Sometimes the busiest weekends are the ones where our community shines most brightly. The past 72 hours were packed with games, activities, races, and moments where the best of Proctor was on display.
It all started with Friday night’s Boys Varsity Soccer game, a hard fought 1-2 loss to an extremely talented Bridgton Academy team. While the quality of the game itself and the valiant effort of our boys would have made us plenty proud, the fan support for Pape Diop ‘22, now completing a post-graduate year at Bridgton, left an impact on all in attendance, including the Bridgton team. The outpouring of love and support for Pape, through signs, cheering when he scored a goal against us, and hugs, tears, and photos after the game reminded us that our job is not simply to provide an education to our students, but to provide them a place they can call home. Bridgton’s coach and team recognized there was something different about our community, and posted a beautiful tribute to the evening on their Instagram account.
We awoke Saturday morning to bright blue skies and a busy campus as more than 150 visitors arrived for our first Admissions Open House since the fall of 2019. As our students toured prospective families and sat on panel discussions, we saw not only how proud they are of their school, but how deeply they appreciate the experience they have been afforded. Visiting families left having gained an authentic window into what Proctor is all about, both as a school and as a community.
As visiting families departed campus, we shifted to afternoon games and races, highlighted by a home jv boys soccer game (2-2 tie with Vermont Academy), varsity soccer’s senior game (a tough 0-3 loss to Dexter-Southfield School), and an unbelievable shutout of previously undefeated St. Paul’s School by varsity football (15-0).
The highlight of the afternoon, however, had nothing to do with wins or losses, but everything to do with character. At the Northern New England Mountain Biking Championships held at Kennett High School, two stories emerged of Proctor’s riders showing their true colors. In the start of one of the boys races, a rider fell right in front of Tao Ryder ‘25. Instead of working his way around the fallen rider, Teo jumped off his bike and stood in front of other rider to ensure no one would hit him, giving up more than 30 places and his own potential for a top finish in the process. Meanwhile, in the girls race, a competitor crashed badly in front of Whitney Hollenbeck ‘24 when she jumped off her bike and immediately helped to console the other girl (who wound up suffering a broken leg). Whitney had been a top finisher for the team all season, but understood at that moment her job was not to win the race, but to help someone in need. As head coach Josh Norris shared the two stories in assembly, it was clear just how proud he was of his team and the young people who are a part of this community.
Later Saturday night, our annual Halloween Dance had the Wise Center rocking. A huge thank you to the Proctor Academy Parent Association for decorating and providing food, and to Ebby Gerry ‘09 for DJing the event.
The rest of the weekend was filled with activities, trips off campus, pumpkin carving, and rest. As we launch another week of classes and anticipate the busyness that accompanies the end of the term, we are reminded that the best of who we are shines most brightly in these moments. Thank you to everyone who made this past weekend one of the best we can remember in recent years!
