Mr. Hurd Comes to Town

It was the Friday before our mid-winter holiday and the pre-vacation energy was only heightened by Mr. Hurd’s presence.  The morning began with a short all-school assembly.  The hymn “Ode to Joy” alluded to our special guest.  Mr. Hurd addressed the boys and explained how happy he is to be returning to St. B’s.  “Let me just tell you, it is good to be back,” Mr. Hurd said, with a big smile on his face.  

After the assembly, there was some time for school work (this is St. Bernard’s after all) before the tip-off of the annual basketball game where the students play the faculty and staff.  COVID restrictions meant the gym could only hold the Upper School boys and an assortment of teachers.  The rest of the school watched the game from their homeroom Smartboards.  Ms. Fertel singing the national anthem and color commentary from Coach Prosper and Mr. Rachmiel added to the excitement.  Mr. Clements passed out apple slices while the faculty and staff rooted for their colleagues, including our current head of school, Mr. Moraitis, who happens to be a former college basketball player.  There were big cheers for our new science teacher, Mrs. Gjelaj, who scored the first point of the game with a free throw.  Both teams played well but only one side could prevail, and the faculty and staff won the game in overtime, much to the chagrin of the Varsity Blue team who spent their entire season undefeated. 

After an early dismissal for the boys, the faculty and staff sat down for lunch with Mr. Hurd.  Mr. Hurd reiterated his enthusiasm to return to St. Bernard’s and his love for the school, not to mention Chef Wells’s cooking.  Much of the faculty remember Mr. Hurd from his time here as a seventh-grade homeroom teacher and the luncheon felt more like a homecoming than an introduction.

We look forward to seeing Mr. Hurd again next month when he will spend an entire week meeting with all facets of our community, including parents and Old Boys.