Jim Sciutto's Zoom Master Class with Eighth Graders for Alumni Parents Council Lecture

"It's the mission that is the lesson that sticks in your mind the most," Jim Sciutto told our eighth graders. " It's the values that you take away from your school that will serve you and be most influential in your life. As much as you can live the values, you will be doing the right thing."

Author, award-winning CNN anchor, and Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto led a virtual Zoom lecture and Q&A session with our boys during Monday's Alumni Parents Council Lecture, offering lessons on how to find life work that is fulfilling and meaningful.

Mr. Sciutto fascinated our soon-to-be graduates with stories of his experiences as an international reporter in Asia and the Middle East: from covering Afghanistan post 9/11 to being embedded with a convoy of Marines in Iraq, and reporting inside Myanmar during that country's government crisis.

(Three boys were not present at the time photo was taken.)

Our boys learned that Mr. Sciutto's desire to be a reporter was born from watching the evening news with his parents, his mother's occupation as a journalist, and a simple post-college "spark" to go overseas. He wanted to see and learn about different places; this led to work as a reporter in Hong Kong, and later to ABC and CNN.

Mr. Sciutto expressed his hope that in whatever careers our eighth graders pursue, they will strive to make a difference, and urged them to be driven by Saint David's mission and values ("That they be good men"). He observed that he regularly draws guidance from the similar mission of his own alma mater, Regis ("Men for others"). Twenty-five of our Saint David's alumni are currently at Regis, continuing a storied tradition!

In addition to focusing on mission, Mr. Sciutto encouraged our boys to be flexible and to try different things: "It's in the doing and trying that you discover what you want to do in life."

It was an honor to have Mr. Sciutto on hand to share his insights and inspire the next generation of truth seekers at East 89th Street as they continue their lifelong pursuit of knowledge of the world.

Thank you also to our Alumni Parents Council Co-Chairs, Annie Haddad and Winnie Feng, and to Dr. Tori Gilbert and John C. Dearie '95 for bringing this event to fruition.

Saint David's is fortunate to have a strong community and an alumni parent body that is deeply involved in building and nurturing it.

Resilience in the Teaching of Languages

Above: The Nerf microphone ball enables boys learning remotely to hear their classmates well. The pandemic has challenged educators to reinvent and reimagine units of study to keep learning engaging, regardless of how it is delivered. The following article, written for Saint David’s Magazine by our Modern Languages Chair Dr. Victoria Gilbert and Lower School Spanish teacher Flor Berman, addresses how this was done in the Spanish immersion language program at Saint David's. Ms. Berman and Dr. Gilbert, recipient of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers' Ruth E. Wasley Distinguished Teacher Award, presented on the topic at NYSAIS’s Flexible Classroom Conference last summer. How Spanish Classes Have Bounced Back Resiliency implies an ability to bounce back, but as teachers working with the youngest learners in the school, we would reframe resiliency as the opportunity to reimagine. Whether boys are learning through a face-to-face experience or through the med

The Role of Faith in Social-Emotional Learning and Psychological Well-Being

The following article by our School Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine : During one of my first observations in a Saint David’s classroom 15 years ago, I witnessed two first grade boys in a verbal altercation. Although it was contained just between the two boys, their observant teacher had them talk it through and then shake hands on being in a better place for having done so. I was very impressed, and still am, with this approach that the school takes many times throughout the day. It helps establish a firm idea of how to behave, especially in social situations where emotions can be stirred and run high. Through this experience repeated consistently day in and day out, better, more productive ways of engaging become increasingly integrated by the boys as they develop socially and emotionally in interaction with each other. As the School Psychologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about the touch points for student and t

Storytelling Demonstrates Understanding

Their time had arrived. As the lights dimmed in our Otto-Bernstein Theatre, the astrophysicists, a mix of jitters and excitement, awaited their opportunity to share insights and stories about the workings of the universe. Which planets might support life? Is there water on Mars? What are Dwarf Planets? "Let's take a look at our closest neighbor, Venus," invited one presenter, before revealing that the planet - while ideal in proximity - has surface temperatures of 900 degrees F: "Imagine - standing on the surface would be like being burned alive!" Later that same day, in our Graham lunchroom, early 20th century immigrants of all ages from Italy, China, Ireland, Russia, among other countries, waited, with hope and determination, their turn to be interviewed for admittance to America. It wasn't going to be easy. They would be asked pointed, potentially life-altering questions by various processors. "What's that cough? It doesn't sound good,&qu

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

Search This Blog