Reunion Day for Horizons at Saint David's

Horizons boys with Coach Williams

Squeals of excitement could be heard in the lobby as boys and parents reconnected with one another and their Horizons teachers on our recent Horizons Reunion Day.

The boys, now either first graders or second graders, enjoyed a typical Horizons day on Reunion Day this past Saturday, a combination of class work, sports, music and free play. They were also assessed by their teachers, who evaluated their progress in academic skills since last summer.

Saint David's Horizons boys were thrilled to be with their summer classmates and with their teachers Courtney Sanchez, Meghan Patterson, Leah Kaplan, Melissa Ferrer, Lindsay Buhr, David Bell, Jorge Roman, Keith Williams, Amanda Rathbun and Nieve Gonzalez.

Horizons boys with 8th grade volunteer Luke R.

Several of our current Saint David's eighth graders volunteered their time and helped out with sports, lunch, and playtime.

The day also included a series of informative lectures for Horizons parents on the following topics: "Food and Nutrition," "Enrichment Activities," "Reading to Your Children," and "The Importance of Physical Activity for Boys." The lectures were delivered by Melissa Roessler, a current Saint David's parent and certified nutritionist; Tori Gilbert, Languages Chair; Kim Davidson, Lower School Head; and Pedro Morales, Saint David's Director of Athletics.

The day culminated with everyone enjoying a pizza lunch and ice cream sundaes. Smiles abounded.

It was exciting to witness our Horizons community continue to grow and thrive with incredible support from our Saint David's teachers, staff, boys, and parents, and through the dedication, guidance and exceptional leadership of Executive Director Julie Sykes.

Horizons at Saint David's is a six-week summer program to prevent academic summer slide in at-risk boys that we began in conjunction with our 60th anniversary celebration as a way to contribute to the greater common good. We have partnered with public, charter and parochial schools in East Harlem. The program was launched in the summer of 2012, with just one class of rising first graders. Come this summer, we will add another cohort of 15-17 rising first graders to the boys currently in the program, bringing the total to 50.

For more information, visit Horizons at Saint David's website: http://www.saintdavids.org/portal/horizons

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