The Buzz

The past two decades have spoiled us as New England fans. Think about it; five Super Bowl wins for the Patriots since 2002. World Series Championships in 2004, 2007, 2013 for the Red Sox. The Bruins (2011) and Celts (2008) have done their share of winning as well. Much of the country (let’s be honest...everyone outside of New England) thinks we New Englanders take this success for granted and are pompous, spoiled fans who do not fully appreciate each championship run. To this, we scoff and look to the finer points of a championship run that keep us just as excited this year as we were in 2002; the personal storylines within the story that connect us on a personal level to “our” team’s success. This year, one of those storylines involves our very own Anna Zerilli ‘19.

Proctor's Mountain Classroom group visited the Tohono O’dham Reservation in Arizona and completed three and a half day solos in the Arizona dessert over the past week. Check out reflections from Luke '18, Augie '19, and Julian '19 in the blog post below. The group apologizes for fewer photos and videos this week (broken camera/phone), but promises more to come next week. Enjoy! 

Whenever we look at our school calendar in August, we see Bonus Weekend just three and a half weeks into the new year, and often scoff at the notion we would need a respite that soon after Winter Break. And then the realities of January hit us, and we always enter this weekend incredibly thankful for a few days off. The challenge this time of year is to step back, in the midst of our busy schedules, and appreciate the incredible amount of hard work that goes into daily life at Proctor. We must pause and allow ourselves to recharge.

Proctor's ski jumping program is as storied as any high school jumping program in the country. Built through the hard work of former faculty member Tim Norris over the past fifty years, the jumping program is now under the guidance of Chris Jones '04, one of Tim's former jumpers. At their first home meet of the 2018 season, first year jumpers Ezra Taylor '21 and Peter Koumrian '20 put forth a great effort, including a first place finish by Ezra! Read more about the ski jumping program's rejuvenation from the coach's perspective in this week's team spotlight.

Every day, Proctor students are called to indulge in their curiosities, challenge themselves, and try something new. This same ‘trying something new’ mantra has guided the World Languages Department over the past few years as instructors have been experimenting with different pedagogical approaches to classroom structure. As Ross, Ale, Erik, Jon and Scott discover creative ways to teach timeless lessons, we are reminded that a culture of learning is hinged on educational exploration for all community members, where individuals evolve with each passing season.

As we close our second week on Euro, I can’t help but start to get accustomed to life here. Which, in my opinion, is a crazy thought. I’ve seen the breathtaking view of Mt St Victoire from my window every morning when I wake up, and I’ve now begun to expect it.

We landed in Madrid after roughly nine hours of traveling. We were jet lagged and tired, but the excitement of beginning this next chapter of our lives kept our spirits and energy up. After nearly getting lost on our connecting flight in Ireland and and a very uncomfortable and turbulent ride to Madrid, we were ready for our adventure to begin. We met Ryan and Mikaela outside baggage claim, where we hopped on a bus and were on our way to Segovia.

There are the upsides. We couldn’t do half of what we do today without technology. It’s made us smarter, more collaborative, and the benefits are clear even if it’s just writing an essay on Google docs or incorporating video into a bio lab report, or skittering through an Excel spreadsheet. But it’s also arriving with unprecedented force, delivered at ever higher pressurized streams. It’s like fracking, that practice of drilling into shale deposits and injecting super compressed fluids - “slick water” with “proppants” - to drive out oil or natural gas trapped in the rock. With technology fracking, the aps, news, entertainment, and social media injected into the bedrock of communities is consequential. It raises the question: what’s being damaged?