Derryfield Cares

In true Derryfield fashion, as the world screeched to a halt in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous students, alumni, parents, and faculty stepped up to help others in the Derryfield community and beyond. Despite the circumstances and the numerous barriers created by stay-at-home and social distancing measures, Derryfield has stood out as a school and community that values compassion and caring for others.

In mid-April, when a FedEx cargo plane carrying 91,000 pounds of personal protective equipment landed at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, Rylan Morgan ’21 and Ian Gargasz ’21 joined members of the NH National Guard in unloading the plane and moving the supplies into trucks destined for a distribution center in Concord. Their participation came about via Rylan’s father, Fritz, who helped orchestrate the shipment with NH-based entrepreneur Dean Kamen. Fritz, emphasizing the importance of giving back and supporting your community, said of the boys’ participation, “I always say you should give back more than you take. This was a great way for them to see that.”

Rylan and Ian weren’t the only Derryfield students who jumped head-first into helping others during this time. Shortly after returning from March break, Zack Horton ’20 and the DS Fighting Cougars Robotics Team quickly began recruiting student teams and designing patterns for mask-making projects, with teams based regionally in New Hampshire from Hopkinton to the Seacoast.

Derryfield students volunteered to assemble 300 kits of essential supplies for DHHS to distribute to emergency day care centers.

While much of the focus nationwide during the early days of stay-at-home measures centered on medical technology and equipment, the economic ripples have continued to reach far and wide. In light of the economic outlook for families in Manchester, Derryfield connected with Manchester-based Families in TransitionNew Horizons to see what needs could be addressed by the Derryfield community. FIT-NH’s feedback centered around childcare needs: with kids now home from school every day, parents needed more options for keeping their children engaged and active. Ellie Small ’21 and Chris Lynch ’21 took the lead on spearheading a school-wide donation drive of LEGOs to distribute to Manchester children.

The Derryfield Parent/Faculty Association also recognized the impact the pandemic would have on families in the Derryfield community. A number of Derryfield students qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch as well as other subsidies to help them cover the costs of textbooks, technology, and student activities. As soon as the Governor mandated that schools close until May (and eventually for the rest of the academic year), PFA leadership implemented plans to purchase and distribute grocery store gift cards to families of students who receive subsidies, ensuring that their access to food each day would not be hindered by the new virtual learning and stay-at-home circumstances.

Numerous recent Derryfield alumni also jumped in to help current Derryfield seniors in early April. When the Class of 2020 was faced with the prospect of being unable to revisit or tour campuses of colleges to which they had been accepted, alumni from the classes of 2016 through 2019 who attend schools from Boston to California volunteered to speak with seniors currently considering their school for the fall.

Beloved veteran teacher Dennis Holland campaigned to add Caring as a Derryfield Core Value in 2016. While he may not have envisioned the circumstances under which the world has operated during 2020, he would nevertheless have felt immense pride at the Derryfield community’s response to this global pandemic.