Boys Develop Arias through Partnership with the Metropolitan Opera

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 war who parallel two brothers who are fighting.

Throughout the session, the boys were animated, eager to propose their ideas about the behavior and motivations of gods and mortals--and they were also, as important, good listeners. Mr. Littig commended them on how they offered positive feedback to each other, without rejecting classmates' ideas.

Respect in the learning process is about being open minded to different opinions and listening without judgement. In January, the four groups will reconvene to share their arias and see how they fit together. They will then work with a Met composer to write the arias.

The Wisdom Within - A Matter of Trust

The Teaching Boys Initiative (TBI) is a cornerstone of Saint David’s School’s strategic vision, aimed at developing a robust framework of evidence-based best practices in boys’ education. The initiative’s primary goal is to empower educators with the knowledge, skills, habits, and dispositions of reflective practitioners, enhancing their professional growth and the overall quality of teaching and learning for boys. In TBI's new quarterly blog series, "The Wisdom Within," our faculty share stories that inform, inspire, and encourage reflective practice using evidence-based approaches in teaching and learning for boys. The following inaugural entry, "A Matter of Trust," was written by reflective practitioner and Master Teacher Tom Ryan, who has been inspiring generations of Saint David's boys for more than 53 years. A MATTER OF TRUST …but, I digress. I cannot possibly begin any writing piece, and/or class, without some digression that, as I have said to my s...

Jack Mullin '12 : Reflections on a Mom's Love

The Chapel talk tradition at Saint David's provides faculty and alumni with the opportunity to share with our boys meaningful and inspiring personal stories: their experiences, lessons learned, challenges overcome. The annual Fifth Grade Mother-Son Chapel gathers our fifth-grade boys and their mothers or mother figures for a special shared pre-Mother's Day experience; a Chapel Talk by a young alumnus who reflects upon the role his mother has played in his life. This year, we welcomed former Student Council President Jack Mullin '12. Jack's family has deep roots with school. His older brother Patrick graduated in '08 and his dad, Terry, in 1973. Jack's talk centered on the impact both his alma mater and his mother, Immy, have had on his development into the man he is today. Below are excerpts that I would like to share: "My family's multi-generational lineage is a testament to the incredible sense of community Saint David’s fosters, and I too hope I have...

Strong Values

You can feel it in the air: the indescribable yet readily recognizable excitement of the start of a new school year - in our boys, teachers, families, administrators, and staff. Below, I share excerpts from my opening letter that speak to our 2024-25 school-wide theme, "Strong Values:" "To-morrow I cease to be a puppet, and I become a boy like you and all the other boys."* We teach boys. That’s what we do. And we want our boys to think for themselves. And we want that thinking to be rooted in and guided by “strong values”—our school-wide theme this year, found in the last line of the mission’s second paragraph. In keeping with the school’s classical tradition, these strong values are shaped at Saint David’s by the cardinal and theological virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and courage, along with faith, hope, and charity. To many Western philosophers, possession of these virtues makes a person good, happy, and thriving. Something we want for all of our sons. ...

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

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