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

Resilience. If ever there were a community that perfectly demonstrates the ability to adapt, recover, and thrive in the face of mind-numbing challenges, it is ours. Resilience meant not only reimagining school this year to enable all to learn in person, it also meant needing to ensure all boys could continue learning uninterrupted, despite quarantining, underlying illnesses or conditions, or family financial strain caused by the pandemic. When the school announced a strategic desire to provide tuition assistance to current Saint David’s families in need, the parent community, in true Saint David’s fashion, jumped in eager to lead. Unable to host an in-person benefit this year, the Parents Association chose to make our tuition support objective the focus of their fundraising efforts and so C.O.R.E. (Community, Optimism, Resilience, Endurance) Emergency Aid Fund was born. C.O.R.E. Chair Cindy Wagner and her te...

"The best way out is always through." —Robert Frost As I write, a February blizzard is barreling up the coast, burying streets and sidewalks under piles of snow. We needed this. It points to eliciting good from bad, courage from fear, resilience. We have been dealing with the adversity of Covid-19 for a year now. It has not been an easy journey for any of us, but I am grateful for the way the Saint David’s community has come together and risen to the challenge. The exceptional professionalism of the faculty and staff, the unwavering support of our parent body, and the optimism of our boys exemplify the courage that times like these demand.    We are in the middle of that marathon I mentioned at the beginning of the school year—the end is somewhat in sight but now our muscles ache, we feel thirsty and tired, it’s painful, and even though we see the end it still feels a long way off. Wouldn’t it just be easier to quit now? Call it a day? . . . No, never. The...

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...