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.
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
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, New Hampshire PBS aired “Outdoor Classroom,” a new episode of its Willem Lange-hosted show, Windows to the Wild. The show explores how Thetford Academy’s culture of outdoor and experiential learning set the stage for a successful reopening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring TA’s Thetford Outdoor Program......
19 November, 2020 No comment
Due to the current covid-19 health crisis, Thetford Academy has made the final decision to postpone TOP Summer programming scheduled for June and July of 2020. Both the rock climbing and backpacking trips have been cancelled, with the goal of resuming these option in 2021. The Connecticut River canoe trip,......
14 May, 2020 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
