ST SEBASTIAN’S

BROTHERHOOD
considers himself blessed to be spending his “retirement years” at St.
Sebastian’s, a position he truly enjoys each and every day.
Over the years Davis has seen the School through the eyes of
a student, alumnus, parent, and employee. Every role he has held
has helped him to gain a better understanding of the School and its
people.
While he believes the single sex environment and small class
sizes are a big part of what makes the place so special, he thinks the
most important aspect is the School’s spirituality.
“From day one I remember being taught that there was
something much bigger than you,” he commented. “Each of us
understands God in his own way, but there was this need to find
comfort with that concept and you’re pushed to do it. I know the
priests when I was here focused on that and I know the faculty that’s
here now has continued to push the kids to understand that.”
He concluded, “My family is the most important thing in my life,
and St. Sebastian’s is part of my family. Every day in this position,
I see acts of kindness done by one Arrow for another, and that’s
because of the understanding on the part of these Arrows that there
is something greater than them at work.”
An Arrow Forever
Hank Barry ’45, a beloved member of St. Sebastian’s twenty-sixmember
inaugural Class, still remembers just how he came to
attend St. Sebastian’s as a high school freshman.
“My father decided I ought to go to a boys school,” stated Barry.
“He said, ‘I’ll give you two choices: BC High or this new school, St.
Sebastian’s, that’s going to be in Newton that I just saw in The Pilot
[the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston].’”
He recalls not thinking too deeply about his high school
matriculation. “My thought process was: Newton’s closer than
Boston, and I live in Newton, so St. Sebastian’s it is.”
Barry was among the very first students to sign up for St.
Sebastian’s first Class. At the time, the tuition was $400.
“I’m not sure whether I was officially the first student or the
third,” he said. “There were two other brothers there—George and
Bobby Baker—when I went to sign up. But I was certainly among
the first three.”
In the early days of St. Sebastian’s, the School lacked the pristine
facilities that the Needham campus boasts today.
Pictured: Ed Davis ’65 (standing) with (l-r) Hank Barry ’45 and Shaun Kelly ’45
during Reunion 2010.
32 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I