The varied nature of our life at boarding school keeps us energized unlike any other profession. We look forward to each day, largely, because we only have a rough idea of what it will hold. The variety, relationships, and a shared responsibility to make this school the best place it can be sit at the core of what we do, and how we do that work varies with each sunrise. Our students feel the same way. The busyness makes us complete. Let us walk you through today’s schedule to see the fullness of life at Proctor.
Faculty kick off each Wednesday with either an all-faculty meeting or department meeting before jumping into their 8:40 AM first block class. Today, academic departments met from 7:45-8:30 to discuss curriculum, the first two weeks of their classes, and how to continue to support each other and get better at their craft.
From Department Meetings, teachers head to classrooms to kick off the academic day. Students study wildlife ecology in the woodlands, botany in the green house, and humanities in the Farrell Field House classrooms. They create in Slocomb Hal, the wood shop, machine shop, and forge, spend time with Learning Specialists in Learning Skills, sample water in the pond for biology class, and immerse themselves in world languages in upper Maxwell Savage. We have an academic schedule that provides a framework to our academic day, but the actual experience varies tremendously.
While we do not gather for assembly or advisory on Wednesdays, they are perhaps the most full days of our week as an abridged academic schedule (three class blocks instead of five) affords the opportunities for our athletic teams to compete against other independent schools in the region, and for our other afternoon programs to have an extended period of time for rehearsal, splitting wood, or traveling to a local river to kayak.
Today, campus was a hub of activity as our mountain biking team hosted the first Northern New England Mountain Biking Series race at the Proctor Ski Area. With over 300 riders from more than 20 schools in attendance, coaches Josh Norris, Chris Farrell, Chris Grotnes, Jen Summers, and Justin Sperry deserve a huge round of applause for pulling off two separate starts and an amazing day of riding on Proctor’s trails!
On the other side of the Blackwater River, Farrell Field hosted varsity and jv field hockey games against Kimball Union Academy and a varsity boys soccer game against visiting Lawrence Academy. Girls varsity soccer, boys jv2 soccer, and girls jv soccer were all on the road, while kayaking hit the local rivers (which are running exceptionally high this fall due to record rainfall), and our theater group had a nice long rehearsal in the Wilkins Meeting House.
Teams trickled back to campus from away games as the community gathered for dinner in the Brown Dining Commons. Students chatted about their games, races, and rehearsals as they saw advisors and dorm parents, eagerly sharing their exploits on the field before heading to extra help sessions and evening study hall as they prepare for another day of non-stop action.
As our heads hit our pillows tonight, exhausted and content, we are reminded that these days may feel long, but this year will fly by. We have to embrace the busyness of each day, the feeling that we have puzzle pieces strewn about the table of our lives, because we know that without any one piece of the puzzle, our lives would be incomplete.
Check out more photos of daily life on campus on Flickr!
- Academics
- Athletics