Hornet's Nest | April 8, 2022 | Vol. 7 | Issue 7 by Proctor Academy

Ingrid P. | Happiness Jackson D. | Maple Sugaring Mark R. | Eye of the Hurricane

Ada G. | Dynamiting the Ski Area

Remembering Dave Pilla: The Woodlands Building By Carrie Babson

It has been 43 years since Dave Pilla arrived and began contributing to the Proctor Community. After talking to faculty, I’ve learned about Dave’s remarkable kindness, passion and joy. Dave Pilla was a role model of these traits to his co-workers and students. As part of our daily check-in for Sally B study hall, Annie Mackenzie and I began talking about the construction of the new Woodlands building right outside our windows. Little did I know that the meaning of the building lay much deeper than new labs and classrooms, but the building is a tribute to Dave for his dedication and love of the woodlands that he shared with all that knew him. Dave was a hardworking and charismatic man. He worked in the science department, managed the woodlands, taught forestry and wildlife science classes, and also directed the woods team in the afternoons. He worked for 39 years at Proctor and the lessons he taught in and out of the classroom sound unforgettable. Now that the students he taught have all graduated, I wanted to inform current Proctor students and new faculty of Dave’s gifts to keep his legacy alive. Although I never knew Pilla (as many called him), I was moved by the conversations and responses I got from Annie Mackenzie, Alan McIntyre, and Karl Methven about Dave. Annie’s visible emotions when she mentioned his name made me interested in the story. Karl Methven, Dave Pilla’s best friend and former colleague shared some background on the Proctor Woodlands building. “I was part of the process to bring attention to this building project and raise money for it and I was at the ceremonial ‘groundbreaking’… In some ways the building is a way for people

to continue to process their sense of loss or to have a reminder of him. People may want to memorialize Pilla with the building as some type of monument.” Alan McIntyre, a science teacher who worked closely with Dave recalled, “Dave was warm, inviting and encouraging. Dave made you feel connected. What I remember most about him is that he really cared about developing true and honest connections or relationships. So walking and exploring woods and rivers, throwing a baseball or stacking wood with friends was much more valuable than exploring TikTok or any other digital artifice.” After Dave’s passing in 2018, people touched by him raised the funds for a building to keep his passion for science, outdoors and Proctor alive. Karl continued, “People feel his impact on them personally and on the community was substantial, and the building is a statement about that. People gave money to help do something to create an enduring memory of Dave.”

How Has Living in a Pandemic Changed You? By Lily Picotte

Who remembers the time when all we did was stare at our screens for six hours a day watching Zoom and not learning anything and then lying in bed? I sure do. The pandemic feels like a blur because life just stopped for a while. Surviving the pandemic has made me wonder how Covid has changed us.

Growing up throughout this pandemic has changed me in many ways, such as my ability to be more perceptive of other people’s feelings. From living life so freely to going into quarantine for months at a time, I learned how important it was to check in on people. Something I liked to do during quarantine was send people letters in the mail because I knew how happy it made me when I received letters. Like many of us, I also learned the value of face-to-face connections. Even if you aren’t in the same place as other people, I made sure I kept in touch with my closest friends - I should not take for granted the ability to be with the people I love.

at least one ‘trendy’ hobby during the pandemic with the three most common hobbies being at-home workouts (46 percent), baking sourdough bread or banana bread (27%), making whipped coffee (23%), and filming TikTok videos (21%).” Everyone around me was at least doing one of these activities during the pandemic. I spoke to Junior Ella Makechnie about her changes due to Covid and she explained, “I wouldn’t necessarily say the pandemic changed my personality, rather it helped me take a minute to step back and see what matters to me most and then invest more time into those areas. I realized how much I love change. I love the change of scenery, people, being sur-

rounded by different minds and ideas. When we were in lockdown there was not much physical change going on around, there was a lot of abstract change that was overwhelming. But I missed the inspiration I got from being in different environments. Now I seek out opportunities to try new things, meet new people, travel, and get the excitement and inspiration I had missed while in quarantine. I also learned ways to ground myself and enjoy the time of my own company.” I think so many people would agree with Ella has to say. It’ important to stay connected with the people you love and try and find joy in everything you do.

Why Project Period? By Reilly Desmond

Do you know any school where you can take class time to go dogsledding in Maine, make maple syrup on campus, or create a beautiful quilt? Proctor is unique in doing things that other schools can’t. Starr Fair is one of our Math teachers here at Proctor. She is also the Coordinator for project period, which means she is responsible for making sure all the faculty members and students are involved. Starr explained, “It allows faculty to share what they are passionate about with their students.”

Ella (Center)

The newssite PR Newswire surveyed people around the world about how they have changed their hobbies due to the pandemic and reported, “70 percent started

There were many choices for our first week of spring. There were off-campus opportunities, hybrid choices (on and off-campus), or projects fully on campus. I asked Colin Kwak ‘23 which is more appealing and he stated, “Off-campus is more interesting because we are always on campus, and we are all itching to get off campus and do something fun.” The off-campus opportunities provide the choices of going to Maine, Virginia, Vermont, and our very own New Hampshire for yoga near the ocean, mountain biking, visiting working farms, and backcountry skiing. On the other hand, Carrie Babson ‘23 likes staying on campus for the week, “Being able to experience life on campus without school work is very appealing.” She also explained that when deciding for a project there are other factors. “In my opinion choosing a

project can depend on the teachers that are leading the project, because the kids are able to connect with teachers they are more familiar/comfortable with.” Proctor hasn’t been able to do Project Project the past two years because of Covid, so only the four year seniors have experienced this. Stewart Kane recalled his freshman year project, “Wilderness first aid was so fun and I also was able to get a certification with it. I used my wilderness certification to become a mountain bike coach for kids in Colorado.” Project period has been around for at least 40 years. About 20 years ago, the students of Proctor went on strike to save the project period from being shut down. Starr explained, “They really used their voices to state it was a meaningful week and it needed to stay, and it was a very powerful movement, and the students saved project period.”

dents out of the classroom. Many faculty members find this week to be fun, and say it’s a different way to connect with other kids.’’ She also added, “Project period lets us step away from the traditional math and science and writing papers, and we can learn in a different way.” I hope your project period was just as enjoyable as mine!

Advice From Upperclassmen By Camila Marcos

Despite my hopes, there was no mysterious vampire hottie in my science class, nobody burst into song and started dancing on the tables during lunch, and there is no way that Ferris Bueller got away with a day off. I arrived at high school with sky-high expectations only to be thoroughly disappointed in finding out that high school did not even remotely resemble any of the coming of age or rom-com movies I based my expectations on.

Why does Proctor do Project Period instead of just a regular week of school? Starr continued, “Proctor really believes in their mission to have exploration and hands-on and experiential learning, and the best way to do that is to get the stu-

I had to adjust to high school the hard way and I wish I knew what life had in store for me. Although, granted my experience may not be the same as everyone else, I don’t think it’s uncommon. As we come closer and closer to the end of another school year and saying goodbye to our senior class, we will also be welcoming a new class of freshman along with other transfer students to Proctor. Wanting to help the incoming students, I sent out a survey to the current upperclassmen. I asked them 2 different questions: “If you could, what would you go back and tell your freshman year self?” The second was, “What was something you weren’t expecting when you got to high school?” I got back a total of 27 responses revealing their thoughts.

Out of the 13 responses I received for the first question, the majority of them related to socializing and friendships. Yes, academics are important, but having healthy friendships and a stable social life can completely alter your high school years. Putting yourself out there and making an effort to leave your dorm room can make all the difference. This was a common theme throughout the responses but the anonymous responders also cautioned against surrounding yourself with the wrong people. It is important to be yourself and for the people around you to accept you for who you really are, because if they don’t then they aren’t your real friends. Another frequently mentioned piece of advice was don’t take everyone and everything too seriously. It doesn’t matter what other people think. Finally, they advised you not to take these 4 years of your life for granted because they will fly by. One advised, “Try and find a break in your scheduled day where you can escape from the schedule and live more in the moment.”

For the second question about something unexpected when you got to high school, most people’s answer had to do with stress and the workload. It is crucial to stay on top of your work in order for your stress levels to be manageable. It is vital to your survival of high school to take time out of your busy scheduled day to check in with

yourself. If you don’t prioritize your mental health, it will be near impossible to prioritize school work or your social life.

said hanging out with friends, 18 percent said being with family, and 13 percent said playing sports.

On the brighter side, many upperclassmen were shocked at the close friendships they made during their time at Proctor. “Something I wasn’t expecting was how many lifelong friends I would make because coming into high school, I knew no one, having many amazing friends now is something I’m so happy about.” Try this advice: “Enjoy it when you can, try not to rush through it and get it over with.” After all, skipping school like Ferris Bueller is not the best idea.

Psyc 157: Psychology and the Good Life

Laura Santos teaching her class in 2018

supporting classmates around them, helping peers who are struggling, and helping classmates and students with schoolwork.

I followed up with, “Experts say that helping others makes us happier. Do you find this to be true and if so, how do you help people at Proctor?” 94 percent of people said yes, and most responses included

It’s clear that the Proctor community’s happiness improves when we are helping other people. If we are able to translate this to the rest of our lives and the people outside of school, we could all lead happier lives. Any chance you get, see what you can do for others.

By Ingrid Pekala

Are there ways to improve our own happiness? Laurie Santos, a professor at Yale University, believes there are. Her course is available for free online, and more than 3.7 million people have enrolled. So what can we learn? Santos explained on CNN, “The problem is that we have a lot of misconceptions about what really will make us happy. We think we need to change our circumstances in major ways, but often, simple behavioral and mindset changes can make a big difference in our sense of well-being.” Some of the strategies that lead to happiness include deleting social media, daily meditation, and investing time in loved ones.

A Sweet Spring at Proctor By Jackson Downey

In between Peabody and Gulick House is a cabin with a vibrant green roof. This small building is called the Johnson Sugar House and it’s very near and dear to Proctor’s history and what the school stands for. Proctor’s 2,500 acres of land is used in many creative ways, and the Sugar House is an expression of the community love that we hold for the outdoors.

So where does the Proctor community find its happiness? I sent out a survey, and quickly received over 70 answers. First, I asked “Other than sleep, what makes you the most happy?” 33 percent of the people

Laura Ostrowsky is a forest science teacher and the Woodlands Manager. Laura is enthusiastic about the outdoors and has a passion for teaching. Laura carries her passion for the outdoors into the Sugar house. The name of the Johnson Sugar house belongs to Eric Johnson, a Proctor graduate, class of 1988 and his wife Heide Johnson, a current biology teacher. Heide explained to me that before Eric was sadly diagnosed with ALS, he was always a big part of the maple sugaring here at Proctor and always looked at it as therapy. Eric’s family decided to help

rebuild a new beautiful state of the art maple sugaring house here in our backyard.

Laura by the evaporator

Laura informed me about the Johnson Sugar shack. “There was a big student project to build it, and Greg Allen and Brooks Bicknell built it along with students.” The sugar house was part of Brooks’ Architecture class and the Woods Team afternoon activity got involved.

ter transitioning into spring. This year Proctor and the Sugar House have high expectations for the upcoming season and a group of students helped with the process during project period. I can’t wait to stop by the Sugar House while Laura is boiling this spring. Maybe I’ll see you there.

I visited the Johnson Sugar shack this week. I noticed new massive silver shiny evaporators to boil large loads of sap. The big evaporators make it easier to make big loads of syrup after it’s boiled to the right temperature.

All of the syrup made in the Johnson Sugar House is tapped from the trees right on campus and in the Proctor woods. Laura walked me through all of the steps it takes to make the perfect Proctor syrup. It all starts with Laura going out to the ski hill and drilling holes in trees to attach tubes to collect sap. The tree sap is brought to the Sugar House and gravity pulls it into the evaporator. The tree sap is the water moving through the tree. It is 98% water and 2% sugar, and Laura boils the sap down until it hits a precise temperature and you are left with 66.9 percent sugar. At this point, all of the water is evaporated and you’re left with all the rich sugar in the sap that becomes maple syrup. This is then moved over to the finalizing box where it is cooled down and prepared. Laura explained that there are some good seasons and some bad seasons. “Last season was one of the worst seasons Proctor has ever experienced, along with the whole state of New Hampshire.” Good and bad seasons depend on the weather at the end of win-

Eye of the Hurricane

By Mark Rodeo (from the Creative Nonfiction class) Calm, cool, collected. Tip of the iceberg, show only what you want others to see on the surface. Don’t show the remaining ninety percent that’s underwater. It is what I’ve always been taught. No matter the circumstances, always exude confidence so your teammates have a leader they can believe in. We had been losing the whole game, but with one minute left we tied it up on a 40-yard touchdown pass down the left-middle of the field. Team captains and referees met in the middle of the field to determine who’d get the ball to start overtime. Little did I know, the most thrilling moment of my life would occur after that coin toss. Proctor Academy vs. New Hampton, two of New Hampshire’s most elite high school football programs. Last year, they walked all over us and won 42-6. I stand on the sideline, my coach is standing in front of me. He tells me the play, “Lee 47.” An outside run play to the left. I turn to run out to the huddle to give my teammates the play. Abruptly, coach stops me. He says to look over at him right before I take the snap. If he nods, fake the run, pull the ball, and score. My teammates are well aware of the amount of pressure we’re all under, I can feel it. They’re Arctic Wolves on chains, about to break free; a volcano about to erupt. Calm before the storm. In the huddle, I tell my guys the play and we break. Ball on New Hampton’s 15-yard line. A touchdown wins it. Standing 5 yards behind my offensive line, I feel a surge of calm flow through my mind. “Eye of the hurricane,” I repeat in my head. Watching my teammates get set, all is calm. Focus. Breathe. My friends are behind the sideline in the student section. They are wide-eyed, almost all of them silent. The whistle sounds, piercing through the crisp New Hampshire night air. The play clock starts. Focus. Breathe. I look back at coach.

We lock eyes and he nods. I read the defense, already anticipating each of their players’ next move. Focus. Breathe. I glance one more time at their outside linebacker, I know he’s going to bite on the run fake. Kill. “Set go!” I take the snap. Players around me ferociously grunt and collide. I hop once to my left, an already raging warzone of soldiers 4 yards in front of me. Eyes on the defense, shoving the ball in my running back’s hands, they bite. I pull the ball back and immediately run outside to the right. No one in front of me. A welcoming emp-

ty lane straight to victory. I reach the 7-yard line and hoist the ball in triumph. I trot into the endzone. Ball game. The students flood the field. I’m right in the middle of it all. I look up at the emptiness of the night sky and thank God for this miracle. For once I feel content. I did it. The students rush the field, immense celebration washes over the turf. We bask in the glory of the night. We gave everything we had in each play. We earned this victory.

Dynamite, Students, and a Ski Trail: A History of the Proctor Ski Area By Ada Gardner (from the Creative Nonfiction class)

It was a sunny day in March in the late 1960s when a group of students from Proctor Academy gathered on the western shore of the Blackwater River in central NH. They were joined by Tim Norris and Bob Wilson, the current Proctor Woodlands manager. The group was tasked with creating new ski trails for Proctor’s skiing community. They had already cut and excavated away trees and brush to get part-way up Parson’s Hill, however, about three-quarters of the way up, on the steepest pitch, they ran into a granite ledge. So, Wilson went to the local hardware store and brought back a few cases of dynamite in the bed of his pickup truck. The students and their supervisors hiked the dynamite up to the granite ledge and drilled holes in the granite. Into each drilled hole, they sunk a stick Students hiding behind trees of dynamite. The process was very straightforward—drill a hole, place a stick of dynamite. watching the explosion. Over and over they went across the rock surface. Once all the cases were emptied and the fuses wired together, Wilson told all the students to hide behind a tree. Then he lit the fuse. For a second nothing happened, and then the ground shook and the whole ledge collapsed in on itself like a cat getting low to pounce. In the one giant explosion that followed, rock sprung forth—boulders, dust, and pebbles erupting in a giant plume. After rising several hundred feet into the air, gravity brought it all back to earth, sending the kids ducking out of the way of these flying asteroids. Rumor has it that water pipes were damaged in homes all the way over on Bradley Lake. The Proctor Ski Area was born from this explosion.

Project Period Highlights Project Period: Maple Sugaring What was the highlight of your project period? Reilly Desmond: “I decided to do the Maple Sugaring for Project Period, I was able to see and learn the whole process of making maple sugar, while being with my friends. At the end of the project period we were able to share our syrup while serving waffles and ice cream with everyone in the community.”

Backcountry Skiing What was your project and what made it memorable? Lily Picotte: “Backcountry skiing was hard work and everyone was working as a team to get up the mountain but the payoff was worth it. The group was sort of random but everyone bonded because they all shared the same passions for skiing and overcoming a challenge.”

Fitness and Finance What was the highlight of your project period? Colin Kwak: “My highlight was learning about the stock market and different trends to avoid and invest in. In the fitness realm, Ross and Scott pushed me hard to perform to my best each and every day of Project Period. I would recommend this Project Period to anyone wanting to learn more about beneficial fitness programs as well as crucial financial skills.”

Sewing It Up What was your best experience? Liric Harris: “Probably sewing because it was fun. I made a pillow case and pajama pants (unfinished). The most challenging part was learning how to use a sewing machine. The Threads have to go in the right spots and it was the most annoying thing ever. It required a lot of patience and the fun part was I got to play music and dance while sewing.”

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P R S I Y AEAKING CONTE Z

Monday | April 18TH | 6:30 PM NORRIS FAMILY THEATER