Head of School Community Email – May 22
May 22, 2020
Dear Parents & Students,
Here are the latest news and announcements from Thetford Academy as we shift into the final weeks of the school year.
1. Special Schedule for the Week of June 8-12
Please note that we have a special schedule for the last week of school with A block, B block, C block, and D block each having a dedicated 2-hour period of time. This is to better accommodate the need for final class meetings, exams, and project presentations – and to avoid conflicts between classes/teachers for scheduling those experiences. More details and a visual for the week’s schedule can be found in this post in TA Today. A pdf version of the schedule is also attached. Teachers will share with students specific instructions and expectations for their classes on those days.
2. Alternative to the Annual Honors Celebration
The Honors Celebration held at the beginning of May every year is a treasured TA tradition. Sadly, it is one of many events we had to alter or cancel this spring due to the public health crisis. The faculty committee that coordinates the Honors Celebration worked instead to send a personal email note of congratulations to each student who qualified and mailed the honorary pins to students’ homes earlier this month. Please connect with Emily Silver, [email protected], if you have any questions about the honors celebration awards and qualifications this year.
3. Alternative Graduation Plans for 2020
We invite the wider TA community to help us celebrate the Class of 2020 this year. Two elements of the alternative graduation plans take place on Friday evening, June 12, and are open to the public: tune into the live stream of student speeches and performances at 5:30pm and show up roadside to cheer on our grads during the car parade scheduled for 7:30pm. The third element of the graduation plans will be individual diploma ceremonies for each senior on Saturday, June 13 on the TA campus. Check out this special page of our website for the Class of 2020 – we will continue to post more details on the Friday graduation plans and tributes to the seniors here (and on social media).
4. Student of the Month
Congratulations to Emi Vaughn, Class of 2021, who was recently selected by the TA faculty as the junior class student of the month! Read more about Emi and the award here.
5. Looking Ahead to Fall 2020
We know this is a question increasingly on everyone’s minds: What will next semester look like? Up until recently, we were all focused on getting through this most unusual spring and wondering about summer plans. Recently though, many in our community and throughout the nation have started to turn their attention to next school year. There is no guidance yet from the State of Vermont, and that will be instrumental in shaping our plans. In the meantime, however, we have a committee focused on early contingency planning for the fall and will make this a more robust process in coming weeks; this includes gathering feedback from students, parents, and faculty/staff on what worked this quarter and what could be improved upon. I will keep everyone posted on developments in as timely a manner as possible. For those interested in Vermont’s COVID-related requirements for schools, this page has a comprehensive list of the guidance memos.
On behalf of all of us at TA, I thank you for working so closely with us to support and celebrate our students at this time! All that we do is for them.
Enjoy a safe and sunny Memorial Day weekend,
Carrie Brennan, Head of School