MS Teacher Andy Kay Welcomes Students

Middle School English Teacher Andy Kay welcomed students to the 2025-2026 school year on the first day of school. Here’s what he said:

Good Morning. We begin the 166th year of operation as a school today. A lot has happened in the world since then. During our founding year, Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species, Big Ben’s clock began ticking in London, and the first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania. As the timeline continued, the first phone call was made, the first flight taken, we walked on the moon, and perhaps most importantly, Minecraft was born.

Within those years of 1859 to 2025, I arrived here, and on my first day of school at MICDS, I stood in front of the student body to deliver my first speech to the community. I was 28 years old and was here as the seventh-grade dean. My blue blazer was freshly pressed, my red and black tie neatly organized into a double windsor, my face was freshly shaven, and not a grey hair could be found on my beautiful head. I also knew everything. I was young, able-bodied, well-versed in the exploration of literature, and I had been trained at the prestigious East Coast prep school Saint Stephen’s and Saint Agnes by a hard-nosed former wrestling coach and dean named Harry Murphy. And I had rules! If you did this, you got that. I led the league in giving red slips and suspensions, and I emailed 30-year teaching vets telling them to be on time and to “give them advice about how to teach.” I can only imagine what was going on in the mind of Charlie Rose, an incredible band teacher who had played with the likes of Louis Armstrong, attended school with Tina Turner, and was the first African American in the Mizzou marching band when my 28-year-old self told him that his student notes were better to be turned in before they were due!

Yes, in my first year at MICDS, I was a work in progress (and I still am in my 18th year). In fact, my lack of confidence was real. I knew so little, but I was determined to be in control, look strong, and I thought that if I looked unapproachable, people could not know me and expose me as the inexperienced and insecure teacher that I really was. After suspending a varsity lacrosse star for a game after he was late to his third practice (without asking why he was late, by the way), legendary football coach Ron Holtman sent me a letter. “Coach, you are going to be a lot better off if you become more willing to operate in the grey. The grey areas require remembering that you are here to help young people find standards and a path forward. You cannot do that unless you know them.” Indeed, real leadership and teaching are not about strict control or appearing flawless, but about embracing nuance, listening, and understanding people, the “grey areas.”

We are part of something great here. Something that has been here long before us and that will continue on long after we are gone. As we begin the year, let us not be afraid of what we do not know. Let us be reminded that around the corner and in every nook and cranny of this fine institution exist people who are inspired every day to get out of bed, put one foot in front of the other, and arrive here ready to serve.

That serving spirit, that uniquely Ram spirit, requires humility, openness, and a willingness to learn from mistakes and others’ wisdom. Rules and structure are important, but compassion, flexibility, and perspective matter even more.

I speak for all faculty and staff when I say we are here for you, are willing to live in the grey, and we look forward to an amazing school year ahead.