This weekend we celebrated Proctor Academy's 169th Commencement alongside the Class of 2017 and their families. Each of the 109 members of the Class of 2017 impacted the Proctor community in a unique way. It is impossible to quantify the impact a class has on a school community, but what we do know is we are going to miss the Class of 2017 dearly! Thankfully, we were able to recognize the diverse talents and tremendous contributions of this graduating class throughout Friday's Senior Dinner and Saturday's Commencement exercises. Check out some highlights of the weekend below. 

Proctor’s annual Senior Project Exhibition and Express Fest marks the end of our seniors’ high school academic responsibilities, while providing a perfect experiential bookend to the journey that began on Wilderness Orientation four years ago. Express Fest and the presentation of Senior Art Awards also affords the community one more opportunity to appreciate the incredible talent among the 109 members of the Class of 2017.

Every weekend at boarding school is packed with classes, games, and activities, but few are as exciting as the past 48 hours have been at Proctor! Throughout alumni basketball, tennis, softball, and lacrosse games, the producition of the Spring Musical, the display of student work at the Spring Art Shows, the 5th Annual On Your Mark 5K race, and Spring Fling, we were reminded how much fun it is to be a part of the Proctor community. Enjoy this brief recap of the weekend through photos. 

Midterms are complete and we enter Spring Family Weekend with the anticipation that the end of the school year is within site. As our families prepare to travel to campus to sit in on classes, assembly and engage in parent/teacher conferences, we offer a comprehensive guide to ensure everyone gets the most out of Spring Family Weekend 2017!

For many, the game is too slow. Pitchers amble around the mound, rub the ball, peer around the bases, shake off signs … and drive many sports fans to reach for the remote and another channel. In any given game, 90% of the players on either team might be idle and have nothing to do except find the Gatorade cooler or a packet of sunflower seeds. Outfielders can stand for inning after inning and never see a ball in their zip code. At its most blistering, baseball keeps pace with golf. Football, soccer, and lacrosse – those games move at broadband speeds compared to baseball’s dial-up pace. 

And yet, maybe baseball is the game we need more than ever.

While complaining there is “nothing to do on the weekends” seems to be a right of passage for every adolescent (enrolled at boarding school or otherwise), Proctor’s weekend activities council  does a masterful job planning Weekend Love each week. The breadth of on- and off-campus activities offered varies week to week, taking on the personality of the faculty assigned weekend team duties, and there is always something to do.

The month plays with us, teases us, and teaches us. On Thursday the outfield of the baseball field poked through the snow, brown patches with just a barest hint of green. It was reasonable to contemplate leaning against the white Carr Field fence to listen to the pop of the ball in gloves and the crack of the bat. A week of sun could have gotten us there, maybe ten days. But this morning there is a winter storm warning posted with snow tallies predicted to range from 12 to 20 inches. A quick scan of the Weather Channel calendar reveals more snow possible next week. The infield, the mound, and the outfield will be under snow for longer than expected. Lesson #1: Patience.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of the immensity of the decision our families make when they decide to invest in a Proctor education. Since Friday’s Admissions Revisit Day is the final step in the decision process for our accepted students and their families, we thought we would share three pieces of advice with our visitors.