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

(Click to view full Chapel Talk) This morning, Lower School Librarian Gretchen King delivered a virtual Chapel talk that she said had been in her mind since the beginning of the pandemic. Joined in song by Building Services Engineer William Best and accompanied on the piano by Music Teacher Meg Myette, she shared one of her favorite inspirational songs, "Through It All."   The personal experiences shared during our morning Chapels give boys tools to navigate life's challenges with courage, integrity, humility, and gratitude.  Gretchen reminded us that we can draw strength from gratitude, faith, and trust even in the most troubling of times. Thank you, Ms. King, Mr. Best and Ms. Myette for inspiring us this morning.

A silver lining in this pandemic has been not only that our boys are attending school in person but how much they are thriving in their classes. I think everyone was a bit circumspect at the beginning of this school year, wondering just what it would be like and what it would feel like to be in school in such an unusual way.  Would boys be able to adhere to the PPE and distancing protocols? How would they relate with their teachers , to each other? The reality is that the teacher/student relationship, so essential to boys' learning, is cementing more quickly than ever. Within small pod groups with an average of nine students per pod, teachers have been able to devote more time to each individual boy and to cultivate trust and connection. Seven weeks into this school year, those relationships are where they would normally be after several more weeks. The boys are happy, they are learning subject matter, how to think critically, creatively, and analytically, they are exercising and p...

I would like to share this article from the current issue of  Saint David's Magazine about a signature interdisciplinary learning experience our fifth graders had last fall and winter with the Metropolitan Opera, which culminated in their original mini opera production: "A Hero's Journey." The article is written by Alexis Aoyama, Assistant Headmaster, Head of Upper School. As we began to settle into our new facility in 2018, new programmatic opportunities emerged. Through a connection of a Saint David’s parent and a long-time supporter of the arts, Music Curriculum Chair Jeff Moore and I met with Marsha Drummond, the Director of Education at Metropolitan Opera. An introductory meeting quickly turned into an exciting brainstorming session, leaving us energized by the possibilities for collaboration. Over the next ten months, our faculty team and the educational team at Met Opera worked together to plan a signature learning experience which would begin in September and ...