TA News

Dear TA Families,

Spring is in the air. Next Friday, April 1, will mark the end of the third quarter. It’s that time of year in schools when we are knee-deep in what’s happening right now, and also have an eye toward summer, and start to plan for the following year. It can be lots to keep track of – and also lots to be excited about!

Thetford Outdoor Program (TOP) Summer Experiences

We have a great line up of TOP trips, trail crew, and garden camp available to students again this summer. The offerings build on the success of TOP summer experiences over the past 5 years and introduce a couple of new offerings too. Check it all out on the TA website for more details and registration links: https://thetfordacademy.org/academics/thetford-outdoor-program/top-summer. Advisors also have flyers to share with advisees on Monday. Space in each of the programs is limited, so be sure to sign up soon if interested.

Course Registration for 2022-2023

Students will be registering for courses for next school year in the coming weeks. Each class will have a presentation from the counseling department to launch the process, starting with the Class of 2023 on Monday 3/28, followed by the Class of 2024 the following Monday and so on. The dates are noted on the school calendar. We will be sharing resources with parents and guardians as well, to include the family in the course planning process. The academic course list on the TA website is a helpful resource to get an overview of department offerings. 

Student Roundtables on April 6

My weekly email on March 18 provided lots of information about the upcoming student roundtables, so please revisit that if you didn’t get a chance to read it last week. (You can find it here on the TA website.) I encourage every student (and their families) to take advantage of the roundtable opportunity. When we did an initial pilot of student roundtables back in February 2020, the parent and guardian feedback was incredibly positive – and we expect that kind of experience again. A few sample comments on the participant survey included: 

• “The advisor listened with 100% focus which felt like such a gift to my daughter.” 
• “I loved how positively framed each question was and how student-led the whole experience was.”
• “The roundtable was wonderful, authentic and beneficial.”
• “Our son’s advisor was kind, open, thoughtful, and obviously cared about our child as a learner and as a young person in the TA family. Thank you.”
• “I enjoyed hearing our student talk about their learning and goals in ways that were different from regular conversations we might have about school at home.”

The sign-up form for roundtables is still open, and will close on Tuesday 3/29. Reminder – please click on your student’s advisor when signing up for a time slot. 

Wishing everyone a good weekend – and best of luck to our one act performers this evening!

Carrie Brennan, Head of School

Featured photos this week are a throwback to 2020: A glimpse of the in-person student roundtables that took place in the library and the cafe on the evening of Feb. 13, 2020.