One of Moravian Academy's qualities that is important to our families is our strong sense of community.  

Community shows up in many different ways. It might be a small group of students that gather in a grade-level advisory to talk about an important topic that is on their minds. It might be a group of students coming together to plan a thematic chapel.  It could look like a book club discussion with parents meeting to talk about one of the texts that their children are reading in class. It could also be alumni sharing their experiences and offering their mentorship to current students.  

Our beloved community is reflected in times of sorrow–-when we gather to mourn the loss of cherished members of our community like we did for honored trustee Rebecca Binder and former Headmaster of Swain, Sils Silsbee, when they passed earlier this year.  

And our strong community is reflected in times of joy–when students from all three campuses met together on the Merle-Smith Campus for our inaugural Red, White, and Gold Games Day (the 24th year of the Red & Gold tradition)! Games Day is just one of our cherished traditions, and we were excited to include the Swain Campus students for the first time this year. Each student is assigned either to the Red Team or the Gold Team, and both they and their siblings will remain on this same team for as long as they are a student at Moravian Academy.  White was represented by employees as well as our early childhood students who stay on their respective campuses.   

Friday began with fun, friendly competitions in the Dyer Auditorium on the Merle-Smith Campus between Upper School students who, represented by their captains, competed for points for the Red or Gold Team.  They engaged in everything from “shadow boxing,” to a marshmallow catch, to a lip sync contest, filling the room with good spirit as students and faculty prepared to welcome nine busloads of first through eighth-grade students from the Historic Downtown and the Swain Campuses.  

 After an all-school pep rally and photo on Jacob’s Lawn behind Snyder House, students departed to their assigned fields to begin the games and first graders and seniors met their senior buddies for the first time. They will be buddies all year long and have many future chances to connect with each other in special ways. 

We were blessed with beautiful weather for Games Day, and students collaborated with their teammates in a variety of activities from tug-o-war, to frisbee golf, to egg spoon races and more.  After lunch, teams added to their tallies by recycling trash in the final pointed event of the day, one that aligned with our school commitment to sustainability.  

Just prior to the departure of younger students to their respective campuses, the tabulation of points from all of the competitions was compiled by Ms. Patti Davis and Mr. Leon Galitsky (our own accounting firm of Davis and Galitsky). They delivered a large envelope to me to announce the winners.  On my flank to the right in Alumni Circle were the team captains for the Red Team, and on my left the Captains for the Gold Team.  Davis and Galitsky had a few tricks up their sleeves to keep the suspense going as I opened one envelope only to find a smaller one inside and eventually a message that pointed me to a flower pot where the final envelope was hidden.  I opened it up and read the score–by just a few points the Red Team won.  Cheers, high fives, jumps for joy and excitement spread among the red team as joyful students filled the campus. Captains completed the Games Day tradition as victors, ringing the historic bell on Alumni Circle.

While the Gold team was disappointed, good spirits and good sportsmanship were displayed and another Games Day was complete.  Our community loves traditions.  Red, White and Gold Games Day is one of our students’ favorites!