From the Ancients and the Medieval to the Revolution and Immigration, We Cover it All at SDS

It was a busy week or two at Saint David's. In addition to the 8th grade boys preparing for their departure for Rome this Monday, the 3rd grade's Ellis Island mock immigration experience, and the 2nd Grade's Wax Museum, we enjoyed performances by the 6th grade in "For Though They May Be Parted," an original script and score by our own 20th Century Kaleidoscope team of teachers; 7 Theta's production of Everyman, the Medieval morality play that uses allegorical drama to make its point, and Silk Road, the 4th Grade's mock Silk Road journey throughout the ancient world.

On our Silk Road, the Headmaster's office was Rome. Above and at bottom are two pictures we snapped of some traders from Arabia peddling their silk in exchange for Rome's glass and jewels.

At right, you'll find a few of the virtues, vices, objects and activities that are personified in Everyman. Once the messenger of death visited everyman, it was his friends and kindred who first abandoned him. They were soon followed by Goods (worldly possessions) , Beauty, Strength, Discretion, Five Wits and Knowledge. It was only Good Deeds that stayed with Everyman through it all.

All of these events are examples of the many culminating experiences that follow weeks and months of study by the boys. Each is a physical, hands-on manifestation of the boys' learning --their study, knowledge and meaning-making. They are also examples of the incredible, innovative and creative curriculum work by our teachers, that has come from our Curriculum Initiative.

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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...

Tales of a Good Man

"Sometime in the midst of all this, we became friends. And his story, and all its vast world passed into mine." --From the Introduction of Blood & Oil by Roxane Farmanfarmaian. "Stories are so important; they become traditions that tell about the good that often comes out of bad experiences..." So began Roxane Farmanfarmaian's fascinating talk Monday night at Saint David's Seventh Grade Father-Son Dinner. Dr. Farmanfarmaian, Affiliated Lecturer of Modern Middle East Studies at the Political and International Studies Department at Cambridge University, was introduced by her nephew, Saint David's seventh grader Cyrus '17. She spoke to the seventh grade boys and their fathers about what makes a "Good Man" through the prism of her book Blood & Oil : A Prince's Memoir of Iran from the Shah to the Ayatollah (Random House 2005), which she co-authored with her late father, Prince Manucher Farmanfarmaian. The memoir i...

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