• Understanding crowd psychology

• How to handle the unexpected

• How to dress for a public event

• How to interject personal reflections about the event

• How to speak without reading everything

• How to prepare and manage the event's talking points

Oral communication and public speaking are essential skills that we work in at all levels of the school. When I tour the halls, I see students giving a variety of different types of public presentations. This new effort will provide a different dimension and hopefully add something even more special to our already unique All-School Assembly program.