In 1981, Head of School Jim Hendrix proposed a program that would combine “mountain culture and outdoor skills.” The Junior Backpacking Trip to Pisgah National Forest was created and quickly became a favorite activity of many faculty and students. Pop Hollandsworth, former head of N.C. Outward Bound and then the Outdoor Education coordinator, assisted Dr. Hendrix in developing routes and oversaw the rock climbing component. This week of experiential learning has become an important part of the Greensboro Day School culture. The class of ’83 was the first class to venture on this trip, doing so as juniors in the spring of 1982.
Category: Firsts
The school’s first international exchange student was Jonas von Hedenberg from Sweden, who spent the 1980-81 school year on the American Scandinavian Student Exchange Program (ASSE). One of the first GDS students to venture abroad for a summer homestay was Virginia Harris ’83 in Ecuador.
9 Greensboro Day seniors have accepted the Morehead-Cain Scholarship. One of the country’s most prestigious and selective merit scholarships, the award covers all costs to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. Rennie Faulkner was the school’s first in 1981. Greensboro Day School has had three Morehead-Cain Scholars since 2015, including Pearce Landry ’17.
The first senior class to host a Senior Dress-Up Day was the class of 1981. This tradition has carried on to the present day and is one of the seniors’ favorite activities.
The first Alumni Reunion, attended by 115 graduates, was artfully planned by Sally Gorrell ’75 and held at Blandwood in December of 1980.
The strings program, instituted in 1980 by Pat Williams, was the first of its kind in the area. The program grew by size and quality over the years and by 1994, it had 62 students from all divisions participating in various strings groups.
Wayne Robinson ’76 was the first alumnus to be drafted to play by one of the 4 major US sports leagues. He was drafted #31 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980. He was later traded to the Detroit Pistons before spending 9 seasons playing overseas.
Anna Godwin ’82 and Mary Schenck ’82 were the first two “Lifer” students to graduate from Greensboro Day School who were students in the first 1st grade class offered in 1970! A ‘Lifer’ is now considered anyone who attends GDS from Kindergarten-12th grade.
“Lo Hearts Behold” stated that “A presentation of Pygmalion was perhaps the first major dramatic production at GDS” in the fall of 1979. However upon further review of the archives, the school performed Love Rides the Rails in 1977 and The Imaginary Invalid in 1978.
The first computer purchased for instruction came in 1979 when the Parents’ Council purchased an Apple II computer. The Parents’ Council subsequently provided regular replacements and upgrades, with major acquisitions in 1989 and 1992 for use in all 3 divisions. Whatever technological changes the future brings, Greensboro Day School’s humanistic approach to technology is poised to take full advantage.