Proctor Academy is the recipient of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Safe Sports School award for its Athletic Training program. The award champions safety and recognizes secondary schools that have met the recommended standards to improve safety in sports. The award reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention, and treatment.
The magic at Proctor happens in a series of moments, one stacked upon another, building the momentum and excitement within the soul-filled community we get to experience each and every day. Walk with us through the Top 10 most read blog posts of 2022!
Why have we committed our lives to working at Proctor? Why have our parents chosen to entrust their children to us as educators? Why did our students fall in love with this school in the first place? The answers to each of these questions find common ground in the unique way Proctor seeks to fulfill its mission: through relationships with each other.
This past few months has had me reflecting on the past six months, particularly our good news and successes. That is what you might expect when you are at Proctor Academy where our hard work and effort does come with positive outcomes. Of course, we are not about just curating Instagram highlights. To be sure, our work comes with challenges, pitfalls, and even a few pratfalls. But in the main, we are a school that goes from strength to strength, incorporating feedback when we don’t succeed, so that we can get better at what we do, which fits our mission and our motto, “living to learn, learning to live”.
For those of us residing in the northern hemisphere, today marks the darkest day of the year. The sun rose today at 7:13 AM and will set at 4:12 PM, affording us less than 9 hours of daylight. December is a month of anticipation as we await the Winter Solstice and its paradox of light and darkness. Over the past month, the deep blue and purple of late-afternoons transition almost immediately to pitch black skies before dinner is even served.
Recognizing the power of art on a community’s understanding of itself and its members, Proctor Academy’s Visual Arts Department, under the leadership of Interim Chair and Art Curator Molly Leith, continues to curate exhibits on campus of local artists. Read more about the latest exhibits on display on Proctor’s campus.
As campus empties for Winter Break, our attention turns to Proctor’s hockey, basketball, and ski teams as they engage in holiday tournaments and winter training over the next two and a half weeks. Take a look at the full schedule of tournaments and race events below, and get out to support your Hornets!
For the 52nd year, Proctor's Mountain Classroom program immerses a group of ten students alongside two faculty members in the backcountry around the United States. The first three weeks of winter Mountain Classroom saw the group explore Florida before taking a two-week break and returning for the remainder of term in the American Southwest. Read reflections from Yamni '24 and Will '24 below!
If we are honest with ourselves, teenagers are equal parts frustrating and equal parts energizing. We have moments in our classes, with our teams, or in our advisories where our students make us laugh, inspire us to dig deeper, think more critically, and do our best work. And then we have moments where we want to pull our hair out and question our career choice.
Last week ten Proctor folks, four students and six faculty members, traveled to San Antonio, Texas for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Conferences – the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) and the People of Color Conference (POCC).
During November and early December, what old New Englanders refer to as “stick season”, the contrast between deciduous and coniferous trees on the mountain landscapes around Proctor is stark. On Proctor’s logo is an evergreen tree, outwardly representing Proctor’s deep commitment to the natural world and our belief that relationships, like the green branches that stand out during stick season, last through even the longest of winters.
As we approach the darkest days of the year, cold nights are countered by a stubborn midday sun that warms us while threatening to soften the frost hardened ground. The thin film of ice on the pond each morning reluctantly gives way as the sun comes up over Gannett House and the east end of campus.
An underlying theme of our work as teachers this year has been engagement. How can we best engage our students and engage ourselves in the Proctor community. This engagement comes in many forms - in classrooms, on teams, in dorms, and in advisories - but central to helping students feel connected and invested in community is our willingness as adults to meet our students where they are, understanding the stressors and motivators in their lives.
