The Buzz

As we head into Thanksgiving Break, we are sharing a few thoughts on what we’re thankful for here at Proctor. We encourage you to extend your gratitude to the members of the community who positively impact your life as well! 

If you drive by campus around 3:00 am, lights will be on throughout academic buildings. Most of us don’t drive by at 3:00 am, so we do not notice the work being done by our Housekeeping team each night/early morning in preparation for the day ahead. Today, we extend our gratitude to the dedicated group of women whose hard work for Proctor’s Housekeeping Department is so very much appreciated.

Over the next five days heading into Thanksgiving Break, we will be sharing a few thoughts on what we’re thankful for here at Proctor. We encourage you to extend your gratitude to the members of the community who positively impact your life as well! 

When Cope ‘17, Jay ‘17, Carl ‘17, and Cros ‘17 began singing “A Prayer for the Children” during Sunday afternoon’s vocal music ensemble recital, it felt as though someone pressed the pause button on life. Their impassioned voices carried the words off the page and into the hearts of the seventy-five parents and community members in attendance. “Can you feel the hearts of the children? / Aching for home, for something of their very own / Reaching hands, with nothing to hold on to, / But hope for a better day a better day.”

For the past ten weeks, Proctor's athletes and coaches have invested blood, sweat, and tears into their respective sports and afternoon activities. As with every season, the Fall Term was filled with ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, but through every experience is an undercurrent of commitment and learning. On Thursday evening and in assembly on Friday, the community recognized those teams and athletes whose commitment, ability, and leadership were essential to a successful season. While we highlight individual award winners in this post, each member of each afternoon activity should be proud of his or her effort this fall. Congratulations to everyone! 

This has been emotional. Tuesday night I was walking past Carriage House and saw the blue lights of television. In one common room a hockey game was being watched; in the other, the CNN election team was parsing results. I thought interest in the election might track that way – spotty and easily distracted and redirected by a good Bruins game. I was wrong.

 

U.S. families meet Segovia host families during Proctor en Segovia's "family weekend"!

I remember standing there and being shocked. I felt like it was almost a complete coincidence. Here I was in Segovia, Spain, and, all of a sudden, I realized that my two worlds had just clashed. I have become very used to my Spanish family, feel comfortable with them and feel that I am at home with them, and, of course, I feel comfortable with my own parents, who I have been with for all of my life. Now they have come together in a moment that I will never forget. I remember seeing the excited look on my host parents’ faces. After all this time where this boy has been living with them, it was not until now that they have discovered a huge part of my life.

On Tuesday evening, five classes joined together to host Proctor’s annual Fall Innovation Night in the Wise Center while a bitter national election took place outside the Proctor bubble. Students from Engineering, Environmental Biology, AP Environmental Studies, US History, and Social Entrepreneurship showcased their final projects to the whole community through an open house atmosphere followed by individual presentations for each group throughout Maxwell Savage Hall. Innovative learning and student-led projects have long been core to Proctor’s academic curriculum, and Innovation Night allows much of that work to be shared with the entire community.