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We’ve all been there. You sit down at your computer, ready to start a new project, when you hear a “ping.” Instinctively, you pick up your phone to see there is a text that requires an immediate response. You start drafting an email, and then you see a new ad for jeans in your inbox. Before you know it, you are buying a pair of jeans you don’t even need, and not working on that project anymore. It happens to everyone, even Amy Crouch, co-author of this summer’s all-school read, My Tech-Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices.
 

On September 8, the community gathered inside the historic Meetinghouse on The Green to celebrate Convocation and the beginning of our 173rd year as a school. The highlight of this year’s ceremony was the presentation of a new teaching chair. Kelsey Brush of the Mathematics Department faculty was named the first recipient of the Thomas R. King ’60 Family Chair for Excellence in Teaching. The award was presented by Head of School Peter Becker and Trustee Tom King ’60.
 

From July 3-31, The Frederick Gunn School will welcome the staff and campers of Litchfield Jazz Camp to campus, along with the 2022 Litchfield Jazz Festival, July 29-31. The school first partnered with Litchfield Performing Arts, the non-profit organization that produces the camp and festival, in 2018 and is excited to host another summer of live jazz performances in the Tisch Family Auditorium of the Thomas S. Perakos  Arts and Community  Center (TPACC).
 

The community welcomed Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch ’72 to campus on June 18, 2022, for the official groundbreaking of the transformational building that will bear their names: the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Center for Innovation and Active Citizenship. Construction on the site of the 24,000-square-foot academic building, scheduled to open in fall 2023, has already begun, as the former Science Building, which opened in 1968, is being removed to make way for the new center. 
 

More than 375 alumni and friends returned to campus June 10-12 to celebrate Alumni Weekend. This year’s event welcomed alumni from classes ending in 0s, 1s, 2s, 5s, 6s, and 7s to celebrate milestone reunions. Alumni traveled from as far as Paris, Seattle, Charlotte, and Minneapolis, and some from just down the street in Washington. More than 25 members of the Class of 1987 turned out to celebrate their 35th Reunion. Their enthusiasm was closely rivaled by about 20 alumni from the Class of 1982, celebrating their 40th Reunion, and 18 from the Class of 2002, celebrating their 20th!
 

On June 10, Ed Small, the Anne S. and Ogden D. Miller Senior Master, shared with Head of School Peter Becker that, after 45 years of teaching, coaching, dorm parenting, and advising at The Frederick Gunn School, he had made the decision to retire.

“Ed has been an integral part of our community for more than four decades,” Becker said. “He and Peg have impacted the lives of countless Gunn students and we will have the chance to celebrate his service next fall. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating Ed on an epic teaching career and thanking him for his friendship and colleagueship over so many years.” 
 

On May 30, the day following Commencement, rising sophomores, juniors and seniors gathered on the Glade and processed into the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center by class to mark the transition to the new school year at Investiture. 
 

The Frederick Gunn School graduated 94 students, representing 14 states and 10 countries, in the Class of 2022 at its 172nd Commencement Exercises, held Sunday, May 29, 2022. The graduates were encouraged to be active and courageous citizens in the world by remaining true to themselves, by exercising their moral judgment, by embracing the outdoors, and by continuing to learn — all in the spirit of school founder, abolitionist, and outdoorsman Frederick Gunn.
 

Awards for academic excellence and other honors were presented to students at the annual Prize Night ceremony, held on May 28, 2022, under the tent on Edward Wersebe Memorial Field. Congratulations to all of the students honored this year: 
 

The Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team beat both Canterbury and Pomfret in tournament play on May 21, becoming the 2022 Colonial Cup Champions.

“It was a total team effort, they needed each other to accomplish this,” said Athletic Director and Head Boys Lacrosse Coach Mike Marich P’23 ’24. “I was really proud of the way the guys handled themselves. They represented themselves, their families, and our school with class.”
 

On May 24, the community gathered for formal advisor dinner and the annual Baccalaureate Service, the first in a weeklong series of events designed to prepare for Commencement. Students and faculty gathered in the Tisch Family Auditorium for the service, which began with opening remarks delivered by Head of School Peter Becker and an invocation by Karoline Theobald P’09 ’14, whose husband, Rod Theobald P’09 ’14, a fellow member of the English Department faculty, delivered the Baccalaureate Address in 2021 upon his retirement from the school.
 

The school’s annual Co-Curricular Ceremony, held May 23, 2022, highlighted the athletic accomplishments of individual students in the fall, winter and spring. The event also celebrated Frederick Gunn's belief that character was developed and honed in co-curricular activities. “Athletics look very different today than it did back in his time but the lessons learned are largely the same,” said Mike Marich P’23 ’24, Athletic Director and Head Boys Lacrosse Coach.
 

Congratulations to the cast and crew of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, who received a combined 14 Halo High School Theater Award nominations this week, including nods for Best Musical, Best Chorus, and Best Performance By A Cast In An Ensemble Production.
 

On May 14, the Alumni & Development Office hosted Alumni Career Day for the Class of 2022, featuring guest speaker and former prefect Andy Powers ’11, who spoke about his path after Gunn, how he has stayed connected to the school, and how he is helping other alumni stay connected to each other through the Alumni Mentoring & Networking program.
 

The Frederick Gunn School Music Program will present its annual spring concert, Swing Into Spring! featuring students in String Ensemble, Vocal Ensemble, and Jazz Band under the direction of Ron Castonguay, Director of the Arts and Music Director. Family, friends and the community are invited to attend the performance on Wednesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. only in the Tisch Family Auditorium of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. Admission is free with general admission seating. All guests are required to adhere to the school’s Visitor Policy.