Proctor’s faculty recognizes there is a considerable benefit to sustained learning when students remain engaged in academic pursuits during the summer months. Understanding our students also need down time, summer jobs, time with family, and plenty of time to adventure, we limit summer academic expectations to three components each year: summer literacy, summer math review, and AP course/off-campus program specific reading requirements.
It’s been just over two weeks since we celebrated the Class of 2021. We each have taken a deep breath, spent plenty of time at Elbow Pond floating under the watchful eye of Ragged Mountain alongside friends and reflecting on the school year. We’ve written much about Covid-19 and the impact on Proctor, the resiliency and grit and perseverance that were required of students and adults alike, but maybe our success was more about human connection and collaboration than we thought.
Temperatures on campus over the last three days hit 90 degrees with a humidity percentage matching that of a tropical rainforest. The thought of skiing or spending time on snow was about as far from our minds as possible. But that was not the case for the 18 USSA/FIS athletes and four coaches spending ten days training on Mount Hood in Oregon right now.
During a normal year, Proctor's campus would be buzzing with activity as we prepared to welcome hundreds of alumni to campus for our annual Alumni Reunion. For the second straight year, however, we have had to offer a virtual reunion due to Covid-19 and limitations on campus gatherings. Proctor's Alumni Office continues their series of virtual events this weekend with Proctor Reunion 2021!
As new parents, we wonder how we will make room in your heart to love our child more than we already love those in our family. We are told our capacity to love will grow, but we simply cannot fathom the miracle that is about to take place until we experience it.
The final days of the Spring Term consistently showcase the best of Proctor in action: creativity, art, music, pursuit of individual passions, and an appreciation for the work of others. Wednesday afternoon brought the entire community together one last time for Proctor’s Art Department Express Fest, Senior Project presentations, and AP Language Moth talks. It was a jam-packed day reminding us of just how fun it is to see our students’ learning in action.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” A refrain we hear over and over again in the business world, and one that always resonates with us at Proctor. Independent schools can develop strategic plans, hire consultants to help formulate branding strategies, and spend countless hours whiteboarding the future direction of the organization, but when a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship lives deep within the school, effective strategy will evolve organically and continue to drive the school forward.
Athletic seasons do not just happen, especially during Covid-19. Athletes and coaches do not simply show up and perform on game days, but instead spend countless hours watching film, working on strength in the fitness center, and refining both tactical and technical skills during practice. Teams navigate adversity, quarantines, injuries, and unexpected challenges. They fall short of goals one day and exceed them the next, and it is this built in uncertainty and the lessons therein that remind us the educational value of sport.
