April 21 Highlights

Argonautika | Welcome Ambassadors | Family Ads

Recital on Sunday

The Department of Music invites members of the PA community to a recital featuring adjunct instructors Krista River (voice) and Stephen Porter (piano) on Sunday, April 24. Find out more here.

The Well-Balanced Student

Please join the Tang Institute and fellow parents on Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in Kemper Auditorium for “The Well-Balanced Student,” a presentation by Dr. Denise Pope, senior lecturer in education at Stanford University. Pope’s interactive talk will explore the ways in which parent and school expectations may have unintentional but damaging effects on students. Increasing demands on students may lead to unhealthy stress, resulting in burnout, disengagement, or debilitating physical and mental health symptoms. This workshop examines the tension that parents, students, and teachers often experience over issues such as homework, grades, and the culture of competition, and offers tools for creating a healthier school climate.

This event will be livestreamed for members of the PA community unable to attend in person. Please visit this site for further details and a livestream link.

Theatre Next Week: Argonautika

Argonautika tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts through a voyage filled with theatrical magic and movement. Join us as we follow the Argonauts through peril, triumph, and betrayal. Guided by Hera and Athena, the audience will meet heroes, villains, and monsters, celebrating—and questioning—the human desire for adventure. This student performance is presented by the Department of Theatre & Dance.

Showtimes in Tang Theatre:
Friday, April 29—7 p.m.
Saturday, April 30—7 p.m.
Sunday, May 1—1 p.m.

This event is first-come-first-serve seating. We recommend arriving 30 minutes prior to showtime to secure your seat. All persons in your party must be present to claim their seats—there is no saving seats and no late seating. Families of students involved in the production can check in at the Information Desk to receive priority seating. Please check in 30 minutes prior to showtime.

For a livestream link to the show, please visit this site.

All Invited to Kington Investiture

The Board of Trustees invites the Phillips Academy community to the investiture of Head of School Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, on Saturday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to noon on the Richard T. Greener Quadrangle. Board President Amy Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, will lead the ceremony to formally “charge” our 16th head of school. The program will include musical and dance performances, with more than 50 students participating! Refreshments will follow in Flagstaff Courtyard. Please click here for more information and to register.

Midterm Grades & Comments

The Dean of Studies Office will post Term 3 midterm grades and comments in the Student Reports section of The Hive on Tuesday, April 26. Midterm grades are P/LP/F (pass/low pass/fail) for all courses. Midterm Reports will be written only in classes where the teacher has concerns about a given student (low grades, incompletes, concerning behaviors, etc.). If a student is doing well in all their classes they may not see any midterm instructor comments. End-of-term grades will use the Academy’s regular 0–6 scale, except for Physical Education 200, which is pass/fail.

Health & Wellness Update

As of Wednesday, April 20, more than 99% of PA students have received 1+ vaccination dose(s) and more than 98% have received a booster (1.9% have received a religious or medical exemption). COVID positivity is continuing to increase again across our campus, community, and state. COVID-related hospitalizations remain low, indicating a low level of severe COVID-related illness (coupled with a high vaccination rate, which reduces the risk of severe disease and associated endpoints of hospitalization and/or death). Guidelines on campus will not change today. We will continue to mask in indoor spaces. All students will test again on Friday, April 22, using a rapid antigen test. To see the complete data from Dr. Amy Patel, Sykes Wellness Center medical director, please visit COVID-19 Updates & Information.

Reminder for campus visitors: All campus visitors—including those attending events and activities noted in the Family Bulletin—must be up to date with their vaccinations and wear masks indoors.

Ambassadors Needed

We are seeking volunteers to serve as “welcome ambassadors” for parents and guardians of new Andover students. This is a fun and rewarding way to get to know fellow PA families.

As a welcome ambassador, you will be assigned a small group of new parents and guardians to contact by phone or email at your convenience during May and June. You will receive a template and other guidance to assist with your outreach. The goal is simple: to provide a Big Blue welcome, be a friendly resource, and help grow new parent-to-parent connections.

Last spring, our dedicated welcome ambassadors contacted over 250 new PA families. We aspire to provide the same broad outreach to this year’s new families and would be grateful for your involvement! To sign up, please complete this form by Friday, May 6.

Questions? Email Elisabeth Munro, assistant director of Parent Development, or call 978-749-4303.

Storage Option for Boarding Students

Wondering what to do with your child’s belongings when they leave campus at the end of the school year? Phillips Academy has partnered with Collegeboxes to provide a solution for boarders who need to store their clothing, books, furniture, etc. over the summer. Collegeboxes will pick up items, place them in storage, and deliver them to your child’s dorm room just before school starts next year. There are costs associated with this service. NOTE: Student belongings cannot remain on campus over the summer.

Essential information and important dates:

Campus Pickup Days

Wednesday, June 1—for ALL Students
Thursday, June 2—for ALL Students
Friday, June 3—for SENIORS and those participating in Commencement ONLY

Monday, May 23

Last day to sign up with Collegeboxes AND still receive a supply kit.

Thursday, May 26

Final delivery of supply kits (boxes)—previously ordered.

Friday, May 27

DEADLINE to sign up. (Student must purchase/find their own boxes.)

Pickup of Belongings

Be sure your child enters their CURRENT dorm and room for pickup location.
All boxes must be packed and ready to go by 7 a.m. on pickup day. Students should finish packing the night before.

Deliveries in the Fall

We will provide your child’s 2022–2023 dorm and room to Collegeboxes; you DO NOT need to enter this information. Items will be delivered to dorm rooms before students arrive.

Questions? Please email Claudia Scofield in the Dean of Students Office or call 978-749-4124.

Celebrate Your Senior

The Phillipian, Phillips Academy’s student newspaper, will publish its annual Commencement issue over the weekend of June 4. This longer version of the newspaper will capture the major events that occurred throughout the school year and will be available for purchase that weekend.

Submit a “family advertisement”: The Phillipian invites parents of seniors to commemorate your student’s achievements through a family advertisement in our Commencement issue. Last year, nearly 100 families dedicated a commemoration to their student(s); we hope to achieve 100 percent family participation this year. Members of The Phillipian staff will work closely with you to ensure that your family advertisement features all of the photos and messaging you want to include about your child—and/or a favorite student organization, club, or team that your senior has been involved with—in a professional manner. Please complete this family advertisement form as soon as possible. The deadline is Friday, May 13.

Questions? Please email Isabella Alvarez, Phillipian chief financial officer.

News from the PSPA

BIG SALE at Campus Closet—Tomorrow (Friday, April 22), noon–4 p.m.: Most items $25 or less! Steep discounts on Nike, Under Armour, Vineyard Vines, and more. Shop previous year styles and last remaining sizes. Campus Closet is on the lower level of George Washington Hall. Sale items available in person only, not online. No further staff or volunteer discounts. All sales are final.

PSPA Book Club—Sunday, May 1: Join us at 8 p.m. ET for our spring term book club meeting. We will be discussing The Last Flight, by Julie Clark. Please email us for the Zoom invitation.

PSPA General Meeting & Speaker Series—Thursday, May 12

6:15 p.m. ET—PSPA General Meeting: A light dinner will be served at 5:45 p.m. Underwood Room. Zoom link. Passcode: 1WDcGc
7 p.m. ET—PSPA Speaker Series: Senior Student Panel on Navigating the College Application Process: Join us as seniors share their stories about applying to college and pass along the lessons learned from their experiences. This event is co-sponsored by the PSPA and College Counseling Office. Kemper Auditorium. Livestream Link.

Access previous PSPA Speaker Series recordings such as the Q&A with the Directors of College Counseling on The Hive under Resources/Informational Videos.

Out of the Darkness Walk—Join the PSPA team on Sunday, May 15, at noon for a student-organized walk on campus to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s mission to save lives. You can also support the effort virtually by walking on your own. Register here as a member of the PSPA team to raise awareness for this important cause. No donation is required to participate.

Share Your Talent! Do you have Wordpress or similar experience? We are looking for volunteers to help maintain the PSPA website. Please email us.

Plan Ahead for Graduation

Diploma Frames: Limited time offer through this Friday! Use discount code ExtraOff to take an additional 10% off on custom diploma frame orders of $185+. Shipping is free. The PSPA partners with Church Hill to offer archival quality diploma frames customized with the Phillips Academy seal and school name. It’s the perfect graduation gift to showcase and protect your student’s achievement. Shop for frames here.
Senior Lawn Signs: Don’t miss out—order a custom-printed lawn sign for your senior! To honor our graduates, the PSPA has partnered with Kelly Wentworth Photography in nearby Tewksbury to offer lawn signs for the Class of 2022. The sign can be purchased as a yard sign, complete with frame—or as a digital file, which gives you the flexibility to print the sign near you. A portion of the proceeds will go toward PSPA events and activities. Select from three designs and order here by the April 30 deadline.

Summer Program Options Open

Andover Summer’s flagship five-week on-campus program has reached capacity, but we are still accepting applications for our five-week eSummer virtual program, which features 20-plus course selections to satisfy every interest. Or, if you live in the Andover area and your student prefers a shorter academic commitment, consider our open enrollment Advantage program for day students. Questions? Please send us an email.

This Week’s Religious Gatherings

Friday, April 22

1 p.m.—Muslim Student Association (MSA) Jummah Sermon: Led by Noureddine El Alam. Meditation Room, lower level of Cochran Chapel (side entrance).
5:30–6:30 p.m.—Jewish Shabbat Service and JSU Meeting: Led by Rabbi Michael Swarttz. Paul’s Room, upper level of Paresky Commons. All are welcome!

Sunday, April 24

6 p.m.—Lament for the Earth: In honor of this week of climate action and awareness, please join Rev. Gina Finocchiaro as she presents an online event of ritual, music, and poetry by one of her favorite worship bands, “Gary and The Many,” who offer a seasonal Lament for the Earth. This very talented group creates online ritual to help us share our eco-grief and move toward hope and inspiration. CAMD office in Morse Hall. All are welcome.
6:45–7:30 p.m.—Roman Catholic Mass—Second Sunday of Easter: Overseen by Dr. Mary Kantor, Catholic chaplain, with priests of the Archdiocese of Boston presiding. Kemper Chapel, lower level of Cochran Chapel (side entrance). Reception will follow.

Curriculum Corner—Film Photography

Highlights of the Academy’s extensive course offerings

A “hands-on” elective, Film Photography (ART506) teaches the fundamentals of photography, camera mechanics, visual vocabulary, darkroom workflow, and the chemistry film process. Through demonstrations, tutorials, and lab exercises, students learn the chemistry and analog process. Outside-of-class shooting time is required. Students expose and develop film and photo prints and make a contact sheet to demonstrate understanding of photographic chemical laboratory work. The bulk of class work involves generating images with 20th-century black and white film processes. However, the class also is introduced to 21st-century negative scanning, enabling the generation of digital files of analog work. By the end of this course, students are able to shoot, edit, and print photographs using a variety of technical methods. Each submits a mounted exhibition print for a future student art exhibition.

You Are Invited!

Join us in person for “Excellence at Our Core,” with Head of School Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, as he meets with the Andover community in these five cities:

April 21 in New York—Tonight!
April 26 in Washington, DC
May 16 in Denver
May 17 in Los Angeles
May 18 in San Francisco

Other upcoming events:

A pril 1–30 in Dallas and Hybrid: The Family Place Non Sibi Project, with Mimi Crume Sterling ’95
April 23 in Concord, MA: Gaining Ground Non Sibi Project, with Jeff Hunt ’82, P’25
April 23 in New York: Flushing Meadows Corona Park Earth Week Non Sibi Project, with Candace Douglas ’00
April 23 in Chatsworth, CA: Operation Gratitude Non Sibi Project, with the Southern California Regional Leadership Team
April 23 in San Francisco: Audubon Society Habitat Restoration Non Sibi Project, with Winston Wyckoff ’78, P’12
April 23 on Campus: Senior Recital featuring Brendon Chung ’22, viola
April 24 in Andover, MA: Ironstone Farm Non Sibi Project, with Lynne Hunter ’90
April 24 on Campus: Musical Performance, with Krista River, voice
April 28 in Seattle and Hybrid: Andover for Afghans Non Sibi Project, with Michael Megalli ’89, P’20
April 30 in Atlanta: Whitehall Terrace Community Gardens Non Sibi Project, organized by Gabe Wardell ’89 and Chrystal Akor ’00
April 30 in Los Angeles: Andover Social Gathering at Salazar Restaurant
May 1 in Cambridge, MA: Transition House Non Sibi Project, with Tiffany Horne Noonan ’99
May 6: Peabody Diggin’ In Series: Archaeology of Childhood, with Dr. Jane Eva Baxter
May 7 in New Haven, CT: Gather New Haven Non Sibi Project with Jim Farnam ’69
May 7 on Campus: Investiture of Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24
May 14 in New York: Andover Family-Friendly Day at the Park
May 19: A Conversation between Ai-jen Poo ’92 and Dan Koh ’03

Many events are now in person. Join us whenever and however you can!

Please check the Events Calendar on Andover’s website regularly for additional in-person and online events that may be open to families. The Weekender is the Academy’s one-stop guide to weekend student activities, opportunities, club-organized events, guest speakers, performances, and athletic contests.

Family Bulletin Archive »

Phillips Academy
180 Main St.
Andover, MA 01810

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