Parent Bulletin
Phillips Academy Head of School Office
Rebecca Sykes, associate head of school
September 16, 2011
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Happy New School Year!
The campus is alive with students dashing off to
classes, connecting with faculty and friends, and enjoying a string of
beautiful, late-summer New England days. Visit the academy’s Facebook page
to relive the ear-splitting Blue Key welcome that greeted you and your
children last weekend. No need for a Facebook account to see our page,
but you do need an account if you want to post a comment.
Thank you to returning parents who completed our
communications survey last winter. Your feedback continues to guide
discussions about how best to keep you informed. You will notice an
immediate change with this issue of the Parent Bulletin. In
response to your desire to hear from the adults on campus who play
significant roles in the lives of students, we launch a monthly
guest-written column. Appropriately, the first message comes from
Barbara Landis Chase, who begins her 18th—and final—year as Head of
School.
We thank all of you who have supported, cajoled, scolded, cheered and
promoted your offspring. We are ever in your debt for sharing your
children. We wish them well and will follow their accomplishments with
both interest and pride.
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In Touch With…
Barbara Landis Chase, Head of School
Welcome! I am delighted to be the inaugural “guest columnist”
in this latest endeavor to keep you connected to happenings on Andover
Hill.
Andover
spirit spread far and wide during opening week. New students arrived to
enthusiastic cheers, tie-dyed tees, and the handmade signs of our Blue
Key Heads. More than 300 new students from Colorado to Connecticut and
Nepal to New Zealand joined 800 returning students from Boston to Brazil
and Jamaica to Japan. Youth from every quarter, indeed!
The
faculty, both new and returning, prepared for the year through a series
of meetings and workshops. We welcomed a new cohort of very talented
faculty, and they spent the better part of a week in orientation to
teaching at Andover. Our new academic integrity policy, designed to
teach our students and make clear to them what our expectations are,
received special attention. Andover intends both to maintain its high
standards of integrity and at the same time recognize that students in
this digital age face new challenges in doing so.
At our
first full faculty meeting, we heard from Harvard professor Ron
Ferguson, a highly regarded authority on strategies to address the
achievement gap, as we recognize that our students enter with
significantly different preparation. Dr. Ferguson was a captivating
speaker and gave us all much to keep in mind as we set out to give each
of our students the best possible chance to succeed.
This
week’s All-School Meeting marked the first official gathering of the
student body and faculty. I spoke with the students and faculty about:
(1) perseverance; (2) great teaching; (3) the strong Andover bond. At
that meeting we experience one of our most moving traditions, the annual
flag procession, during which the flag of each nation represented by
our students is carried down the aisle and placed on the stage to form a
vibrant international backdrop. The ceremony symbolizes an American
boarding school with a world view. We are a school community that is
enriched by our excellent and diverse faculty and student body. Welcome
to the 2011-2012 school year.
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PSPA Update
Parents of Students of Phillips Academy (PSPA)
is an active parents’ association. Any current or former parent,
alumni, and present or past faculty/staff is welcome to participate
regardless of geographic location. PSPA a non-profit charitable
organization with two primary goals:
- To enhance communication between parents and the Academy’s faculty and administration
- To raise money and organize events that support both the students and the school
PSPA’s
Fall Reception was held last evening. If you would like to watch a
video of the event, featuring Barbara Landis Chase’s remarks visit http://www.pspaandover.org/index.php/video/ and enter the password: PAparent. The video will be available beginning Sept. 22.
PSPA is sponsoring several Non Sibi Day projects:
- For distant parents—Contribute
to our Athletic equipment drive for kids in Haiti. Items may be sent to
the alumni office to arrive by Sept. 30. Be creative–Invite PA parents
in your area to a gathering and ask everyone to bring an item to donate;
host your own local equipment drive and donate the items to us.
- For local parents—Join
other parents on Oct. 1 or Oct. 2 to support the Brickman Triathlon in
Lawrence, MA, to benefit Habitat for Humanity and the Lawrence YMCA. Or,
donate to the athletic equipment drive for kids in Haiti by dropping
off a donation at the GW circle on Oct. 1 from 9-11 a.m. You might also
help with the collection, packaging and mailing of the equipment.
Join
PSPA’s Facebook Group! Even if you previously joined, you must REJOIN
this year as Facebook updated its “Groups” format. Click here, http://www.facebook.com/groups/paparents/.
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Upcoming Events
September 30 |
World-renowned
pianist Gabriel Chodos in concert, presented by the Phillips Academy
Music Department. 7:30 p.m., Cochran Chapel. Free and open to the
public. |
October 1 |
Non Sibi Day |
October 5 |
College Fair, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., Borden Gym. |
October 14 |
Exhibition
opening and reception, Addison Gallery of American Art, 6:30 – 8:30
p.m. Free and open to the public. (The Addison, which celebrates its
80th anniversary this year, extended its summer closure to complete a
roof replacement project. The building is scheduled to reopen in early
fall.)
Bid on Blue Online Auction Begins! Go to www.andover.edu/auction to view the catalogue. |
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