A Schoolhouse's Light

High atop a hill overlooking the sea, a beautiful lighthouse illuminates the night, showing the way. It was built by the residents of a small hamlet, concerned by the number of shipwrecks witnessed and wayfarers who had lost their way. It was a prodigious lighthouse. As time passed though, the lighthouse’s beauty faded and the light went dark. Successive generations of hamletfolk, losing sight of their ancestors’ original intentions, ignored the lighthouse’s upkeep, disregarded its importance, and in an effort to satisfy a more selfish need, eventually converted it to a clubhouse.

For institutions to be strong and vibrant they can never loose sight of their founding principles or true purpose. Institutions that do can easily become something far different than their founding intention. As Saint David’s passes the mid-point of its 60^th anniversary year, we continue to illuminate and reflect upon our mission, critically evaluating its purpose and redefining its significance for today and for tomorrow.

The last phrase of our school’s mission synthesizes the essence of our enterprise. To help our sons aspire “to be good men” requires that we provide models and examples. It necessitates active, deliberate, and purposeful application. More often than not, it demands that we be counter-cultural, or more specifically “counter pop-cultural,” because the prevailing popular culture may not always celebrate, reflect, or imbue the values and behaviors generally associated with what’s “good.” Development of a strong sense of what’s right, fair, or good comes in part by learning it, and to learn it we must study it, see it, and do it.

Informed a little by the aesthetic, the latest issue of Saint David's Magazine explores the concept of being Agents for the Good. With the help of Jack Hale ’71, Michael Izquierdo’92, Father Katsouros, Oscar de la Renta, James Barbieri, Thomas Ryan, Brian Donnelly, John Dearie ’95, and RoseMarie Alfieri, it highlights some of the ways Saint David’s School illuminates its mission at the mid-point of its sixtieth anniversary year, ensuring that the light of this schoolhouse burns forever bright.

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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!

Fascinating Art Talk by Michelle Marder Kamhi at Grandparents Event

Yesterday evening, independent scholar and critic Michelle Marder Kamhi ( www.mmkamhi.com ), co-editor with husband Louis Torres of Aristos , an online review of arts; author of Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts ; and grandmother of two Saint David's boys, gave a thought provoking talk on art for our grandparent community. An advocate of objective standards in arts scholarship and criticism, Ms. Kamhi focused her talk on the ways in which art critics such as Clement Greenberg promoted the shift from representational art to abstraction. Kamhi argues that the abstract and post-modern art prevalent today, which often requires explanation by docents in order to be understood, goes against art's purpose. Taking issue with Greenberg's contention that representation is an expendable convention of painting, she quoted the late art critic John Canaday: "Art is the tangible expression of the intangible values that men live by." ...

NE Patriot Tom Brady at Saint David’s

Last night, Saint David’s was honored to have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, four time Superbowl champion and three-time MVP winner Tom Brady, as the guest speaker for our Alumni Parents Council Lecture Series. Tom, who is the father of one of our Saint David's boys, addressed a standing-room-only audience in Hyman Hall comprised of our eighth graders, alumni, alumni parents and faculty. Friendly, introspective, witty, and wise, he directed his talk to the delighted eighth graders in the front of the room, and focused on the topic of leadership. “You are the young men and leaders of Saint David’s,” he noted. Tom debunked the perception that leaders are born not made, and credited his leadership abilities to “standing up to and facing fears” and to “cultivating a mental strength,” which he cited as “more important than being physically strong.” He also stressed the importance of working hard, honoring teamwork, believing in oneself and being a good lis...

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