TA News

Dear TA Families,

Quarter Comes to a Close
First, I want to emphasize this pivotal time in the academic calendar. The upcoming week is the finale to the first quarter of the school year. 

• For high school students, this is especially important to note. With our semester-block schedule at the high school level, classes meet intensively for two quarters only (from Aug-Jan and Jan-June) – that means that Friday, Oct. 31 marks the midway point of fall semester classes.
• For middle school students, things are a little different. They mostly have the same classes and teachers for the full school year. The only exception is their Q1 arts rotation electives, which last for a quarter only; these will come to a close this week and students will transition to new ones on Monday, Nov. 3.

If you haven’t done so yet this year, please log into Alma together as a family and review your student’s progress, and help them prepare for the final stretch of the quarter. 

The World Comes to Us
Last week I shared some of the exciting off-campus excursions classes had taken recently. Another way that we extend our learning, ratchet up engagement, and help students make connections between the classroom and community, is to bring the world to us through guest speakers and artist residencies. Shining the spotlight on a few recent examples:

1. Every fall, Joe Deffner invites Matt Slaughter, the Dean of the Tuck School of Business (and TA alum parent), to present to the Senior Honors Seminar class during their study of The Great Gatsby. Matt shares his career research and policy proposals related to the ‘American dream’ and leads students in a thought-provoking discussion of whether contemporary American society provides enough opportunity for young adults to realize their dreams.

2. We were excited to welcome Nando Jaramillo of Moon + Stars back to campus, this time as a guest expert in Jennifer Gernhard’s classroom. Nando shared with students in Foods Around the World the techniques and cultural context of making arepas, a staple in certain South American cuisines. The recipes the class used centered around Abenaki corn varieties grown locally in Vermont.  

3. Eighth graders will be working with artist Wayne Carter over the next four Fridays in their English classes. Carter is a cartoonist from New Orleans, an alum of the Center for Cartoon Studies in WRJ, and has taught widely throughout the Upper Valley including at Saint-Gaudens National Park. English Teacher Kristen Downey secured a VT Arts Council grant to support the residency. 

4. Two upcoming campus visits – and parent invitations … On Tuesday 10/28, the social studies department will host a talk by the Ugandan human rights attorney and advocate Nicholas Opiyo at 1:30pm in the MJR Theater. If you’d like to attend, RSVP to [email protected]. And, on Tuesday 11/4, the same department is coordinating a writing workshop for students that features a panel of community members sharing the tools and skills they use to communicate effectively in their various fields of work. The panel will take place approx 10-11am in the MJR Theater. If you might like to participate as a panelist, please contact [email protected]. 

Congratulations Are in Order

• Congrats to our varsity boys soccer team for their quarter-final victory over Vergennes on Friday! It was a hard fought game that went through double overtime and two rounds of penalty kicks to get to the win.
• Congrats to social studies teacher Stacy Barton for being Thetford Academy’s 2025 recipient of the Vermont Outstanding Educator Award! Check out the full article for more details. 

Don’t forget: Student council is sponsoring a Halloween Spirit Week, Friday 10/31 is a half day, and TA hosts a regional robotics tournament on 11/1.

Best of luck to our cross country athletes who are competing in their state meet today – and to the TA robotics team who kick off their season in Manchester, NH today!

Carrie Brennan, Head of School