Parent Bulletin

Parents’ Weekend 2011 was a hit! More than 1700 parents and other family members registered for the festivities. Thanks to moderate, dry weather it was easy and fun to traverse the campus to attend classes, performances, the All-School Meeting, athletic contests and information sessions. At the All-School Meeting, Head of School Barbara Chase mentioned Wellness Week keynote speaker Dr. David Eagleman. Dr. Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine, spoke on October 19, about the workings of the brain. For those of us parenting adolescents, one of the more captivating ideas in his presentation was the “Ulysses Contract.” Mrs. Chase commended Dr. Eagleman’s talk and encouraged parents to watch the program, which can be found on the Parent Portal under Parent Resources, Streaming Media.

Also at the Parents’ Weekend All-School Meeting, PSPA President Susan Howell announced the Barbara Landis Chase CAMD Scholar Grant. The grant will support two CAMD (Community and Multicultural Development) scholars every year, and the recipients will be known as the “Barbara Landis Chase CAMD Scholars”. Each year, the CAMD Selection Committee awards four to six grants to students, enabling them to pursue independent research projects related to diversity and multiculturalism. The culmination of each project is a presentation to the community. A sample of the topics covered in past years includes: “The Next Step: The Choctaw a Century After the Trail of Tears”, “Adversity to Diversity: Understanding the Southern Experience”, “The Changing Face of Judaism: A Search for Jewish Identity in North America”, and “From Black Panthers to Broadway: Evolution of the Black Thespian”. Mrs. Chase is an enthusiastic advocate for this program, which supports the academy’s mission to provide opportunities for youth from every quarter and she was thrilled by the PSPA’s commitment in her honor.

Don’t Forget about Care Packs!

Are you interested in putting a smile on your child’s face during Assessment Week? If so, make sure you remember to send them a Care Pack filled with edible goodies to keep them going! If you’d like to send a Care Pack to your student please fill out the form and mail it back to us. All orders must be received by Friday, November 11, in order for fall term Care Packs to be delivered on time.

Kaleidoscope Speakers Program

The new Kaleidoscope Speakers Program features a plurality of perspectives on important social and political topics. This fall two speakers will present different perspectives on spiritual and secular worldviews at consecutive All-School Meetings. The topic is based on input from the academy community. At the November 2 ASM, Ross Douthat, the youngest op-ed columnist in the history of the New York Times will speak. Representing the spiritual view and a new generation of conservative commentators, Douthat enlivens the editorial pages of the Times with his vigorous analysis of politics and government. More information on Douthat can be found on the C-SPAN archives website and on Wikipedia. At the November 9 All-School Meeting, Greg Epstein, the humanist chaplain at Harvard University and author of Good without God: What a Billion Non-religious People Do Believe, will provide the secular perspective. More information on Epstein can be found on Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard website.

Travel over Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks

Phillips Academy is offering transportation options for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks, including roundtrip bus service to NYC with stops in Hartford and Darien, Conn., and shuttles to Logan Airport. In addition, there are taxi and limousine services to Logan and Manchester airports. Log into the Parent Portal and click on the Dean of Students Section under the Student Life tab for forms and further information. If you have any questions, please contact Claudia Scofield at cscofield@andover.edu or 978-749-4175.

Required Notifications from Environmental Health & Safety

Each year, Phillips Academy is required to inform parents about the management of asbestos-containing materials and the use of termite baiting stations on campus. This information can be found on the PAnet Parent Portal. To access, click on Parent Resources then Getting Started: FAQ. The notifications are part of the Environmental Health & Safety section.

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