Skip to main content

Shared Values and Community--Horizons at Saint David's

Recently, a large group of Horizons at Saint David's supporters gathered in the backyard for the program's annual spring party. The weather was sunny and warm, and everyone's spirits, high. As I spoke with the various attendees, the Saint David's alumni, parents of alumni, volunteers, teachers, and administrators, what struck me most was the sense of community, enthusiasm, and shared values.

The Horizons six-week summer program, now in its twelfth year, provides academic support, arts, music, sports, swimming instruction, and field trips to boys in rising first through ninth grades from schools in Saint David's neighborhood, who otherwise wouldn't have these kinds of opportunities in the summer.

As Horizons at Saint David’s Executive Director Nicole Ransone succinctly expressed in her welcoming remarks, “Our mission remains the same: to eradicate summer slide and have boys feel successful and prepared for school in September. Our vision is a future where every child can thrive.”  She then invited two of the young men who regularly volunteer for the program -- one a Horizons program alum, the other an alumnus of Saint David's School -- to speak to us.

Horizons alum Michael S. ’20 was a student in the program from age 6 through 15. “Horizons helped me use resilience, courage, and creativity through any challenge I had," he shared. "It was also instrumental in my being prepared academically each school year. " The deep friendships he made with fellow Horizons alumni, whom he met when they were all rising first graders, endure to this day, through what he termed "unbreakable bonds." Michael soon heads off to college at SUNY Binghamton; he anticipates working for an organization similar to Horizons when he graduates, one that provides others with the same opportunities he had.

This sense of giving back was echoed by Saint David’s alumnus Emmet O. ’21, who is completing his junior year at Regis and has volunteered at Horizons for the past three summers. “These summers have been a chance to grow and learn,” he said. Grateful for the quality of education he had at Saint David’s, Emmet said he felt an instant connection to the way the Horizons program fosters an environment that supports educational equity and inspires a joy for learning. He, too, noted the deep bonds and connections among the boys, and among all those in the Horizons/Saint David's community. 

These two young men spoke thoughtfully about their experiences with the program, each demonstrating the kindness and care that defines the Horizons at Saint David's community. We are grateful for them, and for all of the Horizons boys, alumni, volunteers, faculty, administrators, and donors who make the program possible.

This video features clips of both alumni.

For more information on Horizons at Saint David's, visit:

https://www.sdshorizons.org/



 

Popular posts from this blog

"The Wisdom Within" - Building Student Motivation Through Choice

In the third entry of our Teaching Boys Initiative quarterly blog series, Master Teacher Jim Barbieri explores how providing boys with agency to choose builds motivation and enhances learning. BUILDING STUDENT MOTIVATION THROUGH CHOICE By the time I was eight years old, I had become completely absorbed in all things baseball. Living in New York was perfect for a baseball fan; although I was a Mets fan thanks to my idol, Tom Seaver, I was also interested in learning about all the amazing Yankees stars of yore. How could I call myself a baseball fan if I didn’t know the history and records of stars like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Yogi Berra? I loved collecting baseball cards and reading the career statistics of each player on the back. Looking through my collection one day, I discovered that I shared a birthday with the legendary Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente. At eight years old, I was crushed to hear the news that he had died tragically in a plane crash while trying to ...
Read more

"The Wisdom Within" - Bringing Sound to Space

In the second entry of our Teaching Boys Initiative's quarterly blog series, "The Wisdom Within," Saint David's reflective practitioner and Master Teacher Cathy O'Neill explores the pedagogical power of play in the education of young boys. BRINGING SOUND TO SPACE It began with a mound of mangled metal and the vapor of a vision gleaned from recent comments and random fact-dropping by the Pre-K boys. Unsure of what exactly I was looking for, but fueled by the idea of a makeshift rocket to dovetail with our upcoming space unit, I gingerly picked through the scrap pile until my hands grazed an old VW control panel devoid of its dashboard. Eureka! An array of knobs, dials, and buttons - while in reality, dead as doornails - in the right small hands, would become the epicenter of our NASA-inspired dramatic play corner. With a couple of lawn chairs and some old CB radio microphones to round out the set, engines would be ignited by the power of imagination. All systems go...
Read more

"The Wisdom Within" - The Superpower of Performance

In the following entry of our Teaching Boys Initiative blog series, Saint David's Director of Music and Master Teacher Jeffrey Moore explores how participating in performances and productions build transformative competencies, transmit values, and inspire boys to excel. Jose Antonio Abreu, one of the leading educators in classical music and the founder of El Sistema said this: “Music has to be recognized as an agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values  — solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it can unite an entire community and express sublime feelings.”¹ At Saint David’s School, performance begins in the very first years. Each class, from Pre-K through Eighth Grade, presents their work to an audience of peers and parents, whether it is a story, a skit, a play, a lecture, or a musical presentation. But the increasing complexity and demands on our boys to push themselves to another level is the key to their development and succes...
Read more