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Dear Andover families,
Gratitude and pride are two of the many emotions I feel as we conclude this historic academic year. I am grateful for every parent and guardian whose patience and trust in Andover prevailed amid great uncertainty. I am grateful for the partnership of faculty and staff, whose dedication, resilience, and ingenuity were essential to our success.
I am proud of all that our community accomplished together despite a constantly shifting framework of pandemic protocols and competing demands on our time. I am proud that we remained true to our highest priorities—to protect community health and to create safe, equitable learning environments. The shifting course of COVID-19 meant three academic terms and three (or more) approaches to our program. Students, families, faculty, and staff worked harder than ever to navigate these changes.
Those who have been tracking our health dashboard know the good news. PA has not recorded a single positive COVID-19 case in our student campus testing since April 8, 2021. Since August 2020, the school has administered nearly 67,000 tests. And during any given week, our campus positivity rate has remained among the lowest seen anywhere. This is a testament to the vigilance of everyone in the community. Thank you!
Access to vaccinations continues to expand. Our most recent data indicate that 81% of all students (91% of seniors) have received at least one dose, while 88% of faculty and staff are vaccinated. Please remember that Andover will require the vaccine for students beginning this fall. As always, we will follow policy with respect to those seeking medical or religious exemptions.
When I opened spring term, I expressed optimism for the weeks ahead. That optimism materialized in ways that illustrate what is so special about Andover. It emerged in the everyday occurrences that I had yet to experience—lunches with students in the backyard of Phelps House, the Blue Keys cheering at sporting events, brilliant student performances, fine art displays and musical recitals, a 90th birthday party for the Addison Gallery, Vista Walk with the Class of 2021…and finally, the anticipation of Andover’s 243rd Commencement this Sunday.
It has been a privilege to join the Andover community, especially this year, to take part in the traditions of the school, and to partner with colleagues and families during a time that will be remembered for its challenges—and for what it taught us. One of the most important lessons that this year has reminded me of is the power of the human spirit to carry us through difficult times. As I look to the fall, and the promise of a new academic year, I know that I can count on each of you to animate our Big Blue spirit.
Sincerely,
Raynard Kington, MD, PhD, P’24
Head of School
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Message from the Dean of Students Office
As the year ends, we want to express our sincere hope that you and your families have a restorative, healthy, and joyful summer! Given the struggles, loss, and disruptions we experienced this past year, we wish you time and connections with people you love, doing things you enjoy in places of meaning.
As a community, we have made it through quite a year—one for the books. To our seniors and their families, we say CONGRATULATIONS! We are so proud of our graduating seniors! Your child has worked so hard and made our community better. The Class of 2021 led our community during an extraordinary time with grace, determination, and strength. We are delighted that so many of our remote seniors have joined us for this celebratory weekend. We cannot wait to honor you all on Sunday.
To our returning students and families, we look forward to welcoming you back for the 2021–2022 school year. We anticipate that next year will be even better than “typical” or “normal.” We are ready to live, learn, and play in person again without so many limitations and restrictions. And we are stronger and smarter after this year of challenges. We’ll be in communication with you periodically throughout the summer with updates and news, including housing assignments, cluster connections, and advisor matches. We cannot wait to welcome you back in September! For now, ENJOY your summer—you deserve it!
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Term 3 Grades & Reports
Term 3 final student grades and reports will be available on The Hive on Friday, June 11. We send our best wishes to all PA families as the school year draws to a close.
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Senior Parents—Commencement Activities
We look forward to welcoming you to campus on Sunday, June 6. Seniors are encouraged to limit their guest count to four. Commencement will be livestreamed, as will the Promenade on Friday and the Baccalaureate service on Saturday. You can visit the Commencement 2021 page to find the livestreaming link for these events. Final details for Commencement guests will be shared with families via email on Friday, June 4.
- Thursday, June 3—Community Convocation, 6–8:30 p.m. EDT: Seniors will gather for a picnic dinner with members of the Academy community and for student and faculty speakers as well as musical performances.
- Friday, June 4—Promenade, 6–6:30 p.m. EDT: Seniors will circle the Richard T. Greener Quad in their prom attire and convene for a Senior Class photo on the steps of Sam Phil.
- Saturday, June 3—Commencement Rehearsal, 12:30–2 p.m. EDT: Seniors are required to attend a mandatory Commencement rehearsal on Saturday.
- Saturday, June 5—Baccalaureate, 8:30–9:45 p.m. EDT: Seniors will gather in Cochran Chapel for Baccalaureate to hear several speakers and musical performances.
- Sunday, June 6—Commencement, 10 a.m. EDT: All are welcome to view the livestream on Sunday.
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Updates from Parent Development
A Note of Gratitude: We are grateful for your support and partnership this year, and we extend our heartfelt congratulations to our families of seniors—we are thinking of you! A special thank you also goes to our many parent volunteers for their steadfast help, which made possible this year’s Parent Fund progress, events, and welcome initiatives.
Final Push for the 2020–2021 Parent Fund: If you have not yet made a gift to the Parent Fund, please consider doing so before the end of the month. Your gift will help us close in on our aspiration of 100 percent parent participation. In the next few weeks, you will be invited to donate by email and post. You can also make your gift now and be one of the 67 families needed to exceed last year’s finish even sooner. Thank you to the nearly 700 families who have contributed so far this year!
Please reach out to Becca Brewster, director of Parent Development, with any questions related to support for Andover before the end of our fiscal year on June 30.
Continuing a Senior Tradition: Each spring, the Parent Development team invites our parents of seniors to submit notes of appreciation to faculty and staff. These individual notes will be shown to the recipients after graduation. To participate, please save each note as a separate PDF file—if possible—and email them to this special address by Wednesday, June 9. Please be sure to include the first and last name of the recipient(s) in your email.
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Anti-Racism Task Force Welcomes Your Voice
The Andover Anti-Racism Task Force (AATF) is planning some short group sessions (via Zoom) in mid-June to discuss the AATF’s work to date. Thank you to the dozens of parents/guardians who have already signed up to help the AATF. All others are invited to sign up here to participate in our group sessions. Questions? Please email AATF parent liaisons Carl Horton P’22 or Julie Yao Cooper P’21.
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Religious Service on Saturday
Roman Catholic Mass—Saturday, June 5, at 4:30 p.m. EDT: Overseen by Dr. Mary Kantor, Catholic chaplain, with priests of the Archdiocese of Boston presiding. Kemper Chapel, lower level of Cochran Chapel, side entrance. Please note: The Mass will be open to the wider community (students, faculty, families, staff), but masks will still be required. Reception will follow.
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Summer Refreshment
If you are still seeking summer opportunities for your child to refresh and gain confidence for the 2021–2022 school year, consider the Andover Summer Advantage program—a two-week, in-person program taking place Monday–Friday, August 2–13. Created for local families, Andover Summer Advantage will remain open for enrollment until July 15.
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News and Gratitude from the PSPA
Hello Andover parents and guardians! Thank you for your continued support throughout this unprecedented year. We are thankful to have many new members join our team in various capacities and for all the new connections that have emerged. Looking back, we are humbly exuberant to share the many wonderful events that were held this year:
- Parent Survey last summer
- Webinar with Dr. Kington and Senior Administration Panel
- Family Weekend Mixers
- Virtual 5K Run/Walk
- Speaker Series with guests Peggy Orenstein, Robin Aiello*, Natasha Singh, Lisa Damour*, and College Counseling* (*recording available on The Hive under Resources/Informational Videos)
- Focus Groups
- Two Trivia Nights & Parent Mixers
- Book Club—3 meetings (January, March, & May)
- Partnering with Parent Development to help onboarding of new families
- Grade-Level Student Activities organized by Parent and Student Class Representatives
- School-wide Donut and Clementine Study Break
- Redesigned and enhanced Campus Closet online shopping
We could not have supported this long list without your help and involvement. Thank you also to those at PA who helped us bring in so many expert speakers and hear what our students are hearing! Additionally, we are grateful to the countless Andover families, students, and faculty members who have supported Campus Closet, the PSPA’s official merchandise store. All proceeds from Campus Closet purchases are used to fund PA community activities.
Please let us know if you would like to learn more about the PSPA or would like to be involved next year. We hope to see you in person in the fall! Until then, we would like to wish you and yours a safe and fun summer.
—Sonia Virmani & Gillian Pearlson
PSPA Co-Presidents
Summer Opportunities Fair Help Needed: We are looking for help to head up and run our next Summer Opportunities Fair—our other significant fundraising effort. Please reach out to learn more if you are interested. You can give as much or as little time as you want.
Campus Closet Volunteers Needed: Campus Closet will open up for in-person shopping in the fall. We are looking for local volunteers to help work our “mom and pop” shop. If you are interested and have time during the day, please email us to learn more. Come help us set up the store merchandise, restock inventory, check out customers, meet other fun parents and, of course, shop!
Thank you for supporting Campus Closet throughout this year. Our online store remains open throughout the summer, and your purchases will be shipped. Shop Campus Closet any time, day or night. Happy Summer!
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Fall Registration Tasks & Deadlines
Returning parents, please visit The Hive home page to complete tasks in the Required for Registration box (see below). Some tasks only require a simple review before the “Complete” status will display. Trouble logging in? Contact the Help Desk.
- Tuition & Fees 2021—Payment deadlines depend on your payment plan. For both the one- and two-payment plan options, the first payment is due July 15. For the 10-month payment plan, the first payment was due May 15 and successive payments are due by the 15th of the month, through February 2022. Questions? Email the Burser.
- My Family Profile 2021—Be sure we have all the correct information. Due August 1. Questions? Email the Registrar.
- Health & Medical Insurance Information 2021—Due July 1. Questions? Email Sykes Wellness Center.
- Medical Consult Required 2021—Only a few students, such as EpiPen users, will need a consultation in September.
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You Are Invited!- June 6: Class of 2021 Commencement
- June 12: Traditional Architecture on Andover Hill—Illustrated History Talks, with John Patrick ’65
- June 17: “Seeing Things in Things,” An Artists’ Conversation, with Mel Kendrick ’67
- July 14: The Addison at 90: An Exploration of the Archives with Gordon Wilkins, Associate Curator of American Art
- July 22: State of the (Family Re)Union, with the Af-Lat-Am Alumni Committee
All events are virtual unless otherwise noted. Please join us!
This is the final Parent Bulletin of the 2020–2021 school year.
Have a wonderful summer!
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© 2021
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