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From the Head of School

Welcome to TA’s website! Whatever brings you here – whether you are a current or prospective student, a panther parent or grandparent, a TA alum, a community supporter, a curious educator, or just an interested Upper Valley neighbor – we hope you find stories, facts, and program information about Thetford Academy that are useful and compelling and that capture the unique and inspired nature of our school.

The Head of School page allows me to share my weekly family letters and other blog posts with the wider world. Topics range from program highlights and parent reminders to student shout-outs and class projects – and so much more. Most importantly, I try to spotlight all of the exciting activity happening on our campus and offer a window into daily life and learning at TA.

I invite you to take time to cruise around our website to learn more about Thetford Academy, starting with the TA News page for all of the latest updates.

You can read more about me and my experience as an educator here: Carrie’s bio.

Please be in touch with questions, suggestions, and ideas to share!

Carrie Brennan, Head of School
Thetford Academy
  • Dear TA Families, Kudos to our whole school community for the many ‘wins’ we experienced today. Each grade level had their own agenda and version of the day, so check in with your student to get details about specific activities and personal highlights. A common theme across all the grades: Taking......

  • Students have so many experiences over the course of their years at TA – internships, sports, clubs, challenging courses, theater, music, outdoor activities – it’s easy to believe that these experiences alone are enough to foster learning and growth. In Outward Bound’s early days, instructor Rusty Baille famously agreed: “Let the......

  • Dear TA Families, Snow? What snow? Here at TA, we are getting ready for spring! Student Learning Spotlight In a full circle seasonal experience, the 7th graders spent time in the warmth of the greenhouse this week, cleaning and sorting seeds from crops they harvested last fall, such as corn and......

  • Dear TA Families, As we experience the fickle start to spring in New England, it can be a good time to start planning ahead for summer. Our horticulture students are definitely doing just that, busily tending to their starts in the greenhouse. Summer is an awesome time of growth for our......

  • Dear TA Families, What can we say about March in Vermont? It’s nothing if not unpredictable! I’m sending out a shorter message to our community today, highlighting a few weather-related schedule changes and other upcoming calendar reminders. Event updates: In other calendar news: Stay safe out there. We can compare......

  • Dear TA Families, Re-Cap: Half-Day on Friday As I described in my message earlier this week, there are times in the school year when we need to ‘take care of business’ beyond the normal routine of classes, and that was our approach today. We designed the morning to create time for a......

  • Dear TA Families, Spring is teasing us a bit early today, and a few classes took their lessons outside this afternoon to enjoy the sunshine and breezy, moderate temps.  Starting to Look Ahead to Fall It’s that time of year in schools when we start to have a dual focus......

  • The school meeting portion of Thetford’s Town Meeting Day on March 2 drew a larger-than-usual crowd this year. By 9am, most of the chairs on the gym floor were occupied and the bleachers above were filling up. This was not a surprise, due to the many questions swirling in our......

  • Dear TA Families, It’s been a jam-packed February. Here are a few highlights from this past week. Black History Month Panel: “Spread love, no matter the color.” Yesterday morning students attended an assembly for Black History Month featuring two Black artists and entrepreneurs, moderated by DEI coordinator Tony Strat-Cortez and student......

  • Dear TA Families, I attended the college information session for juniors and their families on Monday night and wanted to share some takeaways. The event, hosted by the TA Counseling Department, featured admissions officers from six regional colleges and offered important information and insights that any parent of a student in secondary......

  • Dear TA Families, 3rd Quarter Momentum This week we bounced back from all of the Founders’ Day fun and jumped back into the flow of 3rd quarter. The sunny days kept our energy up and weather disruptions to the school schedule at bay. This is an important stretch in the......

  • On Friday, February 2, the Thetford Academy school community celebrated the school’s 205th birthday with our annual Founders’ Day event. Photos include the grade level committees busily working during their prep time on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as event activities on Friday. This year’s Founders’ Day theme was board......

Upcoming Events

April 2024

Saturday April 27

9:30 am – 12:00 pm
HS Track Windsor Invitational
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
JV SB vs North Country
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
SB @ North Country

Monday April 29

11:30 am – 11:55 am
School Assembly
Recurs weekly

Tuesday April 30

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
HS Track Meet @ Lebanon
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
BB/SB @ Oxbow
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
MS BB/SB @ Lebanon

May 2024

Thursday May 2

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
VBB vs Windsor
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
VSB @ Windsor

Friday May 3

All Day
Course Registration DUE - Class of 2028
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
MS BB/SB vs Hartford
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
7th grade dance

our VALUES

Excellence

We set high expectations. We challenge all members of the school community to reach their highest potential.

Commitment

We value initiative, courage and dedication. We take personal responsibility for the goals we set and work hard to achieve them.

Cooperation

We work and learn together. We see teachers as coaches, students as team members, families as partners, and learning as practice and action.

Caring

We provide individuals with personalized support and guidance. We care about each other and the larger community.

Diversity

We respect differences among people. We welcome the contribution of varied perspectives to a rich and flexible school culture.