By Daisy Moriarty ’25
On January 21 and 22, The Frederick Gunn School had its second “Live Like Fred” weekend of the 2022-2023 school year. There were 15 different activities for students to choose from, each of which embody Frederick Gunn’s beliefs. The activities included Improv Jam, Represent Your School in Nature Competition, Open Rink, Volunteering at Steep Rock, and going to the Theresa Bates Art Exhibit in Washington Depot.
Izzie West, one of the 23 students who signed up for “Represent Your School in Nature Competition”, states, “My group and I walked around campus and collected materials to organize our project”. They then used the materials to make a 3D model of the quad.
Sisy Pei took part in the Improv Jam, sharing, “It’s a “must-do” before every Gunn student graduates”. The Improv Jam was led by Mr. Burnham, who encouraged students to use the phrase “yes and”. The group played a variety of different games, and performed for each other. “Everyone had gotten a lot better by the end” recalls Maeren Hay, who also participated in this activity.
The students who participated in “Volunteering at Steep Rock” were able to make a big difference in the local community. The group visited Steep Rock Preserve in Washington Depot, which is almost 1,000 acres with a 18 mile trail system. Paige Jackson shares that the group “walked through the steep rock trail and picked up trash…we ended up having about six bags of trash”.
There will not be a “Live Like Fred” weekend during the spring trimester, and instead, there will be a community weekend focused on The Founder’s Day Crew Regatta at Lake Waramaug. Mr. Fladager reveals, “All of us in the Leadership Team felt that it was important that the whole community came out to support Founder’s Day, and it’s a program that is just as closely connected to the history of the school as Frederick Gunn.”
