The Buzz

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of working at a boarding school are those moments throughout the course of the year when you are able to experience tangible moments of transformation. Spring Family Weekend is one of those moments (as are Fall Family Weekend, Commencement, and Reunion Weekend). Our family comes together and we are reminded of the hard, very real, work we all are doing alongside our families to help our students navigate adolecence. 

During today’s assembly, nine School Leader candidates shared brief speeches on Proctor’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion. Over the past week, this group of rising seniors has stepped out on a limb to be considered for School Leader by their peers and by faculty. They have taken part in two student panel conversations and have risked failure in a very public manner. Today, we take a closer look at what one of our core values: compassion.

Mountain Classroom has been on the road for three weeks. Most recently our adventures have found us traveling through remote parts of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Our limited access to the internet means we are delayed in sharing stories from this part of our adventure with you, so thanks for your patience!  Below, we share thoughts on our rock climbing experience in Cochise Stronghold after getting acquainted outside of Tucson. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs on Grand Canyon backpacking and their hunter/gatherer experience near Boulder, Utah! 

Too often we take for granted the food that enters our bodies. We wake up, grab something for breakfast and off we go into the busyness of our day. Living at a New England boarding school, our connection to the food we eat becomes even more distant as we are fortunate to have talented dining service teams provide three warm meals a day to us. Thankfully, Proctor's Dining Services team's creativity in the kitchen and passion for serving healthy, local food options regularly reminds us to be acutely aware of how we are fueling our bodies for learning.

I appreciate the seamless flow of a well-executed play, celebrate the flat-out effort of a starter playing an entire game, marvel at acrobatic dunks, but essentially know nothing about the game. I have seen the miracle shot launched from half court at Proctor– DJ Rankin’s buzzer beater earlier in the season. And grit? All I have to do is think back to the girls’ win at KUA during the madness of the March playoffs.

Just as Friday’s student panel during Revisit Day highlighted the impact of a Proctor education, today’s conversation between visiting families and current students reinforced how important it is to allow yourself to be curious. Nearly every student on the panel articulated how his or her experience at Proctor has been one of redefinition. But why is this? What environmental factors allow for this type of uncharacteristic vulnerability among adolescents at Proctor?