Headmaster's Blog

Boys working with a 3D Printer Engineering 101 is a new afterschool club at Saint David’s. Each Wednesday, a remarkably passionate and imaginative group of fifth and sixth grade student-engineers are joined by one or more members of our technology department for an hour of project-based investigation, building, programming, testing, revising, and miscellaneous fun. Since the club’s inception in January, student-engineers have built launchers and rockets. They have designed and programmed video games using SCRATCH, a LOGO-based programing environment that is a product of MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten Lab. They have “met” and interacted with a visiting expert – a NAO robot, more customarily seen in graduate schools than in elementary schools. Currently, the boys are building solar-powered propeller boats. In this week’s class these budding engineers printed  three-dimensional plastic parts to modify their boats’ designs, using virtual 3D design software and Saint David’s new ...

The First Orchestra held their debut concert his morning in a joint performance with the Philharmonic Ensemble for the Lower School in Hyman Hall. The First Orchestra, a string orchestra of our youngest musicians, consists of first through third grade boys who practice every Monday morning before school with Ms. Anderson. Assembled to hear them this morning was a collection of two hundred or so. I visited earlier in the year when this inaugural group was just coming together, and it was a joy to see and hear them today, playing with the confidence that comes with diligence, hard work, and commitment over time.  There is something unique and special about a boy and his instrument. The group demonstrated their prowess with scales and shared an exercise in which they listen to each other to successively play the same sequence of notes. They concluded with a performance of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, a piece that incorporates harmony.  Next to perform was the seasoned Philharm...

Over the course of this year we have explored our school-wide theme of True Community not only as it pertains to our school’s community, but its implications in the context of "a citizen of the world." After graduation, Saint David's boys will step out into a world that will require them to build community on a global scale, and our responsibility is to prepare them for it. In the spirit of this realization, our eighth graders and parents of alums were treated to a conversation yesterday evening featuring Chelsea Clinton. Addressing the theme “True Community, A Global Imperative,” to a packed audience in Hyman Hall, Ms. Clinton spoke passionately of her work with the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Health Access Initiative, and the causes that most resonate with her, in particular those improving the health of children around the world. Chelsea encouraged our boys to discover their individual talents and passions and to use them to make a difference, advising that...

The Boys of the Class of 2015 at the US Capitol In the wee hours of yesterday morning, Saint David's 6th Grade boys left for the nation's capital as a culminating experience in their integrated study of America, its republic, and the 20th Century. Today the boys are visiting the Supreme Court. In addition to taking the Curators Tour and having a special session with Saint David's Alum David Denton '99, a law clerk with Justice Kennedy, the boys visited the Capitol and the Library of Congress. Yesterday they visited the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum.  After dinner the boys enjoyed a trolley tour of monuments with a special focus on Lincoln, MLK, Vietnam, WWI and WWII--all directly related to their studies. Below is a photo of the session the boys enjoyed with Congressman Adam Schiff of California. This afternoon the boys will be exploring the National Portrait Gallery. The weather is beautiful--springtime in DC! Th...

This morning first graders from NBS visited with half the Saint David's first graders; the other half trekked a little north to visit the girls on their turf. Excited, but poised for the adventure ahead, the boys introduced themselves, greeting the girls with a handshake as they entered the classroom. The activity, a long-standing tradition, is the second in a series of exchanges--providing an opportunity for the boys to practice appropriate social graces, good manners, and build a sense of extended community with girls from a neighboring school. The children then broke out into small groups to play games and share a snack. In the first photo, you see the boys and girls collaborating to build a replica of the Washington Monument; in the second, a Saint David's boy and NBS girl are playing a game of checkers at the window. It was a special morning for the boys.

Late morning I high tailed it down to Regis for lunch with Saint David's alums. Saint David's has ten alums currently attending Regis. Two will graduate this year as seniors and we have boys in every grade, with four more Saint David's boys joining Regis next year as incoming freshmen. Accompanied by Mr. Imbelli, we enjoyed two lunch sittings with the boys to discuss their transitions to high school and to reflect on their time at Saint David's. We had an enlightening and productive time sharing in the boys experiences at Saint David's and Regis, and the boys were quite candid in their advice and suggestions for further advancing Saint David's. In the top photo you see the older boys with whom we ate second. The bottom photo shows the younger boys, whom we met first. They were all in great spirits!

New York is an incredible city!  Where else could one find a museum that is solely focused on building a stellar collection that documents and celebrates humanity's exploration of the "creative process?" Maybe the answer is nowhere, except here in one of the greatest cities on the planet. This past Friday evening more than 100 alumni parents and alums gathered for a special Saint David's event at The Morgan Library and Museum, the great New York architectural treasure designed by McKim, Mead & White, a leader of the American Renaisssance style. We had arranged for this special spring gathering of alum friends of the school to hear from the Morgan's Director, Mr. William Griswold. In his enthusiastic, animated and comprehensive remarks, Mr. Griswold provided a historical overview of the venue, its rich history, and its ties to New York, highlights of the library and museum collection, and his own take on this museum's unique place in the city, country ...