Recognizing the power of art on a community’s understanding of itself and its members, Proctor Academy’s Visual Arts Department, under the leadership of Interim Chair and Art Curator Molly Leith, continues to curate exhibits on campus of local artists. Read more about the latest exhibits on display on Proctor’s campus.
Last week’s Holderness Weekend had all of us reflecting on the trimester that has now come to a close. Last week, not only did our students compete at the highest levels on and off the field of play, but they were nice people who had fun being with each other. In fact, I don’t ever remember working at a school in my long history of being in schools and visiting other schools where the students cared so deeply about supporting each other and honoring the games and activities in which they participated.
The last week of Fall Euro 2022 was a whirlwind of finishing up our books, plein air painting, and working on our carnets (sketch/travel journals). We went to our final French, art history, and literature classes on Monday and used the rest of the day to walk around Aix for the last time. On Tuesday we went to Dave's friend, Danielle’s vineyard. We had meant to do our last plein air painting there, but decided to work in our carnets instead.
At high schools across the country, the final games of the fall athletic season often occur between the fiercest of rivals. Many of these rivalries date back well over a hundred years, evolving over time, but always keeping at the core a mutual respect and healthy competitiveness with the other school. Such is the Proctor // Holderness rivalry.
What happens along a student's journey when they are discovering different aspects of their personality? This is one of the questions that surfaces in Proctor’s newest production of “Almost, Maine” directed by Charley Stern ‘08. In fact, Charley’s return to Proctor is also a journey of self-discovery that closely mirrors that of many of the characters in the play he directs. I would also surmise that our current students are inspired by the life lessons of their director as they zero in on creating characters in “Almost, Maine,” a play that depicts a place that is not quite a real place but an “almost” place in Maine.
This past week, we went on an incredible voyage to Valencia, Spain. The five days we spent there were filled with traditional Spanish food, Flamenco, so much historically significant art, gelato, group dinners, sketching in our carnets, the beach, card games, milkshakes, walking, bus rides, an aquarium, and lots of educational opportunities.
II’s the night before we embark on our 2nd journey of the term, to Valencia, and I want to recap on the past week. Being here for the past month has been a dream, the art, the culture, and the food is all incredible.
Onto the fourth week, the term's halfway point. It was also the first week which the group spent in Aix after a weeklong excursion spent in Amsterdam. Personally, I was not sure how we were going to continue to have fun in Aix after returning, but this past week was more than fun.
