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

To mark the closing weeks of a most unusual year, we have been fortunate to provide mission-focused virtual sessions for the Class of 2020 with Rob Sgarlata and Dr. Rita Kalyani, leaders in the sports and medical fields. Last week, Rob Sgarlata, the head football coach of Georgetown University inspired our boys the Hoyas' way. Engaging each boy with animation, he counseled them on continuous improvement and how to deal with adversity or challenging situations. He advised boys to keep the numbers 1, 10, and 90 in mind: "Every morning you wake up, you want to get 1 percent better, every day." To be better today than you were yesterday and better still tomorrow, is something we reflect on often at Saint David's with our boys. He also reminded them that when adversity strikes, life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we react. Sgarlata drew parallels between Georgetown's Jesuit philosophy and the mission of Saint David's, stressing the imp...

As we close out Week Six of our distance learning program, boys and teachers are connecting, teaching, and learning in a quintessentially "Saint David's" way, maintaining the integrity of our program across its four pillars (academics, arts, athletics, spirituality). I'd like to share a few examples: Third, fourth and fifth graders were visited by author Jessie Janowitz (The Donut Fix and The Donut King) for an animated, engaging session with Q&A on how to turn a spark into a story. Eighth graders are continuing to benefit from the school's partnership with the DNA Learning Center. DNALC biologist Jennifer Hackett leads Zoom sessions as the boys extract DNA from leaves for later analysis. Rigorous academic pursuit continues. Boys in all grades are engaging in push-up challenges for pennies (and lots of dollars) in the "Pennies for Push-Ups" school-wide fundraiser to support Feeding America. Led by the Eighth Grade Student Coun...

"It's the mission that is the lesson that sticks in your mind the most," Jim Sciutto told our eighth graders. " It's the values that you take away from your school that will serve you and be most influential in your life. As much as you can live the values, you will be doing the right thing." Author, award-winning CNN anchor, and Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto led a virtual Zoom lecture and Q&A session with our boys during Monday's Alumni Parents Council Lecture, offering lessons on how to find life work that is fulfilling and meaningful. Mr. Sciutto fascinated our soon-to-be graduates with stories of his experiences as an international reporter in Asia and the Middle East: from covering Afghanistan post 9/11 to being embedded with a convoy of Marines in Iraq, and reporting inside Myanmar during that country's government crisis. (Three boys were not present at the time photo was taken.) Our boys learned that Mr. S...

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested all of us in ways that we could never have imagined just a few months ago. We have all been pulled away from our regular routines and practices, and forced to learn, work, and live very differently. Saint David's School is in its fifth week of distance learning. Throughout this strange time, our boys have continued to learn, grow, and collaborate with each other.  Supported by their teachers, the administration and, most importantly, their families, they are doing well. While it may seem like we've been in this "new normal" forever, it's only been a matter of weeks. As time goes on, the emotional toll can increase and negatively impact us. In this environment, it is important to be sensitive to and aware of our boys' emotional well-being, as well as our own. Toward this end, Saint David's recently held a virtual town hall in which our Consulting Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, shared approaches shown to ef...

Chapel lies at the heart of a Saint David's School education. When I visit alums across the country and ask them what they most valued at Saint David’s it is, inevitably, their time in Chapel that hits high, if not highest. Whether listening to a moral lesson delivered in a personal story laced with values, reflecting quietly, being present with peers and teachers, or participating in the ambiance and routine of Chapel’s simple service, our boys treasure the Chapel experience. Chapel Talks are typically given daily by a teacher or an alum. Each year in the spring, consistent with our school-wide goals of increasing the boys’ oral presentation skills, interdisciplinary study opportunities, and cross-grade integration, we work together across Religion, English, and Library/Research departments to teach a Seventh Grade Signature Unit of study entitled Agents for the Good . An important component of  Agents for the Good  is the Chapel Talk, which I teach.  Seven...

How quickly and dramatically our world has changed since the beginning of this school year. No one could have imagined back then that today we would be implementing a distance learning program for our boys, while facing such challenging, stressful times. Our first "virtual" school day went exceptionally well, with just a few bumps on a heretofore untraveled road. Much gratitude is due our faculty, staff and administrators who spent their spring breaks mastering new technology platforms for instruction and adapting existing curriculum in innovative, creative ways that are the mark of a Saint David's educator. Their efforts honor the integrity of our program, keeping it as whole as possible. I feel incredibly fortunate to be working alongside such a talented and dedicated team. Institutions are tested in times of crisis and tend to rise or fall as a result. Saint David’s will rise. While our boys may not physically be in their classrooms with their classmates and o...

Here at Pasquale’s Rigoletto on Arthur Avenue, the Class of 2020 enjoys Italian cuisine before touring The Cloisters. A great way to spend a New York Friday in lieu of a Roman one.