Newsletter

As we move into what always seems to be the fullest stretch of the school year, the energy on campus is palpable. As the spring sports regular season winds down, our teams and individual athletes continue to push themselves to new heights, including Matthew C. ‘26 clearing 6’4 in the high jump, athletes breaking school records in track and field, our tennis teams celebrating great success, and boys' lacrosse achieving an undefeated season. Our student council’s community board threw an amazing prom at a beautiful venue where students danced to both an OES student band outside and a DJ inside. There is a lot to celebrate, so I hope many of you will be able to join us for some of the events and traditions that make this season such a meaningful one in the Upper School.

First, I want to encourage everyone to come out for the Spring Extravaganza, which opens this Wednesday and runs through Saturday, starting at 7:00 p.m. The Extravaganza is one of the most unique and joyful performances of the year, an extraordinary labor of love created by and for students that showcases original work across dance, theater, film, and performance. This year’s productions include:

• Excerpts of Pluck, written by Jan Rosenberg and directed by Alexavia P. ’26
• Landlines, written and directed by Drew M. ’26
• The Sandman Cometh, written and directed by Gina P. ’27 with Mina L. ’27
• Flight Risk, written and directed by Lee L. ’27

What always impresses me most about the Extravaganza is the level of ownership students take in bringing these productions to life. It is imaginative, collaborative, and ambitious work, and it reflects such incredibly creative risk-taking.
 
I also hope you will be able to attend our upcoming Parent Partnership meeting with the school’s legal counsel, Joy Ellis. Joy’s presentation, Laws Affecting Your Upper School Student, has been incredibly well-received by families in past years. While relevant for all Upper School parents, the session is especially helpful for families with students approaching age 18 and for parents of seniors preparing to head off to college in the fall. Joy will offer practical guidance and insight into the legal realities that begin to shift as students move toward adulthood, and families consistently find the session informative and valuable.

There will be two opportunities to attend on May 12: 8:30 a.m. in person or 6:30 p.m. on Zoom.

Finally, over the next several weeks, I will be embarking on one of my favorite Upper School traditions: senior exit interviews. Each spring, I sit down with individual seniors and ask them a series of questions about their experiences at OES. It is a chance for students to reflect as their time in the Upper School draws to a close, and it is equally an opportunity for me to learn from their experiences in ways that often shape future iterations of our program.

These conversations are thoughtful, honest, often surprising, and always meaningful. They remind me how differently students experience the same community and how important it is that we continue listening carefully to student voices as we grow and evolve as a school. I always leave these interviews feeling grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such reflective and engaged young people, and I look forward to sharing some themes and insights from those conversations in an upcoming newsletter.