St. Bernard’s: old-school habits, and boys who design their own projects

Carpentry and habits

Choosing what to build

Every boy in Grades I–IV takes carpentry. The year opens with one loose assignment, such as a clock or an animal with a moving part, and after that he chooses what to build.

A boy draws up his idea, works the wood and finishes the piece; the teacher leaves as much of that process to him as is practical.

Around the workshop sits a traditional structure. From Grade I, boys wear navy blazers to and from school, with an oxford shirt and tie on Fridays.

Friday mornings bring the whole school together, and a stuffed alligator is handed along to the neatest classroom of the week.

Teaching

Poems, grammar, Latin

Writing comes early. Junior School boys do a good deal of creative writing, poetry included.

In Middle School, reading assignments go deeper, grammar is taught explicitly, note-taking arrives in history and science, and boys begin French and then Latin, with a plan book to track assignments and budget time. Upper School continues Latin beside a choice of Spanish or French.

Middle School adds a daily prep period for starting homework, meeting teachers informally or reading quietly, and teachers coordinate a test calendar to avoid piling several tests or projects onto one day.

The school says it keeps homework age-appropriate but does not publish how long it takes, so ask current Middle School families what an ordinary week feels like.

Participation

Speaking, plays and sport

Speaking is on the calendar. Junior School boys recite poetry, Middle School boys give current-events and book reports, and every Upper School boy gives a speech at assembly.

Class plays begin in Grade I, with a speaking or singing part for each boy, rehearsed over several weeks. Grade VII studies the Shakespeare play that Grade VIII performs, a tradition dating back to 1910.

Movement is regular too. Boys have physical education four to five times a week plus daily recess, intramural games begin in Grade III, and in Middle and Upper School every boy is invited to join the teams.

Ask coaches how a boy new to a sport is brought in.

Character lessons have a slot as well. Good Heart meets on Thursday mornings in Junior and Middle School and within advisory in Upper School.

Younger boys start from games and picture books, older boys from current events and case studies.

Screens and support

Gradual screens, early support

Kindergarten through Grade II are device-free. Grade III adds touch typing for journals, compositions and poems.

Grade IV begins coding and history research from online sources the librarians have chosen, and Chromebooks are available to older boys for group and individual work. Upper School adds 3D design and printing, robotics and building a computer from parts.

Support begins in Kindergarten. A speech-and-language consultant assesses every boy in the fall, and the reading specialist checks phonemic awareness and word recognition in the winter.

Reading support continues in every division, a math specialist works with small groups in Grades III and IV, and Grade VII boys with a language exemption can take Windward writing and executive-function classes.

A full-time guidance counselor and a full-time clinical psychologist provide short-term therapy, parent consultations and coordination of additional mental-health care. The school can also arrange evaluations or tutoring, and if an outside referral seems helpful, parents, teachers, division heads and the head of school may meet to discuss next steps.

Fall 2027

The Kindergarten application

The 2027–28 Kindergarten application is open on Ravenna and closes December 1, 2026, so that is the date to plan around. There is no fee, and the school neither requires nor accepts standardized test results for Kindergarten.

Its pages give no Kindergarten age cutoff, so if his birthday is close to one you have heard about, ask admissions how it is applied.

For Kindergarten, expect these steps:

• A small-group parent tour, then a private parent interview with an admissions director on Zoom
• A one-on-one interview with your son
• A report from his current school
• A visit to his current classroom, which admissions tries to arrange with that school

Files and decisions

Dates to keep separate

ISAAGNY’s common calendar is built around applications completed by January 8, 2027: Kindergarten notification comes no earlier than 10 a.m. on February 4, with replies due by noon on February 11. That covers finished files and does not extend the Ravenna window, so it is not a reason to wait.

The pages do not say which tour, interview, visit and report dates the school needs for a file to count as complete, so ask admissions for them.

For early notification in 2026, sibling and legacy families should contact admissions by December 1. ISAAGNY requires their current schools' reports by noon on November 30, with decisions no earlier than noon on December 9 and replies by noon on December 16.

Don't leave the call until December: the report has an earlier deadline.

To apply above Kindergarten, call admissions. Places open only occasionally and are filled on a rolling basis, and older applicants are encouraged to take the ISEE.

Aid and the day

Aid timing and school hours

Aid applications run through Clarity, and the Fall 2027 deadline is posted only as February 2027. Ask admissions for the exact day and for when an aid decision would arrive relative to the February 11 Kindergarten reply date; the pages do not say how the two line up.

Aid reaches beyond tuition. Families on aid pay a proportionate share for Later Alligator activities, field trips, sports camps and Upper School overnight trips, including the Grade VIII trip to Alaska.

The day lengthens with age. Kindergarten through Grade III runs 8:10 to 3:00 Monday through Thursday and ends at 2:00 on Friday.

Grades IV–VI run 8:00 to 3:20 and end at 2:30 on Friday. Grades VII–IX start at 8:00, run until 4:10 and also end at 2:30 on Friday.

The Later Alligator Program (LAP) covers after-school hours until 5:30 Monday through Thursday and 4:30 on Friday, so Friday is the stretch to plan for. Places go first come, first served and are limited in some programs, and most activities cost extra.

A few Middle and Upper School activities run to 6:00, beyond regular LAP hours.

After Grade VIII

Grade IX and what follows

The school offers a ninth grade to boys who wish to remain one more year. At large tables rather than individual desks, boys discuss their work, choose two of Latin, French and Spanish, work weekly with younger pupils and produce the yearbook.

Ask how continuation works for your son.

Secondary-school advising works with the head of school, the assistant head and the head of Upper School, and says its aim is schools matched to a boy’s ability, temperament and interests. Boys go on to day and boarding schools, so ask advisers how they help a family weigh the two for your son.

What St. Bernard's boys build, perform and get help with

St. Bernard's mixes old-school habits with boys' own projects, so ask what they make, how shy boys are prepared to recite, and how support works.