The past few days have felt more like mid-January than mid-March. Bitterly cold north winds test the strength of the flags flown outside Maxwell Savage Hall as we continue to dig out from the foot and a half of snow dropped by Winter Storm Stella throughout the day Tuesday. With campus void of students during Spring Break, we have time to reflect on the energy our students provide us and their role in our collective work as a school.
Head of School Mike Henriques shared a few words at the start of Monday’s assembly about the richness of the past weekend as he went from one event on campus to another. Student performances have been on display (in athletics, arts, and academics) over the past two weeks, with the center of attention at the Wilkins Meeting House and a celebration of the arts at Proctor!
The warmth of the last couple of days, the cascade of snow melt off roofs, the pooling of puddles, the coils of mud from boots and tires speak to the change. Jackets are left behind; t-shirts are worn at the ski hill. It feels like a warm April stretch, not the third week in February. This weather change has resulted in the collection tank being muscled out of the barn and into the bed of the woods truck on Thursday. It has pushed Dave Pilla to start hooking up the collecting lines, hanging buckets, tapping trees. The sugar season is here.
Proctor's Arts Department presents The Foreigner written by American playwright, Larry Shue, and directed by Jen Summers as its winter production. The hilarious story lines follow equally powerful themes of racism, identity, and injustice as two British visitors spend time at a rural Georgia fishing lodge. Kudos to Proctor's cast and crew for putting on a tremendous show, and for fully embracing the depth of the content within the production. Enjoy this review of the play and be sure to reserve your tickets for this weekend's performances (see link at the bottom of this post)!
The longest and often most challenging of our three trimesters is nearing its completion with just four class days remaining before final exams and the reward of a two week Spring Break. Not only does our latitude limit our daylight during the winter months, but a shift in academic schedule to accommodate the 50% of students participating in snow sports creates inconsistencies in the academic week that unintentionally silos our community when we need each other most.
The past 72 hours have been among the busiest of the year! Proctor's Board of Trustees gathered on campus for their February Board Meeting, we welcomed alumni back for our annual Alumni Hockey Game, hosted a record-setting American Cancer Society Fundraiser in the Teddy Maloney '88 Hockey Rink, celebrated skiing at Proctor with the 10th Annual Proctor Ski Area Event, hosted back to back ski races, and hunkered down as Winter Storm Orson hammered campus all day Sunday. Today, we (thankfully) are able to downshift and enjoy Head's Day! Check out a recap of the weekend in images below!
Ten Proctor students will have their artwork on display at the AVA Gallery’s 9th Annual Best of the Upper Valley High School Exhibition from February 17 - March 10. For the third consecutive year, Proctor's art students submitted a wide array of pieces, from all visual and industrial arts disciplines, to the exhibit. An opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on Friday, February 17 for all exhibiting artists from the 18 high schools represented. We encourage anyone in the area to attend this opening reception as well. To learn more about the exhibit, visit the AVA Gallery site.
