Each time campus empties for a vacation, we are reminded that our students’ presence in our lives fuels our work as educators. This place is just not the same without their energy and enthusiasm pulsing through the community. We are teachers and coaches and advisors and dorm parents only because they are our students, players, advisees, and dorm residents. We are because they are.
Campus is quiet, for the moment. No bikes or skateboards zooming down pathways. No laughter or chatter as students pass between classes. No rushing off to our next meeting, assembly, or practice. Faculty have plenty of grading to do as we wrap up Fall Term assessments, but we take a collective deep breath this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends.
For a teenager, especially one who is living away from home at boarding school, a smile, food, and hug are the simplest, most profound acts of love one can receive. Edna Peters, GP ‘11, ‘14 made sure that each Proctor student who walked into the dining hall experienced all three forms of love each day for more than 40 years. Today, we celebrate her life and her profound impact on the Proctor community.
Last week’s Holderness Weekend had all of us reflecting on the trimester that has now come to a close. Last week, not only did our students compete at the highest levels on and off the field of play, but they were nice people who had fun being with each other. In fact, I don’t ever remember working at a school in my long history of being in schools and visiting other schools where the students cared so deeply about supporting each other and honoring the games and activities in which they participated.
During a term abroad, Proctor en Segovia students build knowledge and connections as they work towards mastery in their history, Spanish, and English classes. They are also continuously learning about Spain and Spanish culture simply by living with a host family for two months and tapping into their curiosity and powers of observation when traveling throughout the country. Enjoy this selection of journal entries from Fall 2022 Proctor en Segovia students as they reflect on important moments and places on their Proctor en Segovia journey.
The last week of Fall Euro 2022 was a whirlwind of finishing up our books, plein air painting, and working on our carnets (sketch/travel journals). We went to our final French, art history, and literature classes on Monday and used the rest of the day to walk around Aix for the last time. On Tuesday we went to Dave's friend, Danielle’s vineyard. We had meant to do our last plein air painting there, but decided to work in our carnets instead.
The fall athletic season at Proctor has been filled with moments of elation and heartbreak, celebration and mourning, the shattering of expectations and feeling that we fell just short. We compete because of the lessons athletics can teach us; lessons of teamwork, collaboration, and selflessness. We compete because it allows us to measure ourselves and our abilities against like-minded competition. We compete because it pushes us to find and explore the best of ourselves, and that is just what our teams did this fall.
Our Instagram feed has been dominated by athletics photos and videos from Holderness Day, however, so much more has been happening over the past few days on campus. A celebration of the arts at Proctor with the Fall Term Art Show and Jazz/Rock and Band Recording Concert kicked off Holderness Weekend and tonight’s Innovation Night put culminating academic experiences on display for the community.
Nearly every School Leader candidate over the past decade has rooted their platform in a promise to bring more “school spirit” to Proctor. This year’s leaders, Grace ‘23 and Maks '23, have done their part to help build school spirit this fall, and their energy has been infectious within the community. The spirit they have helped build within the school was on full display this past weekend.
After ten weeks of practicing, training, working, and playing, the Fall Athletics season has come to an end for most of Proctor’s teams. For the varsity girls soccer and varsity football teams, their season continues with an appearance in the NEPSAC Tournament.
When Kate Kozain ‘12 walked across the stage at Proctor’s Commencement ceremony, she did not plan to join the armed forces. Her goal was simple: to pursue an education and career where she could help others and make an impact. As a recently appointed Tillman Scholar at the University of North Carolina School of Law the impact she is having is immense. She is currently pursuing her Juris Doctor and intends to practice law as a criminal prosecutor when she graduates.
At high schools across the country, the final games of the fall athletic season often occur between the fiercest of rivals. Many of these rivalries date back well over a hundred years, evolving over time, but always keeping at the core a mutual respect and healthy competitiveness with the other school. Such is the Proctor // Holderness rivalry.
New students arrived on September 6 for Wilderness Orientation, their faces filled with uncertainty. How would they fit in socially? Academically? Athletically? Artistically? How would they find their friend group, who would sit with them at meals? Today, during a packed Brown Dining Commons lunch, we look around and see connected faces, smiles, seemingly endless Spirit Week energy. We see young people who are finding their way through their high school experience, with the support of an amazing, tireless group of adults who keep this community running.
Since the 1940s and 1950s when all students were required to ski during the winter months, Proctor Academy’s identity has been rooted in snow sports. Today, the school is proud to announce that U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named Proctor Academy a Gold-certified club, the highest honor granted by U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
Over the past two weeks, Proctor’s Ocean Classroom students have experienced life on the open waters. As they entered the Gulf Stream and sailed south, we caught up with the student crew through daily journal entries and photos. Read more from the past two weeks on Harvey Gamage below!
What happens along a student's journey when they are discovering different aspects of their personality? This is one of the questions that surfaces in Proctor’s newest production of “Almost, Maine” directed by Charley Stern ‘08. In fact, Charley’s return to Proctor is also a journey of self-discovery that closely mirrors that of many of the characters in the play he directs. I would also surmise that our current students are inspired by the life lessons of their director as they zero in on creating characters in “Almost, Maine,” a play that depicts a place that is not quite a real place but an “almost” place in Maine.
Often, outside observers assess value to our athletics seasons based on our win/loss record or standings at the league championships, but for Proctor’s Mountain Biking team, it was both their final results and the bold, remarkable actions of sportsmanships that helped define their success at Saturday’s Northern New England Mountain Biking League Championships held at Kennett High School.
This past week, we went on an incredible voyage to Valencia, Spain. The five days we spent there were filled with traditional Spanish food, Flamenco, so much historically significant art, gelato, group dinners, sketching in our carnets, the beach, card games, milkshakes, walking, bus rides, an aquarium, and lots of educational opportunities.
