To those unfamiliar with the exhilarating day known as “House Olympics,” this informal event is filled with friendly competitions that can earn house points in hopes of winning the coveted Competition Cup. Each house is named in honor of a well-respected member of the GA community; the seven houses are known as Alcott Day, Galloway, Kershaw, Osbourn, Roberts, Truesdell, and Washington. While this is an annual competition filled with many traditions, due to the escalation of Covid-19 cases last year, unfortunately, many events were altered. Nevertheless, this year GA seemed to bounce back creating a mirror image of what GA’s version of a field day was before the pandemic despite the COVID-19 cases.
While the pandemic forced GA to make some adjustments, freshmen Claire Durkin ’24 described the day as, “One of the most fun and normal days this school year, even though the pandemic policies were still in effect.” Current senior, Mollie Durkin ’21 said that “The restrictions had an effect in the sense that most events were spaced out, but GA handled it the best way possible, and it was still a really fun day despite all the changes made to keep us safe.”
It is important to note that House Olympics took place on May 6th, after being postponed due to unfavorable weather, which made it the first event that the whole high school was present for in-person The only critique suggested was from Robert’s House head and Math teacher, Ms. Allison Rader, stated that “[she] could do without pie eating. The water polo coach in me would love to see a pool activity.” Pie eating seemed to be one of the most disgusting, yet exhilarating contests of the whole day. Mollie Durkin ’21 had a differing opinion stating, “Watching pie eating, all there together as a house and all four grades rooting for Allcott especially, as a prefect was great to see!”
So it was maybe not the event itself, but many students and faculty seemed to find comfort in finally having a sense of being one united GA Upper School. Some of the highlights of the day included many events ranging from sudoku to cupcake decorating and capture the chicken. There was an event for everyone, whether you are into sports, arts, or music! Ms. Rader, the House Head of Roberts, described that her favorite event was when her house “[won] girls tug of war.” She also enjoyed “seeing kids shine in areas that I don’t normally get to see, as it was the first House Olympics I wasn’t in charge of chicken baseball.” Everyone had many positive things to say about the day, and even while there may have been small downsides with safety restrictions, it is evident that everyone remained optimistic. Students and faculty seemed to realize that, while setbacks may come up, the new experiences had allowed everyone to grow and get out of their comfort zone.
