Dunn School Athletic Overview

ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES

MISSION STATEMENT OF ATHLETICS

An interscholastic athletic program as a co-curricular activity is an integral part of the total educational and growth experience at Dunn.

Athletics are designed to affirm and promote the Dunn School values as stated by its founder Tony Dunn and fully engage student athletes in mind, body, and spirit. Student athletes, coaches, and parents are asked to work together in a true spirit of sportsmanship. This partnership will assist in creating an environment in which those values can be revealed, tested, and proven relevant both to participants and the entire school community. Through participation in athletics at Dunn, students will mature physically, emotionally and socially. They will learn to take responsibility for personal growth by developing loyalty, pride, integrity, and commitment. Athletics provide the opportunity for the student athlete to exhibit a progression of physical skills and knowledge of a particular sport, enabling him/her to apply these skills and knowledge to new situations and a variety of learning formats. Through participation in athletics the student athlete learns very important life lessons.

Purpose

As stated above, the reason for requiring sports at Dunn is to promote healthy lives, provide valuable lessons, and just as importantly, have fun.  Sports and fun go hand in hand provided the participant is prepared.  Any person, no matter how gifted an athlete he/she is, will find that if his/her level of conditioning is negligible, jumping into exercising every day will be a painful experience.  If not prepared, a person will find him/herself very sore and fatigued.  It is in this state that injuries can occur.  The majority of athletic injuries occur because the athlete is not properly prepared.  In other words, most injuries happen because the participant was not in good shape.  Dunn’s athletics are not so rigorous that our students have to go out and run ten miles a day before the season starts, but it is important that some conditioning is done, so unnecessary injuries can be avoided.  By being physically fit, students will find that they get the most out of the Dunn School athletic program

Sports & ActivitiEs

Drama                                   Farm                                                               Surfing                                                                                  

Farm                                      On Campus Dance                                      Climbing / Kayaking

Martial Arts                                                                                                Off Campus Equestrian

  Students must select one sport or activity in each season from the list above.

Athletics & Activities practices run for an hour and half on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and most games are scheduled on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Dunn is fortunate not only to have many outstanding teachers in the classroom, but also to have many exceptional coaches whose proficiencies in their respective sports and activities are second to none at the high school level.  All of our coaches adhere to Dunn’s Athletic philosophy.  This philosophy emphasizes participation and putting forth one’s best effort, not solely winning.  We provide our student athletes with the opportunity to succeed. We have all learned that success is a relative term, and many times even if victory is not in hand, the success lies in the effort put forth. 

• Freshmen, Sophomores & First Year Transfer Students:

These students are expected to participate on a minimum of two interscholastic teams during the academic year. They may do one season of activities.

Junior & Seniors:

Need to participate in one season of interscholastic athletics and may participate in two activities.

FITNESS CLASS

All students that participate in an afterschool activity instead of an interscholastic sport team will be required to attend a fitness class for 30 minutes three days a week. The class will be composed of three elements; flexibility, strength and cardiovascular. The class schedule will be Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. Students that are involved in Independent Sports may also be required to attend depending on the stipulations of the Independent Sports Committee.

INDEPENDENT SPORTS

Independent Sports are normally granted to a student who wishes to participate in an athletic activity not currently offered at Dunn.  Students applying for this should have an exceptional ability in that activity or have a long-term commitment to that activity.  Examples include: participating in area crew programs, swim teams, organized horseback riding programs at a national level, etc. Activities must be structured and meet at least 6 hours a week. If the activity meets less than every day or 6 hours per week you may be required to attend the Dunn School fitness class. Athletes must be coached and provided with opportunities to compete or perform. Independent Sports will not be granted for a sport during the season that sport is offered at Dunn. Independent Sports is not usually granted for taking “lessons” or going to the “gym” in a sport or activity, e.g. tennis, riding, karate lessons, etc. There must be a clear goal, with a competition or a performance that the student is working toward. Typically, just one season of Independent Sports is granted each academic year and only for exceptional athletes or circumstances.

Equipment

Students must purchase the necessary equipment for each sport. Articles of equipment such as running shoes, tennis racquets, soccer cleats, lacrosse gloves and lacrosse sticks, need to be the personal possessions of the participant.  Being familiar with the necessary equipment helps keep athletes safe.  It is also extremely important that the equipment fit the individual athlete; this will definitely reduce the risk of unnecessary injuries.  For example, soccer cleats are mandatory for everyone who plays soccer.  Each person should own his or her own cleats AND have them broken-in BEFORE the start of the season, which starts the first day of school.  If the cleats are not broken-in, or the student does not buy his/her cleats before the start of the season, then his/her chance for injury increases dramatically.  Blisters, sprained ankles, and pulled muscles can be avoided by having the proper footwear, in the proper condition, at the start of the season.  The same holds true for running and cross-training shoes.

EXCUSED ABSENCE

To be excused from an athletic commitment, a student must have a note from his/her physician or the school nurse.  Any student who is not participating in athletics due to illness will be under the supervision of the Director of Healthcare Services (DHS) and will need to follow his/her instructions.  If a student is ill but not confined to the infirmary, the student must attend practice but may be excused from full participation by the DHS or the coach. A student may be involved, on a specific afternoon, with a teacher for extra help/academic pursuit.  The student must provide a note to his/her coach signed by the academic teacher prior to being excused from any after-school obligation.  It is understood that the student will be involved with the teacher for the appropriate amount of time.

Changes and Cancellations

It is inevitable in every sport schedule that there will be game, time, and site changes.  All students are notified as soon as the information is available, which sometimes may not be until the day of the event; in fact, most instances if a practice, game, or rehearsal is canceled, it will be a last-minute decision.  If a game is canceled, most coaches will hold practice, but the time frame may vary from the originally scheduled game time.  If parents have a question, they should feel free to talk to the coach.  We always recommend calling the school the day of an athletic event to verify the start time.