TA News

Dear TA Community,

It has been an eventful week in the evolution of Covid guidelines in Vermont. This week’s email shares important news on that front and other school updates.

TA Shifts to Mask Optional March 14
Based on developments yesterday, most importantly the shift in Orange County’s Covid status to a ‘medium’/yellow rating, Thetford Academy will shift to making masks optional for our school community starting Monday, March 14. You can link to our decision-making framework, first shared with you on Tuesday, to see information and links regarding the many changes that have occurred over the course of this week that contributed to our decision. 

This is a significant milestone in our two-year journey through the pandemic and one that I know many students are looking forward to reaching. There are others in our school community who will want to continue using a mask daily for extra protection for themselves and/or loved ones, and that is welcome too. We will support all TA community members who want to wear masks in doing so, and we have a large supply of high-quality masks to distribute to staff and students in the health office. We are waiting until March 14 to move ahead with this change to give families time to make these decisions and plan ahead, and also because we will have a lot of indoor group activities happening throughout the week with Founders’ Day. This date also aligns with the governor’s timeline.

Class of 2022 Hosts Sledding Party

This Saturday afternoon from 2-4pm, the senior class will host a sledding party fundraiser at the upper soccer field. The event is open to the whole community, so bring friends and family – and don’t forget to bring your own sled too. Admission is $3 and includes cookies and hot cocoa. For more details, connect with senior class president Taylor Farrell.

Opportunity to Participate in UVM Prize Math Exam

The annual mathematics competition for high school students sponsored by the University of Vermont will take place at TA on Tuesday, March 8 during B block. The event is open to all high school students and TA students are invited to participate. Ms. Deibler is coordinating the event, so students should connect with her with questions and to sign up. As Ms. Deibler stated in her email invitation to students this morning, “All you need is something to write with and a warmed up brain! High scorers are recognized for the state and the region. And, what better way to prepare for Pi Day than a fun math contest?” More information is available here: https://site.uvm.edu/mathcontest.

Panther Team Updates

• A big wow: TA robotics moves on to world competition after their success at the VT/NH state championships! Read the story here.
• Congrats to the basketball teams on their seasons. Read the season wrap-up here.
• More news to come on the boys’ ski team’s outcomes at states earlier this week.

Closing with Thanks & Reminders

• A big thank you to the Thetford voters for passing the school budget on Tuesday!
• Next Friday is Founders’ Day, with prep days on Wednesday-Thursday. 
• Wednesday, March 9 is a half day with dismissal at 12:10 p.m. 

Thank you,

Carrie Brennan, Head of School

Featured photo: Student teams in Mr. Schmidt’s timber frame class presented their design proposals for a new compost station to be constructed by the class this spring. Kudos to the groups for their professional presentations and detailed models!