During Monday’s assembly, five new members of the Class of 2023 were inducted into the Allan S. Bursaw Chapter of the National Honor Society. Recognized for their scholarship, character, service, and citizenship, these twelve students (Grace, Kally, Emma, Eliza, Ella, Grace, Sophie, Samantha, Ingrid, Phoenix, Henry, and Jonathan) include some of the highest academic achievers in the senior class, but perhaps more importantly represent the variety of experiences that makeup the Proctor journey. 

The volunteer work of Proctor’s Board of Trustees in support of the school’s mission is often behind the scenes, yet it has an incredible impact on the daily life of our students, faculty, and staff. 

When our schools are so deeply rooted in that which makes us, us, the mere prospect of change can be a scary endeavor. In order to seek a vision for our future, we must honestly assess our present, acknowledging that which is core to our being and that which must evolve. This is the good, hard work we are doing right now as a community. 

As a school, we can become so focused on “doing” that we do not take the necessary time to listen to our parents, to our students, to our colleagues, and to those who share in this grand experiment in building an intentional community at Proctor.

We are just over a month removed from the end of the school year. A summer routine has settled on campus as Gordon Research Conferences arrive each Sunday afternoon to share their research over the course of the week. Those of us who remain working throughout the summer are busy with projects and planning for the upcoming school year, but it is a simpler existence. We are attempting to do less each day, and in that simplicity we find creativity as we downshift and decelerate out of life’s fast lane. 

When I first moved to Proctor and to Andover, the question I most often received from folks was, “Are you excited?” Pausing, I would drink the question in for a while, just to get my bearings each time and to see if anything had changed for me. Each time, after carefully thinking it through, I would say, “Not really.” Or, I’d say, “Excitement is not really the word.” Or, finally, “It just feels ‘right.’” I was not trying to be cagey or obtuse, but I was simply trying to honor the question and the questioner. I am also a stickler for precision. To be more precise takes careful and nuanced answers.