Dear Internet Friend:
As Headmaster, I would like to welcome you to Thornton-Donovan School’s website. As a Worldwide Web user, I’d like you to know a little bit about our school.
T-D is Westchester’s only “Little Red Schoolhouse.” Founded in 1901, T-D celebrated its centennial in the 2000-2001 school year. The School has about 170 academically talented students who come from homes around the corner and homes around the world.
As an independent co-ed K-12 school, T-D specializes in international education, It offers several languages in classes with 10 – 12 pupils; French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, German, and Russian are taught daily. In addition, T-D has dozens of “Sister Schools” around the world. Students can go to school in Pusan, Korea; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dublin, Ireland; Shanghai, China; La Rochelle, France; Nottingham, England; Rome, Italy; Mexico City, Guatemala City, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Tirana, Albania and so on. During the course of the school year, T-D and T-D families often host visiting students from these very same destinations.
For 2009-10 T-D’s school family will be saluting South Africa as a newly discovered land. South Africa is one of the world’s most inviting countries. Brazil was an ideal prelude to it as T-D traveled from Rio to Sao Paulo in May 2009. We are ready to be explorers once again.
As is the case with each and every yearly theme, 19 new courses are introduced to reflect it and students from grades 6-12 are invited to select a few from them. All of T-D’s thematic courses are taught for only one year. They are integrated within T-D’s regular curriculum which can best be described as classical and Western.
Some of the classes now on line, as part of the “Rainbow Nation” South African theme are listed below for readers to better understand the thrust and extent of each year’s academic salute. Selecting any of these South African entrees is based on ability, achievement, and interest; not grade level.
South African Adventure
History of Life
Sounds of South Africa
New King Solomon’s Mines
Cityscapes & Skylines
Empires of the Sea
South African Lit. & Writers
African & Asian Kingdoms
Infectious Diseases
South African History
Human Origins
Water Wonder
Amphitheatre Architecture
Salt of the Earth – Food
Empires of Steam
History of Africa on Film
Silt to Salt Archaeology
Art Beyond the Rainbow
The Big Five
T-D’s regular upper school curriculum offers four years of English, social science, math, and science. Students can go to the highest level in seven foreign languages. Most T-D classes in the upper school are honors classes.
Each year’s academic theme customarily culminates in travel-study to a specific destination. In May 2010 T-D will begin a two-week sojourn in South Africa itself with Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg as its main focus.
T-D’s last academic adventure was in Brazil and close to 50 family members visited, toured, and studied in the country that is special to the entire world.
Should you want to go global, check out T-D, your portal to a world class education.
Thornton-Donovan is for young people who want to go places. There is no place like T-D. There is no place like here.
Cordially,
Douglas E. Fleming, Jr.
Headmaster
