Parent Bulletin

With Commencement Weekend upon us, we publish the final issue of the 2013-2014 Parent Bulletin. We hope you have enjoyed each issue and found information that helped optimize your experience as an Andover parent. As always, we are open to new ideas and suggestions for ways to make the Parent Bulletin even more useful next year. In the meantime, we wish you and your families a spectacular summer, safe travels, and a healthy mix of work and play.

Mark Your 2014-2015 Academic Calendar

Parents are encouraged to look at next year’s academic calendar and note two important changes—an extended mid-fall holiday October 27 and 28 (following Family Weekend), and a four-day mid-winter holiday February 6 through 9, 2015. We hope that these extended weekends will give seniors an opportunity to visit colleges and give all students time to relax and catch up on their school work.

For parents of students in the Class of 2016, the Upper Parents College Counseling Kick-Off will take place during Family Weekend, October 25-26. The College Counseling Office will send more details about this event at the start of the school year.

Health Center to Introduce Patient Portal

Submitting updated medical and insurance information for your student will be easier than ever with the new Patient Portal. Some of the benefits of this new online service include the ability to:

The health care team is committed to protecting your child’s personal information. Data that you provide to PA cannot be viewed by anyone else online and is securely maintained by industry standard SSL (secure socket layer) encryption and decryption technology when needed. Look for an email later this month detailing the steps to register, log on, submit updates and enjoy the benefits of the new online portal. We ask that all updates be completed by July 15, 2014. Please remember: Beginning this fall, a report of physician exam will need to be submitted and dated within one year from the start of school for all students.

Final Reports and Next Year’s Course Plan

On June 12 you will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office indicating that the following important information is available on the Parent Portal:

1. Spring term final student reports
2. Spring term house counselor/day student advisor reports for returning students
3. For returning students, their requested course plan for next year

After viewing spring term reports, you may have questions or concerns. We strongly advise that you discuss these with your child first, before reaching out to your child's faculty point person (house counselor for a boarder and day student advisor for a day student).

Parents of returning students, please review the course plan with your child. If your child wishes to make changes, s/he should email requests (copying his/her academic advisor) to Scheduling Officer Deb Olander at dolander@andover.edu by Friday, July 11.

News from Risk Management and Public Safety

Maureen Ferris, director of risk management, and Tom Conlon, director of public safety, are pleased to offer “In Case of Crisis,” a new app to help keep our community safe during emergencies. This free app allows individuals to download Phillips Academy’s emergency procedures directly to their mobile devices, making them easily accessible in the event of a campus emergency. If you are interested in learning about the Academy’s protocols, please follow these instructions:

1. In the App Store or Google Play Store search for “In Case of Crisis – Education.”
2. Download and install In Case of Crisis Education on your Android, tablet, iPhone, or iPad.
3. Press the + button at the top of the screen to open the library of available content.
4. Select “Trustees of Phillips Academy” and select “Campus Emergency Procedures” to download the plan to your device.
5. Review the information to be prepared for emergencies.

Thank you for helping to enhance the safety of our community.

From the Comptroller: Student Account Info

Phillips Academy has partnered with Tuition Management Systems, www.andover.afford.com, to provide families with an online Student Account Center. The 2014-2015 tuition bills will be posted in mid-June with a due date of July 15. An email from afford.com will be sent to you when your statement is available. Please remember, Phillips Academy does not mail student bills.

If you have not registered and created an online Student Account Center, please contact Ann Pimentel, bursar, apimentel@andover.edu or 978-749-4504. She will request a registration code on your behalf and you will receive an email from reply@afford.com with instructions on how to register and access your student account. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Pimentel.

Student–Curated Exhibition at the Addison

Students in Art 300, Visual Culture: Discover the Addison Collection, helped curate Toward Resolution: Artist’s Studies from the Collection. On display at the Addison through July 31, the exhibit showcases studies ranging from suggestively minimal to precisely figurative, all selected by the students. Click here for more information and visit SmugMug for photos from the exhibit’s opening on May 31.

PSPA Updates

PSPA Parent Directory is live online. Sign up for this password-protected resource by going to PAnet and scrolling down to Parent Involvement. Click on “Parent Directory” and follow the prompts. The fields are pre-populated with your information. You can edit and save the information listed and search for parents and students by name or geographic area. Please sign up today.

Campus Closet will be open Friday, June 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. and Saturday, June 7, from 12 to 3 p.m. Gear up for summer! Also please consider signing up to volunteer for a shift during Alumni Weekend, June 13 and 14. PSPA appreciates your help and wishes you a very happy summer.

Stay Tuned This Summer

Parents of returning students, please watch your e-mail and snail mail over the next few weeks for important correspondence from PA. Information on a new technology/device policy (laptops, tablets, etc.) will be coming from the Dean of Studies and the Office of Information Technology. Health forms, Parent Portal information and Parent Handbook materials for the 2014-2015 academic year will arrive in June and July.