A Great Start To The Day

The Excitement Surrounding Lower School’s Friday Morning Meetings

Photo by Aubrey Whitaker / Maclay Andalusian

Every Friday morning for around 20 minutes, Maclay grades K-5 gather on the Blue Top. Following the Pledge of Allegiance and Maclay’s Alma Mater, Lower School students celebrate each other and work on behaviors focused around respect. During these meetings, merits are awarded, birthdays are celebrated and upbeat music is played. 

“They just play good music and everyone really likes it,” Upper School World Language Department Chair Kristen Youngblood said. “...It’s fun, and it’s very energizing.”

From Monday through Thursday, each individual classroom hosts a morning meeting using Responsive Classroom. These meetings help build connections between students and teachers, and follow a similar structure to the Friday morning meetings. These meetings also outline the behavioral focus of the week, encourage students to practice respect and accountability and allow time for students and faculty to start the school day in a focused mindset. These meetings are like a smaller, more personalized version of the Friday meetings, following the same format as them. 

Each Friday, morning meetings are led by a Maclay group. While the leading group is typically a Lower School homeroom, other groups, such as the Maclay Dance team or Lower School Student Council, have the opportunity to lead a meeting as well. The homerooms follow a rotation to decide who leads, ensuring that each class gets a turn. Leaders plan the meeting, choose the music, announce merits and birthdays and choose what aspect of respectful behavior the Lower School will focus on. Parents are welcome to each Friday meeting and are notified when their student has received a merit or is leading the meeting. 

“I think a lot of parents stick around now because they know how fun [the meetings] are and how good you feel afterwards,” Lower School Director Bently Harris said. “It’s just kind of a great way to start your Friday.”

Ultimately, morning meetings are a way to build connection and unity throughout the Lower School. While initially scheduled to occur once a month, the decision to move the frequency of the meetings to every week reflects their popularity among the Lower School Community. Through music and celebrating each other, each meeting is engaging and uplifting to the entire community. 

“It’s a way to keep us all connected and to remember that we are all part of a bigger community,” Harris said.