Photo Courtesy of Dey Wallace McKinstry
On Friday, February 19, seniors convened near Gunpowder Creek for the first senior sledding event since 2018. Due to a lack of snow, the senior sledding tradition was paused for the past two years. However, the consistent, heavy snow experienced these past few weeks have allowed sixth-form deans Ms. Julia Brown ’83 and Ms. Mb Duckett Ireland to bring back the tradition.
This year’s event differed from previous years because of health restrictions from Choate’s Safe and Sounder plan. Seniors learning remotely were also unable to participate.
According to Ms. Brown, “SAGE is not doing any catering so we ordered local pizza and passed that out ourselves with rubber gloves on, of course. Also, we only handed out 50 sleds at a time so there would not be too much of a backlog on the top of the hill.”
In a comprehensive set of rules written by Ms. Duckett Ireland, students had to remain six feet apart at all times, only one person was allowed on each sled, and no sled chains were permitted.
Despite the strict safety guidelines, students relished the opportunity to be outdoors and enjoy the snow as a collective senior class on the 100th day before graduation. “So many seniors are sad that we don’t get to participate in the many school traditions and senior privileges, so it was really great to have this tradition upheld this year,” said Nneoma Iloeje ’21.
Given the new 10:00 p.m. curfew for the winter term, seniors were also given the privilege of extended curfew until 10:40 p.m. After a night of sledding in the cold winter air, seniors were able to enjoy hot pizza to finish off the event. Anna Bonem ’21 said, “I enjoyed playing around in the snow with my friends while surrounded by music and laughter. This was the first time most of the senior class got together in one specific time slot, so it was definitely a memorable experience.”
Ms. Brown echoed this sentiment. “As deans, it was really wonderful to be able to mix with the students and to see them all enjoying each other and the snow. The campus looked beautiful. Six party-size pizzas were demolished in no time! Almost all of the six formers on campus attended.”
