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Thank you for your recent Parent Survey feedback. We are reviewing your responses and will continue to work hard to improve schedules, communications, and procedures and, most importantly, to keep everyone safe. Cohort 2 boarding and day students returned to campus last weekend. We’re happy to now have 834 students registered and accessing campus—with a few more planning to arrive next week.
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Join Us for Family Weekend!
Virtual Family Weekend, October 22–25, will provide a unique glimpse into your child’s daily life at Andover and includes activities such as classroom visits with your child’s instructors, meetings with their advisor point person and house counseling team, and many other events, such as those highlighted below. Additionally, pre-recorded presentations will be available for viewing at your convenience. Register today! For planning purposes, please refer to the Family Weekend webpage.
- Keynote Speaker, Dr. Suniya Luthar—Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m.: Join this live presentation on mental health and resilience amidst a global pandemic. Dr. Luthar is the author of Resilience and Vulnerability Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities. This webinar will include an audience Q&A moderated by Drs. Amy Patel and Natalie Zervas and will be recorded for future viewing.
- Decoding Andover: A Conversation with Families, Alumni, and Faculty of Color—Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m.: The Office of Multicultural Development (CAMD) is excited to welcome families of students of color for an intergenerational conversation with Andover families, alumni, and faculty of color. Key themes: navigating the structures and systems of Andover as students and families of color; accessing the full range of available resources; understanding the skills and social/cultural capital gained; and sharing of wisdom from lessons learned by alumni and current families. We hope our time together will provide an opportunity for families to ask those tougher questions and to begin and continue building your own networks of support.
- Welcome and Remarks from Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24—Saturday, October 24, at 10 a.m.: Join our 16th head of school for a keynote address with Academy updates. Families will also hear an address from school co-presidents Megan Cui ’21 and Salvador Gomez ’21.
- Group Meetings—Saturday, October 24, 10:30 and 11 a.m.: Please take the opportunity to attend small group meetings with your child’s advisor point person and—if your child is currently boarding on campus—their house counselor. At this time, instructors do not hold individual parent/guardian conferences but are happy to have a phone conversation or correspond via email.
We look forward to welcoming you virtually to Family Weekend 2020!
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Midterm Reports Will Post Tuesday
The Dean of Studies Office will post Term 1 midterm reports on Tuesday, October 20, in the Student Reports section of The Hive. Midterm grades are P/LP/F for all courses (pass/low pass/fail). End-of-term grades will use the Academy’s regular 0–6 scale. A schedule of all reports that will be posted this year by your child’s instructors and advisor point person also will be available on The Hive.
We value our partnership with you in supporting your children. We also firmly believe that high school is a critical time for young people to gain independence and confidence in managing their daily class and assignment schedules on their own. To cultivate this essential skill and a strong learning disposition, parents are not provided access to Canvas or student email accounts. Please know that should any significant concerns arise regarding your child, academic or otherwise, the advisor point person or another member of your child’s team will contact you. Similarly, we encourage you to be in touch with the advisor point person should you have concerns.
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Election Speaker Series
The Oliver Wendell Holmes Library’s 2020 Presidential Election Speaker Series provides the Andover community the opportunity to hear from five important public intellectuals about historical and contemporary aspects to the project of American democracy. On October 9, Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the main architects of the Green New Deal, spoke about race, COVID-19, climate, and the Green New Deal.
- Friday, October 16, at 7 p.m.: Michael Beschloss ’73, The 2020 Election and the Fate of Democracy. Zoom link. Passcode: 826812
- Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m.: Robert Greene II, Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics. Zoom link. Passcode: 858880
- Wednesday, October 28, at 7 p.m.: Ramesh Ponnuru, Contemporary Conservative Politics. Zoom link. Passcode: 398581
- Monday, November 2, at 10:15 a.m.: All-School Meeting presentation by George Goehl, Participatory Democracy and Lessons from “Deep Canvassing”
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Brace Student Fellow Presentation
As part of GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) Weekend October 16–18, Koki Kapoor ’21 will present “Queer Identity in Pre- and Post-Colonial India: How the Gradual Acceptance of Gender Fluidity in India is Influenced by Decolonization” on Friday, October 16, at 7 p.m. The prevalent myth in independent conservative India is that gender fluidity is a disease imported from the West through colonization. However, Kapoor’s closer look into India’s history reveals that queer identity can be traced to precolonial India as far back as the sixth century B.C. Kapoor’s presentation is sponsored by the Brace Center for Gender Studies; her faculty advisor is Sarah Driscoll, instructor in English. Zoom link. Passcode: Koki
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Pot Pourri Yearbook Deadlines
Hello families of seniors! I am Ariana Phillips, editor of the Pot Pourri yearbook. I wanted to get some critical information into your hands—and also reassure you that even though so much about this year is going to be different, there’s one senior tradition that will stay the same: our yearbook! We are committed to telling the incredible stories of this year for the sake of our school and for the history books—and we’re going to need your help to make it happen, especially as we seek content that’s happening off campus.
- Placing a Family Ad with your special message to your child and whatever photos you wish to include (deadline is October 31!)
- Submitting your child’s Senior Portrait (deadline is January 10)
- Purchasing a yearbook
Senior parents, please don’t miss our deadlines! Families of juniors, lowers, and uppers, we also need your assistance in providing content for the yearbook. For information on how you can help and how you can purchase a yearbook, please refer to this document. Questions? Please send us an email.
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Parent Development Webinar
The Parent Development team invites you to our upcoming webinar, “The Parent Fund: A Critical Resource During Challenging Times,” on Thursday, October 29, at 10 a.m. EDT. Join fellow parents, volunteers, and members of the administration to learn how support from parents and grandparents is crucial to sustaining Andover’s excellence. You’ll also receive an update on Academy finances, including the impact of COVID-19, and hear about ways to deepen your engagement with the Academy through volunteer opportunities.
Registration is open. Questions may be directed to Shannan Clarke, associate director of Parent Development. We hope you will join us!
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Religious News and Services
The Muslim Student Association (MSA) will hold its first weekly Friday prayer on October 16 at 1 p.m. in the meditation room, lower level of Cochran Chapel. The topic of this sermon will be “The Stance of Islam on Racism.” All students who are not in quarantine are welcome!
Special music at Roman Catholic Worship this Sunday, October 18: As we continue the celebration of Latin Heritage Month, we welcome composer and theologian Dr. Antonio Alonso to lead our worship music. Alonso is a Cuban American Catholic. His compositions embrace multicultural musical expressions and his music appears in hymnals across Christian denominations throughout the world. In 2020, he received a nomination for a Latin Grammy for his album “Caminemos con Jesús”. Fellowship time will be a panel discussion with Alonso and current leaders and alumni of the student club Alianza Latina. See below for further details and Zoom link.
Weekly Religious Services (virtual):
- Fridays, 5:30–6:30 p.m.—Jewish Shabbat Service and Jewish Student Union (JSU) Meeting: Led by Rabbi Michael Swarttz. Zoom link
- Sundays, 6 p.m.—Protestant (Ecumenical) Service: Led by the Reverend Gina M. Finocchiaro, interim Protestant chaplain. Music by Michael Belcher and others. Zoom link
- Sundays, 6:45–7:30 p.m.—Roman Catholic Worship: Worship with the Catholic Community at Andover, followed by fellowship and discussion led by Dr. Mary Kantor and the Catholic Student Fellowship (CSF) leaders. The worship format follows the Liturgy of the Word (scripture service with reflection, music, and prayers) of the first half of the Catholic Mass, but is not a full live or recorded Mass. Zoom link
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PSPA Virtual Mixer October 24
We are all craving connections right now and miss being together in person on campus. Please join us for our first-ever “Virtual Mixer” during Family Weekend! On Saturday, October 24, at two times—4 and 8 p.m. EDT—we will create space for community building and you will have the opportunity to get to know other parents and guardians in a series of informal breakout rooms. Please look for the links on the Family Weekend webpage. We look forward to seeing you!
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Andover Summer—Something for Everyone
Do you know someone who might benefit from a summer at Andover in 2021? A younger sibling, a friend’s child, or the child of a colleague? Whether it’s through an on-campus residential experience or one of the online eSummer offerings, there’s something for everyone—and it’s never too early to spread the word. Andover Summer recently launched its summer application for students in grades 6–11, and we will be hosting a series of admissions webinars beginning Thursday, October 22. To sign up or simply learn more about our summer programs, please visit our website. Don’t put life on hold: plan now for a transformative summer!
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You Are Invited! - October 16: Oliver Wendell Holmes Library 2020 Presidential Election Speaker Series—Michael Beschloss ’73, The 2020 Election and the Fate of Democracy
- October 19: Andover Chinese Archives Project & Course, Silences & Gaps
- October 22: A Conversation with Christine Balling ’86 and Barry McCaffrey ’60, moderated by Charlie Dean ’79, P’10
- October 29: The Parent Fund: A Critical Resource During Challenging Times
- October 29: Meet Our 16th Head of School, Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, hosted by the New York Regional Leadership Team
- November 5: Wine Tasting with Lindsay Hoopes ’99
- November 12: A Conversation with Megan Greene ’97 and Tedd Parker P’23
- November 17: Meet Our 16th Head of School, Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, hosted by the Pan-European Regional Leadership Team
- December 9: Meet Our 16th Head of School, Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, hosted by the Southern California Regional Leadership Team
- December 15: Meet Our 16th Head of School, Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, hosted by the Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia Regional Leadership Teams
All events are virtual unless otherwise noted. Please join us!
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© 2020
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