Headmaster's Blog

Ra'ad '15 and  Vladimir '14 dropped by my office to chat. They had a long weekend away from school at Groton. Seeing them both again so happy and confident made my day. 

Today I visited Blair Academy and Lawrenceville with Mr. Imbelli to catch up with alums. We have three at Blair and two at Lawrenceville with one from each graduating. Jack '12 is off to West Point and Henry '12 is off to Brown. They are both very excited about their next chapters. It was great fun spending time with Tim '14 and Henry '12 at Blair. It was a really special surprise to catch up with Pierce '15 who left Saint David's in the 2nd grade for Hong Kong. He loved his time at Saint David's and spoke of how much he treasured his early foundation and memories.  At Lawrenceville Jack '12 and Fabrizio '15 hosted us for a fabulous lunch and discussion in the senior hall.  I'm very proud of what our alums are doing at their respective schools. They are leading, learning and giving to their communities. 

From the crowds at all lunch periods and dismissal times today it was apparent that few could resist rice crispy treats shaped like dog bones, or vanilla and chocolate cupcakes sporting Oreo puppy ears or, for that matter, any of the delectable treats that took up house in Saint David's Lobby this afternoon.  All for a good cause. It was the Fourth Grade's annual Pennies for Puppies Bake Sale, a long-term tradition that engages our boys in all facets of running a fundraiser, from planning to marketing, to baking and selling. First graders also participate by helping make posters advertising the sale. Proceeds will benefit The Seeing Eye, an organization that trains guide dogs, and the boys will visit their facility in Morristown, New Jersey, to deliver their check. Doing good for others through expenditure of time and effort is something we encourage at Saint David's.  Our boys embrace these projects with energy and excitement.

“If classrooms are going to be rich cultures of thinking for our students, then schools must be rich cultures of thinking for educators.” On Monday and Tuesday, 18 teachers participated in a series of workshops with Mark Church, our learning consultant from Harvard, and co-author of Making Thinking Visible . As part of our school's reflection on this year's theme, Deliberate Moral Introspection , the sessions focused on “How do we frame the story of thinking and learning at Saint David’s?" Mark shared the Understanding Map, which was developed by Harvard Project Zero. The map identifies a number of high leverage thinking moves that people use to solve problems. These thinking dispositions are representative of the types of thinking that lead to deeper understanding. For instance, when studying history, Considering Different Viewpoints and Reasoning with Evidence are certainly essential. In math, when solving an algebraic equation, Making Connections and Uncovering...

Our youngest musicians in the First Orchestra, led by Mrs. Francis, and our older boys of the Philharmonic Ensemble, conducted by Mr. Hough, performed in a special concert for the Lower School boys this morning.  First Orchestra played "Ode to Joy" and "This Land Is Your Land," while the Philharmonic performed "Dance of the Tumblers" from Snow Maiden and the theme from Star Wars. Lower School boys also learned about the different instruments in both orchestras, and the First Orchestra members provided spoken introductions to their pieces. They did a terrific job! We all enjoyed beginning the day with music courtesy of our boys.

In preparation for a new school partnership with the Guggenheim for our seventh and eighth grade observational drawing classes, faculty members Jenna Boccella, Nancy Iannicelli  and Melanie Fidler recently attended a drawing workshop at the museum. Led by the Guggenheim's Director of Education, Sharon Vatsky, the workshop included a slide presentation on the history of the museum, followed by a tour from an architectural perspective focusing on the use of geometric and organic forms in both the the interior and exterior of the building, and how the museum's design is based on the modernist idea that “form follows function." Participants then drew from the vantage point of their choice. Beginning in the fall, our school's exciting new collaboration with our neighbor down the street will include several sessions of our boys' drawing onsite at the Guggenheim, and culminate with an exhibit of their work in a museum gallery. Art Department Chair Jenna Boccella and...

Our first graders are official cartographers, having learned all about mapping through our partnership with the N-Y Historical Society! Over a series of weeks in March and April, an educator from the N-Y Historical Society joined Saint David's classroom teachers to lead the boys through a comprehensive hands-on study of maps.  Boys examined historical maps of New York from the N-YHS collection, noting how the city has changed over time, and they learned about a map's essential components: compass, scale, map key, and color. They then set about creating their own maps of the neighborhood around Saint David's on the Upper East Side, incorporating stamp symbols they conceptualized designed, and printed, to mark the location of places of interest. The exercise required the boys to think analytically and critically as they planned their maps. The result? A collection of colorful and accurate maps, and a group of proud young cartographers with enhanced understa...