Stepping Back in Time

It's a place that decades of Saint David's fifth grade classes know well, where they have learned about 18th century customs, furnishings, and even how to dance a minuet--the National Society of Colonial Dames Museum House in Manhattan.

Our boys visit this replica of a pre-revolutionary home of an affluent citizen in conjunction with their study of Colonial times.

Monday evening, it was the site of our annual Alumni Parents Council Cultural Event, spearheaded by co-chairs Dorothy Faux and Linda Foran. As we gathered in the garden of this stately edifice, the museum educator Joie Anderson welcomed us and we began our tour of the house. She spoke about the Society's ultimate purpose of education and preservation. The New York Society's educational mission is focused on the vital role of the women of Colonial New York.

Ms. Anderson explained that the museum house was built in 1930 by women who were descendants of important people during the Colonial era. When it was constructed there were no buildings from the Colonial period of such magnitude in New York City.

The museum house incorporates features from 18th century houses and is filled with 18th century furniture and artifacts.

This enjoyable evening with Saint David's friends was a journey back in time made more real because we could see in each room the way a segment of people from an earlier time lived.

It was decidedly low tech, not a display screen or interactive device in sight! Instead we were asked to just "be" in the past, a reminder of the value of reaching back to understand what came before us as we move forever forward.

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!

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...

Headmaster's Blog

Search This Blog