We can do everything that your students can do ...

... but we can do it in two languages.” Recently, an independent school colleague of mine was visiting a school in Lima, Peru. During an interview at the school, one of the students commented: We can do everything that your students can do; but we can do it in two languages. As our boys enter the world of work in 2020-2030, this will be their reality. They will be competing for jobs, not only with friends and neighbors as our grandparents did, or with people from nearby towns and cities as our parents did, or even with a national pool as many of us did; they will be competing with people from all over the world; and many of them will have proficiency in more than one language.

As we truly begin to think about and come to terms with the impact of a new century, a new reality, on our existing institutional infastructures and practices, our culture and society, we will be challenged. One of Saint David's most important and ongoing strategic initiativies has been our curriculum inititative--a critical examination of the what, when, why and how we are teaching, now in its fifth phase. One new commitment that has emerged from this work is to develop a practical fluency and proficiency in a second language. The pilot "Second Language Program" introduced to all kindergarten boys this year has been incredibly successful. Plans are afoot to continue the program and move it through the school, thoughtfully. More to come ...

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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...

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