Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Summer 2009 | Page 6

School News
Graduation 2009

Thornton Academy presented high
school diplomas to 300 members of
the class of 2009 at 1 p.m. on Sunday,
June 7, at the Dr. Paul S. Hill Jr. Stadium. Class of 2009 valedictorian Mark
Reaser said that Thornton Academy
had been a supportive and nurturing
place for students to awaken their intellect and learn how to learn. Studentselected speaker John Gilboy said
that his fellow graduates had learned
much during their time in high school,
everything from gaining self-confidence to becoming analytical thinkers. Guidance Director Paul Mondor,
prior to his retirement, also spoke at
the event. He congratulated parents
for “a job incredibly well done” and
encouraged the Class of 2009 to pay
it forward. Diplomas were presented
by James E. Nelson, then-President of
Thornton Academy’s Board of Trustees, with assistance from Associate
Headmaster Rene Menard. Awards
and scholarships were presented by
Guidance Counselor Jeff Camire and
foreign language teacher Gary Roy.

Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette ’89

Guidance Director Paul Mondor Retires

Guidance Director Paul Mondor
’68 has retired after working 35 years
at Thornton Academy.
Mondor provided inspiration to
countless young people, helping them
to pursue post-secondary education
or another path in life that would
bring them meaning. He helped thousands of students earn their high
school diplomas, find scholarships
and seek out letters of recommendation – which he became quite an expert at writing himself.
Students, faculty and staff will
miss Mondor’s coaching prowess and
his enthusiasm for competition as
much as his presence in the Guidance
Office. He’s best known for developing the school’s cross country program and making it both competitive
and popular. He also coached outdoor
boys track, girls and boys freshman
basketball, freshman baseball, junior
varsity baseball and indoor track.
“I’m sad to go but I’m ready to go
as well,” he said at the conclusion of
the school year.
Mondor began working in the
English department in 1974 and lived
in the Alumni House, which was then
divided into apartments, for more
than a year. He told the Class of 2009
at commencement that much has
Postscripts

•

6

changed since back then: technology
consisted of phones and typewriters,
the only fast food place nearby was
Rapid Ray’s, and Hill Stadium did not
exist. After receiving his master’s degree from the University of Southern
Maine, he began working in the guidance office and became the school’s
third Guidance Director in 1997.
The one thing that’s remained the
same over the years, he says, is the
students. It’s all been about meeting
the needs of each one as much as possible in order to move them on to the
next phase of life.
Although he’s leaving his job behind, Mondor won’t be far from former colleagues, alumni and students.
He still lives in Saco and will root for
the Trojans as a spectator at a variety
of games and meets. The Thornton
community will be connected to him
in other ways, too. His wife Linda will
continue working at TA as an education technician while his daughter,
Nicole Durand Derr ’00, will be an
ESL instructor here in the 2009-10
school year. Mondor is proud that
one of his immediate family members has worked at the school for so
many years. His sister Jeanne Mondor Callahan ’65 was an administrative assistant at TA for 35 years and

Photo by David Hanright

Guidance Director Paul Mondor ’68
takes a run around Thornton’s track
during his retirement party.

her husband Paul Callahan ’64, who
was chair of the social studies department, taught here nearly as long.
“It’s been all about the people,”
Mondor said. “I really enjoyed working with everyone here.”