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

Dr. Derrick Gay conducting session on names with kindergartners, via Zoom. In the storied pages of our nation’s history, I’m not sure there will be many that will equal the ones we are living through now, which makes the strategic work we have been doing around building and cultivating a more inclusive, respectful community for the past several years, all the more important. Ut viri boni sint , "that they be good men" is at the heart of our Saint David's School mission. We seek continually, in a spirit of friendship, kindness, and acceptance, to cultivate a culture of respect around difference of all kinds. If we want our boys to aspire to be good men, good people, they must learn to respect themselves and the people who are alike and different from them. Never has this been more vital than it is today. Technological progress has increased human interdependence the world over and yet many would argue we remain increasingly divided, isolated, and separated. To counter thi...

Saint David's - What a night! Our school’s Advent Service of Lessons and Carols was broadcast for the first time virtually yesterday evening, enabling us to invite our extended community and friends. More than 525 devices were regularly tuned in, far exceeding the in-person capacity at St. Thomas More, and representing well over 1,000 parents, students, alumni, parents of alumni, faculty and staff and other community members who gathered together virtually for one of our school’s most treasured Christmas traditions.  For those who missed the service or would like to view it again, it is available at www.saintdavids.org/lessonsandcarols2020 Covid–19 protocols necessitated a change in format. Instead of the entire Glee Club, the evening featured soloists, small groups of singers, and instrumentalists; and of course, it needed to be virtual. However, the experience retained its impact: beautiful, moving, and demonstrative of the true spirit of the season. Heartfelt gratitude to the bo...

Our Parents Association Committee on Community and Inclusion does so much each year to nurture the strong sense of community among families. This year, with the pandemic restricting access to our school, they have devised an innovative way for our new families to get involved, while at the same time helping to broaden our boys' knowledge of other cultures and traditions.  Yesterday, Kindergarten Mom Mojoyin Onijala, launched COCI's Guest Reader/Library Initiative. Kindergarten and Omega parents are invited to read a book during their son's library period that ties to their family's heritage. Ms. Onijala virtually visited her son's class to read aloud "Femi The Fox" by Jeanette Kwakye, a book which reflects Nigerian culture. While Ms. Onijala read, our Lower School Librarian Gretchen King showed the boys a physical copy of the book, turning the pages in sync with Ms. Onijala's reading. The boys were captivated by the story of the very hungry fox's ...

Yesterday, the Saint David's community was honored to welcome Sean Hagerty '98, S.J., as speaker for our first ever virtual Alumni Homecoming and Chapel Talk.  Following September 11, 2001, Sean served his country as a soldier in Iraq, then worked in the corporate world until he "listened to the whisper" that called him to serve his faith. He is now in the ninth year of his journey toward the priesthood as a Jesuit. Sean's talk, shared below, addressed the suffering and loss presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and asked us to consider how we will tackle the challenges posed by the outbreak.   "How are we to be the 'good men' that our teachers at Saint David’s hoped we would become?" he asked. While Covid may be a devastating plague, Sean warned that the lack of civil discourse in our country is an even greater threat. "The ability to find consensus is vitally important to civil society," he said. " The question before us today is, h...

 Last night, we time traveled to East Fourth Street in the mid-19th century.   For our annual Alumni Parents Council cultural event, Saint David’s alumni and alumni parent community were treated to a virtual tour of The Merchant’s House Museum, led by Museum Historian and our very own Alumni Parents Council Co-Chair Ann Haddad P ’09, ’12. Annie provided a firsthand look at the domestic lives of the Tredwells, a wealthy merchant class family and their Irish servants who lived in this home, our nation’s first structure to receive national historic landmark status.   The tour was fascinating, taking us through the entire late-Federal and Greek Revival row house, featuring the “jewel box” parlor level with beautiful architectural details, furniture, and other personal belongings from the Tredwell family. Throughout the tour, Annie provided a glimpse into life in Old New York, when the city’s destiny was determined by its proximity to the seaport and its northern boundary stop...

School is not about answers, it's about questions—especially “why” questions we ask boys and they ask each other. "Why" targets the heart of any matter, it asks not for a simple response but for careful consideration, exploration, and reasoned analysis. At the core of inquiry is respect for difference; to be able to entertain a different perspective with an open mind. It was Aristotle who once wrote, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." It is with an open mind and intellectual curiosity that our boys can critically analyze ideas and issues. In a recent publication of  Saint David's Magazine ,  History Curriculum Chair Joe Shapiro addresses this in his piece entitled: "Exploring Others' Perspectives in History's Lessons and Questions." The article demonstrates our widely used Socratic seminar approach -- in this example employed during a sixth grade history unit on the Hamilton/...

(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.