Headmaster's Blog

It's often the little things that carry the most meaning ... especially on a lazy late winter Sunday.  

Headquartered in Morristown, NJ, The Seeing Eye organization and Saint David's have a long history.  Initiated in 2005 by beloved parent Connie Hays and continued in her memory, the school's Pennies for Puppies program helps to fund a Seeing Eye dog each year.  This year's 4th grade boys made the organization's magazine The Guide, page 6.  This is another great example of the boys doing good in their extended community. Congratulations, 4th grade!

As I watch the snow continue to fall from the window of my office on 89th Street, I come across Parenting for Moral Growth , a publication by the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education--a thoughtful group. Their Winter issue has a particularly interesting piece on "The 3 Ps -- Perspective Taking, Play and Posing Questions." It's a good quick read for parents of young children (2-7).  On this the second snow day in as many weeks, many parents may be thinking of some slightly different P's, like, maybe Patience, Perseverance, and Please God let it end!

The boys (6th grade) and I spent the late afternoon today with residents of Cardinal Cooke's 7th floor. We played Trivia Bingo. The residents just love their time with the boys. This is our 7th visit this year. All the boys volunteer their time, arriving back at school at 6 PM. It' Saint David's doing good in our community. This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

On an otherwise dark and dreary morning, 8th graders from Nancy Iannicelli’s Humanities class brightened the day with the presentation of their Via Fiorentina projects to a panel of judges in the Hume Library. The boys’ two week Italian Study Tour is fast approaching. I was honored to serve as a judge. Working in groups of five, the boys were asked to focus their research on a building of architectural distinction in Florence, map a route from our hotel to the building, identify a stop along the way worth visiting, produce a “detail” drawing or painting from the exterior or interior, and create an original reproduction of the facade using an art medium of choice. Boys took on the roles of scrittore , artista facciata , artista detaglio and cartografo . From the familiar, Il Duomo and Campanile to Santa Croce and Palazzo Rucellai the boys impressed. One of my favorite buildings in Florence is the fifteenth-century Palazzo Rucellai in the Piazza de’ Rucellai. Designed b...

I spent a chunk of my morning today with Kindergarten Theta.  As a part of their Social Studies studies they interview members of the Saint David's professional community to gain a sense of exactly what it is they do on a daily basis.  It's only through the questions of a five year old that one struggles to explain just what it is one actually does.  My favorite question: What number headmaster are you?  My answer, number five, led to a series of follow-ups from the boys that would have made any self-respecting New York Times investigative journalist proud.  I think my answers were well-received and accepted as, at a minimum, plausible.  Thank you K-Theta.

In addressing the source of the spring that feeds his Sabine farm, Horace waxes poetic about his fountain Bandusia, describing it as the bringer of gifts, like crystal or glass it is both translucent and reflective:     You too will become one of the famous fountains,        as I sing of an old oak tree planted on carved-out     rocks, from which your speaking        waters leap down Julie Sykes is one of those famous sources of inspiration. In her we see the best of ourselves. She reminds us of our familiar patterns–the things important–honesty, compassion, kindness, humor; Julie’s is a sharp-witted sense of humor, one tempered only by her innate respect for the appropriate. Her uncanny ability to be comfortable with everybody, to put all whom she meets at ease, whether 4, 40 or 140, alum, parent, past parent or prospective parent, colleague, nursery school director or Saint David’s headma...