Hornet's Nest | October 25, 2021 | Vol. 7 | Issue 1

HORNET’S NEST Proctor Academy | October 25, 2021 | Vol. 7 | Issue 1 What I would do is I would make it need-blind. [in other words] People who wanted to pay extra because they really wanted to pay extra could do that.” Amplifying all that is here and allowing a greater diversity of students regardless of financial situation or personal background could help strengthen Proctors’ core values of honesty, compassion, respect, and responsibility.

Head Up and Into the Crowd of People

By Colin Shaver

Beginning her final year at Proctor, senior Brynne Makechnie is ready to be the voice of the community as one of this year’s School Leaders. As a legacy, Brynne is determined to leave her own unique mark on this community as her Proctor career comes to a close.

As School Leader Brynne is ready to plan a bigger role in the community; she is excited to be the voice of the students as well as, “Being the conduit between the students and faculty, so we can convey the feeling of the students to the faculty so everyone knows what’s going on and we are all connected to each other.” She mentioned that so far there have not been any big issues that have come up, other than the painfully slow speed of the toasters in the Dining Hall. But, as a captain of the varsity soccer team and a member of many campus activities, she is ready to tackle any issue that arises.

Brian Thomas, A Peek Into the Past and a Look Towards the Future

By Stewart Kane

Heading into the school year of 2021 2022, many are curious about how new Head of School Brian Thomas hopes to lead Proctor.

A Peek Into the Past Brian was born in Chicago, then grew up and earned degrees in both History and English. He later moved to Los Angeles where he pursued a short but successful acting career where he learned about the value of human connection and community. This sent him the direction of community leadership.

A Look Towards the Future Brian came into Proctor this year ready to rock. Having been in communication with the school since last year, he was prepared for challenges and ready to face surprises head-on. When I asked him about his plans for the future of Proctor, he said, “The piece I think is important is the ability not to change anything really, it’s to amplify it you know!” As we talked about many communities from student leadership to clubs and sports teams alike, I learned that Brian’s main focus is human connection and the strengthening of community. Finally, we talked about the more distant future.

Proctor has an unparalleled community with so many opportunities and experiences to be had, but this all comes at a great cost. Though many students at Proctor receive financial aid of some sort, many Proctor students pay in full. Brian’s vision is for it to be the other way around. “If somebody said Brian, here’s a half a million dollars. But, you can only use it for one reason.

Brynne’s Proctor journey did not start during her freshman year like any other student. As an Andover local, her journey began in Summerfield dorm as a toddler. Her family lived there for two years before moving off-campus with her parents and her two older siblings. As the 12th Makechnie of her extended family to attend Proctor, with two more on the way and countless more who have been a part of the faculty and staff, she is following in the footsteps of lots of her family including two former School Leaders, Nelson and Cope.

Brynne explained some of the added pressures as part of a large Proctor family. “It adds some fear of messing up because obviously you don’t want to disappoint your family and you want to uphold your family name.” Brynne wants to walk her own Proctor path instead of being another addition to the “Makechnie Legacy.” “I had to realize that I wasn’t my sister and I wasn’t my

Brynne Makechnie ‘22

brother, and I was going to experience failure, but that is ok because I’m my own person.”

Left- Ayla Fidel ‘21, Right- Brynne Makechnie ‘22, Back- Tahg Healy ‘21

Finally, Brynne talked a little bit about her own Proctor experience and how much she has grown as a person since she arrived on campus, especially in the past few months. Through struggles with self-confidence as a lower-classman and after an especially rough junior fall, Brynne rebounded with a life-changing experience on Mountain Classroom. “From last fall, through Mountain Classroom, and into this fall, has been completely different, and even though it is still hard and stressful, I am definitely a very different person and that is really good because I have grown a lot and learned so much about myself and other people.”

As a senior hornet, Brynne wanted to share the words that she told her younger sister Paige during her opening days as a freshman, “It is going to be hard, there are going to be some really tough, sad moments, but there are also going to be really really good ones, some of the best you’ll have in your life. I told my sister, ‘Head up, and into the crowd of people.’”

Nora Flanagan - Carnival Day

Nora Takes the Wheel

By Lucy Werner

She wasn’t always so confident and optimistic the first few years here at Proctor Academy, yet Nora Flanagan has found her confidence and has stepped up into the role of School Leader with big plans this fall.

As a four year senior, Nora is excited to play field hockey and then sail with the winter Ocean Classroom. She hopes to spur a Halloween dance to rally all four classes. Nora also wants

to hear from the student body; she is ready to “Make a change by talking to friends and conveying their messages.”

Proctor is where Nora learned to be the best possible version of herself. When Nora isn’t out and about you can find her hard at work in the library every single night. I asked Nora where she developed her work ethic and motivation. She explained one example when in her freshman year she, “Came to Proctor and had never played field hockey before. When I tried out for varsity my freshman and sophomore years I didn’t make the team. However, each time I bounced back and my junior year I made the team. Throughout it, Proctor was there to push me and nurture me at the same time, never closing me off from trying.” Even when running for School Leader Nora had many doubts that she wouldn’t win.

She decided to run explaining, “You’ll miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Nora Flanagan - Ice Cream Social

Nora has gone through her ups and downs similar to the rest of us at Proctor. She reminds me it’s important to, “Lean on others for support, express your concerns to the community, and never hesitate to reach out.” She wants to hear your opinions and make changes so that the Proctor community can improve. Lastly, Nora’s one piece of advice to her fellow students is “Be kind to everybody! It can be hard at times being at a boarding school in a new environment.”

With kindness, Nora will leads us into the crisp autumn fall of 2021.

This Is The Best Schedule We Have So Far, Right?

By Colin Kwak

As a Proctor community, we love and hate the new seventy minute block classes. Proctor’s new block schedule has lengthened classes by ten minutes and this decision has been met with mixed feelings.

Class time is really important to the Proctor community because it takes up most of our day. For teachers, it is hard to teach because of students losing focus. I asked Derek Nussbaum Wagler, Dean of Academics, his opinion on the seventy minute block classes. He said, “I like the

Derek Nussbaum Wagler

70 minute block classes because the labs and projects can get done in class and provide a lot more opportunities to look at something in different ways.” I also like how productive we are in classes and to change the way the teacher teaches so they don’t have to rush information into us.

It’s easy to forget what we are learning after sixty minutes of class. As a community, we struggle and thrive together.

Sometimes in a long class students get distracted and unfocused. However, if Casey McCormack you shorten classes, everything feels rushed and you would have to meet more throughout the week for the same information as in a seventy minute block class.

I asked Casey McCormack, a Learning Specialist, what he thinks the perfect ideal class time is and his reasoning. “An hour [long] in the hopes that we have four meetings per week.” Casey would like to meet four times a week so we can see each other more often in person and stay focused. Maybe a seventy minute class isn’t so bad.

According to Complete Literature, an organization researching effective curriculum, the most common length of classes are between sixty and seventy minutes because it allows for projects in an environment that’s not rushed. I asked several new students if they felt the seventy minute classes are productive. Junior Reilly Desmond said, “It can be, but there needs to be a set class schedule to make up for being productive and have the kids stay focused.” Yes, seventy minute classes are great if there is a plan and students don’t lose focus and the class moves faster. For teachers, they can teach more material with a more varied lesson plan.

I asked junior Kacie McGuane about the advantages and disadvantages of seventy minute classes. She explained, “The disadvantage of a seventy minute class is that I can’t sit still and focus my attention towards the last part of class.” Second year Proctor student Campbell Lucey noted

some advantages. “Being able to get classwork/ homework done and not feeling overwhelmed, also being in a group doing homework.”

I asked Derek a final question. “Is this the perfect amount of class time and will we stick with it? He replied, “This is not the ideal schedule, but it’s the best we have so far.” Derek is working on finding a better schedule and he’s open to ideas, so feel free to tell him your thoughts.

Covid Changed Everything, But Did It Change Teaching?

By Juliette Hoder

School and teaching has changed drasticall since Covid, but how has Covid changed teaching at Proctor?

Since Covid, Proctor has changed the block schedule from having more short classes to fewer and longer classes. After talking to teachers on campus, it is clear that different subject areas have different thoughts on the new schedule.

Lynn Cox from the Learning Skills Department explained how the new changes affect her work. “The Learning Skills Department has had to really adjust to the change in schedules and not seeing a student for three days in a week. For example, some of the new kids didn’t get to meet their Learning Skills

teacher until Thursday on the first week of school.” The long gaps in the schedule make it harder for the Learning Skills teachers to support their students.

On the other hand, classes like science, math, and languages enjoy the longer classes. Sue Houston from the Science Department explains how she feels with the new changes. “Oh, I love the longer classes because we can do more activities and dive deeper into the material rather than always feeling rushed to cram things into kids’ heads. When we were doing six classes a day, it was hectic! And so much time was wasted in transitioning from one class to the next, and we always felt rushed and late to the next thing!

I think kids and teachers were way more stressed out.”

Seventy minutes is a long time. Teachers have been given a hard task with trying to keep students focused throughout the whole period. Erik Cole-Johnson teaches in the World Language Department and he observed, “I’ve enjoyed the longer classes as I don’t need to rush so much to squeeze things in. We can dwell on topics more. Students are more relaxed because they’re not always thinking about when the next class is starting, they have time to get into the subject.

Especially in the language classroom, it is nice to be able to escape into Spanish or French or Mandarin for a longer chunk of time. However, only meeting two times a week, sometimes three times a week with a class is not enough. We need to meet more frequently to make more efficient progress learning a language.” It seems that the long classes are not the problem, it’s the less frequent class meetings that are the issue.

Politico magazine writer Marcella Bombardieri writes on the recent change in US education, “A year later, it’s clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed education in America in lasting ways, and glimpses of that transformed system are already emerging.” (Politico, April ‘21). It will be interesting to see what is to come with Proctor’s schedule in the future. Can Proctor find a way to perfect the block schedule?

JV Soccer: A Culture of Kindness

By Anna Gibson

Have you ever been cut from a varsity sport?

Maybe you have. The head coach of JV girls soccer, John Bouton has been in this position and he wanted to give others the chance he didn’t get in high school to play the sport they love.

What makes JV girls soccer different from any sport at Proctor? Kate Piacenza, an admissions

John Bouton

associate and also a new coach with John observed, “JV girls soccer gives kids the ability to be part of a team, make friends, get exercise, build camaraderie; it gives kids an outlet from school or home, it is not as much pressure, and you can slowly improve together.” Being a new member of the team, I can say within a week of playing with this team that I felt as if I found an extended community here at Proctor.

John Bouton is multitalented, not only as a girls JV soccer coach in the fall, but also a tennis coach in the spring, the Day Student Coordinator, as well as an English teacher. John explained, “Relationships on the field, with teammates and coaches are a huge and vital part of coaching girls sports.” He continued, “The experience of being on a team is one you won’t forget, the family and community it creates is so special.”

Why do high school students play sports? Besides just being fun, they can help your performance in school, ease stress levels, teach you how to deal with setbacks and work with others. One goal I hope both coaches would agree on is for our team to strive for excellence on the field, but also know we will make mistakes that will only make us better. John’s final goal for the team may be the biggest. “I am hopeful this team will distinguish itself with its culture of kindness.”

Mindfulness and Mental Health For Student-Athletes

By Reilly Desmond

Being on a sports team can connect you in many special ways, but sometimes the most important way is overlooked. The mental connection with your team is a key to success.

Terry Stoecker is a talented teacher here at Proctor; she teaches Psychology and mindfulness classes. Terry volunteers to help our athletes to achieve a better mental state the day before games. She observes, “Individuals are practicing so they should be aware of their state of being before [a game], and they are checking in on themselves.” You need to make sure you are stress free and not thinking about anything else other than your performance.

mindfulness and she also notes the central nervous system controls much of us. Terry explains, “Your adrenaline is so high before and during the game and if you don’t know how to settle your excitement then you can go off the rails.

You need to check in with your nervous system so you can calm yourself down.”

Lastly, mental health is very important on a team; the relationships between teammates can determine how the team performs. You need to have a team that’s loving and caring. That’s so important for the overall journey. Terry states, “That’s why I love Proctor, and all the teachers here… that’s what we do, we look, listen and love, we reflect, we renew, we reimagine, and we

Terry Stoecker

help students to do that.” Enrolling in Terry’s mindfulness class is a good idea for someone looking for a new approach to performing well.

Before your next game, try three deep breaths and visualize your success to get you prepared!!

Another key component Terry identifies is your breathing techniques before you compete. Terry claims, “The vagus nerve is very important for how your body operates under stress, so by taking deep breaths you calm the vagus nerve so it doesn’t get too hyper.” Athletes need to practice takoing three deep breaths that can help you relieve stress. Terry uses the example of basketball players when they are taking a free throw.

There are lots of questions from students about mental preparation, such as Is it important to do mindfulness the day before the game? Terry explains that, you shouldn’t do mindfulness the morning of a game, always do it the day before.

But something you can do is visualisation and focus on your energy flow when you are sitting in the locker room right before you take the field.

She stated, “Standing in a circle of your team, you feel the energy flow throughout each other to connect you mentally. Being able to feel the energy flowing through everyone is powerful.”

Annabelle Graziano (‘22) is a soccer player and an Eastern skier here at Proctor and she attests, “Terry’s mindfulness helps me get in a good mindset before my game, and makes all the girls feel connected.”

Terry says being a psychology teacher and knowing more about the brain really helps her teach

Treats - Pizza Scary Movie Dancing Wise Center

The boys basketball team competing against Tilton Academy