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Parent Bulletin
Phillips Academy Head of School Office
Rebecca Sykes, associate head of school
August 29, 2012
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Getting Ready to Begin
This
summer you have received numerous mailings from Phillips Academy,
including a July packet containing the Parent Handbook, which we hope
you have read in full. We are using this early edition of the Parent
Bulletin to draw your attention to information that could be especially
helpful in the first days of the school year.
While
school is in session, the Parent Bulletin will arrive by email every two
weeks to provide you with timely reminders and notices about upcoming
events and deadlines. We strive to make the news digestible, so the
entries generally will be brief. If at any time you have questions,
comments or suggestions about the bulletin or about how we communicate
with parents more broadly, please feel free to reply to one of my
emails.
Summer break is waning and Labor Day is only 5 days away. Enjoy the holiday weekend. We will see you soon!
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SOS (Start of School)
Under the SOS (Start of School) tab
on PAnet, you will find information concerning registration and the
opening days of school. This information is grouped into three
sections:
- Prepare for Arrival (What students can do during the summer to get ready for Andover)
- Required Forms
(Note: If any of the forms required for registration listed here are
missing, you would have received an email reminder with instructions as
to how to proceed. If you have not yet responded to that email, please
do so now by going to the SOS tab to download the necessary forms.)
- Registration Information and Welcome Book
(The FAQ sheet concerning the registration process and a Welcome Book
containing a schedule of events and other critical information
pertaining to the opening of school. To be sustainable, we print only
enough Welcome Books to distribute to each new student; parents of
returning students wishing to have this information in hard copy may
print it prior to your child’s arriving on campus.)
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Most
Andover parents undoubtedly have seen many references in the press to
recent concerns regarding head injuries among children and college and
professional athletes. Here at Andover, a multi-disciplinary team has
been working for many months to revise protocols and implement current
best practices to keep our students safe. The group — convened by
Patricia Davison (Academic Skills Center and Disability Services
Director) — includes Maureen Ferris (Risk Management Director), Diane
Griesbach (Nurse Practitioner), Carol Israel (Acting Director,
Psychological Services), Mike Kuta (Athletic Director and Athletic
Trainer), Betsy Korn (Associate Dean of Studies), and Marlena Ysalguez
(Academic Skills Center Counselor). The following message was written by
Mike Kuta on behalf of the team.
Over
the past few years, a great deal of attention has been focused on the
number and severity of concussions (Traumatic Brain Injury – TBI)
incurred by athletes across the country, especially adolescent
student-athletes. Phillips Academy has taken steps to review and update
its policies and procedures to ensure that students impacted by TBI have
a safe return to physical activity and the classroom. As part of this
initiative, we are implementing the “Heads Up Program,” sponsored by the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This program focuses on education of
student-athletes, coaches and parents and involves the recognition,
reporting and proper treatment of TBI. We encourage you to review the
following video with your son and/or daughter so that you have a better
understanding of this type of injury and how it may impact your child's
return to activity at Andover:
We
want to assure you that we place the highest priority on creating a
safe environment for your child’s participation on the athletic field.
All new students must take a baseline test (ImPACT) upon their arrival
at Andover, coaches are trained in implementing safe practice plans, and
certified athletic trainers are on duty for all practices and games.
Nevertheless, injuries are inherent in all physical activities. In
fact, just under half of the instances of TBI incurred by Andover
students happened outside of an interscholastic practice or game. Thus,
even though your child may not participate in interscholastic sports,
you may find the information provided in the video useful. To help us
do our best to care for your child, we ask that you include any
information related to your child’s history of head injury when you
complete the Academy’s medical forms. Thank you for your attention to
this important aspect of our safety program.
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Reflections and Invitation from the Director of College Counseling Sean Logan
Having
recently completed my first year here, I have found Andover to be the
vibrant and unique community I had read about in student applications
for so many years as a college admission officer. The opportunity to
work with so many bright, hard working, and diverse students and
families is a rare treat for a college counseling office. The
unprecedented changes in the college admission landscape in the last
five to seven years coupled with the wide variety of interests in the PA
community is a great challenge for my staff, and we are committed to
providing a well-constructed and thoughtful process that will help every
student navigate this important chapter in their life.
With a
great deal of support from the senior administration, we are in the
process of changing how we interact with families and work with students
on the PA campus. This fall, we are adding a seventh counselor to our
staff, as well as christening a completely refurbished College
Counseling Office. We will continue to look at all aspects of our
operation and refine our program to meet the needs of the current
college admission climate. If you are on campus this fall, feel free to
stop by and see our new space and as always, please send me any
questions you may have. You may reach me at slogan@andover.edu.
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Welcome Ryan J. Wheeler, Director of the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology
We are
pleased to announce that the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology
welcomed its new director, Ryan J. Wheeler, earlier this summer. Dr.
Wheeler previously served as the State Archaeologist and the Chief of
the Bureau of Archaeological Research for the State of Florida. He holds
a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida, Gainesville,
and has taught at the Archaeological Field School of Florida State
University.
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Welcome Dr. Amy Patel, Medical Director
The
academy is looking forward to welcoming its new medical director, Dr.
Amy Patel, this fall. Dr. Patel is board certified in internal medicine
and pediatrics and has extensive experience in outpatient primary care
and urgent care, as well as in the care of acutely ill patients from
pediatrics to geriatrics. She has worked with adolescents in a
residential treatment setting, as a team physician and as a consultant
for a youth basketball camp. Coming to us from Good Samaritan Medical
Center in Brockton, Massachusetts, Dr. Patel and her family will reside
in Andover.
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