Irrational fears are often rooted in an experience, a moment in time when our innocence is lost or our perspective shifts drastically. I’m terrified of sailing. It is an irrational fear born of a family sail aboard our 17 foot day sailer as a young child. I don’t remember the specifics, but simply recall the sensation of lost control, of tipping on edge, of feeling helpless. For years after my father worked to help me overcome this fear, attempting to teach me how to sail, how to manage gusts of wind, explaining ad nauseam there is always an escape plan in an emergency as long as you are prepared for it.

This winter, our Sophomore Seminar classes explored ways to stay healthy in the midst of what can be a long, tiresome trimester. Classes discussed substance use and abuse, relationships, stress management, communicable disease, birth control, being a good person, and how to take care of ourselves to the best of our ability. As the term wound down, students shared personal wellness goals for the rest of the year. As we enter Spring Break, we should all take some advice from these incredibly wise, self-aware tenth graders. Thank you to Terry Stoecker for prompting this post and sharing the student goals below!

Every year at Proctor is wholly new, yet remarkably familiar. The faces of students change over time, both as they mature and as the natural turnover of the student body every four years introduces new, eager minds ready to embark on their Proctor experience. While Proctor is not a school steeped in tradition, there are some rituals that occur each year at the same time, including the annual ninth grade hike to the Proctor Cabin.

I visited six freshman seminar classes in Shirley Hall this week, enjoying the chance to get a read on who will help us build and sustain the Proctor community over the next four years. The intent of this one term program is to help ground these incoming students, answer questions for them, and help them center down for the next four years.

August is upon us and that means the start of the school year is just around the corner! For boarding school students, normal start of year jitters are sometimes amplified by the unknown of living with a roommate for the first time. As we prepare to welcome 125 new students to campus, the vast majority of whom will be boarding students, we asked a few of our dorm leaders their thoughts on sharing their space with their roommate and the lessons they’ve learned from living away from home at boarding school.  

Incoming students will soon receive their dorm assignments and roommate pairings for the 2018-2019 school year. As we begin to gear up for the year ahead, we feature this week's faculty/staff profile on Kyle Tremblay is a Learning Specialist and also serves as Residential Life Coordinator for Proctor's Student Life Team. Her work organizing Dorm Leader program, Big Sister and Big Brother programs, and roommate mediation has been invaluable as Proctor continues to strengthen its residential life program. Read about her Proctor experience below!

Today’s Ninth Grade Hike to the Proctor Cabin is a moment early in the school year where we take ownership of our school culture and teach our students what is most important to us: trusting relationships, connection to the wilderness, exercise, community and the ability to talk candidly with those around you. This tradition of hiking to the Proctor Cabin as a class began in 2011, and has quickly grown into a fun, culture shaping opportunity for our youngest, most energetic, inquisitive students.

Coaching, teaching, advising, and working with adolescents energizes each of us. It's why we decided to work at Proctor and to choose education as a career path. But, as any educator will tell you, sometimes the rhythm of the school year becomes a bit too familiar and routine starts to squeeze out joy. Saturday’s Special Olympics Fun Day was just what we all needed on a foggy Saturday morning in early October.