Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2010 | Page 10

School News

TA Breaks Ground for Second Dorm,
Re-Dedicates Nelson Hall
dent Eric Purvis ’81 also spoke at the
event, saying that the new dormitory will be home to 42 students and
4 dorm families. He noted that this
is a significant development in the
school’s nearly 200-year history, and
that it’s an exciting time as the boarding program continues to grow.
Establishing the program has
been much more significant than just
adding additional kids to the student
body, Headmaster Carl J. Stasio, Jr.
explained. It’s a remarkable development that’s had a positive impact on
TA students, teachers, athletics and
after-school activities, he said, and it
has broadened everyone’s perspective.
School officials hope to welcome
100 students to campus by the fall of
2011, Thornton’s bicentennial year.
The new dormitory will be completed
at that time.
Thornton Academy’s boarding
program includes many students
from China but also from Vietnam,
Japan, Korea, Spain and Bulgaria in
2010-11. Thornton Academy also has
a domestic student living on campus
this year. Recruiting for students who
will live in the new dorm will further
diversify the boarding population.

The existing dormitory is named
after James E. Nelson ’67, who has
served on Thornton’s Board of Trustees for more than 31 years, 24 of
those as its president. Stasio said
his visionary leadership supported
the boarding program effort and too
many others to count. A granite rock
was unveiled last June that carries
the Nelson Hall name.
“I am grateful for the honor that
the Trustees bestowed upon me,”
Nelson said. “It validates my years of
working with fellow trustees, Headmaster Carl Stasio, the administrative
team, and all those who care deeply
about Thornton’s future. And it is
humbling to know that the naming of
Nelson Residence Hall will be remembered for generations to come.”
It has been especially rewarding,
Nelson added, to get to personally
know Shawn Shao ’12, a Thornton
Academy student from China who
has become a family friend. Shao also
addressed the audience that day.
Associate Head Rene Menard ’88
thanked everyone who made the first
year of Thornton’s boarding program
a success, and he congratulated its
inaugural class of students.

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