The Thornton-Donovan School (TD) was founded as the New Rochelle School and Kindergarten in
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...
. It was founded by Judge Martin Jerome Keogh in 1901. The first teacher and
headmistress
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...
was Emily Scott Thornton, a
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
native educated at
University College Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
, now the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
. The headmaster as of 2018 is Douglas E. Fleming, Jr.
[ ]
The school is now at its third
campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...
, on Overlook Circle in the Beechmont neighborhood of New Rochelle. It inhabits three former homes, including the former Andrew Crawford
estate, now the Main Building.
Overview
The Thornton-Donovan School is now a New York State accredited high school educating over 175 students in grades K-12 every year. On May 25, 2005, students planted two flowering trees at the end of Overlook Circle and at Lester Place and Beechmont Lake as a gift to the city of New Rochelle, New York.
The school has a
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
, an outdoor playset,
woodchips
Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste.
Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw material ...
, a
driveway
A driveway (also called ''drive'' in UK English) is a type of private road for local access to one or a small group of structures, and is owned and maintained by an individual or group.
Driveways rarely have traffic lights, but some that bear ...
, more than thirty living trees, a large grassy field, a
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
/
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
/family court, three buildings, a
parking lot
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
/
Hacky Sack
A footbag is a small, round bag usually filled with plastic pellets or sand, which is kicked into the air as part of a competitive game or as a display of dexterity. "Hacky Sack" is the name of a brand of footbag popular in the 1970s (currently o ...
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
, and a
shed
A shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment. Sheds vary considerably in their size and complexity of construction, from simple open-sided ones de ...
for
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
and
crafts
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
which is used only during the summer.
2008-2009 Renovation
During the early 2008, plans were being made to expand and level the field along with building a new basketball court. A proposal for the renovation was sent to the New Rochelle Department of Development Planning Board on June 24. The proposal stated that the field would be graded, ten
irrigation sprinkler
An irrigation sprinkler (also known as a water sprinkler or simply a sprinkler) is a device used to irrigate (water) agricultural crops, lawns, landscapes, golf courses, and other areas. They are also used for cooling and for the control of airbo ...
s would be installed, the basketball court would be taken apart and relocated to allow more field space, a ten-foot chain link fence would enclose the new court, and twenty trees were to be removed during the process. Headmaster Douglas Fleming has referred to the final product as the Field of Dreams.
Summer Challenge Program
In the summer, the school also holds a
summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
program
Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to:
Business and management
* Program management, the process of managing several related projects
* Time management
* Program, a part of planning
Arts and entertainment Audio
* Progra ...
, in its 46th consecutive year as of summer 2014. Children aged 3–14 are permitted to join the program. The children are split into two divisions: Play School (3–7 years) and Sports Fitness (7–14 years). They participate in a wide variety of sports.
Activities include:
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
,
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
,
arts and crafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
,
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
, dance, basketball,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
trampolining
Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more com ...
,
capture the flag
Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...
, an outdoor playset, watermelon, and
kickball
Kickball (also known as soccer baseball in most of Canada and football rounders in the United Kingdom) is a team sport and league game, similar to baseball. As in baseball, one team tries to score by having its players return a ball from home ...
. The older group is also taken to a
bowling alley
A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
in the Bronx every Friday, where the children have a chance to bowl.
Thematic Language Education
Middle and Upper School curricula are themed annually on an area of the world. Students are exposed daily to a dynamic course of learning throughout the year learning not only about international
cultures
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, but actual
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, history and the arts of painting in an
intramural
Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...
and experiential context. The school also has strong ties to several countries, with 35 sister schools throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. During the school year, about four students are selected to go to one of several sister schools. The more notable exchange trips are to
Busan, South Korea
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
;
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
;
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
;
La Rochelle, France
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
;
Nottingham, England
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin ...
;
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
;
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, and
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
.
A rigorous course of learning is punctuated by a "spring-time fling" trip to locations associated with the year's theme (i.e. - the country or locale the school studied). Students, faculty and friends can all join for an exceptional educational excursion. Since 1994, there have been 18 trips, of which 14 were international.
1990s
Little information about the first six trips taken by the school has been given through their website; however, trips to six countries and one state were undertaken between 1994 and 1999.
2000- Greece
The new millennium began with an 11-day trip to Greece that started on May 18 and ended on May 28. The travelers departed from
John F. Kennedy Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on May 18 and landed in
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
on May 19. The group spent the morning and early afternoon at the
Hotel Plaka in
old Athens, overlooking the
Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
. After touring the old city that evening, the school went to the Acropolis at night before going to
Pnyx Hill to see a light show. On May 20, a full day of sightseeing took place. Travelers visited the
Propylaea
In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. They are seen as a partition, specifically for separating the secular and religious pieces of a city. The prototypical Gree ...
,
Temple of Athena
The Parthenon (; grc, wikt:Παρθενών#Ancient Greek, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek ...
, the
Erechtheum
The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropolis ...
, the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
, the
Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum ( el, Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, ''Mouseio Akropolis'') is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on ...
, and the
Theatre of Dionysus
The Theatre of Dionysus (or Theatre of Dionysos, el, Θέατρο του Διονύσου) is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens. It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Di ...
. At 6:00 pm, they attended a Changing of the Guard ceremony in front of the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...
.
2001- Spain
In 2001, the school took an 18-day excursion to Spain from May 10 to 28.
2002- New York
The following year was a ten-day tour of New York City,
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
, and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
from April 12 to 21.
2003- Florida
In 2003, the school traveled to southern Florida from April 25 to May 4.
2004- Belgium
In 2004, a ten-day trip to Belgium began on April 29 and ended on May 8.
2005- Illinois and Missouri
In 2005, the schools' most recent non-international trip took place from April 1 to 10 in Illinois and Missouri.
2006- England
During 2006, the school traveled to England for two weeks from April 28 to May 13.
2007- Japan
![Thornton Donovan at the Hiroshima Memorial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Thornton_Donovan_at_the_Hiroshima_Memorial.jpg)
From May 4 to 17, 2007, the school journeyed to Japan. One of the largest excursions made by the school, a total of 90 people, including teachers and parents, took part in the trip across the Pacific. Due to the large number of people, two flights were taken to Japan, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both of which were from
John F. Kennedy Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...
to
Narita Airport
Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...
; however, the first stopped in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to reduce the amount of waiting time between the two flights. That night was spent in the
Shiba Park Hotel in Tokyo. The first destination was the
Ghibli Museum
The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...
in
Mitaka, Tokyo
260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka
is a city in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was .
Geography
Mit ...
before traveling to the
Meiji Shrine
, is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.
History
Af ...
which dates back to 1920. After visiting the shine, the group traveled across the
Rainbow bridge to the
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
building. The final visit of the day was to the
Tokyo International Forum
The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district.
Tokyo Int ...
where the group attended a performance by La Folle Journee au Japan. The next day the school traveled to the
Imperial Palace for an exclusive tour inside the building; however, this did not take place due to misunderstandings by the students and the group toured the outside of the palace. After touring the Imperial Palace, the next stop was the
John Lennon Museum
was a museum located inside the Saitama Super Arena in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
History
The John Lennon Museum opened on October 9, 2000, the 60th anniversary of Lennon's birth, and closed on September 30, 2010, when its ...
in
Chūō-ku, Saitama
260px, Yono Park
is one of ten wards of the city of Saitama, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is located in the northern part of the city. , the ward had an estimated population of 102,364 and a population density of 12,000 persons per km2. It ...
.
2008- Portugal
![TD at Cape St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/TD_at_Cape_St._Vincent.jpg)
The 2008 trip taken by the school was from April 25 to May 10 in Portugal.
2009- Brazil
From April 29, 2009, the school toured
Salvador, Brazil
Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine ...
. The trip has taken students through the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and entered the Amazon Rainforest on May 1.
2010- South Africa
As of September 28, 2008, the 2009-10 semester trip is set to be about South Africa.
The arts and community connections
* The mural "The Constellations" on the first floor of T-D's main building was painted by a relative of
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
Alton S. TobeyLumen Martin Winter's Haus was T-D's second acquisition for the current opus The mosaic is in the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
' headquarters at
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. There is also a mural by him entitled "Aspirational Music" in the school's main building structure.
* The school has many connections t
Lion's Club International a worldwide "service" organization.
Notable alumni
*
Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of two new television shows, daily at 7 PM ET on Lindell TV ...
– the 2008
United States Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at m ...
vice-presidential nominee. He attended the school from 1977 to 1979 when he graduated.
*
Joey Kramer
Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
Life and career
Kramer was born in the Bronx, New ...
- The drummer from Aerosmith.
Headmasters
*1. Emily Scott Thornton- 1901-1945
*2. Genevieve F. Berns- 1945-1968
*3. Douglas E. Fleming, Jr.- 1968–present
References
External links
Thornton-Donovan School websiteVideo about the Thornton-Donovan School
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1901
Education in New Rochelle, New York
Private K-12 schools in Westchester County, New York
1901 establishments in New York (state)