Skip to main content

Learning From Each Other - A Prep for Prep Panel Discussion

On Friday, Dan Tobon '97, who participated in Prep for Prep, and Javier Piggee '97, who entered Saint David's in the first grade, visited the school to share their experiences with our current sixth graders, who will welcome two new classmates from Prep for Prep in September. They were joined by John C. Dearie '95, Assistant Director of Development, who spoke from the perspective of a student who welcomed Prep for Prep classmates when he was in seventh grade.  Saint David's has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Prep for Prep, which prepares New York City's most promising students of color to excel academically and socially at leading independent schools.

Dan and Javier reminisced about the strong bonds they formed at Saint David's and the impact of their teachers, and noted our school's welcoming, warm community. The panel discussed the potential challenges faced by these students, such as long commutes, and offered advice to our sixth graders on how to welcome their new classmates and make them feel at home at the school.

It was great to see Dan and Javier, and so good of them and John to share their experiences.  Our sixth graders came away from the discussion with a greater sensitivity to the challenges the incoming students may face during their transition to a new school environment - as well as an appreciation for how much they can learn from each other.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...