Thacher Traditions
What does it mean to be a part of Thacher tradition?
From the moment Sherman Day Thacher opened the School in 1889, his students began to create traditions—an eclectic range of meaningful, quirky, or fun customs that become part of School life—and to pass them on to succeeding generations. We can only guess who started some traditions, because they seem to have always been there. And new traditions are constantly added, as incoming students and new faculty re-create the School. In fact, this may be Thacher’s best tradition of all—bringing talented, supportive, creative people together in one extraordinary place.
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Big Gymkhana
On a weekend in early May, riders in the Horse Program—all the 9th graders and many upperclass students—compete on teams in all sorts of horse races: barrels and poles, the hurry-scurry, the rescue race, even the Silver Dollar pick-up. Big Gymkhana Weekend draws hundreds of current Thacher families, alumni, and visitors to the School. -
Community Dinner
Several nights per week, faculty and students come together for Community Dinner in the Dining Hall, sharing a meal, good conversation, and sometimes even a joke of the day. Groups rotate periodically, facilitating new friendships and perspectives. -
Holidays
The campus echoes with wild cheering when the head of school announces a holiday at assembly. Snow is one reason for a day off. It’s a rare event, but if a student is able to make a snowball on The Pergola, everyone is granted a day off from classes. Sometimes, there’s a day off “just because.” -
The Silver Dollar Club
The great personal challenge of a Thacher student’s first year comes at Big Gymkhana—the chance to become a member of the exclusive Silver Dollar Club. To join, a rider must manage to scoop up a silver dollar from the dusty ground while leaning wa-a-ay out of the saddle on a loping horse. -
The Thacher Toad
You heard that right, the Toad is our School mascot. Nick Thacher, a grandson of founder Sherman Thacher and a 1963 graduate, explained why he spearheaded the movement to name Thacher’s teams the Toads, "Toads seemed appropriate because the nature of such beasts is one of humility and quiet persistence.” -
The Reading of “The Chambered Nautilus”
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,Till thou at length are free,Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea.
So concludes Oliver Wendell Holmes’s poem, “The Chambered Nautilus,” and so begins every school year at Thacher. Our founder believed that the sea creature called the chambered nautilus, with its spiral shell, symbolizes each student’s mission to grow intellectually and personally each year. At the year’s first Assembly, the Head of School reads the poem to the gathered community. -
Grahams & Milk
After Assembly, students and faculty can grab a handful of graham crackers and a carton of milk from big bowls near the Pergola—a great way to tide yourself over till lunchtime, and a longstanding tradition. Added since Mr. Thacher’s time: organic apples, locally grown. -
The Banquet Song
At major banquets the School community closes the meal by singing The Banquet Song. Written by Sherman Day Thacher, it captures the spirit of The School. Gather a few alums anywhere in the world, and they’ll sing it for you:May old Casa Piedra not fade from our hearts,Till our hearts cease their restless tattoo!May honor, and fairness, and kindness, and truthBe ours till life’s struggle is through.May the stamp of the School be the stamp of our livesWhose honesty carries us on,To do the best work in the world that we canTill the best we can do is all done. -
Open House
Each Saturday night of the school year, the Head of School opens their home for two or three hours so students can drop in to play Ping-Pong or foosball or pool, bake cookies (or just nibble the dough), play games, watch a movie, dance, do some sort of seasonal craft, or just hang out where it’s warm and lively. -
Camping Traditions
Riding over The Ridge, eating lunch at Utensil Point, hiking to Windy Gap to see the whole Owens Valley spread out at your feet, swimming your horse in the Sespe River between Hartman and Cotrell camps, soaking your aching limbs in the hot springs, spending a night at Patton’s Cabin, and working on maintenance projects when you wake up—these are only a few among dozens of time-honored outdoor traditions at Thacher. -
UnProm
Forget limos, expensive dresses, and tuxedo rentals. At Thacher, the faculty puts on a dance for the students called UnProm, an all-out event that may be quirky (thrift-store or trash-bin clothing only, assigned dates, a goofy theme) but that bears enough resemblance to a typical high school prom to be loads of fun. -
“Best Year Yet”
At the beginning of every year, you’ll hear a few School leaders (both adults and students) say, “May this be the best year yet!” It’s a wish, a hope, an expression of optimism that, together, all of us in the Thacher community can recreate our School and home to reflect the highest ideals. -
TOADTalks
On Monday mornings, the Teacher On Active Duty (yes, the TOAD) gives a short talk on a topic that intrigues them, reads a poem, sings a song, or in some other expressive way shares something of personal, collective, or even universal importance and application. This is another way we all gain insight into each other’s perspectives on the world. -
Color Guard
At the opening of every gymkhana and some athletic events, horses, riders and flags come together in a dazzling display of speed and color. Three students gallop around the field, flying the flags of the United States, California, and the Thacher Gymkhana. Even people who have witnessed this event year after year are amazed and moved. We’d say it’s an “only at Thacher” moment.
-
Big Gymkhana
On a weekend in early May, riders in the Horse Program—all the 9th graders and many upperclass students—compete on teams in all sorts of horse races: barrels and poles, the hurry-scurry, the rescue race, even the Silver Dollar pick-up. Big Gymkhana Weekend draws hundreds of current Thacher families, alumni, and visitors to the School. -
Community Dinner
Several nights per week, faculty and students come together for Community Dinner in the Dining Hall, sharing a meal, good conversation, and sometimes even a joke of the day. Groups rotate periodically, facilitating new friendships and perspectives. -
Holidays
The campus echoes with wild cheering when the head of school announces a holiday at assembly. Snow is one reason for a day off. It’s a rare event, but if a student is able to make a snowball on The Pergola, everyone is granted a day off from classes. Sometimes, there’s a day off “just because.” -
The Silver Dollar Club
The great personal challenge of a Thacher student’s first year comes at Big Gymkhana—the chance to become a member of the exclusive Silver Dollar Club. To join, a rider must manage to scoop up a silver dollar from the dusty ground while leaning wa-a-ay out of the saddle on a loping horse. -
The Thacher Toad
You heard that right, the Toad is our School mascot. Nick Thacher, a grandson of founder Sherman Thacher and a 1963 graduate, explained why he spearheaded the movement to name Thacher’s teams the Toads, "Toads seemed appropriate because the nature of such beasts is one of humility and quiet persistence.” -
The Reading of “The Chambered Nautilus”
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,Till thou at length are free,Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea.
So concludes Oliver Wendell Holmes’s poem, “The Chambered Nautilus,” and so begins every school year at Thacher. Our founder believed that the sea creature called the chambered nautilus, with its spiral shell, symbolizes each student’s mission to grow intellectually and personally each year. At the year’s first Assembly, the Head of School reads the poem to the gathered community. -
Grahams & Milk
After Assembly, students and faculty can grab a handful of graham crackers and a carton of milk from big bowls near the Pergola—a great way to tide yourself over till lunchtime, and a longstanding tradition. Added since Mr. Thacher’s time: organic apples, locally grown. -
The Banquet Song
At major banquets the School community closes the meal by singing The Banquet Song. Written by Sherman Day Thacher, it captures the spirit of The School. Gather a few alums anywhere in the world, and they’ll sing it for you:May old Casa Piedra not fade from our hearts,Till our hearts cease their restless tattoo!May honor, and fairness, and kindness, and truthBe ours till life’s struggle is through.May the stamp of the School be the stamp of our livesWhose honesty carries us on,To do the best work in the world that we canTill the best we can do is all done. -
Open House
Each Saturday night of the school year, the Head of School opens their home for two or three hours so students can drop in to play Ping-Pong or foosball or pool, bake cookies (or just nibble the dough), play games, watch a movie, dance, do some sort of seasonal craft, or just hang out where it’s warm and lively. -
Camping Traditions
Riding over The Ridge, eating lunch at Utensil Point, hiking to Windy Gap to see the whole Owens Valley spread out at your feet, swimming your horse in the Sespe River between Hartman and Cotrell camps, soaking your aching limbs in the hot springs, spending a night at Patton’s Cabin, and working on maintenance projects when you wake up—these are only a few among dozens of time-honored outdoor traditions at Thacher. -
UnProm
Forget limos, expensive dresses, and tuxedo rentals. At Thacher, the faculty puts on a dance for the students called UnProm, an all-out event that may be quirky (thrift-store or trash-bin clothing only, assigned dates, a goofy theme) but that bears enough resemblance to a typical high school prom to be loads of fun. -
“Best Year Yet”
At the beginning of every year, you’ll hear a few School leaders (both adults and students) say, “May this be the best year yet!” It’s a wish, a hope, an expression of optimism that, together, all of us in the Thacher community can recreate our School and home to reflect the highest ideals. -
TOADTalks
On Monday mornings, the Teacher On Active Duty (yes, the TOAD) gives a short talk on a topic that intrigues them, reads a poem, sings a song, or in some other expressive way shares something of personal, collective, or even universal importance and application. This is another way we all gain insight into each other’s perspectives on the world. -
Color Guard
At the opening of every gymkhana and some athletic events, horses, riders and flags come together in a dazzling display of speed and color. Three students gallop around the field, flying the flags of the United States, California, and the Thacher Gymkhana. Even people who have witnessed this event year after year are amazed and moved. We’d say it’s an “only at Thacher” moment.
A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
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