The New Hampshire Primary is finally here! It is a day to celebrate for many reasons, not the least of which being our phones will stop ringing at all hours from pollers looking to get predictive data on the election. It is incredibly exciting to live in New Hampshire as the first Presidential primary votes in the country are cast. Of course, the Proctor community is taking full advantage of the learning opportunities that accompany the Presendital primary process.
There are few people who have been a bigger cheerleader for Proctor Academy over the past sixty years than Artie Pratt '56, former captain of the Proctor football team. Not only has Artie hosted Proctor events at his home in Naples, Florida, championing all that is Proctor to anyone who will listen, but he has also shaped student lives on campus through his steadfast commitment to Proctor Athletics, and especially the Proctor Football program.
Last week, we published a post on the need to practice social courage in our day-to-day lives. As we unpack this complicated concept of social courage, the notion of helping establish boundaries for our students becomes increasingly important. Students may dislike the boundaries adults impose in their lives, but deep down inside, they know they need them. Our role as educators and parents is to help them understand why.
When we pause and look at our lives, it is fascinating to see how various events unknowingly prepared us for where we are today. As Annie Waterman ‘00 embarks on a new venture AOW Handmade, an international consultancy connecting artisans and buyers around the globe, she sees how each step in her journey prepared her for this new adventure.
Proctor’s long-winter weekend, or Bonus Weekend, has arrived. It marks the midway point between Winter Break and Spring Break, and provides a much needed respite for all in the community. While we’ve enjoyed one of the nicest weeks of January weather any of us can remember, the winter remains a long, exhausting term. Despite these challenges, our goal is to embrace all the Winter Term has to offer, rather than feel like we are just ‘getting through it’. In order to ensure this mindset lasts, we need occasional encouragement.
Usually the most valuable conversations are the most difficult ones. When Cindy Pierce visited Proctor Academy’s campus Tuesday, an anticipation of discomfort and curiosity preceded her separate conversations with students and faculty, which meant we knew this meant it would be time well spent! As Pierce noted at the beginning of her conversation, “In order to get to the other side of awkward, you have to wade through awkward soup.”
Proctor’s experiential roots run deep. While many of our alumni stories focus on the current careers of alumni within the past thirty years, recently, Dick Day, Jr. ‘42 responded to an alumni newsletter with his story. It is not often we are able to share a student’s journey through Proctor from this era, so we jumped on the opportunity.
Each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Proctor foregoes a regular class schedule, instead celebrating the work of Dr. King and applying lessons learned from his teachings to our community. Monday’s programming was led by the D.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.Y committee, and proved to be a powerful experience as we reflected on the relationship between privilege and injustice in our society.
