Schoolwide Programs

By living in a fully residential setting and attending Chapel four days a week, we have a unique opportunity to come together as a community to collectively engage in learning about the people and places around us, and the histories and cultures that influence who we are today and how we move forward with kindness, empathy, and an eagerness to be in service to others.

We practice faith-based traditions and ceremonies through the diverse programmatic offerings organized by our Chaplaincy and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice, as well as student affinity and alliance groups. We honor and celebrate cultural heritage months like Black History Month and Indigenous Peoples Month and awareness days like National Coming Out Day, through guest speakers, performers and artists. We learn from each other and participate in events together through celebrations like Lunar New Year and Holi. Through these shared experiences, we begin to understand the world and each other better, and recognize that our differences can be our collective strength.

Holiday Traditions

Annual Celebration of Lights

An annual tradition in December, the Celebration of Lights is an interfaith event to recognize multiple faiths alongside the Christian tradition. Awash in the glow of candlelight and the reverberations of cultural music in Chapel, students share origin stories of these traditions, all with an overarching focus on the triumph of good over evil, of darkness into light. Celebrations include the lighting of the menorah by the Hillel Society, the Hindu festival of lights, the divine light of Islam, the seven candles of Kwanzaa and the lighting of the Advent wreath.

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Dustin Brauneck '99, Founder of SPS Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)

“That day brought a sense of belonging unlike any I’d ever known. For years, I had contributed in the classrooms and dorms, rehearsal studios and stages, but I didn’t feel like I belonged until I could participate with authenticity. By opening myself, I allowed others in … . Decades later, I still draw upon the self-discovery, validation and support I gained in that process.”

Black History Month

Each February, the SPS community participated in a series of events designed to honor Black history. The goal, DEIJ Director Bethany Dickerson-Wynder says, is to create a “multilayered, integrated and joyful learning experience that focuses specifically on Black excellence in education and the arts — an effort to make the often invisible more visible.”

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month

The School’s observations of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage month includes visits by academics and artists like Richard Blanco, a Cuban American writer and National Humanities Medal recipient who became the youngest presidential inaugural poet with his poem “One Today.” In chapel and in Spanish classes Blanco spoke with students about the dual themes of home and identity that are central to his work.

Cultural Heritage Observances

Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

In May, SPS welcomed Brown University Professor of East Asian Studies Zhuquing Li to the grounds to share her family’s story during AAPI Heritage Month. Li read from her memoir, “Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China’s Civil War,” noting, “my two aunts’ lives … speak about how to keep dreams alive and faith close; about how when history’s random power pushes you down to the bottom of the pit, you claw your way out and still find meaning.”