A sure sign of winter's approach: flu shots are available in the Health Center, or--if you're the Head of School--they're available in our whole-school assembly.

This week's cold snap is not the only harbinger of change. The last classes of Fall term are Friday, and exams begin Monday. For most teams, fall sports ended Wednesday.

Varsity football brings it all to conclusion Saturday afternoon against our classic rival, Holderness School. Kick-off is at 1:30 at Leonard Field.

At the risk of inventing a word (why stop now?,) Proctor is highly trimesterized. Each ten-week term yields a distinct academic credit, so a year of U.S. history is actually comprised of three courses: U.S. history A, B, and C. If--God forbid--a student failed or somehow missed U.S. history B, he or she could go on to study the 20th Century in the spring, and have to take the B term the next year. This is biology:

This manner of counting academic credits helps to make all of Proctor's off-campus elective programs work. As we approach final exams, our concentration is on a complete, 10-week unit. Winter finals will focus on a distinct, 10-week term, etc. Now we're down in math:

We're in the midst of a time of intense performance....academically, artistically and--for football and cross country--athletically. This Sunday's Corner will reflect some of the richness of these days. Today, Wildlife Science went on a field study to a remote piece of Proctor's 2500-acre woodlot to witness the finest forestry practices. Indeed, forestry is--in the words of Land Use Manager David Pilla--"Like gardening." We are stewarding the land for optimal uses.

While responsible forestry balances economics and ecology, the truth is that good forestry is all about responsible environmental practice. Here, we observe rampant evidence of deer and moose browsing on one-year-old wood growth--exactly what we wanted on this "patch" clearing.