Analysis of Portraits at the Frick

Earlier this week, sixth graders and their art teacher Hannah Frassinelli visited the nearby Frick Collection for a guided tour of some of the Collection's masterpieces in portraiture.

Museum docent and Saint David's parent Olivia Birkelund Gerard expertly led the discussion at each painting, encouraging the boys to make thoughtful observations about symbolism, use of props, background, expression, and overall composition as they took in master works that included a self portrait of Rembrandt, Holbein's portraits of Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, and Bellini's St. Francis in the Desert.

The boys were eager to express their observations, whether about the intensity of the eyes and naturalness of the Rembrandt, the rich colors of the St. Thomas More, or the biblical allusions in St. Francis.

Most impressive were the inferences the boys made about the possible intent of the artist, or the emotional state of the subject, all based on what they observed.

Our boys will consider what they learned when they create their own "aspirational portraits" in class. They are charged with drawing a self portrait that through elements such as costume and background reflects a person they admire, and on using their artistry to express emotion and inner life.

This year, our school-wide theme is deliberate moral introspection; as the boys determine whom to select for their aspirational portraits, they will need to reflect and consider deeply the qualities that make a person admirable.

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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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