For the past 22 years, our MICDS community has flocked enthusiastically together to gather thousands of canned/dried goods and hundreds of frozen turkeys for the annual Turkey Train Donation Drive. The drive benefits the St. Louis Area Foodbank, which believes that “everyone should have reliable access to nutritious food.” This November, our collective efforts to give were amplified to answer a stronger call by the food bank, which reported that there are more families in need this Thanksgiving. “This year, the St. Louis Area Foodbank asked if we could encourage our families to consider increasing their donations due to the pause in SNAP benefits and the government shutdown, and the response was immediate and exceptional, both in the monetary donations on our virtual drive and the food donations brought in by students,” said Erin Hamill, Director of Global Learning & Upper School Community Service.
Gratefully, we are thrilled to report that the 2025 Turkey Train has broken records thanks to the generosity of the MICDS Rams community! An incredible 5,307 pounds of turkey, 8,202 pounds of non-perishable items, and $23,700 in monetary donations (which Ameren doubled to $47,400) were donated. This means that altogether, 200,857 meals are being provided this year to those facing hunger thanks to the MICDS Turkey Train!
This year’s Turkey Train food drive occurred from Monday, November 10, to Monday, November 24. Each day during drop-off, our Lower, Middle, and Upper School students placed non-perishable food donations in bins at Lower School Carpool, the MAC Atrium, the Black & White Hallway, and in the May Hall Foyer. Families were encouraged to bring items that complement a Thanksgiving meal, like stuffing, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, canned pumpkin, green bean casserole ingredients, and gravy. By the drive’s final day, Turkey Train Day on November 24, the bins were overflowing—stuffed with compassionate donations to feed the hungry.
“Even with the construction and the logistical challenges we faced in collecting donations this year, I do believe it was the best year yet,” said Sarah Garner, Lower School Art Teacher. “Many thanks to our families, morning carpool crew, and facilities, who were instrumental in this year’s success!” As is their tradition, students in the Lower School added feathers to a paper turkey as donations were brought throughout the two weeks of Turkey Train. By the end of the drive, their turkey had tons of feathers!
On the culminating Turkey Train Day, 411 turkeys, weighing 10-12 pounds each, were donated at every end of campus. Due to the greater need to help more families, our faculty, staff, and Lower and Middle School students were encouraged to bring turkeys in addition to those donated by Upper Schoolers. Some folks even brought multiple frozen turkeys. Our Rams also brought in their final canned/dry goods donations. Then, it was time for the train of turkeys to leave the station.
Upper Schoolers lined up from the flagpole in A Lot and routed their way past the STEM building, May Hall, and Olson Hall before covering the staircase leading down to the McDonnell Athletic Center (MAC). One by one, turkeys were passed along the train (see our timelapse reel!) until ending up in a large box at the caboose of the train in the MAC—which ultimately landed on the St. Louis Area Foodbank’s semitruck. The turkeys passed from freshmen and sophomores to juniors and seniors. At the same time as the turkey train, Middle Schoolers and facilities members helped wheel bins of non-perishable food items to the MAC.
Next, the full school gathered for the all-school Turkey Train assembly while the Upper School band performed. As students were seated, a slideshow played showcasing what various members of the community are thankful for.
At the assembly, Head of School Jay Rainey welcomed everyone and introduced the Upper School Chamber Choir. The Chamber Choir beautifully sang the Alma Mater, led by Akira Washington ’26. Next, the Beasley Broadcast video reminded everyone of the domino effect of gratitude and compassion, something that third graders have especially been putting into practice in their recent Bot Joy art project.
Mr. Rainey then welcomed the Upper School Community Service Co-heads, Shritha Devisetty ’26 and Grace Griffin ’27, who introduced the St. Louis Area Foodbank representative, Jordan Casey. Casey came forward to receive a gift basket from several fourth-grade students before delivering her own remarks of thanks for the generous donations.
A very special guest participated in the passing of turkeys this year and the next part of the assembly—our next Head of School Chelle Wabrek! After passing turkeys with Upper School students, Ms. Wabrek was introduced by Middle School students Fletcher Davis ’30 and Daphne Skemer ’30 at the all-school assembly. As is typical of a Middle School assembly, Fletcher and Daphne conducted a “Hot Seat” interview with Ms. Wabrek, allowing students to get to know our school’s new leader, who will officially start her tenure on July 1, 2026. After four main questions, Ms. Wabrek answered several rapid-fire questions (e.g., Do you prefer dogs or cats? The mountains or the beach? What are the main St. Louis sports teams? What’s our school’s mascot and his name?). Thankfully, she had the assistance of Jack Rooney ’33 to help with those last two quick questions. Then, wrapping it all up, Ms. Wabrek shared a few words as she said hello to her future Rams community. [Note: Ms. Wabrek is a dog person, she loves both the beach and the mountains but chose mountains this year as that’s where her family is spending the winter holidays, she nailed all three STL sports teams, and she is already a fan of Charger the Ram.]
Following, Mr. Rainey welcomed Upper School Student Council Leaders Carrie Clennan ’26 and Sean Hogan ’26, who led the school in a Thanksgiving art activity. Students grouped up to trace their hands turkey-style on poster paper. Then, along with their name, they wrote down what they are thankful for. “The new format of the all-school assembly with students from all divisions creating posters together was so heartwarming, seeing students of all ages have fun together,” said Hamill. “The annual Turkey Train is a wonderful event in that it brings our entire community together—students, faculty, staff, families—for a great cause. We have an amazing MICDS community, and the Turkey Train is always a wonderful reminder of that fact.” See the completed gratitude handprint posters below!
Soon, assembly adjourned with Upper Schoolers heading to enjoy hot cocoa on the north part of campus while Lower and Middle Schoolers went back to class. All could revel in the fact that Turkey Train 2025 was a huge success. In case you missed it, Turkey Train was featured in segments on FOX 2 and KMOV on Monday. It’s also not too late to be a part of the Turkey Train efforts. Ameren is still doubling any monetary donations given by November 30. Donate here!
Thank you to each Ram who gobbled up the chance to make this year’s drive such a meaningful success! Ms. Hamill echoes this thanks: “Thank you to everyone for your tremendous generosity and support of this annual tradition!” We are grateful to the MICDS community and the power of our collective compassion. Happy Turkey Train and happy Thanksgiving!