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Together


How quickly and dramatically our world has changed since the beginning of this school year. No one could have imagined back then that today we would be implementing a distance learning program for our boys, while facing such challenging, stressful times.

Our first "virtual" school day went exceptionally well, with just a few bumps on a heretofore untraveled road. Much gratitude is due our faculty, staff and administrators who spent their spring breaks mastering new technology platforms for instruction and adapting existing curriculum in innovative, creative ways that are the mark of a Saint David's educator. Their efforts honor the integrity of our program, keeping it as whole as possible. I feel incredibly fortunate to be working alongside such a talented and dedicated team. Institutions are tested in times of crisis and tend to rise or fall as a result. Saint David’s will rise.

While our boys may not physically be in their classrooms with their classmates and our faculty, they have the opportunity to engage and interact with them daily, retain continuity in their learning, and sustain and strengthen their bonds. The boys were excited today to be able to see their friends and teachers during Zoom sessions, this bit of the normal providing balm during troubling days. All teaching and learning is defined by relationships: between teachers and boys, boys and boys, and parents and the school. Our distance learning program adheres to the importance of these relationships and, throughout this "new normal," boys will continue to be called to our mission's ultimate aspiration - ut viri boni sint.

So much has changed; what has not is the strength of the Saint David's community, and I have no doubt that we will come through this experience ever stronger and closer.

It may take time, but this too shall pass. We must be patient and find balance by not taking on too much. While we like to think that life is predictable, in fact it is quite the opposite, and we must approach it one day at a time. Let us not let fear too rudely interrupt the living of our lives. Let us remember that it is often the vulnerable and impoverished who need our support the most, and let us take this time to reflect on what’s truly important in our lives, to use this unexpected gift of "time at home" to be present with our families and loved ones, to find and celebrate our shared humanity.

If anyone needs help, we ask that they reach out to us. Stay healthy, stay optimistic. A world turned upside down can sometimes help us see the value and beauty of our lives from the right-side up.

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