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

Day One of our 70th year; never in the past could we have imagined! For this first day, half of our student/teacher population, the Theta group, came to school in-person, while our other cohort, Pi, attended school virtually. Tomorrow they will switch, and we look forward to welcoming our Pi students back to campus. Today's in-person group wore face coverings, kept a safe distance from one another, and followed the stringent health and safety protocols we have implemented in accordance with CDC, NYDOH and NYCDOH guidelines. Yes, it was different; but also reassuring and exciting. The boys were happy - happy to be back with their friends and their teachers, beginning the cultivation or continuation of relationships vital for their academic and personal success. At the same time, the Pi cohort had the opportunity to gain some experience with our virtual model, as Theta will tomorrow. This familiarity will be helpful should we need to pivot to a virtual schedule at any po...

A Few Members of Horizons at Saint David's Class of 2020 in earlier year of program. As we proudly celebrate our first graduating class of the Horizons at Saint David's program (most of whom have been with the program since kindergarten), we also reflect on the unique accomplishments that have been achieved amidst a challenging time. This spring, family engagement rose to new heights and our diligent team, led by Executive Director Hope Lippens, assisted Horizons families to secure necessities that ensured their safety and well-being. We also created the "Horizons at Home" program to encourage continuity in communicating weekly charts of activities to keep students active on all fronts (academic, physical, and arts). As part of this initiative, the "Pen Pal Project" allowed students to send in letters and pictures to their peers. With the need to run the program virtually this summer, every student had his own device, thanks in large part to our S...