Many people visualize debate as contests between loud, dominating players, pushing their own point of view. I used to visualize this myself. But as Bo Seo, former coach of the Harvard College Debating Union, writes in his book, Good Arguments: “...
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 academic calendar, especially for high school courses, as we hit the halfway point of the quarter and expect students to be fully immersed in the routines and demonstrating higher levels of knowledge and skills in their new classes. This weekend would be a good time to log into Web2School together with your student to review and...
Thetford Academy hosted its 15th annual Poetry Out Loud recitation contest in the Martha Jane Rich Theater on Monday, with performances from 14 talented TA students – the largest group of participants yet! Poetry Out Loud, "a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry" has become a TA tradition, and is a staple of the school's English 10 curriculum. The contest not only exposes students to great poetry, but also helps them master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. This year's contestants, Sora Bolles '26, Mary Bosco '24, Grace Brown '26, Hanae...
It was a cold January morning when the Class of 2028 arrived at TA with stuffed backpacks, snow pants, and gear - some nervous, some excited, all curious. They would soon board the waiting school bus and depart to the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, VT, just 20 minutes away, for their first Thetford Academy class trip. It was the first school-sponsored overnight since the start of the pandemic, and for some, a first night away from home. In April, the same group of eighth graders will head to Montreal, QC, and this close-to-home adventure was good practice. Kathy Hooke, science...
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 games. You'll see plenty of evidence of the committees' creativity as they depict TA's campus, history, people, and school values reflected in the board game of their grade. Class of 2024 - Clue Class of 2025 - Candyland Class of 2026 - Monopoly Class of 2027 - Life Class of 2028 - Battleship Class of 2029...
Dear TA Families, We had a wonderful Founders' Day celebration today. Thank you to all of the students for their incredible spirit these past few days. What an intensity of activity and creativity to bring all of their projects to fruition in such a short period of time! Enjoy this preliminary photo gallery. We will add more to the mix as we continue to collect and curate photos next week. We hope lots of students turn out this evening for the Founders' Night festivities (starting soon at 6pm!). See an email from Dean of Students Siobhan Lopez earlier today with details. Happy Founders' Day & Happy...