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Nine students from the Gunn Music Program will perform in the Connecticut Music Educators Association's Northern Region Music Festival on Saturday, January 18, at New Britain High School, located at 110 Mill Street in New Britain, Connecticut. The festival concert will feature performances by the Northern Region Jazz Band, Treble Choir, and Mixed Choir at 2 p.m., and the Northern Region Concert Band and Orchestra at 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person.

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Student-artists Heri Kim '26, Michal Schroeder '26, and Rebecca Tu '25 have been selected to participate in the 2025 Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition and earned awards for their work, which is being featured in the largest juried student art exhibition in the state. The exhibit opened Monday, January 13, and will remain on view through Friday, January 31, in the Donald and Linda Silpe Gallery at the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford. Gallery hours are Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 12–5 p.m. 
 

The Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Team went 3-0 for the second consecutive year in the annual Portsmouth Abbey Holiday Tournament. The Highlanders beat Portsmouth Abbey 4-2 in the tournament opener on December 20, and recorded back-to-back wins December 21 against Pomfret School (4-2) and Tilton School (1-0).
 

The Frederick Gunn School Community is mourning the loss of two faculty members, who passed away in late December. Jeff Trundy, a beloved member of the Science Department faculty and the David N. Hoadley ’51 Baseball Coach for 27 years, passed away on December 20, 2024. On December 26, the community learned that Tim Poole, a respected member of the English Department faculty and Head Coach for Girls Rowing for nine years, passed away unexpectedly. This dual loss is profoundly felt across our tight-knit community. At this time, our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the Trundy and Poole families.
 

The Frederick Gunn School Music Program will present its annual holiday concert, "Holiday Overture," featuring Chamber Orchestra, Vocal Ensemble, Jazz Band, and special guests, on December 17, at 7 p.m. in the Tisch Family Auditorium of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. A limited number of seats are available for family, friends, and community members. Admission is free. No registration is required. Parking is available in the Upper Parking Lot off Kirby Road, with a limited number of accessible parking spaces outside TPACC. Please see the Campus Map for locations.
 

Ten students from the Gunn Music Program have been selected to perform at the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) Northern Region Music Festival on January 17 and 18, 2025, at New Britain High School.

Having ended their regular season with back-to-back wins against Choate Rosemary Hall (4-1) and Canterbury School (2-0), Gunn Field Hockey will play Pingree School in the NEPSAC Class C Championship Quarterfinal today at 2 p.m. at Loomis Chaffee School. This is the fourth consecutive year the Highlanders have earned a playoff bid. Gunn earned the #3 seed and Pingree is the #6 seed in the Class C Championship bracket. The winner will advance to the NEPSAC Semifinals on Saturday, November 16.

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Matthew Goetting, an educational leader with extensive experience in philanthropy, strategic planning, and board and community relations, has joined The Frederick Gunn School as Chief Advancement Officer. In this role, Goetting is responsible for providing leadership and management across all areas of development, alumni relations, strategic and operational fundraising. A member of the Senior Team, he is working closely with the Head of School, a talented and dedicated Alumni and Development team, and other key partners, including the Board of Trustees, to guide the school’s philanthropic success in alignment with its ambitious plans for the future. 
 

Each year, athletic teams from The Frederick Gunn School and Canterbury School come together in the spirit of competition, sportsmanship, and camaraderie during the final week of the fall athletic season. This year, Gunn will host the Saints at home on Saturday, November 9, for six games that will be played on Barnes Field, Underhill Memorial Field, South Street Fields, and in the Upper Gym of the Ogden D. Miller Memorial Athletic Center.
 

Three students from The Frederick Gunn School have been selected to participate in ASAP!’s 14th annual Celebration of Young Photographers. Evan Bailey ’26, Peter Buchanan ’26, and Bridget O’Hara ’27 will have their original photographs featured in a juried exhibition on Sunday, November 10, from 1-3 p.m. at the Mattatuck Museum, 144 W Main Street, Waterbury. If you would like to attend the exhibit, admission is free but registration is required. 
 

The Frederick Gunn School will honor the First Congregational Church of Washington with the 2024 Friend of the Green Award at the Washington Town Holiday Party on Saturday, November 23. All Washington residents and business owners, faculty, local alumni, and Frederick Gunn School families are welcome to attend the event, which will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center on campus.
 

The Girls First Boat raced in near perfect conditions at the 2024 Head of the Charles, placing in the top 50 percent in the Women’s Youth Fours event on October 20. Coxed by Zane Leonard ’25 with Olivia Kurtz ’25 in stroke seat, Catherine Kleiner ’25 in three, Grace Harlow ’25 in two, and Isla Beckstrom ’26 in bow, Gunn finished 34th out of 90 boats, earning the Highlanders a return to the starting line at DeWolfe Boathouse for the 2025 regatta.
 

The Frederick Gunn School Theatre Program will present Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen, November 14, 15, and 16 at 7 p.m. in the Tisch Family Auditorium of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center.

All shows are free and open to the public. Seating is by general admission. Parking is available in the Upper Parking Lot off Kirby Road, with a limited number of accessible parking spaces in front of TPACC. Please see the Campus Map for details.
 

On October 1, the Gunn community continued a proud tradition begun by school founders Frederick and Abigail Gunn in 1861, when they led 30 boys and a dozen girls on a 42-mile walk from Washington to Milford, Connecticut, where they camped for 10 days. School Walk, held each year on a date close to Mr. Gunn's birthday, October 4, commemorates this historic event. This year, in honor of our 175th year as a school, and in the spirit of Mr. and Mrs. Gunn, Highlanders everywhere were encouraged to walk or hike, plant a flower, ride a bike, or simply take time to appreciate the outdoors and the power of connecting with nature.
 

Wallace H. Rowe III H’57 P’77 ’79, a beloved member of the faculty from 1956 to 1979, passed away on September 21, 2024, in New Hampshire. “Wally” taught English, served as English Department Chair, coached wrestling, football, and JV tennis, and served as a house parent and advisor. Through his passion, warmth, and characteristic good humor, he had an enormous influence on many of his students. Four decades later, the school continues to honor him through The Wallace H. Rowe III Chair in Critical Expression established in his name, and the Perakos Family Cares Art Gallery, dedicated by Thomas Perakos ’69 and the Class of 1969 in celebration of their 50th reunion.
 

William Russ Elgin, who served for three decades as Senior Master and as a faithful and dedicated faculty member for 39 years, passed away on July 2, 2024, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, according to his sister, Lynn Brown-Quick. Known to his students as “Señor Elgin,” he had a deep passion for the Spanish language and culture, and he dedicated himself to inspiring others to become lifelong learners. 
 

The Frederick Gunn School has named Benjamin Kang of Middletown, Delaware, a distinguished educator with experience in shaping inclusive school communities as the new Dean of Belonging and Inclusion. 

The Gunn community is saddened by the news that Trustee Emeritus Steve Bent ’59, who served on the Board of Trustees for nearly 20 years and was a loyal friend and supporter of the school, died in a tragic accident on July 11. 
 

Members of the Class of 2024 were officially inducted into the Gunn Alumni Association, and received their seniors letters, class mugs, and Red and Gray yearbooks, at a dinner and pinning ceremony held May 22 in the Norman R. Lemcke Community Room of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. Former Head Prefect Andrew Byrne King ’20 was the evening’s guest speaker. He will graduate this summer with a degree in international relations from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.