What a day! Six schools and almost 40 students competed at the January 31st tournament in Lebanon, delightfully dubbed the New England Middle School Open. This tournament was designed to increase enthusiasm for debate among our younger students across Vermont and New Hampshire. Seventh graders Coral Riegler, Emelyn Leitao, Zachary Martin,...
At the end of every semester, you'll find students at Thetford Academy putting their learning to work, applying the the skills and ideas they've practiced in the classroom. Through culminating projects and experiences, teachers encourage students to not only demonstrate their mastery of course material, but also their creativity and...
I’ll be honest: I didn’t start a debate team at TA because I loved debate. I used to think debate was a competition where winning mattered more than reaching thoughtful conclusions, and rewarded people who could think quickly, not deeply. I worried that students would learn clever tricks to...
by English faculty Sarah Hancock and Kristen Downey Summer months are for reading. What better way to spend summer than getting lost in a fun new novel? As middle school English teachers, we care deeply about helping students discover or rediscover the joy of reading. That’s why we’re wrapping up the year...
At one of the pre-trip meetings for the 17 students who made the commitment to travel together to France and Spain, as students peppered Madame Heinzmann with the usual questions — How many pairs of pants should I pack? Should I bring my bathing suit? — she offered a piece...
The Vermont State Debate Tournament, held on Saturday, March 8 at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, saw 48 debaters grapple with the topic: Resolved: In the United States, the benefits of the use of generative artificial intelligence in education outweigh the harms. This was a timely and important topic, especially...
Thetford Academy hosted its first debate tournament on Saturday, with 10 high school teams attending the mid-season competition. From their home "court" vantage, TA's debaters deftly landed their arguments to earn the meet's Sweepstakes Award. The sweepstakes award gives each team 1 point per debate and 1 extra point for...
Sonya Sotomayor, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Weird Al Yankovic, and Zac Efron. What do these notable people all have in common? They joined their high school speech and debate teams! And just like those notable personalities, eighteen intrepid TA students have joined TA's speech and debate team for our second...
As we transition to a new student information system and grading platform, some of our TA educators are using the opportunity to shift how they track and report student progress in their classes – in other words, how they grade. One important new capability for us in Alma is the option...
In the spirit of continuous growth, learning, and for the simple joy of reading on a summer afternoon, Thetford Academy's faculty members almost always have a book in progress over the summer break. What are they reading this year? The list below reflects the breadth of our teachers' interests and...