Our advertisements in local media and the website for an admission "open house" did not ask for a reply, so we had no idea how many folks would show up Saturday morning for campus tours and a Q & A student panel discussion.

 

Approximately 150 came, including families who flew in from distant locales. We broke them into small clusters, each led by two student tour guides. Obvious stops included classroom facilities, the recording studio, shops and a couple of dorms.

 







Their interface with the school is largely through immediate contact with students. Classes are in session until 10:00 AM Saturday, so families get right into science labs and math work.

 




It is interesting to consider the degree to which the open house is strictly informative versus emotive. We have some facts and figures, but the overall experience is one of immersion in student activity, (such as the recording studio, where students don't even interrupt their work.)

 

One group waits for another group to vacate the wood shop, where Jordan is power sanding a wave board.

 

After coffee, cider, fruit and pastries in the Meeting House lobby, Chris Bartlett (far left) calls people into the theater for brief programmatic presentations and the student panel.

 

Student panels are always a home run. Questions from visitors this time dwell on why it is that Proctor students seems so enthusiastic, happy and proud. One student observed, "I used to wonder how I would ever leave Proctor. Now I know I will always carry it with me." It's not just a place, but a way of looking at the world.

 

After lunch, most visitors scatter. A few remain on campus to interview students randomly or watch teams in action. Boys JV2 soccer showed some spirit in a win over Mt. Royal.