With the Closing of a Chapter, the Class of 2026 Celebrates New Beginnings
June 16, 2026
Thetford Academy was proud to celebrate the achievements of the exceptional Class of 2026 at the school’s 207th commencement on Friday. With soaring temperatures and the threat of thunder, the ceremony was held in the Vaughan Alumni Gymnasium. It was standing room only, with families and friends of the graduates filling the spacious gym with not only their presence, but their pride.
It’s a tradition at TA to feature student voices at graduation. This year’s ceremony began with a welcome from Class President Grace Brown, who reflected on her family’s deep history at Thetford Academy, beginning with her grandfather’s own graduation from TA in 1951.
She spoke about the growth that happens in high school and the connections built through every day interactions, “We all had a different high school experience, story, and memories. However, you all were a part of mine. Some of you became my closest friends, while others maybe held the door open for me once, were the reason I laughed one day, gave me a reason to smile, and helped me grow into the person I am now. So I thank you.”
After a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem from junior Julia Bonnett, Layliana Benjamin and Madeleine Richardson led the flower presentation. Each graduate receives two flowers to present to family, friends, teachers, or mentors: “flowers that signify the support given, the time spent, the meals made, the laundry washed, the hair cuts and styles done, the free rides, and most importantly, the love shown.”
In his speech, Daniel Mann reflected on transitions and the porous nature of the boundaries that mark both land and time. “Lines between things never quite hold,” he said.
“Consider the word we chose for today. Commencement, from the French commencer, means to begin. We use a word meaning beginning to describe something that looks, from where I’m standing, an awful lot like an end. Perhaps that is a quirk of language. Or perhaps whoever named it understood something we are only now catching up to: that the line between an ending and a beginning is the blurriest one of all. Between home life and school life. Between one country and another. Between who we were before this ceremony and who we will become after it. The lines we draw are more arbitrary than we like to admit. What remains, when you look closely, is something continuous. Today is not a conclusion, but a continuation of everything that brought us here.”
The graduation ceremony also included two musical performances and a poem: the “Cliffs of Dover” by Eric Johnson performed by senior Sam Kraemer and junior Oliver Emery, and a choral performance of Mamma Mia’s “Thank You for the Music” by graduates Grace Brown and Twyla Weinstein, with juniors Julia Bonnett and Jillian Fein. Nya Perry closed the ceremony, reciting her original poem “Hilltop Farewell,” which ended with a promise to stay connected. “Promise me my friends, we’ll come back here again, We’ll meet up on the hill, where we can see the mountains.”
To learn more about our graduates, awards, future plans, and to see the joyful photos of the event, explore the links below. Congratulations, Class of 2026!
Graduates’ Post-Secondary Plans
Graduation Photos (courtesy of Dan Grossman)