Portledge in the Now.

Inside Town Hall: Upper School’s Student-Led Weekly Community Gathering

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In a busy school day, where Upper School students are often running from class to class and building to building, creating moments of connection and camaraderie as an entire Upper School community can often be overlooked. We continually strive to find avenues that recognize the importance of fostering a strong sense of community and pride among our Upper School students. One such initiative that embodies this ethos is our weekly Community Town Hall.

Every Friday for 30 minutes, students and faculty gather together in the Portledge Commons. Town Hall serves as a weekly cornerstone of our community-building efforts, providing a platform for student celebration, important sports announcements, student performances, “Shout Outs” highlighting students’ successes, curated DEI programming designed and led by students, as well as public speakers (often notable alumni) that serve to inspire and impress our current students as they journey towards successful futures.  

The Upper School Class President opens every meeting with a new call and response tradition sharing our Portledge Pillars. “Kindness, Honor, Purpose, Respect! Kindness, Honor, Purpose, Respect!” Those simple yet powerful words are our foundation, magically bringing everyone into focus. 
Student Council members, club leaders, and students in all grade levels follow with important announcements of the week, such as upcoming games, student opportunities like peer tutoring and peer leadership, club announcements, tryouts, bake sales, and more. This winter, we added the Superfan Update, which highlights all of our student-athletes on their team and individual successes during the prior week. 

Often, students also hold presentations and performances that represent our diverse student body. For example, during Chinese New Year, our own Shirley Z. ‘24 played the guzheng while other Upper School students danced through the isles with a decorative Chinese Dragon! The Black Student Union provided an engaging presentation through a full upper school game of Jeopardy, culminating in the Jazz Band and Select Chorus singing an arrangement of “Feelin’ Good” during Black History Month. Sometimes, we have parent and alumni speakers present in their areas of expertise as well. 
Every Town Hall usually closes with a presentation of our “Portledge Panthers.” These symbols of kindness (little stuffed panthers) are given to a student or faculty member every week by the previous student or faculty recipient, recognizing something special that person does or has done for them that ties back into our Portledge pillars. 

Whether it's recognizing our diverse community, celebrating student achievements, highlighting extracurricular successes, or simply acknowledging acts of kindness within our community, every accomplishment is celebrated, and every individual is recognized and uplifted prior to heading into the weekend. Town Hall meetings serve as a time of unity and shared belonging within our school community.
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