Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 2

Wyatt LeBlanc '18 of Arundel with Headmaster
Rene Menard '88 at the January 2018 Pillars
Assembly receiving Student of the Month award.
M ESSAGE F ROM T HE H EADMASTER
Dear Alumni, Parents,
and Friends of Thornton
Academy, assumed the importance of educating
women, Sarah’s compassion found her
answering the needs of girls on the
other side of the world.
I am always impressed by what
Thornton Academy students achieve,
both while they are here with us and
later as alumni. As I’ve written in this
space before, we at Thornton Academy
advocate for a broader understanding
of “achievement.” Although we are
primarily an academic institution,
we take seriously our responsibility
to model and build character in our
students. We are committed to four
core values, what we call our school
“pillars” — respect, responsibility,
investment, and compassion. Though
we only recently articulated the pillars,
those four values have been significant
in Thornton Academy life for
generations. This issue of Postscripts
highlights alumni accomplishments
that demonstrate compassion. Equally powerful stories of compassion
can be found here at home. Despite
the persistence of bitter winter
weather, over a thousand hardy
individuals recently bundled up
for Mary’s Walk 2018. Read about
Gene Libby '70, whose journey of
compassion in memory of his wife
resulted in this annual community
walk and fundraiser, an event he
conceived to “make a difference for
… those who might be faced with the
same issues my family faces.” Or catch
up with MaryAnn Stickles Martin '78,
whose collaboration with teachers
Jennifer Merry and Joan Folker has
created Cinderella’s Closet, an on-
campus place for students to acquire
needed clothing of all sorts, everything
from winter coats and warm boots to
prom gowns and dress suits.
Our cover story profiles Sarah Strassler
'10, who has spent over two years
serving with the Peace Corps in the
west African nation of Ghana. During
her second year as a volunteer teacher,
Sarah and her fellow teachers raised
money and constructed a dormitory
so that girls who wished to attend
school would have a safe place to
stay. Though her own experiences
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This month Postscripts spotlights a
new Thornton Academy tradition,
one that has quickly become very
meaningful for all of us. Under the
leadership of history teachers Eric
Marston ‘91 and Mike Nelson, the
upper school now comes together
monthly in Linnell Gymnasium for
“Pillar Assemblies,” gatherings at
which we celebrate the actions of
students who demonstrate our school’s
pillars. Through these assemblies,
students’ attention has been called to
amazing achievements and instances of
character within our community. Most
recently, a freshman shared a difficult
personal story of his family and the
challenge of his younger sister who
faces a very rare medical condition.
He did so not in terms of all that his
family does for her, but rather by
relating how much he looks up to her,
how necessary and inspirational her
support is to him. His 1,400+ upper
school classmates, typical teenagers
who are usually shuffling their feet
and jostling their neighbors, were
absolutely still and silent as he told his
story, enthusiastically applauding his
courage as he finished.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity
to invite everyone to attend our
upcoming Thornton Academy
auction. This event gives each of us an
opportunity to support the students,
programs, and all the good work that
goes on every day here at Thornton
Academy. Hope to see you there.
Rene M. Menard ’88, Headmaster