Head of School Weekly Email: Featuring Clubs, Colleges & Robotics
October 12, 2024
Dear TA Families,
My email this week features some of the many opportunities we offer for our middle school and high school students. We want to encourage them to make the most of their time here at TA and also support their exploration of what lies ahead.
Clubs, Office Hours & Power Hour
Our daily schedule at TA includes a midday lunch/activity period we call ‘power hour.’ On Wednesdays and Thursdays, power hour is dedicated to office hours and clubs, and students have a lot of choices about how they spend their time. Students sign up each week in Alma for their preferred activities – and sometimes teachers take charge and sign students up as well. We are now a month into this routine, and we want to make sure all students – new and returning, middle school and high school – understand the expectations, are making the most of their Wed/Thur power hour opportunities, and have found their niche. Club options are many and varied: nature lab, social justice, chess, disc golf, 3D printing, climate alliance, art, debate, journalism, fitness training, drama, upcycle crafting, and more. Check in with your student to learn more about how they spend their time on these days.
College Rep Visits & CSS Profile Workshop
The TA Counseling Department is hosting college rep visits throughout the fall. The season kicked off with a visit from Dartmouth College admissions officers in early September and has been steady since then. So far this month we’ve welcomed Clark, UVM, Bard, and University of Maine to campus. Upcoming this week and next: St. Lawrence, Endicott, the Air Force, and Kenyon. Notice goes out by email to junior and senior students and parents; the visits are also listed on the TA calendar.
On Monday 10/21, the TA Counseling Department will host a special session for senior parents on a key element of the financial aid puzzle, which is the CSS profile. Learn more about the event and the profile in this news post, which includes links to resources.
TA Robotics Team
The TA VEX robotics team has been hard at work prepping for their fall competitions, one of which will take place at TA! The team travels to Manchester, NH on Saturday 10/19 and then on Saturday 11/2, they will host a meet at Thetford Academy’s Vaughan Alumni Gymnasium. It’s been a decade or so since TA hosted a robotics meet – and the team and their crew of parent volunteers are looking forward to it. Community spectators are welcome to attend. Would you like to volunteer or be a meet sponsor? – or know an individual or local business who might? Please fill out this interest form to connect with meet organizers.
In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, school will be closed on Monday. We will see everyone back on Tuesday.
Thank you,
Carrie Brennan, Head of School
Featured photos this week: A glimpse of clubs and office hours this past Thursday – disc golf enthusiasts play a round on our new course, climate alliance club members make posters to promote composting, Whit VanMeter’s instrumental music students practice during office hours, and chess club advisor Sayer Wickham and students engage in a friendly match.
