Blast Off! Year 4 of Digital Universe Field Study

Our school's remarkable, unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History - Hayden Planetarium kicked off its fourth year last Friday, when our sixth graders spent the morning at the museum for the first session of the Digital Universe Field Study unit. The interdisciplinary study blends English, science and technology curricula, and is conducted both at the museum and in the boys' science and English classes at school.

Boys explore distance and size of planets in our solar system, using clay.

Over the next three months, the class will regularly visit the AMNH, working with the museum's astro-visualization team to master proprietary Digital Universe software that will enable them to simulate "flying through" the universe, using real-time astronomical data. Working in pairs, they will take this knowledge, as well as their learning about space in science class, and narratives in English, to explore an astronomy-related research question of interest and create a space show presentation that they will present to parents in the dome of the Hayden Planetarium.

This is truly a one-of-a-kind partnership with the AMNH; unique in its ongoing collaboration with the museum's experts and in our boys' private, continuing access to the planetarium and the Digital Universe software.

Boys learn best when they can benefit from the expertise of industry experts as well as their Saint David's teachers, and when their learning in and out of the classroom enables them to pose questions that require critical thinking and analysis. Our DUFS partnership does this, all while allowing our boys to take flight through our solar system and beyond. Who could ask for more?

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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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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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