On the first day at St. Patrick's you have that sense that this is a big step. Before it was just nursery school – now it's St. Patrick's. It's a bigger school. It's a big transition. We absolutely felt a sense of excitement, and anxiety in hoping she liked it. There's a certain sense of loss. Sending her was the beginning of our realization that she is no longer our baby. She is evolving into a person. And there's a certain natural detachment. The home visits are key to help transition kids to understand who their teachers are, to have met them. On a more interpersonal level, it's about creating a nurturing environment that the kids can trust-fall themselves into. Alexis and the others are put in an environment where they feel very comfortable from day one."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School nursery student

Sydney is the youngest of five, all of them St. Patrick's students or alumni. I've got nerdy kids and rambunctious, physical learners. Sydney needs to feel productive and engaged every minute – playing a card game, doing a puzzle, creating an art project. She needs constant stimulation. The PK classroom is structured to give students the varied but limited choices Sydney needs. There are so many angles to take for different kinds of children, and I've had them all: Slow learner, quick learner, highly social, extremely focused. The teachers at St. Patrick's are able to reach kids where they are - to serve the kid who needs challenging and the kid who needs tutoring for learning disabilities. I can't imagine that you could give your child a better foundation, in terms of being in a nurturing environment and feeling safe, secure, and appreciated while still being challenged to grow."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School PK student

Finn is our third son and the sunshine of our family. He wakes up with a smile, goes to bed with a smile. Loves to make people laugh, loves to make himself laugh. He cracks us up. St. Patrick's makes school very welcoming for kids. It's very easy, very loving for kids. The moment we walked into the Open House we felt that this was the school for us—very kid focused and friendly, very nurturing, very warm. We never worried about Finn getting attention, feeling happy, being safe. What Finn loves most about St. Patrick's is toys, snacks, and Mr. Barrett. (Finn says Mr. Barrett goes to his school. Our older kids say he owns the school.) The teachers create an environment that is so inviting that each kid feels like it's their place. Finn feels like St. Patrick's is his second home. He feels like he belongs."

Parents of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School PK student

Adie didn't want to be at school the first, second, and third day. That was the beginning. In a matter of weeks, we started to see Adie embracing what was happening around her, building relationships with teachers, and making friendships outside her immediate circle. That whole thing about coming into your own, growing, making some choices when your parents are not there, then coming home to discuss them – all of that came together in the last three years. Adie blossomed into this confident person, and this confident learner – unafraid to make mistakes and take the risks that come with learning. Now her affinity for St. Patrick's is in the walls, in the books, in the classrooms, in the people who have given her the sense that you are coming here to do something purposeful and fun."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School K student

Wiley is a huge reader, so reading is sort of her comfort and she excels at it. She's very observant. She loves to act and write stories. Her stories have a lot of detail. Because she's such a good observer she can really use that skill in science and art class as well. St. Patrick's offers a lot of opportunities for Wiley to excel – with the Publishing Center, and reading at her level with the reading specialist. The literacy focus jibes really well with her. St. Patrick's is a really good fit for someone who loves to read and write. It's given her the opportunity to be who she is."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School Grade 1 student

Jacob is a social guy. He likes the group process of learning and can sometimes be shy to be the first to speak. At the beginning of the year, when you tell the teachers about your child, we talked about continuing to build his confidence with writing. With the first assignment, his teacher took two kids' work as examples of people who did a good job. Jacob came home and was like, 'She didn't say it was mine, but I recognized it!' That went a long way – to feel that this teacher thinks I'm a good writer, that my writing is good enough. Jacob is very modest and thoughtful of what others are thinking. So that was a really good way to give him a boost. That's one example of how St. Patrick's has cultivated his belief in his own abilities and the power of his own voice."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School Grade 3 student

Shiva is very inquisitive, and he is by the day more and more curious. He loves to read. (He made leaps in reading in first grade. Leaps.) He loves to do math. When he starts on an interest or a new project, he will study it to the depths. He's a natural engineer – fascinated by how things work. St. Patrick's has culturally engrained in our kid that learning is a fun thing, a cool thing, something you enjoy. He's gained a level of confidence that really shows in his interactions with other kids as well as adults. He's grown up to be a very self-confident kid, very comfortable in his own skin. It speaks to the way they've embraced Shiva, all his specialness as an individual, in his entirety."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School Grade 3 student

Clare was initially very self motivated and somewhat 'solitudinal' in how she learned. She would be very diligent in terms of mastering things in the classroom and bringing stuff home and practicing. Over time a more collaborative approach to learning with peers was cultivated and naturally developed in her, which was fun to get a chance to see on occasion in the classroom or when she would tell us about projects. The neat thing that goes on this year is a book group they have within the class with friends. They have these telephone conferences at night, where they call their book buddy and talk about the story. You see these friendships develop. (Not that we're eavesdropping.) So stories become a means of building social bonds as well as building Exceptional Literacy."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School Grade 4 student

There is a freedom within the structure of St. Patrick's to explore what you're passionate about. Above sports, performing, and drawing, Tre's greatest passion is nature, animals, and wildlife. He has lizards and fish, and he's actually created a frog sanctuary in our backyard. His teachers have made a point of getting to know that about him, encouraging him and giving him the opportunity to explore his interest and incorporate it into reading and writing assignments. They understand that if information is relevant it's more meaningful. And teachers go out of their way to make the work relevant to the interests of the child. As a result, Tre is an excellent writer and he's been able to mature in his thought process, to make wise decisions and think about the consequences of his actions before he acts."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School Grade 6 student

Parker is a 'lifer' and the typical St. Patrick's child. He couldn't wait to go to school. Why? Because he felt comfortable there. He always felt St. Patrick's was his second home. St. Patrick's creates children who trust their environment – and who trust their teachers. He was asked to be king in a performance and stand up on a box in front of the whole school. I said, 'Parker, let's practice.' He says, 'Nope, you're not my teacher.' Relationships are based on trust and Parker trusts his teachers. He loves science. He loves Spanish. His math teacher has changed his whole outlook on math. Before he was tentative. Now he loves math. He is very organized in his thought process and study habits. They've given him what he needs to succeed."

Parent of a St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School Grade 7 student

When I first walked into St. Patrick's as a third grader, I was sort of nervous and shy. I was not particularly confident in myself or in school. I really liked to write and I loved history and geography – especially because I'd come from Australia. The day I graduated I was quite a bit taller. I'd lost a bit of my Australian accent. I was toward the top of the class. I liked science quite a bit more, still liked history and geography. I'd sung a solo in the musical and introduced the speaker at graduation. Even in 7th grade I wouldn't have imagined myself doing that. In terms of high school, you want to go to the school that's best for you. And St. Pat's helped me pick Maret. It's a great, close community – a lot like St. Patrick's, actually."

William, Class of 2009

St. Patrick's prepared me to have an open mind. Being immersed in other cultures and religions prepared me to learn in a place where I'm surrounded by people from all over the world. And it gave me the confidence to be an individual. I have friends with different beliefs, but I'm not afraid to disagree and debate and voice my opinion. I'd definitely say St. Patrick's gave me the confidence to do that. St. Patrick's also prepared me to write – to draft a thesis statement, write an argument, and state a case. So St. Patrick's really prepared me for high school. I've been taking Chinese since freshman year and I'm currently taking international politics and global studies. I graduate this spring. I'm going to study foreign affairs and Chinese at Villanova. I'm really excited. And I feel really well prepared."

Kelsey, Class of 2006