Thornton Academy Newsletter Fall 1992

First published: 1992-11-06

From 1992-1994, I worked as a communications professional for Thornton Academy in Saco, Maine, where I was responsible for a number of publications. This is an index of the issue, with a full set of image-clips attached. I've linked to a couple where I've pulled in the full text. My work from this issue include:

Thornton a State Finalist in Blue Ribbon Competition

Thornton Academy was named one of four state finalists in the 1992-93 Blue Ribbon Secondary School Recognition Program, Headmaster Carl J. Stasio, Jr. announced on November 3. It's the second time in many application cycles that the school has reached this level of achievement.

Teen Drinking Forums Continue

On Monday, November 9, Thornton Academy will host a third public forum on teenage drinking and substance abuse. A volunteer committee of parents, community leaders, and TA staff are currently working on an agenda meant to prioritize the solutions which have arisen from the previous two meetings.

Exchange Students Discover Thornton

It took Columbus three ships and two months to travel from Spain to the New World. 500 years later, it took two Spanish exchange students about seven hours on a jet. "The world is very small," 20 year-old Juan Ruiz of Valencia, Spain, assures one.

Thornton Welcomes Class of 1996

"TA 101" — It would have been apt name for the day-long orientation in which the Thornton Academy Class of 1996 participated on September 9. The freshmen arrived excited, anxious, jittery, and in are cases sleepy, but by day's end, they walked with the confident swagger of high school veterans.

Thornton Wins State Grant

In addition to being named a Blue Ribbon Schools finalist, Thornton Academy recently won a competitive Maine Department of Education Innovative Grant worth $4,500. Focusing on a national reform movement known as the "Coalition of Essential Schools," Thornton teachers and students are now beginning a year-long inquiry into the future of secondary schooling in Saco.

Students Win Merit Commendation

Two Thornton Academy seniors have been named "Commended Students" in the 1993 National Merit Scholarship Program. Kristen Andresen and Bethany Savage, both of Saco, earned the commendation for their outstanding performance on the 1991 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, also known as the PSAT. Commended students are those who have scored in the top five percent of the more than one million program entrants.

Harriman Posed for Success

It was quite a summer. Amber Harriman, a Thornton junior, had just been named first runner-up in the Miss Acton Fair Contest, placed in the top 10 in the Talent America Pageant, and named finalist in the New England Model competition. And while she said she was interested in pursuing modeling as career, her mind was on other things. School things.

Just Horsing Around

"I would just like to fulfill my dream of making it to the top," Thornton Academy junior Crystal Lariviere says. In September, Lariviere and her mount, Pretty Petite Dude, showed why this young woman's gumption isn't based on 'bridle' dreaming. At the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts — also known as the Big E — the pair placed in the top five of six equestrian events.

Freshman Cleans Up in 'Invent America' Contest

"I wanted to do something to help the environment," Thornton freshman D'Lynne Plummer said, explaining her winning design in the "Invent America" Contest. "So invented a process that would help the biodegradable process in landfills."

Science Programs Let Student Explore His Future

Ask senior Jim Bickford what he did this summer and you may not be too impressed — at first. Bickford played king-of-the-hill. The catch? He and classmate Josh Knox weren't actually climbing the hills or knocking other teams off; they designed and built a scale-model car to do the dirty work for them.

Summer Reading Program Moves Beyond the Books

The room looks like a Sears weekend white sale. Christina Paul, Margaret Pribish, and Harri Sterling are busy draping a series of white sheets on desks stacked three high. Christina suddenly leaves in search for another extension cord to plug one of nine cassette players scattered about the room.

Parents Go Back to School

October 20 was back-to-school night for the parents of Thornton Academy freshmen. About 160 mothers and fathers got to walk the walk and talk the talk their children do five days a week at Thornton. Parents were given copies of their children's schedules and attended all of their classes. There was one essential difference, though — these classes lasted only five minutes.

Queally Studies 'To Be'

The next time his students trip on their Hamlet recitations, English teacher Chris Queally just might give them the benefit of the doubt. "I went through 40 editions of the play spanning four centuries," he said. "All famous, big editions. And no two 'To Be or Not to Be' speeches were identical."

New Faculty Support Seminar

The students in the in class of '96 weren't the only new kids in town at the end of the summer. Thornton's other freshmen — a contingent of recently hired teachers — also entered the ranks with an orientation day to call their own.

ASVAB Helps Seniors Chart Their Future

"What do you plan on doing when you're finished school?"

It's a frequent question that almost every senior dreads to hear. And it's a difficult one to answer. For many students, planning for the future is an activity they'd like to put off until tomorrow. "I don't know what I want to do," you'll hear them say. "I don't even know what I'm good at!"

Freshman Seminar Begins

"This year, all TA freshmen were required to take a study hall," director of guidance Richard Beaumont said. "We asked ourselves, how can we use it productively?"

Thornton Singers Perform in Honors Chorus

It may not be Carnegie Hall, but Portland's City Hall Auditorium is the next step toward the "big time" for ten Thornton Academy students named to the 1992 High School Honors Chorus. They, along with ninety other chorus members from around the state, will be performing in concert at the auditorium on Thursday, November 5.

Drama Club Presents 'Evening of Theater'

With two directors to its credit, the Thornton Academy drama club did the logical thing: it produced two plays. On Thursday November 12 and Friday November 13, the drama club will present "An Evening of Theater," consisting of two one-act plays well as an exhibition of work by students in Bill Ouellette's "Production, Literature and Performance" classes. The curtain rises at 8:00 pm.

Clips