TA News

On Friday, February 13, 2026, Thetford Academy celebrated its 207th birthday and its 83rd annual Founders’ Day. Former Head of School Carl Anderson started the Founders’ Day tradition in 1944, after a tragic fire destroyed the school’s original campus. With Founders’ Day, Anderson hoped to honor the school’s deep history, lift the spirits of its community, and to celebrate TA’s resilience through hard times.

Many of the original traditions from that first Founders’ Day remain in practice today, from the candle lighting ceremony to the many school wide competitions. Students still compete each year to earn the title “Founders’ Day champion” and, of course, the bragging rights that go along with it. They work in committees to build floats, paint murals and banners, bake cookies, write skits and songs, and make costumes and crowns, ice sculptures, and centerpieces.

Every year, the events center around a student-selected theme; this year’s theme was “Fairy Tales.” The 12th grade gets first pick of a sub-theme and this year, the Class of 2026 chose Rapunzel. The remaining classes chose Little Red Riding Hood (11th grade), Puss in Boots (10th grade), Snow White (9th grade), Three Little Pigs (8th grade), and Jack and the Bean Stalk (7th grade).

The competitions each year are evaluated by a volunteer panel of judges. Thank you to Alex Daum ’06, Ian Weider ’13, Satchel Arnold ’11, Brian Rich ’65, and Ted Peters ’63 for your excellent work as judges this year. Our gratitude also goes out to the Founders’ Day committee: Stacy Barton, Karyn Neubauer, Scott Ellis, Rachael Brown, Kristen Downey, and Gretchen Cjaza.

Final Scores

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