Alumni Volunteers Honored at Horizons at Saint David's Event

"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 school years (rising-first to rising-ninth grades) and also offers fall and spring sessions.

Tuesday's benefit was dedicated to the nearly 40 young high-school-age alumni from both Saint David's School and Horizons at Saint David's who volunteer together for the program. The volunteers are essential. They arrive in-person each day of the session, collaborate with each other, read to the boys, accompany classes on field trips, assist at lunch and with group projects, and basically do whatever is needed to ensure a successful day of learning and fun. They get to know each other and the younger boys in the program well, sharing life stories, insights, and laughs, and serve as role models for the boys.

Davis has volunteered with Horizons for the last three years; he has loved working with the boys and remarked on how much he's learned from them. Aaron, who at five-years of age was a member of the first Horizons cohort in 2012, shared the three most significant lessons he took from his nine years in the program: the values of brotherhood, preparation, and being good men. Both alumni have enjoyed and valued the opportunity to collaborate with each other and play a role in the program's success.

Horizons at Saint David's has been extraordinarily successful in preventing "summer slide" according to several metrics, including gains in reading and math; and it features a strong social-emotional component. We are grateful to the members of our Saint David's extended community for their continuous, enthusiastic commitment to and support for Horizons: thank you to the program's boys and their families, the advisory board, executive director and administrators, teachers, donors, and our many young Horizons and Saint David's School volunteers.

The Wisdom Within - A Matter of Trust

The Teaching Boys Initiative (TBI) is a cornerstone of Saint David’s School’s strategic vision, aimed at developing a robust framework of evidence-based best practices in boys’ education. The initiative’s primary goal is to empower educators with the knowledge, skills, habits, and dispositions of reflective practitioners, enhancing their professional growth and the overall quality of teaching and learning for boys. In TBI's new quarterly blog series, "The Wisdom Within," our faculty share stories that inform, inspire, and encourage reflective practice using evidence-based approaches in teaching and learning for boys. The following inaugural entry, "A Matter of Trust," was written by reflective practitioner and Master Teacher Tom Ryan, who has been inspiring generations of Saint David's boys for more than 53 years. A MATTER OF TRUST …but, I digress. I cannot possibly begin any writing piece, and/or class, without some digression that, as I have said to my s...

Jack Mullin '12 : Reflections on a Mom's Love

The Chapel talk tradition at Saint David's provides faculty and alumni with the opportunity to share with our boys meaningful and inspiring personal stories: their experiences, lessons learned, challenges overcome. The annual Fifth Grade Mother-Son Chapel gathers our fifth-grade boys and their mothers or mother figures for a special shared pre-Mother's Day experience; a Chapel Talk by a young alumnus who reflects upon the role his mother has played in his life. This year, we welcomed former Student Council President Jack Mullin '12. Jack's family has deep roots with school. His older brother Patrick graduated in '08 and his dad, Terry, in 1973. Jack's talk centered on the impact both his alma mater and his mother, Immy, have had on his development into the man he is today. Below are excerpts that I would like to share: "My family's multi-generational lineage is a testament to the incredible sense of community Saint David’s fosters, and I too hope I have...

Strong Values

You can feel it in the air: the indescribable yet readily recognizable excitement of the start of a new school year - in our boys, teachers, families, administrators, and staff. Below, I share excerpts from my opening letter that speak to our 2024-25 school-wide theme, "Strong Values:" "To-morrow I cease to be a puppet, and I become a boy like you and all the other boys."* We teach boys. That’s what we do. And we want our boys to think for themselves. And we want that thinking to be rooted in and guided by “strong values”—our school-wide theme this year, found in the last line of the mission’s second paragraph. In keeping with the school’s classical tradition, these strong values are shaped at Saint David’s by the cardinal and theological virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and courage, along with faith, hope, and charity. To many Western philosophers, possession of these virtues makes a person good, happy, and thriving. Something we want for all of our sons. ...

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

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