February at Fieldston

For the first of February it is a remarkably beautiful, balmy day -- almost unbelievable! Hats and sunglasses would have come in handy on our trip into the hills of Riverdale today. Three Saint David's alums currently attend Fieldston: Shakeel '08, Sam '09, and Henry '10. Mr. Imbelli and I had the pleasure of meeting all three for a roundtable conversation.

Sitting around a harkness table, the five of us enjoyed a rather expansive and quite candid conversation about the boys' experiences at Saint David's, their transitions into high school and their lives today.

In response to a question about something they would never want to see changed about Saint David's, one of the boys responded that Saint David's gave him "a really strong fundamental base" and that he wouldn't want "that to change." In probing a little deeper, I asked him to define what he meant by strong, fundamental base. In response, he spoke about tradition, religion, and the school's emphasis on structure, and then he said something not just reassuring, but quite telling: "We know the mission and always will." "I always come back to visit--it's the relationship with the teachers and the people."

It was an enjoyable and productive visit.

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