Our Mission Continues

As we close out Week Six of our distance learning program, boys and teachers are connecting, teaching, and learning in a quintessentially "Saint David's" way, maintaining the integrity of our program across its four pillars (academics, arts, athletics, spirituality).

I'd like to share a few examples:

Third, fourth and fifth graders were visited by author Jessie Janowitz (The Donut Fix and The Donut King) for an animated, engaging session with Q&A on how to turn a spark into a story.

Eighth graders are continuing to benefit from the school's partnership with the DNA Learning Center. DNALC biologist Jennifer Hackett leads Zoom sessions as the boys extract DNA from leaves for later analysis. Rigorous academic pursuit continues.

Boys in all grades are engaging in push-up challenges for pennies (and lots of dollars) in the "Pennies for Push-Ups" school-wide fundraiser to support Feeding America. Led by the Eighth Grade Student Council and our Athletic Department, the boys' success has been phenomenal. They have shot past their initial $2,500 goal and raised $16,000 for the nonprofit that supports food banks across the country--and they still have a week to go. Working for the greater good continues.

Our eighth graders are also in the final stages of the culminating ARCO project. Each has employed his artistry, imagination, and critical analysis of ideas and issues to create an original piece of artwork that pays homage to a modern artist. The boys will present their work, their rationale, and the project's challenges via video to a panel of judges next week. Appreciation for beauty continues.

Each morning, school opens with an Agent for the Good Chapel Talk delivered by a seventh grader. Our days begin with these well crafted, spiritually uplifting messages around a notable good person, scripture, and our school's mission. Chapel tradition continues--and the entire community can attend virtually.

This is just a snapshot of the myriad ways Saint David's has been committed to our program and mission during these extraordinary times. We're tending to our boys' emotional/social well-being and, through online office hours and our advisory program, making sure the imperative relationship between individual teacher and boy remains strong and continues to flourish.

No one knows what the next months will bring in the Covid-19 crisis. However, I can say with certainty that our school will rise to any challenges and we will meet them head on. Guided always by our mission and values, we will provide our boys the best Saint David's experience possible. Ut viri boni sint.

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

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