Three times a year, during Spring Work Day, Fall Work Day and our Charitable Work Day, we take a break from classes and afternoon activities to do the sorts of chores that need to get done on an annual or semi-annual basis, and require many hands (which we hear makes light work.) This tradition stems from Jean Hinton Rosner, a lifelong activist for social change, who believed (as did her mother and school founder Carmelita Hinton) in the value of work.
“To believe in manual labor, be glad to do one’s share of it and proud of the skills learned in the doing.”
— Fundamental Belief
Fall Work Day
As we anticipate the cold days ahead, our community comes together for general maintenance and preparation. Students perform tasks such as raking leaves, chopping wood for our cabins and wood-burning oven, removing dead tree branches, brush, sticks and other debris along our miles of wooded trails, repairing fences and other structures, organizing athletic equipment and doing a deep clean of many of our buildings as we ready ourselves for the winter wonderland to come.
Spring Work Day
As the warmer weather ushers in, our students eagerly pick up where we left off in the fall, repairing doors and windows, adding a fresh coat of paint to our interiors and exteriors across campus, prepping the soil for spring crops, tending to our greenhouse, and doing any and all odd jobs that are necessary such as washing windows, repairing chair cushions, and sorting through materials and equipment in customary spring cleaning style.
Charitable Work Day
This is The Putney School’s way of contributing to the greater community by donating our labor towards a good cause. Students head off campus to work in the surrounding community. Jobs may include gardening, dusting, moving furniture, cleaning out garages, or any other thing that needs doing. All of the money collected during the day goes to an organization or charity chosen by the school.
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Work Program
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Fundamental Beliefs
The Putney School was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton, a progressive education pioneer. She distilled the school’s philosophy into nine fundamental beliefs that continue to shape the ethos of
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