The mission of the Thetford Outdoor Program is to ignite academic curiosity and foster environmental stewardship through outdoor exploration, recreation, and project-based, experiential learning.
The Thetford Outdoor Program (TOP) launched in 2014 with the generous support of the Woodbury Foundation. TOP builds on TA’s long commitment to experiential and outdoor learning, and uses TA’s vast natural resources and the diverse ecosystems of the Upper Valley as a living laboratory and outdoor classroom.
In addition to its academic component, the half-day Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education course, TOP offers students wide-ranging opportunities for outdoor exploration outside the classroom. The TOP Outing Club is open to all students in grades 7-12 and offers a variety of day and overnight hiking, camping, rock climbing, and canoeing trips through the year.
TOP Summer is a series of multi-day to week-long outdoor recreation and leadership opportunities for Thetford Academy students in grades 7-12. TOP Summer includes opportunities for canoeing on the Connecticut River or the wilds of Quebec, backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, or working with other TA students to develop and maintain Thetford Academy’s extensive trail systems.
TOP Summer Wilderness Leadership Program offers a series of multi-day to week-long outdoor recreation and leadership opportunities for Thetford Academy students in grades 7-12. TOP Summer includes opportunities for canoeing on the Connecticut River or the wilds of Quebec, backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, and working with other TA students to develop and maintain Thetford Academy’s extensive trail systems. For Summer 2022 we are excited to announce our newest program, a Garden Camp for Middle School students.
In TA’s environmental studies and outdoor education course, students spend part of every Friday’s two and a half hour class in a designated “solo spot.” Solo spots, selected by each student early in the semester, are a place where students can spend time alone with their thoughts–disconnecting, reflecting, and observing.......
31 May, 2022 No comment
With spring in the air, the Thetford Outdoor Program (TOP) is gearing up for another successful growing season in TA’s school garden. One of TOP’s newest Summer Leadership opportunities, the middle school Garden Camp, aims to engage our youngest students in place-based, outdoor learning with a week-long experience in the......
06 April, 2022 No comment
The Thetford Outdoor Program has an exciting slate of adventures planned for the summer. This year, the TOP Summer Leadership program includes a variety of new outdoor opportunities alongside favorites from past years. Students can canoe camp on the Connecticut River paddle trail, experience rock-climbing in Rumney, NH, or join......
01 April, 2022 No comment
