David O'Halloran, Headmaster - Saint David's School, New York City

Each year, the Eighth Grade, guided by their teacher Tom Ryan, leads our school-wide Thanksgiving Turkey Drive. This morning found the boys busy lifting boxes filled with turkeys and canned goods, and packing the van that will transport the food to the Lion of Judah Assembly and Bethel Community Church. Throughout November, the eighth graders collected nonperishable food from boys in all classes and ran a pie sale, with proceeds going toward the purchase of the turkeys. The Thanksgiving Food Drive is our school's oldest community action project, and it is met each year with enthusiasm and initiative on the part of our boys. Giving back, doing good by helping those in need, is one of the most powerful ways we can express gratitude for our myriad blessings. Recently, I met with an alum at his high school, where he is a senior, at the brink of adulthood. When reflecting on the motto of Saint David's, "That they be good men," he said: "Saint David's ...

Saint David's unique yearlong partnership with the Metropolitan Opera is enabling our fifth graders to collaborate on their own mini operatic production, while also learning some important lessons about the collaborative process and respect. The boys have been working in four groups with artist and educator Michael Littig to brainstorm story ideas for the four arias they will perform during their production. Their show will draw inspiration from La Boheme , which the boys saw last month at the Met. Mr. Littig prepared the boys for brainstorming sessions through an engaging discussion of the power of storytelling and the hero's journey, with the boys learning that every one of us has a story and that it is very powerful when one's story is told by another person. Brainstorming resulted in the selection of the gods of Ancient Greece as the setting for the boys' production. Today's group worked on the story behind a duet, which will be about two gods at ...

Twenty-two Saint David's boys and faculty/staff members Karen Davis, Bradford Hardie, Pedro Morales, and Jorge Roman attended the The Young Men of Color Symposium and (Re)defining Power Conference on Saturday, November 9, 2019, at Collegiate. Saint David's contingency was the largest at the event. Our boys found keynote speaker Darnell Moore's discussion around masculinity stereotypes and self-advocacy inspiring, and the affinity sessions motivating. One boy remarked how helpful it was to "see other kids who were going through things similar to me." Another, was most impressed with the discussion around "women's invisible labor." The Young Men of Color Symposium is a leadership conference for self-identified men of color in Grades Six through Twelve. The goal of this event is to empower students to bring about positive change in their lives and communities, using newly acquired language and knowledge. (Re)defining Power Conferenc...

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of Saint David's sixth graders and sixth grade girls from Marymount School walked with me to Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center.  The boys and girls are members of Saint David's Headmaster's Community Service . Once there, everyone got to work preparing the tables for the Center's Thanksgiving Dinner and transforming the room into a festive dining hall. It was clear that the boys and girls enjoyed working together and engaging with the Center's residents. This is the first year that Marymount girls are participating in Headmaster's Community Service , which is comprised entirely of volunteers who give of their free time after school to make regular visits with the residents at Cardinal Cooke. Respect for all is this year's school-wide theme at Saint David's. Engaging in meaningful interactions with different people who may be experiencing challenges may not always be easy, especially for young people, but it ...

As they examine a tool from another era, second grade boys puzzle out its purpose. When they construct model longhouses and wigwams, boys imagine what life inside would be like, and how the real life Lenape inhabitants would move from one to the other, when winter turned to spring. Inspired by their recent study of the Hudson River School of painting, third graders create watercolors depicting the Westward Expansion. They will later imagine themselves as pioneers and write letters "home" to their families in the east. Our second and third grade boys engage in these learning experiences through our school's partnership with the New-York Historical Society, now in its eighth year.  In sessions that span over several weeks, art educators from N-YHS  teach in conjunction with the boys' Saint David's teachers. Topics of study spring to life through discussion, interaction with historical society experts, the study of artifacts, and the m...

We address boys' character development and wellbeing in several ways: in daily chapel, in our emphasis on manners and the social graces, and through our Sophrosyne classes. Sophrosyne , an ancient Greek virtue that translates as "excellence of character and healthy state of mind," is characterized by self control, moderation, and awareness of one's true self.  At last Friday's Parents Association Meeting,  Upper School Sophrosyne Coordinator Dr. Evan Morse discussed how the Upper School program (see clip above) helps our boys cultivate virtue - the habit of making safe and ethical decisions - and engages them in moral introspection, which is central to our school's mission. Some of our work in Sophrosyne is done through our partnership with Common Sense Media  and centers around digital citizenship. We also embed it in classes throughout the program, as when seventh and eighth graders study Plato's Republic and debate the core question "Why...

Red Soccer captured the 2019 Manhattan Private Middle School League Title yesterday in a 1-0 win against Buckley, goal shown above. Congratulations to Red and to Coaches Evangelista, Russo, and Byrnes for all of the great work they do with the boys. Not only are we proud of your title win; more importantly, your school is proud of the way this team has demonstrated sportsmanship and honored the game throughout the season. Well done! For more information about Saint David's School, visit  www.saintdavids.org To see the full archive of past blog posts, please go to:  pdavidohalloran.blogspot.com