May (2014)
5/16/2014
Invested
5/12/2014
What We Meant
April (2014)
4/22/2014
Earth In Mind
February (2014)
2/17/2014
Looking Ahead
January (2014)
November (2013)
October (2013)
September (2013)
May (2013)
April (2013)
4/24/2013
Advancement!
March (2013)
February (2013)
Project Period 2011
3/23/2011
This week, the school is dedicated to thirty small-group projects. In each, adults share unique passions and skills. Eleven groups are off campus, cooking and serving up gourmet meals at Bluewater Farm, back-country skiing in the wilds of Maine, cycling on Cape Cod, studying Cape ecology, golfing, dog sledding, practicing Buddhist meditation at a retreat, whitewater rafting, training for lacrosse and singing/touring in China. Nineteen are on campus, and I have photographs from some of these. (And check out this dynamite, spontaneous video made by Ethney McMahon! Project Period Video)

One group is serving as teaching interns at the local elementary school.


Teaching-3


Smile

A
t Proctor Day Care, our kids are working with much younger children!

 BlueEyes

S
everal projects explore creative arts. The quilt-making project has been a popular standard for many years. These kids are making key decisions, choosing seven fabrics that will distinguish each quilt.

 Fabrics

M
ural Mania is a project that is researching ancient species though evolutionary eons and painting them through time on the walls outside science classrooms.

 MuralMadness2

A
nother extremely popular standard is maple sugaring. This year's run has been exceptionally strong, both in terms of quantity of sap and sugar content. The group "gathers" hundreds of gallons of icy cold sap each morning, and boils throughout the afternoon and evening. Colin stokes the evaporator.

 Stokin

T
he critical determination that this liquid gold has reached the consistency of syrup is made by observing its viscosity off of a ladle.

 Ladle

Some maple syrup is donated to Bluewater Culinary Institute, a project that prepares and serves gourmet meals to dozens of Proctor folk: whole departments and other project groups. Syrup was used in preparation of an elegant apple sauce served as a compliment to a cholesterol-rich breakfast Wednesday morning.



Pots

S
tudent chefs wear aprons monogrammed with the name of their project! The venue is the Owl's Nest Lodge at Bluewater Farm, just a mile south of campus. The kitchen is a riot of activity, with students playing specific roles: food prep, wait staff, cooks, clean-up. The aromas are superb. These garlicky croutons are hot!

 HotCroutons

M
embers of the sugaring project await fruit, muffins, eggy casseroles (ham or veggie,) pancakes and generous rashers of bacon.

 Sugarers

Under the guidance of one of the nation's top trainers, students ride on a project called Equine Community Service.

Horseback

Above the community coffee shop, generous current parent Patricia Qualls leads an intuitive painting workshop, declaring, "There are no rights and wrongs!" Zada glances over at Sophie's work:

 Zada

Sophie
Ponder
Satchel ponders fabrics for his quilt. He's already chosen one featuring cow spots!
Cutting
Quilters will complete individual pieces, but work in pairs during measurements and cutting.
Justin-2
Justin makes all the difference for a little boy at Day Care.
MacOven
In "Solar Power," Adam is fashioning an art-deco solar oven out of a discarded computer shell.
JackSaw
In the woodshop, Jack cuts a hilt for a hunting knife he's making as part of Camp Craft.
Test
Mackin and Madelline test the griddle at BCI.
HamDicers
Dicing ham in preparation of a decadent breakfast casserole.
Orders
Cooper takes orders from harried waitstaff.
Cholula
Arriba!
Syrup
Ryan pours maple syrup through a cheesecloth strainer before one final heating and bottling.
Sugarhouse
It's a banner year for the maple sugar industry!