as was the reconfiguring and repurposing work done on the townhouse classrooms, hallways, and office
spaces needed during “The Great Compression” years.
Several significant changes are temporarily in effect during the compression: Reception is located in
Room 15, to the immediate right of the school’s main entrance and the nurse’s office is in Room 11A, next to
the Parlor. The Lower School Assistant’s office is Room 12A, the old Pre-K cubby room. Room 22, the old
second floor gym, no longer exists. It is now a classroom/meeting space. 8 Pi is in Room 25 on the second
floor, the old Hume North, while 8 Theta is in Room 26, the old Hume South. 2 Chi is in Room 32 on the
third floor and Omega is in Room 46 on the fourth floor. The woodshop is now in Room 63 on the sixth
floor, the old math office. Most of the Upper School Library collection is available in Room 22 and Room
26; other US Library resources are available by request. The Lower School Library is relocated to various
classrooms with a small collection remaining in the old LS Library.
The Lower School Dining Room will be used for Pre-K sports Monday through Friday mornings
and Hyman Hall will be used by K and First Grade sports every morning. Room 53 will be used for First,
Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade art classes as well as several modern language classes. All US
science classes will be in Lab 66 while LS science classes will occur in homerooms. Philharmonic Ensemble
will rehearse in Hyman Hall and Chamber Singers in the Chapel. Pianos have been moved into Rooms 52
and 56, and piano lessons will be taught in those classrooms. The work by our construction teams has been
remarkable; if the start of this massive undertaking is any indication of its future, our currently shrinking
campus will soon be expanding—all on schedule! And so too are our fundraising successes to date. The
campaign, still in its quieter stages, will soon become more public. We’ll need everyone’s help to achieve our
essential but imperative goal.
When trekking about the Allamuchy State Forest late in my summer, I found myself and several of
my colleagues lost more than once. Using wilderness land navigation skills we were taught—compass,
topographic maps, terrain recognition, and triangulation—we were able to turn ourselves around and set
ourselves right again. The morals, values, and habits of mind espoused in our school’s mission are the
compass, map, and direction finders we are teaching our sons to help them navigate “wicked problems” in a
changing world landscape. It is exciting and important work.
As a sweltering summer draws to a close and Saint David’s prepares to open its doors for the 66th
time, we do so unafraid of change, focused on the big things, the important things, and happy in all the small
ways that make life so worth living; we open ready to meet the needs of our boys, their teachers, and our
families. These are exciting and challenging times for the school, our country, and the world. But, like Alice,
when she could barely see her feet after being stretched so tall, I hope our sons will echo her call of
“curiouser and curiouser!” as they stretch the limits of their minds and launch their next uncharted adventure,
the 2016-17 school year. Ut viri boni sint! I remain,
Appreciatively yours,
P. David O’Halloran
Notes: 1. Lewis Carroll, 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; 2. Edith Wharton, early 20th century Pulitzer Prize-winning American
novelist, short story writer, and designer; 3. Wicked Problems is a phrase I heard used by the Vice-President of USC this summer. 4.
Samuel Johnson, an 18th century English writer.