Treat your students and staff to an unforgettable elementary / middle / high-school assembly with national author & wildlife photographer Michael Patrick O’Neill!

In the past 17 years, he has visited over 500 schools in 26 states, and his school assemblies (appropriate for all grades) are often described as the “best ever.” They combine the arts, science, conservation and writing and fit perfectly with school curriculums focusing on STEM topics, Common Core, and information research.

To make sure the entire student body benefits from his visit, Michael has age-specific school assemblies, one for the little guys and girls (K-2; 40 minutes), and one for grades 3 and higher (50-60 minutes). The former is more basic, while the latter is more sophisticated and includes topics such as an in-depth discussion on marine biology, conservation, geography, and writing, among other topics.

He prefers to limit the size of each assembly to no more than 200 children, and they should take place in a room (e.g., library, auditorium, etc.) where the lights can be turned off so the projected images look their best. His equipment requirements (provided by the school) include a quality LCD projector, mike and large screen. He brings his own laptop, loaded with his Keynote presentations.

Parallel to his school assemblies, Michael has developed a popular writing workshop to teach the fundamentals of compelling and engaging writing. This workshop, which he has presented to students from third grade to university level, emphasizes the basics such as reading, vocabulary, tone, and audience, among other topics. During the workshop, he describes how he storyboards his books and writes his popular magazine articles. To have the most successful outcome for this activity, he prefers to limit the size of the group to no more than 30 students (grades 3 and higher).

Please note that recording his school assemblies and writing workshops is not permitted.

To find out more about Michael’s assemblies, including availability, appearances and rates, please contact him using this form.

To see a short video of one of Michael’s assemblies in Bethlehem, PA, including feedback from administrators, teachers and students, please click here:

Book Orders for School Assemblies

Whenever he visits a school, Michael makes his seven books available to anyone who wishes to purchase a signed and personalized copy or copies. He has a very efficient system for handling book orders and supplies all books. Photo below: Michael with signed books ready to go to a school assembly.

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