Headmaster's Blog

Great news from the rink: Saint David's second grade hockey players won their league championship this past Saturday evening! After a thrilling semi-final game vs. a team from Summit, New Jersey, our boys were victorious in the finals against the Essex Hunt Club. This marks Saint David's first championship in more than 20 years of participating in this league's second grade age division. As exciting as it is to take home the trophy, Coach Chris Murphy rightly notes that, "More importantly, the boys exhibited great teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the season and during these playoffs." Congratulations to our second grade hockey players. Your school is so proud of your win and the way you always honor the game!

Each year since our 60th anniversary in 2011, Saint David's eighth graders and teacher Tom Ryan have led school-wide fundraisers in support of the Kalina School, a primary school which we built through our partnership with Save the Children, in Tigray, Ethiopia. When Saint David's Kalina School opened in 2013, it welcomed boys and girls in Grades One through Four.  By 2018, it had expanded to include Grades Pre-K through Eight, making it a full scale, fully funded elementary school. Saint David's boys remain committed to education in Ethiopia. Recently, Aaron Fossi of Save the Children visited with our seventh and eighth graders during Chapel to kick off this year's project: the construction of a two-room block addition to a new school in Ala'sa. When completed, it will serve 188 boys and girls in Grades Five and Six. The Class of 2019 is organizing and planning a host of school-wide spring activities, from walk-a-thons, to shows, to ice cream sales and pa...

The gift of family was the theme of this morning's special Chapel for our fifth graders and their mothers. Alumnus Henry McMillan '09, who graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall and Connecticut College, and now works as a financial analyst at J. P. Morgan Chase & Co., focused his talk on the ways in which he has bonded throughout his life with his mother and extended family during large family gatherings on Long Island. Henry reminded us that it is time spent together--whether playing games, going through old photos or engaging in other activities, that allows familial ties to strengthen, and that there is nothing quite comparable to a mother's love. Thank you, Henry, for returning to your alma mater to share your insights with our fifth graders and their moms. What a meaningful way to begin the day!

Yesterday's Faculty vs. the 7/8 Red Basketball team couldn't have been more exciting! Truly a nail biter until the very end, it could have gone either way but tipped in the Faculty's favor, 37-35. The crowd loved it! Thanks to our new Price Family Gymnasium, so many of our younger boys and faculty/staff were able attend. The bleachers were packed with the boys cheering and watching their teachers as they've never seen them! Thanks to all who organized and participated. What a fun way to enjoy our Saint David's community and kick off the long winter weekend!

This past week, both Seventh Grade sections presented dramatic performances, in conjunction with their study of Ancient Greece's contributions to the formation of Western democracy and culture. In last week's The Trial of Socrates , 7 Pi provided a historical reenactment of the Greek philosopher's trial, based on the writings of Plato, who was present at the trial. Today, 7 Theta performed Sophocles' Antigone , the third and final part of the Oedipus series. These productions explore the values and moral questions posed by Greek philosophers, who examined humans' relationships with the gods and with each other in society. Congratulations to the boys and their directors, teachers Jim Barbieri and Joe Kilkeary. The tradition of the Greek Plays in Seventh Grade was brought to the school by Mr. Kilkeary in 1986 with the production of Sophocles' Ajax . This year, for the first time in Saint David's history, the boys performed in a state...

This video, produced for the PA benefit by Mary Busby and Jeanine Salvatore, says so much about what our school stands for and how the boys experience it and our wonderful new spaces day to day.  Enjoy!

The Saint David's parent community never ceases to amaze. On Friday evening, they blasted us into the far reaches of the universe with a Benefit that celebrated our boys and their infinite possibilities beneath a canopy of stars and song at The Pierre. Within our Saint David's constellation, the exceptionally creative Benefit Chair Rita Kitt and her team have exhibited vision, tenacity, and a deep love for this school; devoting countless hours over several months to ensure an evening that was spectacular and true to the spirit of Saint David's. From the opening song, "Reach for the Stars," written specifically for our Benefit by the ever-generous Tom Kitt; to the moving video of how our boys are learning in our new spaces, and an auction that beat all records; this was a night not only of infinite possibilities, but of limitless wonder and gratitude. The strength and dedication of the entire Saint David's community is truly a remarkable cons...

Our third grade history program focuses on 19th and early 20th century American history, with an emphasis on the ways Americans have demonstrated perseverance and ingenuity to improve their lives. The boys are now studying immigration at the turn of the 20th century. On Monday, they spent the day exploring Ellis Island and in a couple of weeks they will participate in an activity in which they assume the identity of an immigrant undergoing processing there. Through field trips, research, and related activities, this unit immerses the boys in the immigrant experience so that they can more deeply understand it and its complexity. All of these activities will aid them in critical analysis of the ideas and issues around immigration, perhaps none moreso than when they step into the shoes of a would-be immigrant. Experiencing another person's complicated situation enables our boys to cultivate cultural competency, deepens empathy, and goes a long way toward developi...

Second graders' study of chemistry promotes an understanding of matter and the molecules that it comprises. The hands-on unit includes several labs that address the properties of atoms and molecules, matter's three main states (solid, liquid, gas), and the difference between physical and chemical changes. Building on their understanding of phase change, the boys recently had an exciting day of hands-on interaction with dry ice (solid Carbon Dioxide) in which they observed the process of sublimation (a solid going directly from a solid to gas state, bypassing the liquid phase.) After their teacher dropped a chunk of dry ice in a beaker of warm water, the boys observed CO2 gas bubble up from the liquid like a thick white mist.  They then added dish washing soap to their beakers and were thrilled to scoop up the "misty" bubbles caused by the ongoing sublimation. Finally, they were delighted when Mrs. Sundar, using a special canister with hose attachmen...

Our fifth graders dug deep into the power of forensics and DNA while at the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Learning Center last week. They were asked to name highlights of their visit: "The Anastasia Romanov case. It was a great example of how to solve mysteries." The boys explored how DNA sequencing could solve the mystery of Princess Anastasia Romanov and determine whether she survived the Romanov family massacre . "When we looked at the pollen and found out where he ate his meals.  I enjoyed this lab because it proves how incredible and advanced science is."  After viewing in person the 3D replica of Otzi the Iceman (Europe's oldest known natural human mummy), the boys conducted a lab that looked at the types of pollen found in Otzi's digestive system to figure out where he was hiking and eating during his last 36 hours of life. "The fruit flies because I saw cool genetic mutations."  The boys also conducted labs in which ...