The Buzz

As a Proctor student I have done a number of things in the community, some of which involved stepping out of my comfort zone. I have gone to Guatemala on a Summer Service trip, played varsity football, helped the varsity basketball win a championship in England, and spent a term abroad in Segovia, Spain. Traveling has always been easy for me, so they weren't necessarily risks, but going out on Wilderness Orientation was a huge step out of my comfort zone. As was running for school leader and putting myself out there last spring. However, I never thought I would participate in the musical. I have always attended previous productions, but never thought that I would one day be up on stage. That all changed this spring.

Proctor's Mountain Classroom program turned our focus to Colorado's grasslands as we drove to Chico Basin Ranch to study rotational grazing and ranch management. Our experience was facilitated by Lee Derr, a local bird banding expert and grassland ecologist. The next stop was St Francis, SD, on the Rosebud Reservation. There we spent time with the White Hat family, whose longstanding relationship with Proctor has been a fixture of Mountain Classroom for years.

This past week Scott King shared a recording of the vocal ensemble singing a medley of tunes, and the recording reminded me of two things: first, the range of talent in our community is impressive; secondly, that wonder is a local commodity sometimes inspired by small moments that can have disproportionate impact. An eight-minute recording can impact a day, a week, sometimes a month. It lingers. Echoes.

Coming off an impressive run to the an extra-inning defeat in the Lakes Region Championship last season, the Proctor Academy varsity softball team is back and ready to contend for another run deep into May. With a young roster and a new coach coming back to coach her alma mater, the Hornets have feared in the Lakes Region League due to their outstanding pitching, solid hitting, and great chemistry. After another dominating 15-0 win over Kimball Union Academy on Wednesday, the team sits at 7-1 and poised for a Lakes Region title run. 

The loud mechanical whirring of the splitter starting up is a nuisance to some but music to others, it is the tell-tale symphony of spring. The clunk of the log being put on the splitter, the hydraulics powering up, the first crack of wood against the wedge and then comes the complete split and the sputtering of the cylinder. Finally, the dropping of the log in the metal truck bed, which adds a hint of percussion to the melody.

Proctor is well known as one of the least formal of all the New England boarding schools. Students call faculty and staff by their first names (read Boomer's '17 post on this!), we do not have formal, sit down meals as a community, and daily dress code is relatively relaxed (neat and clean makes the cut). While there are numerous benefits to this informality (not the least of which is happy and comfortable students and faculty), sometimes it’s nice to get dressed up, and Spring Formal provides just the opportunity!

Proctor math teachers, Kristen Martin and Chris Farrell, joined Mountain Classroom in Salida, CO for a weekend of hiking, soaking in hot springs, seeing downtown, and mountain biking. From Salida we drove southeast to the beautiful Beulah Valley where we were hosted by Linda and David Overlin. The Overlins have a wealth of knowledge on ranching and the surrounding grasslands and are skilled craftspeople. They welcomed us to camp in their backyard while guiding us through projects in their wood and metal shop.

I used to walk down the halls of my large public high school and hide.  I was terrified of having a discussion with a teacher or administrator.  I had always been a fairly shy person, but school had exacerbated this trait to a new level.  As I got older, it began to influence my performance in school.  I did not allow myself to have conversations about assignments, or ask questions about material covered in class.