TA News

Dear TA Families,

I am SO impressed with students’ energy and engagement in the early weeks of the school year, and I want to encourage us all to support them in keeping up the good momentum. This is not just a honeymoon phase of the new year – this is who we are as a school community!

A few highlights of the week to share, all related to the theme of seeking opportunities, getting involved, staying engaged, and sharing infectious positive energy. 

• Kudos to all of the students and staff who participated in the summer reading challenge. At the assembly on Monday, we had a lot of winners in the raffle. A special shout out to the super readers who achieved ‘super bingo’: Ben Barton ’29, Owen Hill ’31, Luke Kidd ’28, Mikayla Koutsev ’30, Stella Sandburg ’28, Lauren Trombly ’29, and English Teacher Abby MacGregor!
  
• On Wednesday and Thursday, we had our first ‘sign-up days’ with a menu of office hours, clubs, and activities for students to choose from. We were pleased that 84% of the students were able to navigate the sign-up steps in Alma and will continue to work toward 100%. There was a lot of buzzy activity around campus – everything from corn hole on the quad, intro to student council meeting, disc golf on the south campus, open library, fitness room time, debate club, ODW, art studio time, new clubs forming, and connecting with teachers in office hours. Ask your student what they did on these two days during Power Hour. 
  
• High school students have the opportunity to pursue ’embedded honors’ in a number of their core classes. This is the time when they have to commit to taking on this challenge. Connect at home, especially with your 9th and 10th grade students, to learn more about this option and see what your student is considering. 
  
• There are lots of opportunities available outside of our school community as well, and we encourage students to grab these when the fit seems right. 8th graders recently learned about the Vermont Page Program in their social studies classes; deadline to apply is Sept. 30. Meanwhile, the VPA reached out this week to invite 11th and 12th graders to apply to the prestigious US Senate Youth Program; deadline to apply is Oct. 20. Look for emails from the TA Counseling Department throughout the year as they share programs near and far that students might be interested in.  
  
• Today the Class of 2029 got to experience a sunny fun morning outside with classmates and advisors at our annual 9th Grade Retreat. Based on my visit to see how things were going – and the photos that Kiki Robbirds took (a few attached below) – I’d say our newest high school class gets an excellent score on embracing all of the activities with a good attitude and helping achieve the big goal of the day, which is to build community! Thanks to the 9th grade advisors for providing the support – Gretchen Czaja, Melissa Friel, Pat Greene, Abby MacGregor, Nick Pasterino, Chris Schmidt, and Luke Teschner; TOP coordinator Scott Ellis and 9th grade counselor Molly Dugan-Sullvian for organizing event logistics; and the awesome team of seniors who led activities. 

Most of my highlights above focus on things happening outside of the classroom. Of course most of a student’s day at school is inside classes, and we want to encourage students to be engaged, seek opportunities, find their groove, and be energized in their academic work as well. We are a dozen days into the 2025-26 school year. How are classes going for your student? What routines are working for them? Where are they thriving? Where do they need support? Thanks to those who were able to attend Back to School Night yesterday. Hopefully that insider’s view of your student’s academic day gave you helpful information and perspective. Please reach out if you need any guidance as we move further into Quarter 1. You can reach your student’s teachers, advisor, or counselor via email or Alma if you want to connect. 

We invite all parents and guardians to take this very short survey about Back to School Night; it’s designed for everyone – those who attended and those who didn’t. SURVEY LINK

Next big opportunity coming up: Mountain Day on September 19!

Permission forms are due on 9/15 (that’s Monday). This is a schoolwide TA tradition dating back decades, and we look forward to getting everyone out on a peak-bagging hike with their grade next Friday. For more details about the day, please reference the email sent to parents on Sept. 5 from Scott Ellis.

Wishing everyone a beautiful autumn weekend,

Carrie Brennan, Head of School