THS 5/9/25
5/9/2025
Dear Thornton High School Community:
As we enter the final stretch of the school year, I want to take a moment to congratulate the Thornton High School Class of 2025. Seniors: your drive, focus, and determination have been inspiring. You’ve faced challenges with resilience and stayed committed to your goals. We are proud of the leaders you’ve become.
We also want to recognize the families, friends, guardians, and community partners who have supported not only our seniors but all of our students throughout the year. Your encouragement, presence, and belief in our students’ potential have made a difference. Thank you for being essential members of the Thornton community. To our sophomores and juniors: the year isn’t over yet! Let’s finish strong. Stay focused, stay positive, and lean into the support around you as you close out the semester.
We’re also excited to share that the painting phase of our Thornton mural has officially begun! This student-led project is bringing color and life to our campus, and we anticipate its completion by the end of May. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this creative and collaborative effort.
Finally, please join me in congratulating two outstanding staff members. Tracey Borsa has been named the Sue Cook Classified Employee of the Year, and Andy Solomon is our Certificated Martha Meade Educator of the Year for 2024–2025. Their dedication and care make Thornton a better place every day.
Respectfully,
Dennie Marenco, Ed.D.
Principal
Sofia, Junior
What brought you to Thornton? not doing my schoolwork, not having a passion for school, not attending school, getting into trouble, my last school was a bad environment for me.
What's your biggest accomplishment? that I'm graduating from high school early, as a junior. I'm excited to be able to start college early, it feels good to know that hard work pays off. It was a goal to graduate early and I actually accomplished it by being determined. I'm proud to have proven a lot of people wrong.
What's next? I'm going to college. I want to become a nurse because I've always been interested in the medical field as a Type I diabetic. When I was first diagnosed as a kindergartener, the nurses at the hospital made it more bearable for me to be there. And I was just fascinated by what they did.
Super power or hidden talent? I'm artistic and creative. I'm a really good cook.
How do you self-care? I listen to music a lot. My friends are a big getaway from reality.
Anything else you want to share? I just want to say thank you to the staff and my friends, who helped push me to achieve my goal.
Keonna Lopez, Wellness Intern
You're on your own way toward graduation. What you have you been studying? I decided to return to school to learn more about psychology, which is the study of the human mind. I am graduating from USF as a first-generation Master’s graduate, with a degree in Counseling Psychology and a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy. Fun fact: 7% of Latinos in the U.S obtain a Master’s degree, and now I get to be a part of that - thanks in part to my time here at Thornton!
Having been here for the year, what do you appreciate most about the Thornton? the people who I’ve come to know here. Thornton’s community has a unique vibe, and what it lacks in facilities, it definitely makes up for in quality interactions with students and staff alike. I also really like the Wilderness chickens! The whole “one with nature” vibe that comes from the Wilderness program is refreshing as I truly believe learning and education do not need to be structured and restricted to a classroom environment. Everything can teach you something if you approach it with an open mind.
What's a piece of advice you could give to your high school self? not to focus so hard on what people think of you and do your best to get educated. The only opinion that truly matters is the one you have of yourself, and the harsh truth is friendships and relationships you have in high school are not guaranteed to continue once you graduate; but that diploma is forever. I would have told myself to really prioritize being comfortable with the act of learning because what you learn in class is not what will matter most, but the skill of being teachable, to be willing and able to consider new information and process what is true for yourself is a skill that will serve you throughout life. I would also tell my younger self to honor your emotions and see them not as burdens, but as indicators of something that matters to you. You matter! and how you feel matters, too, because it influences how you behave and treat others.
Super power or hidden talent? poetry! Here’s a poem for my time at Thornton:
When I feel lost or up in air, like I have no place, and I don’t care, I end up where the chickens roam, in rooms that almost feel like home, when I can’t find any motivation, struggling with expectations, I can smile and feel some peace, when I gaze upon that fleur-de-lis, I know that I’ll be met with grace, getting things done at my own pace, I feel hopeful that I’ll graduate, I am right on time, I’m not too late!
How do you self-care? I self-care by turning off my brain, whether it's mindless scrolling through funny TikToks, walking through nature, going to the gym, or practicing mindfulness, I recharge by not thinking so much, but fully immersing myself in an experience.
Can you share an example of when you applied a growth mindset to something? I applied a growth mindset to understanding who I am as a person and what I am capable of. I remember a time when I didn’t think I was going to mean anything to the world. I believed that because I was the daughter of poor, recovering addicts with no generational wealth, that I was going to end up another statistic. I thought that the course of my life was decided for me before I was even born, and that discouraged me from trying hard at anything for a long time. That was until I realized that the circumstances I was born into did not have to define the outcome of my life. I realized that the only limitations that could truly keep me away from a life I wanted were the ones I was placing on myself. I have come a long way from that fixed mindset thanks to learning more about psychology and terms like “neuroplasticity.” Educating myself helped me realize that when you start from the bottom there is nowhere else to go but up, and if you believe something is possible, and take the necessary steps to get there, then you will achieve it. The possibilities are truly endless.
What's next? I will be taking some well-deserved time off. I dedicated three years to bettering myself so that I can help others. I feel like I deserve to rest and take my time planning where I want to go next in my professional career. I will, for sure, work towards getting licensed as an MFT, but aside from that, all I know for sure right now is that I’m going to Puerto Rico!
Anything else you want to share…I am truly thankful for the opportunity to work with the students at Thornton. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Even though my time here at Thornton is coming to an end, the impact that this experience has had on me is going to last a lifetime. Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2025!
