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

As we settle into the summer with an eye to the upcoming school year, our faculty are participating in a series of professional development workshops, led by Jamie MacNeille and Nora Sundar. Reflecting upon and sharing what worked best in our spring distance learning platform is helping us to evolve the delivery of our curriculum in ways that amplify relationships, increase student engagement, and promote student agency regardless of the platform--virtual or in-person. During yesterday's "Toolbox Share," faculty shared new tools and techniques they employed to attain several educational outcomes, among these: an app that enables boys to write, illustrate, and narrate - in Spanish - books about animals, which they can then share with each other; iMovie tutorials that boys can rewatch to deepen understanding and practice new art skills; circle talks where boys come together to share their thoughts and feelings; podcasts that engage boys' imaginations and ...

Our 39 new graduates made history last week. A class unlike any other, they were graduated in the midst of a pandemic. As I said during Friday's live virtual ceremony, they have wrestled with the course of time and triumphed. Since mid-March, this special class of boys had not been together in-person. However, through their diligence, fortitude, and positivity, they remained close in spirit. During many sessions this spring on Zoom, the Are You Smarter Than an Eighth Grader  quiz show included, the virtual walls seemed to give way and, among the dialogue and the laughter, it felt like all was as it should be. Having gone through this challenge was not easy, but it has bonded these boys more than they may yet realize. This was evident in their ready smiles at graduation. As is tradition, each graduating class leaves a gift to Saint David's. The Class of 2020's legacy gift is a pair of rubbed bronze lanterns to illuminate the Graham House doors. It is a fitting gif...

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...