Public Remarks from Head of School

These remarks were shared at the Commencement for the Class of 2026 on June 13, 2026.

It is wonderful to be with all of you to celebrate this Class of 2026. The poem which Ariel just read, from the Sufi mystic poet Rumi, captures something essential about this moment. In it, people who have never encountered an elephant enter a dark room and each touches a different part of the animal. Touching the trunk, the ear, the leg, the tusk, each forms a different impression: a snake, a fan, a pillar, a spear. Each is partly right. None is complete.

These remarks were shared at the Mt. Hood Climb Observance Day Ceremony on May 13, 2026.

Today we mark the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Mt. Hood Climb tragedy. We gather as this community has gathered every year since the climb: to remember, to mourn, to honor, and to bear witness to the enduring bonds of love that continue to hold us together. Today we welcome climb families, survivors, members of the rescue and medical community, alumni, former faculty, and people from around the Portland community whose broken hearts became intertwined in this tragedy.

These remarks were shared at Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Nov. 21, 2025.

Lots of love for OES. Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for being here on this special day. My name is Michael Spencer, and I have the honor of serving as Head of School. As we prepare to head into Thanksgiving break, today we are grateful for and celebrate all of you—Grandparents and Special Friends. This is a morning filled with joy, good food, warm conversations, and most importantly, a wonderful musical program showcasing the talents of our students.

These remarks were shared at the Athletic Hall of Fame event on Sept. 27, 2025.

Yesterday at Homecoming, we experienced an amazing night: homecoming games on that beautiful new field out there and in here on the volleyball court. The Aardvarks triumphed over the Eagles, and the energy, the joy, and the sense of community were incredible. How fitting that we follow that celebration with this third Athletic Hall of Fame Induction here on the Morrisette Court. This gym is not only for playing games; it is, more importantly, for nurturing community. And that is exactly what we are doing tonight.

This sermon was given by The Rev. Michael Spencer at Trinity Cathedral in Portland on Sept. 21, 2025. To listen to a recording of this sermon, click here.

When I was younger, I loved the stories about Robin Hood. The legendary hero of Sherwood Forest who, together with his band of merry men, spent time stealing from the rich, giving to the poor, and turning unjust systems upside down. His story appeals to our longing for fairness, for justice, for a world made right.

These remarks were shared at the Commencement for the Class of 2025 on June 14, 2025.

It is a true joy to be here at this very special moment, to celebrate the incredible achievements of the Class of 2025. My task today is to offer a charge—not just something to reflect on, but something to act on, to carry forward into your lives.

These remarks were shared at the 2025 Alumni Weekend Memorial Chapel Service on June 1.

On June 2, 1869, Bishop Benjamin Wistar Morris, the second Bishop of Oregon, founded St. Helen’s Hall. His sister-in-law, Mary Rodney, was appointed the first principal. Her sisters, Louisa and Clementine, were some of the first employees. This Monday, June 2, we will commemorate Founder’s Day by visiting the graves of Bishop Morris, Mary Rodney, and her sisters here in Portland. This is a new tradition we started last year. We will place beautiful wreaths, made from flowers and greens gathered here at the school. It is very humbling to visit those graves and reflect back on what it must have been like to found a boarding and day school for girls in 1869, only ten years after Oregon was admitted as the 33rd state. 

These remarks were shared at the Mt. Hood Climb Observance Day Ceremony on May 14, 2025.

Today we remember a moment that altered the landscape of OES. Thirty-nine years ago, this community experienced a profound brokenness with the tragic loss of nine lives on Mt. Hood.

This past fall, while visiting the beauty of the Portland Japanese Garden, I encountered an exhibit on kintsugi, the ancient art of repairing shattered pottery with gold-laced lacquer. Imagine the delicate work, each fragment carefully gathered, the cracks not hidden but highlighted by a precious metal. This art form embraces imperfection and it resonated deeply with me, a powerful metaphor for our journey since that devastating day.

These remarks were shared at Upper School Chapel on November 8, 2024.

I want to share with you a glimpse of where I came from and the traditions of democracy that I witnessed in New Hampshire, where I lived for almost twenty years before coming to Portland. On election night, in a small New Hampshire town called Dixville Notch, the first votes in the country are cast right at midnight. It happens in a little town hall with a wood stove, where the six registered voters come in, one by one, to mark their ballots. Each vote is opened and read aloud by officials, while the votes are tallied on a whiteboard for all to see. A golden retriever with an American flag bandana, wanders through the room, monitoring the vote count. It’s a simple process that reminds us of something huge: every single vote, each voice, matters. In Dixville Notch that night, the six votes were split evenly—three for each candidate. To me, it felt like a reminder of how democracy works, multiplied millions of times across the country.

These remarks were shared in a sermon at OES/St. John's Celebration on October 6, 2024.

My goodness. What is going on in that second reading from the Acts of the Apostles? It begins on a positive note, telling us that the Christian community in the early first century was “of one heart and soul…no one claimed private ownership of possessions, but everything was held in common.” Doesn’t that sound ideal? Everyone was getting along just fine. The Acts of the Apostles was written by the evangelist Luke, and he takes great pains to emphasize the complete unity of the community, encapsulated in the Greek word ‘homothumadon.’ Everything is homothumadon. A community where everyone gets along, sharing everything—no private property, no greed. Everyone agrees—of one mind, unity, harmony. It sounds like a dream come true.