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

(Click to view full Chapel Talk) This morning, Lower School Librarian Gretchen King delivered a virtual Chapel talk that she said had been in her mind since the beginning of the pandemic. Joined in song by Building Services Engineer William Best and accompanied on the piano by Music Teacher Meg Myette, she shared one of her favorite inspirational songs, "Through It All."   The personal experiences shared during our morning Chapels give boys tools to navigate life's challenges with courage, integrity, humility, and gratitude.  Gretchen reminded us that we can draw strength from gratitude, faith, and trust even in the most troubling of times. Thank you, Ms. King, Mr. Best and Ms. Myette for inspiring us this morning.

A silver lining in this pandemic has been not only that our boys are attending school in person but how much they are thriving in their classes. I think everyone was a bit circumspect at the beginning of this school year, wondering just what it would be like and what it would feel like to be in school in such an unusual way.  Would boys be able to adhere to the PPE and distancing protocols? How would they relate with their teachers , to each other? The reality is that the teacher/student relationship, so essential to boys' learning, is cementing more quickly than ever. Within small pod groups with an average of nine students per pod, teachers have been able to devote more time to each individual boy and to cultivate trust and connection. Seven weeks into this school year, those relationships are where they would normally be after several more weeks. The boys are happy, they are learning subject matter, how to think critically, creatively, and analytically, they are exercising and p...

I would like to share this article from the current issue of  Saint David's Magazine about a signature interdisciplinary learning experience our fifth graders had last fall and winter with the Metropolitan Opera, which culminated in their original mini opera production: "A Hero's Journey." The article is written by Alexis Aoyama, Assistant Headmaster, Head of Upper School. As we began to settle into our new facility in 2018, new programmatic opportunities emerged. Through a connection of a Saint David’s parent and a long-time supporter of the arts, Music Curriculum Chair Jeff Moore and I met with Marsha Drummond, the Director of Education at Metropolitan Opera. An introductory meeting quickly turned into an exciting brainstorming session, leaving us energized by the possibilities for collaboration. Over the next ten months, our faculty team and the educational team at Met Opera worked together to plan a signature learning experience which would begin in September and ...

We are beginning week five of all in-person learning and it has been an absolute joy to have the boys and their teachers back at school where they belong, thriving, and happy. The sights, sounds, and spark of young boys' learning buzz around us, albeit at a distance of at least six feet. Last week our Pre-K boys were farmers for the day, driving "tractors" to their class pumpkin patch in our backyard, riding a "cow," and sharing stories about farm life -- fortunate to be able to engage in active learning activities with each other.   Eighth graders, embarking on their micro/macro exploration of human anatomy, dissected cow eyes and learned how to become adept with the tools that surgeons use, via a virtual session with one of their classmate's parents, who is a surgeon. Dr. Decorato introduced the boys to their instruments —probe, forceps, scalpel, surgical scissors—and directed them in the purposes and proper grip for each, using...

I would like to share an excerpt from the article "Contrapposto" that appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine. Written by alumnus Blaise Haddad '12, it speaks to our school-year theme of resilience. On our first Eighth Grade trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ms. Iannicelli brought us directly to Gallery 154 to visit the Greek kouros. This marble youth, with its classical simplicity, its perfect proportionality, and its contrapposto stance—that inescapable Italian word—would prove essential for our class, launching us forward into history. But it meant something more as well. The kouros, Ms. Iannicelli told us, is tied to every Saint David’s boy, embodying his journey as he graduates and steps into the wider world. Its arms rigid at its sides, torso erect and strong, it moves perpetually forward while holding fast to its foundational precepts. The Saint David’s boy, she said, must come here first whenever he visits the Met. No exceptions.  I’ve bee...

The following is my first Chapel Talk of this 2020-2021 school year: In the childrens’ book "A Perfectly Messed-Up Story" by Patrick McDonnell, little Louie, the main character, just wants to merrily skip through his story singing happily, but he keeps getting interrupted by messes—jelly stains on the pages, peanut butter, fingerprints. He just can't believe it! Little Louie’s story is not going the way he’d hoped. Little Louie's struggles remind me of the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus who wrote that “he who learns must suffer.” Learning is change, and change isn’t easy. Even in normal times, it requires some degree of discomfort. During this pandemic, it’s compounded ten-fold—for all of us.  Resilience is that ability to bounce back, to swim not sink, to bend not break in the face of significant, sudden or unexpected challenge or change, hardship or struggle—like a tree in strong wind or shock absorbers on a bumpy ride. It demands a strong c...

Day One of our 70th year; never in the past could we have imagined! For this first day, half of our student/teacher population, the Theta group, came to school in-person, while our other cohort, Pi, attended school virtually. Tomorrow they will switch, and we look forward to welcoming our Pi students back to campus. Today's in-person group wore face coverings, kept a safe distance from one another, and followed the stringent health and safety protocols we have implemented in accordance with CDC, NYDOH and NYCDOH guidelines. Yes, it was different; but also reassuring and exciting. The boys were happy - happy to be back with their friends and their teachers, beginning the cultivation or continuation of relationships vital for their academic and personal success. At the same time, the Pi cohort had the opportunity to gain some experience with our virtual model, as Theta will tomorrow. This familiarity will be helpful should we need to pivot to a virtual schedule at any po...