St. Bernard’s offers able young boys of diverse backgrounds an exceptionally thorough, rigorous, and enjoyable introduction to learning and community life. We wish to inspire boys to value hard work and fair play, to develop confidence, consideration for others, and a sense of citizenship, and to have fun while doing these things.
Boys
A good heart is as valuable as a well-stocked, well-trained head.
Signature Programs
-
Leadership Opportunities
St. Bernard’s boys are given many opportunities to lead. As early as Middle School, boys may be voted captains of their intramural teams or representatives to Student Council, which meets with the headmaster every other week. -
Good Heart Program
Kindness, honesty, consideration for others, and responsibility to one’s community have been pillars of St. Bernard’s since its founding. To formalize the teaching of these qualities the school has created a comprehensive program of character development. -
Social Justice
Fifth graders take a full-year course, designed by our teachers and counselors, to learn about equity and justice. -
Community Service
Service learning projects range from serving meals to the homeless, spending time with children who have cerebral palsy at Daniel’s Music Foundation, to entertaining disabled veterans at James J. Peters VA Medical Center. -
Assembly
Every Friday morning, just after 8:30, all students and members of the faculty and staff meet for assembly in the small gymnasium on the first floor. We hear announcements, usually from the boys. -
Public Speaking
Every boy from first grade upward will set foot on the stage at least once a year and perform for his fellow students. Boys have many opportunities to speak at St. Bernard’s: class play assemblies, presentations in class, recitations, and athletics reports for assembly. -
Shakespeare Play
The eighth grade has performed a play by William Shakespeare since 1910. The Shakespeare play is one of the most cherished of St. Bernard’s traditions. It is a group effort, with each boy contributing to its success. -
Class Trips
A St. Bernard’s education also offers boys in all grades many opportunities to learn about the world beyond 98th Street. Our teachers plan trips to places here in New York and much farther afield. -
Guest Speakers
Speakers can enrich learning, and boys in all grades have the opportunity to hear speakers on a wide range of topics in the classroom or assembly. Each year an author speaks to the boys thanks to the Kronengold Authors Fund, founded by a group of Old Boys in 2016. -
Class Plays
Class plays are big part of school life at St. Bernard’s. Beginning in first grade, each class performs a class play before parents and before the entire school at a Friday morning assembly.
1
/
10
Community
The glory of this school will always be the people inside it.
Recent News
List of 8 news stories.
-
Commencement Address - Thomas Goldstone '86
-
Virtual Old Boys Dinner
The Old Boys Dinner has been held every year since 1916. The pandemic kept Old Boys from gathering in the school gyms this year, but a virtual Old Boys Dinner proved to be a fine bridge to keep the tradition going through these unusual times. -
Discussions on Civic Engagement with the MCNY and a MLK Assembly
Mid-December, Middle School and Upper School students attended sessions with educators from the Museum of the City of New York to discuss civic engagement and the Civil Rights Movement in New York City. The boys learned about local activism and student-led actions to desegregate NYC schools, in addition to the city’s role as a major center for organizing across the nation that brought activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to New York. While we continue to learn about the history of racism in the U.S., we should also appreciate the history of anti-racism in our country too, especially in our very own city. -
Old Boys Speak During Virtual Assemblies
During the usual fall semester, St. Bernard’s plays host to class reunions and the Junior Old Boys Lunch. We often travel to other cities for receptions which keep Old Boys outside of New York City engaged with what is happening on East 98th Street. While our in-person Old Boys events are paused, one silver lining of connecting virtually is the ability to invite Old Boys back to Friday assembly as guest speakers. Four Old Boys across different professions showcased their skills to St. Bernard’s boys, participating from their homes here in the tri-state area, and as far away as California and France. -
Life in the Grade II and IV Remote Pods
St. Bernard’s offers a fully remote option for families whose sons cannot come back to school for various reasons. Approximately 8% of our students are participating remotely and the faculty is working hard to translate the St. B’s experience to an online setting. The majority of the remote boys are in grades I-IV and a few weeks into school, it was decided that those grades needed their own “remote pods” with a dedicated teacher. -
Christmas Carols in November
The annual St. Bernard’s Carols, where the entire school community gathers in the Church of Heavenly Rest to sing in celebration of the holiday season, cannot be held this year for obvious reasons. But never fear, the Music Department has come up with a fabulous idea to continue this treasured tradition in a safe way. -
St. Bernard's Chess Tournament
Chess has always been very popular at St. Bernard’s. In a typical year, over half of the kindergarten boys play in an after-school program, and many continue playing competitively in tournaments and clubs. To keep the chess enthusiasm alive this fall, the Parents Association organized the first ever virtual family chess tournament. -
Sidewalk Appreciation
On what felt like a summer day in November, the boys of the 8th grade spent part of their recess decorating the sidewalk out front of school to show their gratitude for the faculty and staff.
Athletes
The game’s the game for all.
Alumni
Sing we a song of our first Alma Mater...
-
Ambassador Anthony Gardner
Tony Gardner '77, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, has devoted more than 27 years of his distinguished career to U.S.-European affairs as a government official and lawyer. -
Justin Brown
A wooden alligator, a climbing pirate, a truck with rolling wheels and an operable hatch still adorn my shelves almost thirty years after their creation. -
AJ Houston
AJ Houston ’03 works in Global Equity Trading for the Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets. In his role, he services the liquidity/trading needs of US-based mutual fund and hedge fund clients for Canadian Equity product. -
Luke Robert Young
I spent ten years at St. Bernard’s, roughly two thirds of my life. Although it was often challenging, St. B’s helped me mature into a thoughtful, open-minded person with a love of learning, music, and the value of good friendships. -
Ijah Mondesire-Crump, M.D.
Ijah Mondesire-Crump, M.D. ’98 is a Bronx native. After attending kindergarten at a public school in the South Bronx, he was chosen to participate in Early Steps, a program that promotes diversity in NYC independent schools. -
Antonio Weiss
Antonio Weiss ’80 is a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. Previously, he served as Counselor to the Secretary at the United States Department of the Treasury, where he worked on issues related to financial markets, regulatory reform, financial stability, and consumer and housing finance. -
Anthony Abeson
For over thirty years, Anthony has been an acting teacher and acting coach in New York City. His work has been documented in the Emmy award-winning episode of the Bill Moyers PBS series Creativity, the Ace award-winning Manhattan Cable Television documentary Chasing Dreams, and the BBC's documentary Bus and Truck. -
John Roberts
The benefits of a St. Bernard’s education can pop up at unexpected moments. A number of years ago, I was called upon to give a toast at a friend’s wedding. -
Noah Leavitt
Noah Leavitt ’00 serves as the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Orach Chaim in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in history and completed an M.A. in Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University. -
Zack O’Malley Greenburg
Zack O’Malley Greenburg ’99 is the senior editor of media and entertainment at Forbes, where he started as a reporter shortly after graduating from Yale in 2007. He is the author of three books... -
Michael Aduboffour
After St. Bernard's I began attending Groton School in the Fall of 2013. I played football from 9th through 11th grade, starting on Varsity my junior year, and I've spent all my time here as a sprinter for Groton's Track & Field team, of which I am now a captain. -
Robert Miyahara
I have been working at the intersection of finance, technology, the United States, and Japan since graduating from Princeton. -
Michael Ivkov
Michael Ivkov ’12 is enrolled in Harvard College and recently completed his freshman year. Along with economics, he studies German and Ancient Greek language and literatures. Prior to enrolling, he championed the Harvard debate tournament as a junior at the Trinity School.
1
/
13
