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.
Dear TA Families & Students, Spring is always a whirlwind time of year in a school, as we all aim to stay focused on teaching and learning in the present term, while simultaneously prepping for year-end events and the fall semester. It’s like surfing two waves at once! For students......
30 April, 2021 No comment
We at TA are going have to learn how to share Scott Ellis. As many have heard by now, Scott was recently hired by the Aloha Foundation to be the director of the Ohana Family Camp, starting with this summer’s season. This is a very exciting career move for Scott – it......
26 April, 2021 No comment
Dear TA Families & Students, This one-year pandemic anniversary is intense, isn’t it? To go back a year and realize just how little we knew what was coming and how long it would last can make one’s head spin. Despite 12 months of navigating life and school through a pandemic,......
12 March, 2021 No comment
Dig into what students are truly thinking about in the Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education Course in the Fall semester of 2020. This website includes student’s favorite free writes of the semester....
01 February, 2021 No comment
A website with student reflections inspired by Rachel Carson’s Sense of Wonder. https://sites.google.com/thet.net/mysenseofwonder/home...
04 October, 2020 No comment
by Ethan Marshia It seems like it was just yesterday that we all ventured out on our first journey together. Entering the portal to a seemingly otherworldly dimension. I was just a mere fledgling. This class has given me everything I could have imagined and more. It has allowed me......
26 May, 2020 No comment
