Middle School Student Wins Essay Contest, Enabling Additional Bird Safety at SCH 

What a difference a decal makes. 

Following recognition from Audubon and Bird Safe Philly as a "Bird Safe School" for its Lower School Feather Friendly cafeteria window decals, SCH is celebrating 6th-grade student Beatrice Tucker, who won a World Migratory Bird Day 2025 essay contest advocating for the installation of bird-safe decals, which—thanks to her win—the school will receive! Her compelling essay highlighted the dangers that reflective glass poses to local bird populations and championed the use of decals as a practical and impactful solution.

In her winning entry, she explained, "As we know, birds crash into windows because they think glass or even buildings are a safe area they can fly through. Glass windows reflect the spaces around them causing birds to think there is nothing there, and they are just flying through the city or the forest." 

Tucker pointed out the school's location near the Wissahickon, a natural habitat for many bird species, making the campus particularly susceptible to bird collisions with the "big glass windows with a bright reflective screen.

Congratulations on this accomplishment, and thank you for working toward effecting positive change, Beatrice!