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Named by U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Written by Emily Silver, long-time coaching colleague of Joel's Joel started teaching social studies and coaching cross-country and track & field at TA during the 2003-2004 school year when he interned fresh out of college. In 2009, he moved to California for graduate school but returned to coaching at TA in 2014 after earning his degree. Joel has many strengths as a coach. He focuses on sprints and jumps, but … read moreJanuary 25, 2020 -
TA's indoor track and field team had another standout day at last weekend's annual Dartmouth Relays event. Or, as Coach Buttrey put it, "This was almost certainly the best Dartmouth Relays the Thetford Academy Indoor Track team has ever had!!" In addition to the school records, podiums, and placement of the teams highlighted below, almost every athlete on TA's track and field team left the Relays with new personal records in their events. Go Panthers!!! Tobin … read moreJanuary 14, 2020 -
Thetford Academy's instrumental music teacher Greg Mellinger recently penned an article for the National Federation of State High Schools Association's publication "High School Today." The article, titled "Maintaining School Activities in a Small School Setting," discusses the importance of providing students with a broad range of athletic, club, and arts activities—and the challenge of doing so in a small school setting. Mellinger shares how Thetford Academy has addressed this challenge with creativity and commitment. One creative … read moreJanuary 14, 2020 -
On Friday, English 10: Identity & Voice students presented the final project of the semester: "The Anthology." 2020 marked the 29th year of the Anthology assignment, which is now considered a rite of passage for TA students. Since retired teacher Peggy Sadler began the project back in 1991, the assignment has shifted, but the essence of it has remained the same. Throughout the semester, students collect excerpts of both original and published literature that … read moreJanuary 13, 2020 -
The Panthers' indoor track team headed to Burlington last weekend for a Sunday meet at the University of Vermont. The team continued their streak of record-making and breaking performances, with both boys' and girls' teams earning podium finishes in several events. The recap from Coach Charlie Buttrey: Knute Linehan '21 set a new school record in the high jump, with a leap of 5' 10 3/4". In the 1500, Tobin Durham '22 crossed the finish … read moreJanuary 8, 2020 -
This week, TA seventh grader Piper Leibon was featured in the online newspaper VTDigger for her Young Writer's Project (YWP) submission titled, "Tomorrow." YWP, a Vermont-based non-profit organization, engages young people to write and use digital media to express themselves "with clarity and power, and to gain confidence and skills for school, the workplace and life." From VTDigger: "This year’s ball drop marked the beginning of another new year… and a new decade, too: an … read moreJanuary 7, 2020 -
Thetford Academy Drama students present five comedic, short plays Thursday, Jan. 16 and Friday, Jan. 17 in the Martha Jane Rich Theater. This year’s plays are drawn from a variety of authors, from Christopher Durang to Rich Orloff, and they offer an evening of light-hearted drama. NOTE: Some plays are PG-13 for strong language. Shows are at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door. Students are free. … read moreJanuary 2, 2020 -
At Friday's indoor track meet at Leverone Arena at Dartmouth College, TA athletes were on fire! They set new school records in the 600, hurdles, and 4 x 200 relay. And, TA senior Grace Davis set a new state record in the high jump. The details from Coach Charlie Buttrey: In her first-ever race in the 600, Madi Powers '22 set a new school record. Kiran Black '22 broke the oldest record in the book, … read moreDecember 30, 2019 -
Thetford Academy's Choral and band students have been working hard to prepare seasonal music for the annual Winter Concert. The chorus will be singing music of several different eras and styles, including folks songs from around the world--in French, Spanish, and German. Some of the music to be performed include Scarborough Fair, Basin St. Blues, Two French Noels and On This Still, Silent Night. The band will be performing Sounds Of Silence, Carol Of The … read moreDecember 18, 2019 -
Ms. Silver's Creative Writing students performed a sampling of their semester's work on December 12th in the Martha Jane Rich Theater. The class, made up of Thetford Academy juniors and seniors, opened with a collage of "I Remember" statements, followed by music to allow for a scene change. For the rest of the show, small ensembles performed their works, grouped by themes, each followed by music. Bravo to Trevor Johnson, Lucas Gilman, Knute Linehan, Emily Trage, Ethan Berard, Casey MacVeagh, Sam Spelman, Riley Burkins, Emi Vaughan, Eli … read moreDecember 16, 2019 -
On Tuesday, December 10, thirteen students represented Thetford Academy at Hanover High School's Annual World Languages Poetry Recitation Contest. With the support of TA's World Languages faculty (Dana Brettell, Karen Heinzmann, and Jane Chambers), the students memorized Students memorized poems by some of the giants of French and Spanish literature. On the French language side, students performed poems by Alphonse Lamartine, Paul Valéry, Louise Labé and Aimé Césaire. Poems by Gabriela Mistral, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and Julio … read moreDecember 12, 2019 -
Thetford Academy's Meal Planning and Preparation students hosted their annual Thetford Academy Holiday Luncheon on Wednesday, serving more than 20 guests a delicious three course meal. The guest list included students' grandparents, TA alumni, former faculty, neighbors and friends. Upon arrival, guests were treated to wonderful service, a festive atmosphere, and lively conversation. Students Michael Adams-Lindberg, Brianna Beland, Jacob Finkelstein, Lizzy Fisher, Natalia Gioia, Lily Kopsola, Sadie Mikovitz, and Adam Trepanier--with the coaching and encouragement of … read moreDecember 12, 2019 -
November’s Student of the Month is a remarkably caring and dedicated person. This student has a quiet grace and maturity that is both appreciated and admired. She is a creative and talented writer, willing to put in the hard work needed to ensure that she not only does well in a class, but also really understands the content and material. In each piece of writing, whether fiction or nonfiction, objective or deeply personal, she pours herself into her work and strives … read moreDecember 4, 2019 -
Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, TA has something fun to be thankful for: the gathering of Thetford Academy alumni of all ages in the Vaughan Alumni Gymnasium for the annual TA Alumni Basketball game. This year, 27 alumni and one "honorary" alumnus (Tim Ouellette, assistant coach for TA's Varsity Boys Basketball team) came together for a game. The diverse group of players included graduates from the classes of 1984 to 2019. Over five … read moreDecember 4, 2019 -
Dr. Yolanda ("Yoli") Sanchez, Associate Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology from the Geisel School Of Medicine and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, visited Mr. Engler's Biology and Advanced Biology classes this week. Dr. Sanchez' work is focused on research to identify drugs, and drug targets, for the treatment of cancer. Dr. Sanchez's visit gave students the opportunity to see the real-world application of the biological sciences and the coursework they are studying today. After the … read moreNovember 22, 2019 -
Funded by a gift from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation, poet Geof Hewitt, of Calais, VT, spent a week with Ms. Silver's Creative Writing class and a week with Ms. MacGregor's. Sitting at desks arranged in a circle, Geof had the students write pages worth of poems each day, writing in 7-minute bursts with the goal of quantity over quality. They competed for how much they could produce! Geof pushed the writers to revise, during … read moreNovember 21, 2019 -
Thetford Academy has the gear you need to gift this holiday season! The TA Spirit store has both online and on-site options to choose from and carries a wide variety of spirit gear for all of your TA pride needs. The online store carries only items that have embroidery; screen printed and other spirit gear can be purchased on-site by contacting Deb Sanders-Dame or by using the order form in front of the Arts & … read moreNovember 20, 2019 -
Every year, the Vermont Stage Company reviews poems from the Young Writer's Project (YWP) to include in their annual "Winter Tales" show. All students that responded to the prompt for the YWP weekly writing challenge "Winter 2019" were entered for consideration, and several were selected for presentation by the Vermont Stage Company in December. This year, TA's own Katelyn Johnson, a freshman student from Chelsea, VT, was selected. Katelyn has been participating in the YWP … read moreNovember 19, 2019 -
Five of TA's VEX Robotics teams competed on Saturday at Pinkerton Academy in the "Turkey Day Classic" event. It was a good day for 4886, with team 4886T "Complete Signal Loss," (Tate Whiteberg, Alex Holzer, and Carter Banks) earning 3rd place in the qualifying rounds before a tough defeat by three points in the semifinal rounds. Two of TA's teams were competing for the first time ever--and all for the first time this … read moreNovember 18, 2019 -
This holiday season, TA students will participate once more in the international "Empty Bowls" event, selling hand-crafted bowls and homemade soup and bread at the annual TAAA Craft Bazaar. Empty Bowls is a global grassroots movement, led by artists and crafts people in cities and towns around the world and aimed at supporting food-related charitable organizations. This year, the Culinary Arts and Ceramics classes teamed up in TA's art studio to create a colorful array … read moreNovember 13, 2019 -
On Friday, Thetford Academy seventh graders had the opportunity to hear from James Bruchac, a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe. Bruhac is an award winning author, Abenaki storyteller, animal tracker, wilderness survival expert, cultural educator, and instructor of the martial arts. Seventh graders are currently reading the novel Hidden Roots, a book written by James Bruhac's father, James Bruhac, about a boy's journey to confront hidden family secrets and discover the truth about his … read moreNovember 12, 2019 -
On Saturday, November 1, TA's Varsity Girls soccer team headed to the Maxfield Sports Complex for their championship game to take on No. 2 Vergennes. The Commodores were a familiar foe and a formidable one--the Panthers played hard to win last year's title game, 2-1, against the same team. Knowing their opponent well, the Panthers were prepared and quickly took control of the game. The Valley News reported that "TA fans seemed to sigh a collective … read moreNovember 4, 2019 -
The Thetford Historical Society has announced the date and theme for the 8th annual Thetford Geography Bee. The Bee, scheduled for Friday, November 15, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thetford Academy Cafe, will focus on the theme of "Migrations," a topic that the Historical Society has been exploring with their "Migration Nation" series this year. The questions will explore the theme's geographical aspects (physical, cultural, political) with questions drawn from the Migration Nation events. There … read moreNovember 4, 2019 -
October’s Student of the Month is a quiet, hard-working, and well-rounded student. Always a positive presence in any classroom, she shows a genuine interest in learning. She also plays a leadership role in the TA community. She is involved with gender equity and the Gay Straight Alliance. She is a talented musician, willing to take risks and perform solo in front of a large audience. On the track team, she supports her teammates, takes workouts seriously, and projects … read moreOctober 31, 2019 -
ANTIGONE OPENS NOV. 21! Thetford Academy Drama presents ANTIGONE, a Greek tragedy reimagined by Jean Anoulih, and translated from the French by Lewis Galantiere. The story of ANTIGONE, by Sophocles, is rooted in civil disobedience, set in the aftermath of civil war. Oedipus’ two sons have killed each other in a fight for the crown of Thebes. Their uncle, Creon, becomes king and declares that Eteocles will receive holy burial while his brother, Polynices, is left unburied to rot … read moreNovember 14, 2019 -
TA's Visual Arts teacher, Karyn Neubauer, includes a multimedia unit in her curriculum every year. So when Patricia Norton, director of the Upper Valley Music Center's Juneberry Choral Program, reached out with an idea to incorporate multimedia art into the group's next choral performance, it felt like a perfect fit. Juneberry Community Chorus, one of Juneberry's choral programs, is a roughly 70 voice group, with singers ranging in age from twenty-something to octogenarian. The group … read moreJanuary 2, 2020 -
At Wednesday's all-school assembly this week, TA's Robotics Club, also known as VEX Robotics Team 4886, presented their early-stage prototypes for the robots they hope to take to competition this year. The team is gearing up for the 2019-2020 VEX game "Tower Takeover," designing, building, coding, and learning to drive robots that will withstand competition from teams all over the world. VEX competitions, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, put classroom STEM concepts … read moreOctober 23, 2019 -
Soccer Last week, the Panthers celebrated their Varsity Soccer seniors at the final home games of the regular season. At last Tuesday's Varsity Girls game v. Stowe, the Panthers honored Brittany Clifford, Arwen Clayton, Grace Davis, Alexis Gaetz, Jade Jamieson, Lily MacVeagh, Casey MacVeagh, Bethany Maxfield, Ellen Veracka, and Sophie Williams for their contributions to the team. The Panther Girls have earned the Division III State Title two years in a row and are top-seeded for … read moreOctober 21, 2019 -
On Thursday, October 17, Thetford Academy, with the New Hampshire non-profit Compas de Nicaragua (Friends of Nicaragua), was proud to host the Nicaraguan dance troupe "Daughters of the Corn" for the third time. Compas, founded in 1992 and now led by Littleton, NH native Michael Boudreau and Ana Narvaez of Managua, Nicaragua, began as a small, informal community service effort focused on service trips to Nicaragua. The group traveled annually to the Nicaraguan community of La … read moreOctober 17, 2019 -
For the last 29 years, Thetford Academy has been the proud host of the Woods Trail Run, widely considered the best of New England's middle and high school cross country circuit every year. This year, as bus after bus pulled into TA's lots, the temperature hovered at 32 degrees and a dense fog hung over the campus. The cold temperatures did nothing to dampen the energy and excitement of the 96 middle and high … read moreOctober 7, 2019
