Boys in pre-kindergarten through first grade were giddy with excitement when they entered the Stevens Room on Friday morning, October 11 for community time. They've been to many assemblies before, of course. But those are usually led by teachers and administrators, authors, or maybe even local celebrities. Never before has the main attraction been turtles, lizards, and alligators!

Special guest Michael Shwedick of Reptile World presented several gentile reptiles in his program, which encouraged students to not be afraid of those who are different and to be stewards of our wildlife and planet.

Boys had a chance to meet Little Alexander the Great, the aptly named large alligator snapping turtle, an anaconda called Jade, a Mexican milk snake named Lipstick, along with his grandson, Chapstick, and a 15-year-old Mexican beaded lizard named Pepito. (Fun fact: Several years ago, Pepitos's dad, Pepe, visited Gilman for this assembly!)

Students also saw a prehistoric-looking turtle and learned that these reptiles can live to be 100 years old. Highlights of the event were the American alligator and the Burmese python named Banana Bread, which boys were allowed to touch!

“I've been teaching early childhood for my entire career, and this morning was a masterclass in how to communicate and storytell with children,” said Early Childhood Music Teacher Nicholas Corasanti. “Mike's way of speaking to children, and his calm and gentle way of interacting with them was inspiring and made me a better teacher this morning.”

Boys in first grade had positive responses as well: “The best day ever!” one said. “I loved petting the big Burmese python,” said another. A few boys agreed that they liked everything but differed on which part was their favorite — some said the anaconda; for others, it was the alligator.

Thank you to the Lower School Admissions Office for planning this assembly. And a special thank you to Mr. Shwedick, aka the Reptile Man, for bringing all his cold-blooded but warmhearted friends for this amazing visit. We hope to see them all later, including the alligator!

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After the students exited the assembly, Shwedick showed remaining faculty and staff a highly venomous Black Pakistan Cobra!