The Sharon Academy

10/09/2026

High School students explored environmental sculpture, creating colorful works inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

10/08/2026

Last week the middle school went to the Sharon Historical Society in Social Studies. They're learning about primary sources and VT History. The visit was a great success. Thank you to Sue, Art, and Mary from the Historical Society for welcoming us!

10/04/2026

Last Tuesday and Thursday the "Ways of Tea" elective had classes at the World War 1 trench beyond the soccer field. After reading various assignments about the British Empire and tea, learning about things like the 1914 Christmas Truce, reading and analyzing the war poem "In Flanders Fields," and understanding why a cup of tea was absolutely essential for the "Tommies" (British soldiers) in the trenches, on Tuesday the students and teacher went to make and have very strong tea with condensed milk and McVitie's biscuits in the trench. Thursday, Rachel Putney (SSgt., US Army) spoke to both her elective students and the tea students about her experiences as a combat medic in Iraq, at the invitation of Byron Breese, who is also a veteran (Major, USAF, Retired). The tea students provided the hospitality of trench tea to their visiting classmates and their own comrades, with biscuits as well as MRE foods that SSgt. Putney brought. Helmets (from the First World War and the Cold War, part of Major Breese's collection) were de rigueur for being in the trench. The tea was most definitely very strong indeed.

09/25/2026

A great day of learning outside the classroom! Our Middle School students returned to the Vermont Villages site in South Royalton to explore the connections between art and the natural world and learn more about the work of artist Ed Levine.

Thank you to the Harpo Foundation for supporting this experience!

09/24/2026

High School students enjoyed a quintessential fall activity at TSA: picking apples from trees on campus and pressing them into fresh c***r! 🍎

Many of the apple trees were planted by TSA’s Environmental Science class back in 2009, a wonderful gift to the students enjoying them today.

Huge thanks to 10th grade parent Russ Patton for sharing his time and expertise and making the apple pressing possible!

09/10/2026

Senior Sunrise 🌅

A few scenes from the Class of 2027’s sunrise hike during the first week of school. Organized by the seniors themselves, it was a pretty great way to start their final year at TSA together.

09/04/2026

Middle School Algebra students kicked off the first day of math class with the Marshmallow Challenge: build the tallest free-standing structure that can support a marshmallow, using limited resources, in just 18 minutes.

You may be surprised to learn that kindergarteners are typically more successful at this activity than graduate students. Middle school students fall somewhere in the middle.

A few memorable quotes from this year's challenge:

"OK, that's good." (Right after the structure fell over.)

"You can't copy us."
"We're going to copy you."

"Every idea is a good idea right now." (With the structure fallen over and one minute left on the clock.)

Questions our Middle Schoolers will carry with them from this challenge throughout the year: How is comparing your work to others helpful, and when is it unhelpful? Is there a role for a quiet observer in a team project? In what ways does prototyping show up in math class?

09/03/2026

TSA Dean of Students Blake Fabrikant joined Vermont Public’s Vermont Edition this week, alongside other Vermont educators and experts, to talk about what we’ve learned from two years as a cell phone-free school, and our next step: moving away from a one-to-one computer program toward more intentional technology use.

Listen to the conversation and learn more about TSA’s approach to technology:
(Blake joins around the 17-minute mark)
https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/vermont-edition/2026-09-02/new-year-new-rule-no-phones-in-vermont-schools

As schools across Vermont begin implementing new phone-free policies, TSA is entering our third year and continuing to examine how, when, and why technology supports student learning.

Discover The Sharon Academy through the voices of our students, faculty, and staff. TSA Voices offers candid conversations about the experiences, relationships, and values that shape our community.

08/26/2026

What happens when students have fewer screens competing for their attention?

For the past two years, TSA students have put their phones away at the start of the school day. This fall, we're taking another step by moving away from personal laptops during the school day to a shared computer cart system, with devices available when students need them for specific academic work.

In a new Valley News article, Head of School Mary Newman and Dean of Students Blake Fabrikant talk about what we've learned from our phone policy, why we're making this next change, and the complicated questions schools are facing around AI.

We're glad to be part of this larger conversation about using technology thoughtfully and intentionally in schools.

Read the full article from the Valley News:
https://share.google/jR2KE52ERi53NCUCt

Discover The Sharon Academy through the voices of our students, faculty, and staff. TSA Voices offers candid conversations about the experiences, relationships, and values that shape our community.