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

Community is the human glue that binds us in good times and bad. It is never too early to invest in its cultivation. Even better is when it is worked into the curriculum, paying educational and socio-emotional dividends. Our kindergartners delve into a 360-degree exploration of community. They study themselves, their families, their school, and its surrounding community. On a tour of their school, they are introduced to the various departments, their functions and the "village" of people who "make it happen" for all of us at Saint David's. The boys travel beyond the walls of Saint David's during visits to Central Park, St. Thomas More Church, the Guggenheim, a Fire Station, and a pizza parlor. At each stop, they come to know the people and shared purpose behind the organizations and their contributions to their community. They also master new vocabulary, learn historical facts about the sites they visit, and draw real-world connections to their own lives.  D...

This past week, we celebrated the special relationships of fathers and mothers and those who assume these roles in the lives of our boys, in two of Saint David's traditions: the Seventh Grade Father-Son Book Talk and Dinner, and the Fifth Grade Mother-Son Chapel. Held in the spring of seventh grade just as our boys begin planning the transition to their next school and when their families are engaging in conversations about life and "what comes next," the Father (or father figure)-Son evening features a book talk by an author and focuses on the power of supportive and loving relationships. This year, we warmly welcomed Alum Ben Lindbergh '01, Regis and Georgetown graduate, staff writer for The Ringer and host of the Effectively Wild podcast for FanGraphs, to discuss The Only Rule Is It Has to Work , his book about his and fellow baseball analyst and co-author Sam Miller's adventure running an independent minor-league baseball team's operations using advanced s...

  "These two men are a testament to what our alums can do," said Nicole Ransone, Executive Director of Horizons at Saint David's. "I'm so appreciative of the rock stars they are." With that, she handed the mic to Horizons' volunteers Davis C. (Saint David's Class of 2020) and Aaron P. (Horizons Class of 2020). The occasion was Horizons at Saint David's annual benefit, held Tuesday evening in our Benno Gymnasium. The evening was a tremendous success, raising more than $100,000 for the tuition-free, intensive academic and enrichment program for boys from our partner schools in East Harlem. Horizons was born as mission-focused, greater good initiative of Saint David's to provide educational opportunities for local elementary school children who wouldn't otherwise have access to programs and resources like these. Over 12 years, the program has evolved from a single class of rising first graders. It now covers the full spectrum of elementary s...