New Hampshire's most decorated photographer, Concord Monitor photo editor Dan Habib was on campus recently to write a "Teen Life" article on Chi Chi, a senior from Concord.

These weekly segments delve into the angst, trials and tribulations of adolescence, but this Monday's article contained plenty of hope and encouragement, including these quotations: "[That is] what this school is really about, hands-on learning. I'm taking a class right now, wildlife science, and we go outside most of the time and track animals. I went to Spain last year instead of just being in a Spanish class....I think Proctor has given me a bigger outlook on life." Here's Chi Chi showing the article (on demand) to her English teacher, Laurie Zimmerman.

We will return to Chi Chi in a minute. We just returned from a four-day midterm break known as Bonus Weekend. Every student left campus, but most stayed in New England, where the temperatures ranged from 5 above to 15 below. Mark, who lives 6819 miles from Proctor, spent the weekend with Tuckerman, who lives 25 feet from campus. Tuckman's dad contributes, "The boys spent three days hiking, climbing and exploring Mt. Washington in the sub zero weather.  They did quite a bit of exploring the head waters of the Ellis River around the Glen Ellis Falls…so I took them back for some ice climbing.  It was Mark’s first time on ice or rock and he and Tuckerman did an 80 foot rappel down over the frozen Glen Ellis Falls and then did some ice climbing in the canyon below the falls. Tuckerman has ice climbed before but has never rapped off an 80’ waterfall.  Mark has never climbed at all….even on a climbing wall…so rapping off an 80’ drop for the first time…unable to see the landing below because of the ice…took some trust and guts.  It was a great way for two guys to get to know each other and form a new friendship."

You can be sure, knowing Proctor students as we do, that it is impossible to generalize about their activities, but I get the impression that many kids tackled the bitter cold head-on.

For example, Lucy forwards this image she took of Chris and Sam hiking up to Carter Notch, where they spent two nights huddling against the bitter cold. She recounts, "It was cold but fun!"

Cross country ski coach Adam Patridge took three intrepid athletes to the astonishingly beautiful trails at Mont Ste. Ann, Quebec, where the temperatures never crawled above zero. Despite the fact that I spent my weekend at the same resort, this image is from the Blackwater. (OK, I didn't have a camera!)

Back to Wildlife Science. This week, all they're doing is "inventory," which is a virtual census of the species population on our extensive property. The way you do this is to break into teams that scatter and observe--with every sense and awareness imaginable--evidence. Eastern cottontail rabbit, snowshow hare, three types of weasel, mink, fishers, squirrels red and grey, mice beyond counting, fox red and grey, deer... It happens that this particular hemlock and pine grove was visited by a whole flock of wild turkeys, which roosted in the boughs above, and left lots of evidence.