Today, we welcome 114 new students and their families to campus for Registration Day. As expected, the emotions of our families checked every box possible, bouncing between nervousness and excitement, sadness and joy, fear and trust. Both parents and students tried to make sense of this new range of feelings swirling around their minds and hearts. Drop-off day at boarding school is not easy, no matter how perfect the weather or welcoming the community.
The moment when families give their child a final hug and watch them walk into the Teddy Maloney ‘88 Rink with their Wilderness Orientation pack on their back is powerful. It represents the start of a partnership rooted in trust; a partnership that asks both our families and our faculty to embark on a journey with a shared goal: helping our students grow into kind, caring, curious, compassionate humans who will make this world a better place.
From the earliest moments of parenthood, we learn that life will be filled with contradictions of emotion. We simultaneously want our kids to stay little, and yet we want them to have the confidence to step into new experiences and see the world. We want them to gain confidence and yet protect them from failure. We want to keep them safe and yet take healthy risks. These competing emotions weave themselves together into an indescribable sort of love that helps families find a place like Proctor; a place where young people can spread their wings and find themselves, even though letting go is so, so hard for families.
Proctor’s gift to each family is that our educational model provides students the time, space, and skills necessary to figure out who they are; not who we want them to be, or who their families want them to be. It is a gift that not all schools are willing to give, and likewise, it is a gift that not all families are willing to give to their students. We are incredibly grateful that Proctor parents see the bigger picture and are willing to partner with our faculty to create an environment where our kids are challenged, struggle, overcome, and thrive.
As educators (and many of us parents ourselves), today’s goodbyes are a reminder that “the letting go” is even more important than “the holding tight”. Our students are capable of so much more than we think they are. They are ready. Our job right now is to let them walk with their own confidence into that which awaits them while we stand beaming with pride in who they have become, encouraging them to step boldly into this next chapter of their lives, knowing that their path through Proctor will prepare them to launch into the world unlike any other high school could. What a gift it is to have this group of new students and families join our community. It’s going to be a wild, amazing ride, starting with Wilderness Orientation Monday morning!
Check out more photos from the Start of Year Events on Flickr!
- Admissions
- Community and Relationships
- Parents
- Wilderness Orientation