A Community of Voices

For three minutes in November, ninth grader Patalie Viprakasit ’23 captivated the audience in Harris Theater with a personal reflection on how she found her confidence. This might seem an unexpected topic for a Student Council President who regularly leads Upper School Morning Meeting with such poise. However, that is the point of the Ninth Grade Voices Project. “This is an opportunity for ninth graders in their final year at Fay to take the stage and share something about themselves with the community,” says Ninth Grade Dean Joe Buteau. “It doesn’t have to be a big aha moment; it can just be an insight into what makes them who they are.” 

In her talk, Patalie credited her journey from shy child to commanding a podium to three important lessons: don’t worry too much about what other people think; talk slowly so that even if you are nervous, nobody can tell; and finally, act confident and qualified, because if you do, people will think you are! Every ninth grader has the opportunity to present at Morning Meeting this year. They can give a talk, a musical performance, or share a talent. How they use this platform is their choice. This is their time and their voice. 

This year’s schoolwide theme, “Finding Your Voice,” challenges students to reflect on who they are, what they care about, and how they can express themselves in their roles as students, artists, athletes, leaders, teammates, and friends. The schoolwide theme also underscores the importance of building a school community where all students are known and valued and have opportunities to express their authentic selves. 

This fall, students have been reflecting on what it means to find their voice. In one of their first Morning Meetings of the school year, Primary School students listened to the book My Voice is a Trumpet by Black country singer Jimmie Allen, which encourages children to use their voices to share powerful ideas. Students shared various ways people use their “voices” to express themselves, including speaking, singing, sign language, art, and writing. Fay’s youngest students understood that finding one’s voice isn’t just about how you communicate; it’s also about what you choose to share, with one student noting that finding your voice is about “digging deep to share what’s in your heart.” 

Earlier this fall, author and illustrator Jonathan Todd, author of the upcoming graphic novel Timid, visited Fay and shared his experience of growing up a shy kid. Todd discovered comics and found that he could express himself and connect with other students through drawing and writing. As a daily reminder of the many forms the schoolwide theme can take, Lower School students shared their thoughts on what finding their voice means to them on a bulletin board in the Root Building Hallway. Students shared their intentions to use their voices to be inclusive, stand up for others, and advocate for themselves this year.

Students have also been reflecting on the schoolwide theme in their academic work. In Extended Topics in Algebra and Geometry (ETAG), Upper School students found their voices through mathematics. After reflecting on the theme in writing, students chose an image based on their reflection and then reproduced it with linear equations in their Line Design Project. Students created an equation for each line and shape within the image, then plugged it into Desmos, an online graphing calculator, to recreate it. One student who expresses himself through jazz music created a line design of an alto saxophone with 430 equations! Each student then created a video to explain their design and how the image represents their journey to finding their voice. 

English Language Program students in the Inquiry and Analysis course wrote research papers on a global issue they felt strongly about. While the purpose of the assignment was to strengthen research skills, it was also a vehicle for students to express their views on topics like drug trafficking in Mexico and the plight of endangered species. “I’m encouraging students to talk about their experiences and share their voices, but they have to provide supporting evidence,” says World Languages and English Teacher Scott Melton. “They’re learning to research but also including their positionality.” 

The degree of choice students are given in assignments across the curriculum is another way that students are encouraged to express their understanding. In Wellness class, eighth grade students get to know each other in the fall through an assignment where they share something that has shaped them into the person they are today. This assignment used to be an essay, but it has evolved in recent years to take various forms. Students have submitted poems, songs, artwork, collages, and traditional essays. “When I think about finding your voice, I think about giving students an opportunity to share a part of themselves,” says Wellness Department Chair Heidi Qua.

Students in all three divisions have regular opportunities to share their voices within the classroom and the community. In Primary classroom Morning Meetings, for example, students greet one another, speak up to answer questions, and take turns in leadership roles like sharing the morning message and daily calendar. In second grade, students take turns telling stories about themselves. The only rule is that they have to be sharing something that the class doesn’t already know. At lunch, students can volunteer to read a poem, crack up their classmates on “Tell a Joke Tuesday,” or elicit wonder from their peers with an interesting piece of knowledge on “Fun Fact Friday.”

Service is another way students at Fay can use their voices to express their convictions and help others. This fall, seventh graders learned about food waste and insecurity and how food pantries are an essential resource for many families. Students researched local food pantries and worked in groups in Creators class to redesign a food pantry based on what they had learned. Later this year, students interested in continuing this work will have the opportunity to visit a soup kitchen and a local farm. 

Primary and Lower School students participated in the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day in November. Before they began their procession from Primary School to the main quad, Head of Primary School Katie Knuppel read a letter from Ruby Bridges to the walkers in which Ruby shared her story and encouraged students to be kind, help others, and to use their voices to be change-makers. When they reached the quad, two Lower School students, Diego Jing ’26 and Eleanor Zawaira ’26, read poems about Ruby and her experience.

In Lower School, sixth graders are leading and setting the tone for twice-weekly Morning Meetings this year. They greet students at the door, announce games, and “interview” each student with a birthday to help the rest of the Lower School learn more about them. “Sixth graders are practicing their public speaking skills, but most importantly, they are building interviewing and empathy skills,” says Head of Lower School Kaitlyn Cronin. “This allows students to find their voice in their relationships with others, be curious about their fellow Lower Schoolers, and see how building a community is an active practice.”