St. DaviD’S

Extra-curriculars enhance challenging

curriculum and mission objectives throughout

the school

anything but extra...

bringing the CurriCulum aliveField trips, clubs, and volunteer opportunities prepare students

for college and life, beginning where the curriculum leaves off

Comprehensive missions and study programs send students around the country and the world, to serve others and learn life

lessons outside their classrooms and comfort zones

the WorlD iS our ClaSSroom

St. David’s Snapshot is a periodical publication that highlights the unique ways in which St. David’s School strives to fulfill its mission of preparing young men and women for college and life in the vital areas of faith, virtue, and knowledge.

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A Look Back at a Year That Went Beyond

The word ‘curriculum’ comes to us from Latin and describes the prescribed

course of a race. Hence in our modern academic sense, ‘curriculum’ is the

prescribed course of study for a student.

‘Extra-curricular’ is a term often used to denote those activities of a school

that are not directly related to classroom instruction in the standard academic

disciplines like literature, languages, history, the sciences, and mathematics.

The term betrays the philosophy behind it: that those activities which are

outside the classroom, and all else

which falls outside of the stan-

dard disciplines are somehow not

an integral part of the education

process.

At St. David’s School, we see things a quite differently. A student becomes an active participant in

the broader community, not by spectating – not by watching the professionals or by merely admir-

ing works of art. Students become truly educated when they learn to participate in these activities

and to appreciate and discriminate between the truly good and the seemingly good.

We seek to create an academic community in its fullest sense – a community of budding scholars

who participate in the life of our wider communities. Together, we not only study chemistry and

world literature, we sing, dance, play our instruments, compete on the ball fields, act in our plays,

compete nationally in academic competitions, serve our community, and travel abroad to both

learn from other cultures and to serve where we are able. We not only master physics and ancient

history, we gather together to celebrate our achievements, to learn about each other, to understand

that life in the classroom is not a separate entity from life itself.

The activities that you will read about in the follow-

ing pages are not “extras” at St. David’s; they are

part and parcel of who we are. They are part of our

curriculum – the course that we lay out for ourselves

and collectively pursue. We are justifiably proud of

the life of learning that we cultivate, both inside and

outside of our classrooms.

Timothy Pitts, PhD

Upper School Principal

As the Sour Kangaroo, Sarah Harrison ’15 sings her

sassy songs for a packed house during the spring produc-

tion of Seussical. Performers find ample opportunities to

get involved in extra-curricular activities.

On the cover: seventh grade musicians lead their peers in song around the campfire during their traditional camping trip to Kerr Lake. It was a team-building, outdoor learning adventure for the entire class.

Venturing far beyond the curriculum, students discover that

extra-curricular activities are anything but extra

Life in the classroom is not a separate

entity from life itself.” -- Dr. Timothy Pitts

Learning Beyond the ClassroomCatching tadpoles at every

stage of their life cycle up to their metamorphoses into frogs isn’t something first graders can do at their desks, but it is an activity they did outside the classroom that enhanced the learning inside it. Tedi Fagan, along with her other first grade faculty colleagues, saw the won-der of discovery on the faces of her students as they engaged in “Adventures in Aquatic Life” at Laurel Hills Park.

“It’s exciting to see how hands-on learning helps the kids visualize what they have learned in the classroom,” said Ms. Fagan. The class worked

in groups to collect samples of insects and pond animals to study.

Yates Mill, a historic, working grist mill, also offered a science connection, bringing alive the first graders’ unit on force and motion. Students marveled at the pulleys, axles, levers, and wheels -- and then had the op-portunity to build their own ma-chines using such components.

Through these “extra” expe-riences students “use all their senses to bring the learning alive,” said Tedi with a smile, referring to these and other hands-on opportunities. “These are fun class adventures!”

Tedi FaganFirst Grade Teacher

From mills to ponds, learning comes alive in first grade

“It’s not something people talk about over dinner,” JB No-vak explained. “It’s a country the world has pretty much for-gotten about.” But for JB and his teammates, Ethiopia, com-plete with its physical and spiri-tual needs, was a very large part of their lives this summer.

A couple months before em-barking on the trip, JB brought a stack of bills, about $700, to Mr. Sturdevant and Mr. Sutton, the trip leaders, explaining that he’d recently raised the money for the trip. He had mowed lawns, done odd jobs, and washed cars and dogs. Considering that the

trip costs a fair bit more than that, it seemed like a good start, but JB still had a ways to go. “Oh, that’s not for me,” said JB. “This is to buy Bibles in the Ethiopian language.”

The group delivered them to the church they partnered with when they arrived, who in turn distributed Bibles in Amharic, their own language, to ministry workers in small Ethiopian com-munities -- who will then touch others by spreading God’s word in their community. JB ex-plained the significance of the partnership: “It’s like planting a seed.”

JB Novak ’16

Outreach tools for burgeoning partnership

When Elizabeth Webb per-formed “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, audience members from the student-faculty recital told her they were moved to tears.

“There is nothing more spe-cial to a performer than know-ing you’ve touched an audience emotionally,” Elizabeth said. As one who has taken advantage of many opportunities in the arts -- having been involved in theater, choir, and visual arts throughout middle school -- she

has found that it has given her a confidence that pervades many other aspects of her life. She also cherishes the special bond she’s formed with her teachers through these experiences.

In addition to the arts, Eliza-beth has been a leader in Friday Morning Fellowship. As a Chris-tian, she desires to “have an impact on the lives of others.” Extra-curriculars have given Elizabeth unique opportunities to grow and mature both as a learner and as a person. Elizabeth Webb ’17

Arts foster confidence and relationships

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Formed for the purpose of supporting St. David’s alum-ni in missions endeavors in the summer or gap year af-ter they graduate, the Great Commission Scholarship has been funded by dona-tions that will support this award for years to come.

Amharic, the language most com-monly spoken in Ethiopia, has no word for “frisbee”, but when the

children at the orphanages received them from the St. David’s mission team, they didn’t need words to show how much they enjoyed them. In addition to distributing frisbees at the orphan-ages, the team brought soccer balls, baseballs, and frisbees as tools for the local church to use for outreach. Mis-rak Meserete Kristos Church is perfectly positioned in the community with a large field and facilities that draw many people from the surrounding area. The church engages in sports outreach as one means of connecting with their neighbors and sharing the love of Christ with them. The 45 St. David’s frisbees that the team brought to Ethiopia imme-diately went to good use!

Frisbees: a novelty in Addis Ababa

Fulfilling the MissionMissionsw

ith

A new approach draws fresh ideas and broad-based support

“It just clicked,” said Ethiopia trip co-leader James Sut-ton. “One of the first things

we did was pair up our students with the youth from our partner Ethiopian church,” Mr. Sutton explained, “and they bonded and fed off each other.”

Many orphans just long to be held; Greyson Brannon ’15

was happy to oblige.

The infectious joy that the Ethiopian youth possessed, regardless of their circumstances, was an encouraging model for our students; conversely, the St. David’s students’ systematic train-ing and desire to fulfill missional objec-tives motivated their Ethiopian part-

Great CommissionScholarship

Cate Alspaugh ’13 in Uganda

After going through a rigor-ous application process, recent graduates Carolyn Hawkes and Cate Alspaugh were awarded this year’s scholarships in support of trips to a language ministry in France and an outreach partnership in Uganda.

Beyond the comfort zoneLearning to serve -- from campus to the far reaches of the world...

ners. Together, they forged a ministry relationship that serves as a model for missions.

“Being in Africa really opened my eyes,” said Sophie Sheats ’15. “I was helping organize over 1500 books in the [church] library with two Ethiopian boys named Joshua and Emmanuel. It seemed that every time we finished our pile someone would load more on. I was becoming frustrated and said some-thing along the lines of, ‘More books? When is this going to end!?’ Joshua paused for a minute and looked me straight in the eye, responding, ‘Do you not enjoy spending time with us as we organize these books? This is so fun! It’s like school, and we LOVE school!’ Sophie learned the joy of service in a whole new way.

Co-leader Dan Sturdevant agreed with Sutton when he said, “The im-pact we have made will be multiplied a hundred fold through the relationships we’ve built.”

This recent Ethiopian trip is the lat-est addition to a slate of missions and service options that St. David’s has available, and some exciting changes have created a more cohesive program.Missions Committee

A newly-formed missions committee, made up of lower, middle, and upper school facul-ty began meeting this year. The initial purpose was to choose recipients for yet another new opportunity: the Great Com-mission Scholarship. However, as they met, they found them-selves discussing their vision for a broad-based program at the school. It became appar-

ent to the committee members that they had a passion far beyond just that one opportunity. By the end of the year, a common vision emerged: to offer support to all the varied oppor-tunities around campus. “We hope to utilize existing trips,” explained Mr. Dan Sturdevant, “in a missions curriculum... that will encourage, support, and grow opportunities for missions both domes-tically and internationally.”From the youngest to the oldest

Beginning in lower school, students

GuatemalaGuatemala is the longest-standing mission trip at St. David’s, going every winter break to serve largely through ambitious building proj-ects. As with many mission trips, learning about the culture and history of the people is important, and a visit to notable sites is a valuable and exciting part of the experience.

Marianna Brewer ’13 and Olivia Vanarthos ’13 Josh Cianca ’13 and Guatemalan co-worker

have the opportunity to reach out to those around them. The Salvation Army Stockings Project, Backpack Buddies, and the Lower School Serving Hearts create opportunities for lower school students to serve on campus and out in the community.

In middle school, students have op-portunities to be involved in service clubs, meeting the needs of those out-side their own circles. They also have an annual, stateside mission trip that is open to any middle schooler. In middle and upper school, classes are suspended one day each fall so every student can join with their advisory for service day, where St. David’s partners with ministries like Raleigh Rescue Mis-sion, Habitat for Humanity, With Love from Jesus, Hearts and Hands for Haiti, and many more. This is just the begin-ning of the outreach that students are involved in annually.Far from home

Outside our own borders, students can participate each year in overseas trips, including our annual Guatemala trip, where 35 students went this year

to the remote village of Macha-quila to partner with a church on a building project. They worked side-by-side with Gua-temalans to build a foundation for a school, and fell in love with the children and Guatema-lan co-workers while they were there.

With a comprehensive pro-gram in place to guide students through the process of learning and growing through service to others, the missions opportuni-ties have never been better at St. David’s School.

Katie Dickens ’14 and the Ethiopia mission team served at Hope Enterprises, a soup kitchen in Addis Ababa that pro-vides lunch to women and children. Seeing their happiness

despite how little the people there had was eye opening.

Sharing her camera with orphans at an Ethiopian-run Hope for the Fatherless or-phanage, Melanie Park ’15 and the team enjoyed building a partnership with the

ministry and playing with the children.

by sponsoring clubs that take students to the creek and along the greenway to observe what is happen-ing in these settings. Mr. White’s Environmental Club has spent time collecting trash from the creek and participated in “The Big Sweep,” a county-wide effort to clean up local waterways. Mr. White also spon-sored and coached St. David’s first middle school En-virothon team. Envirothon is an annual competition testing student knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management.

Dr. Benner’s Naturalist Club members spent time at the creek and at the tree line on campus studying and making notations about the blooming flora and aquatic life. “This is a great exercise in observation, notation and patience,” he said. “Students are vis-iting from week to week and taking notes on what changes are happening.”

All three of these teachers say they enjoy being able to share their personal interests in nature and biology with the students in a more relaxed setting, hopefully sparking a greater interest in science. “It is also a great opportunity to share with them about God’s creation, and our responsibility to care for it. It has been entrusted to us, and we are responsible for these things,” said Mrs. Hofer.History in the Present

Students in the third and fourth grades traversed the state this year learning about colonial life in North Carolina. In addition to the fourth grade’s trip to Tryon Palace, the third grade students spend a day in Old Salem. The trip is the culmination of their study of communities past and present. In Old Salem, they learn about colonial life, specifically life as an adolescent Moravian in the community of Old Salem. They visit the Single Brothers’ House and the Single Sisters’ House where young Moravians lived and learned life skills and a trade.

From ocean studies at the Carolina coast, to government participation in Washington, D.C., students discover by doing

Academic ConnectionOne month this spring, while the fourth grade

students were visiting New Bern, the state’s colonial capital and home of the first gover-

nor’s mansion, Tryon Palace, students in the middle school elective class “Raleigh: Past, Present and Fu-ture” took a trip downtown to the executive mansion. It turned out they got a first-hand look at not only gov-ernment -- but the governor himself!

Getting out of the classroom and into the world is a key component to a St. David’s School educa-tion. “The world is our classroom,” proclaims Head-master Lockerbie, expressing a philosophy that takes our students from locations as varied as the creek beds in our own backyard, to the steps of our nation’s capitol and the streets of ancient Greece. Designed to complement the curriculum, field trips and clubs give students and teachers a deeper understanding of their classes.Observing God’s Creation

Fourth grade students begin each year with an ex-citing trip to North Carolina’s coast. After class time spent studying about the North Carolina seashore, including lessons on hurricanes, beach erosion, and marine life, the students board a bus for Carolina Beach and a day on a boat fishing for all kinds of sea life. On-board marine biologists give the students in-formation about the specific species caught, and in-formation about North Carolina’s changing coastline.

“The students love this field trip,” said fourth grade teacher Pam Hofer. “Before the trip, each child researches a specific fish found on our coast. They are always so excited when they can identify the fish they are reeling in.”

Middle school earth science teacher Kelly White and upper school biology teacher Jon Benner love the proximity of St. David’s to the greenway and Crabtree Creek. Both teachers share their passion for nature

The

Third grade students are full of questions for the historical characters of Old Salem.

A visit to Tryon Palace lets fourth grade students get a glimpse of colonial life in North Carolina.

Naturalist Club member Billy Cole-man ’16 notes changes in plant life.

“I am always amazed at the questions students ask when they are interacting with someone who is in character and is an expert at their craft,” said teacher Amy Rogers. I love to watch the conversations that take place as students use the background knowledge they have acquired in the classroom to extend their learning even further. It is one thing to learn about a blacksmith in class, but to see, smell, and experi-ence a blacksmith shop with all its uniqueness is amazing.”

Eighth grade students travel to Washington, D.C. as a part of their study of United States government. Their four-day visit includes a tour of the US Capitol, the monuments and memorials, the Smithsonian museums of American History, Natural History, Air and Space, and the US Holocaust Memo-rial Museum.

“This trip is a wonderful lesson in sacrifice for these young people,” said middle school principal Neville Sinclair. “They learn about the structure of government in class and are in-terested in seeing it in action, but the memorials and monu-ments are the items that stick with them. Visiting Arlington Cemetery and the Vietnam memorial give them a visual of how many people have died in defending our nation’s free-dom.”

Eighth grade chair Jeanett Newsome agrees, “After each trip, we do a wrap up of what the highlights were for them. The students are always most moved by the Holocaust Mu-seum. Hearing the sounds and seeing the names and faces of those who lost their lives sticks with them, especially hav-ing recently read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom in the

The Brain Trust

seventh grade, and The Diary of Anne Frank in the eighth grade. But, she added, they also get a kick out of standing at the same place on the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and imagining the crowds before him on the national mall.”

Purposefully designed, clubs and field trips complement the curriculum in all three divisions at St. David’s and allow teachers to bring classroom lessons to life for our students. Being able to see and touch, not just read about, these les-sons really makes an impact on our student and enhances the classroom experience.

Mary Grace Brinson ’18 explains her Innovation Warriors proj-ect at the annual Emerging Issues Forum hosted by NC State.

Winning the televised Brain Game competition was no surprise for Charles Keen ’14, Nick Collis ’13 and Danny Ferguson ’16. These students spent hours in preparation with advisors Mrs. Pedersen

and Mr. Carreker learning information on a broad array of topics.

Mr. White, Envirothon team advisor, and eighth graders Marie Leighton McCall, Katherine Roberts, John Mac Feeney and Cole Estrada compete at the state competition in Burlington.

At the banks of the Seine with the famous fa-cade of Notre Dame in the background, French students experience the culture, language, history, and famously delicious food of Paris.

St. DaviD’S SChool

3400 White Oak RoadRaleigh, NC 27609

Teamwork, leadership, musical development all part of praise band

Leading the Community Through Music

“It has definitely been one of my most memorable experi-ences at St. David’s,” said

Evan Fritsch ’14 of his experience on praise band. “It has made me reflect on my goals in life and has influenced what my goals are for my future after St. David’s.” Evan isn’t just talking about his future in music -- which is not just a future, but a present reality, considering he pro-duced his first album of original com-positions this year -- he’s also talking about the impact on his leadership skills and development of his faith.

“It has helped me grow,” said

guitarist and vocalist Bellamy Hard-en ’15. Leading praise band has helped her to understand “the right reasons” for being up on stage -- not pride or popularity but “to worship God and use my gifts for Him.”

Each week, both middle and upper school students lead their peers in Chapel and in Student Led Morning prayer. Faculty mentor Jake Rodgers said, “It’s a labor of love,” going on to explain, “It’s the collec-tive product of the student body.”

The volunteers spend their lunch and flex time each Monday and Tues-day, and each group arrives an hour

early for school on the day they lead to practice and set up. Of course countless hours of practice at home are involved as well. “Students have to be bold in their commitment and vulnerable enough to play and sing in front of their peers,” explained Mr. Rodgers. “It’s really made me appre-ciate worship teams in churches and artists everywhere,” said Bellamy.

Keyboard, guitar, ukulele, mando-lin, bass, djembe and vocals bring the music alive and add a vibrant excitement to regular gatherings. Mr. Rodgers smiled, “I just love when it all comes together!”

Josh Cianca ’13, Evan Fritsch ’14, Bellamy Harden ’15, Sarah Harrison ’15, Courtney Casey ’15, Zack Sfirlea ’16