Every fall, Spence embarks on the school year with the momentous tradition of seniors processing into the first all-school assembly with their Kindergarten buddies. This year was no different, as students in their final year at Spence guided our youngest learners to their seats at the front of the crowd.

Head of School Felicia Wilks began the assembly by remarking on her admiration for the Class of 2027. “You are leaders everywhere, and you show us what it looks like to lead a community:

to be connected to one another, invested in younger students, and committed to something larger than yourselves. I have loved watching you grow throughout Upper School.”

This year the theme guiding each all-school assembly is Celebrating Humanity in the Age of AI. “There is so much to celebrate,” shared Wilks. “We think with our minds and our hearts. We can look at another person and begin to understand how they feel. We can reach out with a hug or a helping hand. We can enjoy artistic expression and fandom together. We can make mistakes, learn from them, try again, and grow. We can make another person feel seen, valued, and loved.”

Lower School students stepped up to the mic to offer their own experiences with glitches, bummers, and disasters; Middle School students shared how and when mistakes helped them grow; and Upper School students recounted moments when they felt safe to be brave—all examples of what can make our shared humanity unique and transformative. 

Grade 4 performed “Shine Like the Sun” together, followed by the Select Choir singing the classic “This Little Light of Mine.” Spence’s a capella group Triple Trio performed an original arrangement of Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over.” As always, the assembly concluded with students, faculty, and staff singing together the School song.