Headmaster's Blog

A chilly, driving rain didn't deter a record number of alums in secondary  school and our current eighth graders from attending last night's Young  Alumni Chapel talk and Dinner--a Thanksgiving tradition that provides an  opportunity for our eighth graders to share an evening with alumni who  are in high school.   In his Chapel talk, which opened the evening, Lucas  Jenkins '04 focused on the meaning of the school's motto, our mission's  ultimate aspiration "...that they be good men." Addressing the Class of  2014, he said they had "a great opportunity to be school leaders" in  living the mission.  Lucas then reminded the young alumni present of their  "privilege and responsibility to represent the school, to carry its motto  and live up to it on a daily basis." He also noted that oftentimes making  the right choice, or doing the right thing, isn't easy, and that "a good  man acts accordingly, not when it is e...

Pre-K "Native Americans" and Omega "Pilgrims" shared a Thanksgiving Feast this morning. The event began with the Pre-K boys saying a prayer of thanks and Omega boys reciting a poem about "The First Thanksgiving." The boys then got down to business: enjoying their feast of popcorn, cookies, and  pretzel/marshmallow peace pipes! In their respective classes, the boys have been learning about the history of the upcoming holiday.  In addition to building on what they have learned, this was also an opportunity for both classes to build their own sense of community through a shared experience. Our Omega boys represent the leaders of the first floor, while our Pre-K boys are our youngest. Happy Thanksgiving. Below is a short video excerpt of part of the feast.

Eighth grade boys are busy today organizing pies and canned goods that comprise our annual school-wide Thanksgiving Food Drive. This year, the boys sold 613 pies — an all time record — to raise money for the purchase of 100 turkeys that will be delivered, along with the food from the canned goods drive, to families in need on Wednesday. The food will be delivered locally to Incarnation Church, as well as the churches of two of our staff members: Bethel Gospel Assembly and Lion of Judah.  The Thanksgiving Food Drive, our school's oldest community service project, is a month-long effort spearheaded by the eighth graders and their teachers Tom Ryan and Gene Romanosky. In gratitude for our many blessings, the project represents a commitment on behalf of Saint David's to the greater good and to giving back.

During the winter, Mark K. Shriver, author of A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, will be speaking with the seventh graders and their fathers at a new special annual event. We have invited Mr. Shriver to Saint David's to discuss his book over dinner and share his extraordinary father-son relationship with an audience of Saint David's fathers and sons. The father-son relationship is a unique and special one.  Saint David's has added this event to its "curriculum" in an effort to explore on an annual basis "what it means to be a good man" and other mission inspired themes and topics around manhood, fatherhood, and "sonhood," at a time in the father-son relationship that is both timely and apropos--the seventh grade.  Excerpt from the publisher: "In this intimate portrait of an extraordinary father–son relationship, Mark K. Shriver discovers the moral principles that guided his legendary father and applies them to...

There's a lot of STE(A)M right now at Saint David's. Seventh graders have been thinking 3-dimensionally, designing, creating and printings bookmarks using the 3D printer and first grader boys have been busy with Lego WeDo Robotic Kits. For the seventh grade project, boys had to critique the form and function of an effective bookmark, and explore the way a 3D printer prints (by adding layer upon layer) in order to execute a successful bookmark design. They were challenged to incorporate three-dimensional elements into their bookmark design. Two of the designs are shown here. One design cleverly contained the word "Library," which when viewed from behind looks like a stack of books! In addition to the bookmark design project, seventh graders learned skills employed by software developers to design and improve a selection of video games using Scratch. While our seventh graders are challenging themselves to utilize the "z" axis in one part of the cur...

The great Saint David's Annual pre-Thanksgiving Tradition, The Turkey Run, ran Tuesday.  It was a beautiful, crisp morning at Riverside Park when the second graders arrived and began their warm-up routine.  Nervous energy was palpable, and spirits were high.  As the Ferrari's, Maserati's and Lamborghini's took their starting slots, the air became literally electric--filled with the hightened anticipation that typically accompanies such an exciting race and historic event.  It was just phenomenal!  This year's running was the 20th at Riverside and we believe close to the 50th annual running.  No one currently in the school is quite certain, with any degree of confidence, of the exact start date of the Turkey Run.  Was it 62, 63, or 64?  If you know, let us know! Below is a short piece I captured--pre firing of the starter's gun.

Sixth graders made their way up 5th Avenue Tuesday after school to join residents of Cardinal Cooke in helping them celebrate Thanksgiving.  The boys set the tables and served residents, their family and friends, in what has become a great giving tradition. In addition to making conversation with residents and their families, the boys had a lot of work to do ensuring residents with special dietary requirements and feeding limitations were appropriately served and cared for. I was proud of the boys' incredible patience, good humor and flexibility in a busy, complex environment.  Serving the greater good is an important component of a Saint David's boy's education. On Tuesday it blossomed.