Student Life

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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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 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.