Dear Families,

In these jungly and abundant days of late summer, our campus hosts more raptors than humans. The cries of owls, eagles, and hawks echo across the pond.

Yesterday, a fledgling hawk appeared in our yard at dusk. Red-tailed and yellow-eyed, she landed awkwardly, tumbled over, and fussed. Hopping, whistling, squalling — she hoped her parents would comfort her, and perhaps bring her something to eat, as they had when she was a nestling.

Her parents were indeed perched nearby, looking on. They didn’t move. They knew that everything essential was already inside her, and that despite the evening’s struggles, she would learn to fly like a knife, to hunt like Diana, and to become a creature wild yet wise. She didn’t need help, but rather the time and space to fail and try again.

We are all like this fledgling hawk: unfinished business requiring unmerited grace. We all need to find our own way, but we also need someone perched nearby, believing that we can.

Is there a better metaphor for the task of a parent or teacher at a boarding school? Is there a better illustration of the profound connection between the two words of St. Andrew’s motto, “faith and learning”? The world asks our kids to be great, to do hard things. And what our students truly need is already inside them. What matters most is our patience, love, and faith in them. What matters most is our shared belief that they can do what they think is impossible.

Soon it will be your children’s voices that echo across the pond, and it will be their trials and triumphs that I see out my window. I look forward to our work together, parents and educators alike, as we create a place where each student thrives, animated by their peers and supported by the unwavering faith of adults looking on.

In partnership,

Joy McGrath
Daniel T. Roach, Jr. Head of School