After two years without league races, Proctor's cycling team is back in action this spring with a full race schedule, dedicated riders, and beautiful terrain to ride. Coaches Drew Donaldson, Derek Nussbaum Wagler, Kristen Farrell, and Allie Clarke '16 have inspired this year's team to not only push themselves on daily rides, but to work together during races to see the true collaborative nature of the sport.
Three times a year, Proctor’s Board of Trustees, a dedicated group of 30 volunteers who guide Proctor’s long-term vision and sustainability, meet to discuss budgets, learn about issues impacting the school, and plug into the Proctor community.
As the Spring Term winds to a close, Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program winds its way east through Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. At this point in the journey, students are running the majority of daily operations for the group. In the journal entries below, Gunnar '22 and Romy '23 reflect on how their group has evolved during their seven weeks together. During the final two and a half weeks of the program, the group will continue their journey east immersing themselves in place-based learning along the way.
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To break things up a bit, this is a group blog, and being visual artists, we'll let the images, and drawing, for the most part, speak for themselves. The vast majority of photos are taken by Thomas.
As we prepare to close out on the 2021-2022 school year, one thing stands out to me as I think about what makes Proctor uniquely Proctor. Of course, as mentioned in other pieces written across the Proctor Universe, the magic of connection and relationships drive everything that we do. Certainly, more so than any school where I have been or even schools that I have known from a distance. Affective connections and compassion matter.
The intersection of big, tough issues facing society, perfectionism projected into the lives of adolescents through social media and parental expectations, and a desire to support students through the COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment in our schools where we must delicately balance student well-being and expectations. How do we authentically manufacture adversity for young people who live in a world that seeks to shelter them from it?
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Proctor en Segovia students travel south today to begin their second week-long excursion of their term abroad. They traversed the meseta of Castilla La Mancha and the Sierra Morena mountain range before arriving in Córdoba in the region of Andalucía. There they will study Andalucian culture and history firsthand.
Before leaving Segovia, instead of a traditional written reflection, students recorded this seven-minute video reflection on student life outside of the classroom in Segovia and living with a Spanish host family. They also take us on a quick tour of the Plaza Mayor and the Proctor en Segovia academic center.
As snow melt fills local rivers each spring, Proctor's whitewater slalom kayaking team loads up the trailer, hops on the bus, and chases the rapids wherever the water is running. With good water levels throughout the region this year, coaches Corby Leith 92 and Gordon Bassett '96 lead their group of intrepid paddlers into the fray each afternoon.
