Dear St. Andrew's Community,
Tom Nicklin '15 was on a call as a volunteer fireman over the weekend when he made an unexpected rescue. "I heard this squawking coming from a water drain and walked over to see what it was." What he found were two little ducks very much out of place amongst Middletown's increasingly suburban feel.
Someone bred the ducks to have tiny wings, leaving them little chance of ever taking flight, so Tom picked them up from the drain and carefully placed them in his coat. I found Tom and the ducks hours later on their way to biology teacher Peter McLean's house. Tom had recruited classmate James Seiler to the cause and he stood smiling nearby with a large bag of duck feed over his shoulder.
Peter examined the ducks and gave the boys some advice before Headmaster Tad Roach gave one of the most unique permissions in his 30+-year career as an educator. And that's how two ducks ended up living in Tom Nicklin and Chris Sutherland's room on Schmolze Corridor.
At least for a bit. They now sleep in the greenhouse and spend afternoons and weekends following Chris and Tom around the Front Lawn. This has potential to be a silly story about ducks, but for me there's more to it.
"The ducks are now family," said Tad echoing a familiar theme heard during our recent Visit Back Days for admitted students. "Rescued, adopted and celebrated by the community, these little guys represent the connection between the natural world of miraculous spring and the life of a human community of kindness."
We celebrated the Coast-to-Coast Toasts last night around the world, but let's add one more cheer for kindness, for young people with imagination and initiative, and a School that embraces excellence in ways that encourages kids to be kids.
Go Saints,
Will Robinson ‘97
