Moon Bears and Haiti

I love it when boys get involved in their extended communities. Today, in the midst of dealing with several typical headmaster issues, two second grade boys appear unannounced at my office door. George N. then proceeds to present me with a beautifully penned letter addressed to the Government of China acknowledging their recent efforts to "protect" the moon bear.

Asiatic black bears, commonly called “moon bears,” suffer terribly on Chinese “bear farms” where crude catheters are implanted into the bear's gall bladder through a hole made in the abdominal wall. The bile, extracted or "farmed" from the bear's gall bladder is used in Traditional Medicine practices throughout China and other parts of Asia.

I can honestly say I know very little about the moon bear and its plight. But George and the second graders are very aware. They were looking for signatures to attach to their letter of petition. They feel that the Chinese Government is not doing enough and are respectfully requesting a more vigorous defense and protection of the bear. I signed. Their passionate case was irresistible. On another front, Student Council President Tommy R. reported to me today that the students have been successful in raising some $38,000 to aid the work of the Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross and Fr. Rick Frechette in Haiti. Incredible! And they are not done yet. This is completely a result of the work of the boys. I was totally surprised ... and proud!

Moon bears and Haiti, Saint David's boys pursuing their passions and their interests; making the world better.

Comments

OLIVER!

This morning our fifth graders continued a great year-end tradition at Saint David's, The Fifth Grade Musical. The boys performed Oliver! and they were fantastic, providing impressive performances and demonstrating great vocal ability. They have been mastering the dialogue and musical numbers for weeks, and clearly gave it their all. Congratulations to the cast on a job well done, and to their Producers/Teachers James Hubbard and Jamie MacNeille, Director Phyllis Clark, Musical Conductor Jeff Moore, and the Parent Committee of Cynthia Chapman, Susan Kissane, Tara Neumann, Joyce Restituto, and Ann Roberts. Musical theater is alive and well at Saint David's!

Sixth Graders Meet with Dr. Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History

Dr. Carter Emmart with Saint David's Sixth Graders This past Friday, as part of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, sixth graders had the great honor to attend a private lecture given by Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at AMNH. Dr. Emmart told the boys about his passion for science along with an overview of the history of the Hayden Planetarium. He also gave the boys advice on how to take scientific information about the universe and compile it into an interesting and captivating show for an audience. The boys were able to see Dr. Emmart's original sketches, which helped create the Uniview program they are using to develop their presentations. The session provided our boys with an opportunity to learn how art and science come together in the planetarium, and to obtain expert advice on developing their own space shows from one of the creators of Uniview . You can learn more about Dr. Emmart's work and Univie...

Surf's Up for Horizons at Saint David's

Little can top catching a wave to beat the heat on an exceptionally hot summer's day. Yesterday, as the temperatures soared into the nineties, the Horizons at Saint David's Eighth Grade class traveled to Rockaway Beach with their teachers for surf lessons with New York's premiere surf school, Locals Surf School. The boys have been taking swimming lessons through our program since their first summer with us in 2012. At that time, they were were rising first graders, and our inaugural cohort of Horizons students. Yesterday, they were ready to go, and, as these pictures show, they had a blast while learning a new skill. This is the eighth year of Horizons at Saint David's, a six-week multi-faceted academic and cultural summer experience whose mission is to prevent summer slide in elementary school boys from low-income families. We began the program in conjunction with Saint David's 60th anniversary in 2011, as one way that Saint David's as an ins...

Headmaster's Blog

Search This Blog