MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER

BLESSEDLY NORMAL

HALLMARKS OF THE STC EXPERIENCE RETURN IN 2021

We opened the 2021-2022 school year, the second school opening during the COVID pandemic, with great success. Unlike last school year, when we clung to wisps of normalcy amidst a fog of abnormality, with the exception of indoor masking and distancing, this school year has felt blessedly normal.

Moreover, our boys, particularly the Class of 2022, are greeting each day with enthusiasm, energy, and appreciation for the many aspects of school life that we all most likely took for granted before the pandemic. Our campus has been enlivened by the sights and sounds of boys delighted to be together — learning, laughing, competing, and performing.

While COVID continues to play a factor in campus operations, we have safely reinstituted many hallmarks of the St. Christopher’s experience. We o ered thanks for the start of the school year, distanced but together, on the Terraces for our all-School chapel, with senior boys once again escorting their kindergarten buddies to the service. Parents are filling the hallways and grounds, experiencing cherished campus traditions, such as portrait painting, reading in classrooms, and cheering in the spectator stands. Unlike this time one year ago, athletics, the arts, and community service are taking place in ways that are largely unimpeded.

Likewise, we are pressing forward with the exciting goals and initiatives outlined in our strategic plan, Momentum 2025, with four strategic priorities: Improving the Student Experience, Empowering Our People, Strengthening Our Community, and Stewarding Our Resources.

One example of visible progress toward those goals is the expansion of our BUILD (Boys Using Innovation to Learn and Design) program. Momentum 2025 charges us to “increase the impact” of this JK-12 program that focuses on hands-on design, engineering, iteration, and collaboration skills. I am happy to share that we have made a notable commitment in this area by creating a new, dedicated space in the Luck Leadership Center, one that is wholly devoted to BUILD instruction. The new lab boasts nearly 1,000 square feet of open and boy-friendly space designed for students to design, tinker, experiment, 3-D print, cook, and more!

I am also delighted to share news of the creation and growth of the Chamberlayne Achievement Program (CAP). Consistent with the goals of Momentum 2025, CAP enables us to support and retain students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented at St. Christopher’s. CAP has been assisting Upper School boys for several years, and 2021 marks its expansion into the Middle School. We are now serving nearly 30 CAP students in both the Middle and Upper Schools, providing mentoring and transition support at St. Christopher’s, ensuring that every student can thrive in our community.

Outside the school day, we are undoubtedly making up for lost time, as we welcomed back two years of alumni classes from twice-postponed reunions for an epic Homecoming and Reunion weekend full of activities. The weekend kicked o with an exuberant celebration of the long-awaited debut of the Arts Center, with an Alumni & Friends Concert featuring Grammy Award-winning alumnus Mason Bates ‘95.

Finally, I would like to o er my gratitude to the Classes of 2020 and 2021, who chose to make their senior gift to restore our beloved Memorial Chapel. Over the summer, the floor and pews were refinished, and an upgraded AV system was installed to better support speakers and presentations. Read more in the pages of this magazine for a reflection on the history of this sacred space that holds a place in every graduate’s heart.

I look forward to seeing you back on campus this school year!

Yours,

Mason Lecky, headmaster

e Coast Guard sent out a call for all available boats willing to help to converge on New York Harbor. Almost 500,000 people were rescued in nine hours because thousands of ordinary folks chose love.

Photo Credit: U.S. Coast Guard