For ThacherDad- and others who might want to weigh in...

<p>I’ve always been a fan of college commencement speeches and graduation talks and ■■■■■ around for the best of them. I liked this snippet from the talk given by this year’s student School Chair at Thacher. </p>

<p>"In a heart-wrenching but essential scene in Steven Spielberg’s film version of Peter Pan, as Peter is about to go save Wendy from Captain Hook’s perilous clutches, the Lost Boys, who have never been without each other nor their leader, share a few lines in which Thud Butt says, “Don’t leave us, Peter, and don’t say goodbye.”</p>

<p>Then one of the younger boys, aptly named Too Small, asks, “What’s goodbye?”</p>

<p>And a third boy, Ace, replies, “It’s going away, that’s what it is. Forgetting about us all over again.”</p>

<p>The sad truth is that Ace is kind of right. As we age, as we leave one way of life and enter another, as we meet people and love people whose lives have been far cries from our own, as the future becomes shorter and the past longer, we do forget. The motions we’ve gone through, the rhythm of daily life, the real-time stresses of excelling academically and athletically and artistically during the most challenging time of our lives will mostly fade from our memories of this place. I think what’s more important, however, and more of a mark of the Thacher experience, are all the things the school has taught us that we won’t think about as memories. The keys to a healthy lifestyle, the way to conduct an enlightening conversation, the right language in the right moment, how to judge character fairly and justly, how to love someone, how to belong to something “whole and perfect” as Mr. Jacobsen put it, I could go on; in the most demanding of circumstances that life can throw at you, you will innately know how to be the best version of yourself, and when you step back from the moment you will think, “I learned that at Thacher. How could I take it for granted?”</p>

<p>I currently have a child at Thacher and live on the East Coast. This was our DD’s first year. The adjustment was hard for us as parents but I feel that it wouldn’t have been much better if she was attending an east coast school. Our DS is a 2 1/2 hr drive away and it is difficult to see him too. We visited Thacher 3 times during the school year and she was home 3 times for long breaks. It is the perfect fit for our DD. She absolutely loves it and so do we. ThacherParent is right on target about how special Thacher is… but it truly comes down to fit for your child. It is not the right school for everyone. Thacher is the best gift we could have given her. We miss having her home though. Feel free to PM me if you have questions. MountainHiker is also a Thacher parent with a current student on this forum.</p>

<p>A couple of things…</p>

<p>First, we are a west coast family with a DD in boarding school on the east coast. While I would love to be closer so I could attend the occasional game or performance, on the whole the distance doesn’t make the experience that different than it would be otherwise. So I would urge you to take a serious look at Thacher and see if it’s the right match indeed.</p>

<p>Second, I’m a bit of a broken record about this, but another school to consider is George (or another Quaker boarding school). My kids attended a k-8 Friends school and I can’t say enough good things about that educational system. Based on your interests, I would say that would be another route to consider for boarding school.</p>

<p>thank you for the posts- if I have learned anything from reading on this forum, I have learned that researching fit is so important. Thacher is certainly on the very short list for us and now it’s time to try to add other schools to the list as well. We will need FA so we will have to cast a wide net. Meanwhile, a trip to California is in our future this fall…
Thank you Westcoastdog, (and ThacherParent) I will PM you both when we have more specific q’s</p>

<p>Friendlymom, I have looked at George and it sounds great! A friend had suggested it to me, as well. I am a little hesitant about the number of day students, and it clearing out on weekends but we have friends in Princeton that think it’s an amazing school.</p>

<p>Our DS just completed his freshman year at Thacher, and it has been an incredible experience for him - and for us. Please feel free to PM me for answers to any/all questions about Thacher.</p>