Omega Boys Explore the Works of Calder at the Whitney masthead

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Omega Boys Explore the Works of Calder at the Whitney

April 22, 2024

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A new unit of art in Omega focuses on the American artist Alexander Calder. The boys are learning about the life, methods, and artworks of the famous sculptor, while also embarking on their own artistic journey to create personal artwork informed by their close looking and inquiry.

On Thursday, April 18 the class visited The Whitney Museum of American Art where they explored various works by Alexander Calder (including the museum's permanent display of Calder's famous Circus installation), Louise Nevelson, and Lee Krasner. At each stop, the boys had the opportunity to do different art activities - sketching, art sticks, and pipe cleaner circus sculptures - inspired by the works.

Through a collaboration with Level Up Village, our boys will participate in a global artist exchange, where they will collaborate with students from a school in Argentina. Through asynchronous video exchanges, the boys will share their knowledge about Calder and receive similar videos from the students in Argentina about an artist native to their country. "We look forward to helping the boys embark on this global exchange and thrive in an interconnected world," said Art Teacher Melanie Fidler, who developed the unit through a curriculum professional development grant.

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Author Gordon Korman Visits with Upper School Boys
Author Gordon Korman Visits with Upper School Boys

April 16, 2024

Upper School boys enjoyed a special workshop with visiting author Gordon Korman last week in the school's theater. The author of over 100 books for children and teens, Gordon has been publishing fiction since he was just a child himself -- he wrote his first book in the seventh grade! The boys loved hearing that story, and enjoyed hearing Gordon talk about where all his ideas come from and what the process of writing his novels is like. Several boys stayed after the book signing to receive writing advice.

The Visiting Authors Series is hosted and funded by the PA Visiting Authors Committee in collaboration with Saint David's Upper and Lower School Librarians.


Lional Hampton Big Band at Saint David’s
Lional Hampton Big Band at Saint David’s

April 15, 2024

The Lionel Hampton Big Band visited the fourth and fifth graders at Saint David’s on Tuesday, April 9. Two members of the band, Christian Fabian and Cleve Guyten, have been coming to the school for workshops since 2021. The boys were treated to an overview of the development of jazz music, from Swing, to Bebop, to Cool Jazz, and finally to the music of Lionel Hampton himself. Each band member spoke about his instrument, or about improvisation and how jazz music differs from Classical music. The combination of saxophone, doublebass, piano, and drums provided the boys with both infectious rhythms and tuneful melodies. The boys enjoyed learning about jazz, and listening to the live sounds of master musicians.