PALS - Winter 2017 Newsletter

PALS

Phillips Academy Andover High School Lawrence Schools

A Phillips Academy Outreach Program

iPads Delight Students, Augment Learning Computers have been part of the PALS program for many years, but only half the students could use the rented computers at any one time—and they were not specifically trained in how to use the Internet to advance their studies. This past summer, for the first time, every student was loaned an iPad courtesy of Phillips Academy’s Oliver Wendell Holmes Library.

With help from PALS director Greg Wilkin and other master teachers, Neel Shroff (pictured at right)—a PA senior and PALS seventh-grade math master teacher—led the way, setting up 40 iPads with Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. In English, students used Google Docs to write autobiographies and other assignments, and in science, they used Google Slides to create presentations. “In math, we accessed Khan Academy tutorials to supplement classroom learning,” said Shroff. “It was a very big success.”

Winter 2017 Newsletter

PALS Our Mission Established in 1988, PALS is a two-year, year-round program that provides academic enrichment, study skills, and learning strategies for Lawrence middle school students and assists them with the high school application process. At the same time, PALS provides a unique opportunity for Phillips Academy and Andover High School student volunteers to work side by side as mentors and teachers, supported by a carefully planned curriculum and experienced, qualified adults.

The “PALS” name is derived from the key partners in this program: Phillips Academy, Andover High School, and the Lawrence Schools.

Photography: Gil Talbot, John Hurley

Director’s message

Sometimes it’s the small things that really make a difference. This past summer, bus transportation to and from Lawrence went exceptionally well.

Not only was our driver particularly efficient, but PALS students also were more punctual than ever.

Impressive! Arriving earlier to the Phillips Academy campus each morning allowed students more time to connect with tutors before classes. Their punctuality bespoke their ability, maturity, and commitment to get organized. They really wanted to be here. As the end of July approached, lots of wistful expressions of “ending too soon!” could be heard.

PALS is, of course, a year-round program.

Last spring and this past fall, student volunteers from Phillips Academy and Andover High School traveled weekly to our Lawrence middle schools to help these scholarship-winners improve their math, English, interviewing, and study skills. Regular field trips back to the PA campus allowed for brilliant presentations by Academy instructors on topics such as astronomy, archaeology, chemistry, and art.

Students also enjoyed hearing from Leah Okimoto, who started Aaron’s Presents in 2014 to honor the memory of her son.

The foundation offers grants, support, and mentorship to young students who want to turn their thoughtful, creative ideas into reality. Okimoto introduced students to the possibility of creating their own service activity or program. A great experience in its own right, this also would be an excellent way for PALS students to distinguish themselves when applying to selective schools.

The high point of my year? For the first time, veteran choral leader Cynthia Nuñez combined seventh- and eighth-graders into one summertime chorus: the result was a big, full-bodied sound and 100 percent participation.

Their rendition of the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” was the best unaccompanied performance I’ve heard during my many years with PALS. I hope you enjoy the other program highlights covered in this newsletter, and that you continue to support these smart, motivated, and deserving children in every way possible.

All the best,

Greg Wilkin

Protecting Painted Turtles

Hands-on experience benefits students, amphibians, and herpetologists

R

ecognizing a mutually beneficial opportunity, Dr. Michael Jones—Massachusetts’ official herpetologist—circled back to his long-term commitment to PALS. He invited the program’s seventh- and eighth-graders to assist with his longitudinal study of local turtles.

Jones and his wife, Dr. Liz Willey, were both PALS tutors from Andover High School in the late 1990s and remember their experiences fondly. Willey is currently a professor at Antioch University New England, where she teaches biostatistics, vertebrate ecology, and conservation biology.

On a 95-degree day in mid-July, the two scientists returned to Phillips Academy for PALS Turtle Day. Forty-eight students, interns, and master teachers joined Jones and Willey for a mile-and-a-half walk— mostly along wooded paths—to Pomps Pond Reservation. There, despite a couple of monsoon-like downpours, the group slogged along the wetlands sand pit to catch, examine, weigh, identify by notches, and document eastern painted turtles in their ancient habitat. Students were stunned to learn that several of the larger turtles were twice or thrice their own age.

Jones told the group he had always wanted to study turtles and explained how he managed to turn a

childhood interest into a very satisfying career. He pointed out hidden nest sites, where baby turtles would soon hatch and crawl to the water, and students learned about the teeming life in the wetlands and the many fragile species endangered by traffic, pollution, habitat loss, climate change, and more.

“I feel very fortunate,” said Jones. “PALS Turtle Day is a great way to reconnect with the program and continue a conservation study I think is important.”

PALS eighth-graders made a similar trip once before with Jones during the school year to view endangered turtles that he is headstarting for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Meaningful participation in Jones’s work plus follow-up are what makes this PALS approach to environmental learning so powerful. “These animals, this habitat—they’re not just things for us to look at,” said PALS director Greg Wilkin. “You’ve shown us that we are all involved in this together, this work, these environmental issues.”

Several PALS Turtle Day participants were inspired to learn more about reptiles and amphibians. Someday perhaps one of them will take the lead in protecting an endangered plant or animal.

2016 Program Overview Honing basic skills, providing new experiences

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Lawrence middle schoolers participated in PALS in 2016.

22

students from Phillips Academy and Andover High School were PALS volunteer teachers.

H PALS students have fun while learning essential math skills. The seventh-grade curriculum strengthens math fundamentals and works with percents, fractions, decimals, graphing, and strategies to solve word problems. In addition, eighth-grade classes focus on introductory algebra. These concepts are reinforced through daily homework assignments.

elping eager seventh- and eighth-graders from UP Academy Leonard, UP Academy Oliver, and Parthum Middle School hone their math, reading, and writing skills is just one of PALS’ many goals. The year-round program also strives to offer new experiences, broaden young minds about career possibilities, foster mentoring relationships, and help middle schoolers research, gain admission to, and apply for scholarships at selective high schools.

■■ Seventh-graders visited the PA Observatory under the guidance of PA physics and astronomy instructor Caroline Odden and students in her advanced astronomy class.

■■ Math master teacher Corinna Torabi, PA ’14, helped eighth-graders study SSAT math problems.

■■ Language arts master teacher Tom Fritz helped students practice analogies and led discussions about To Kill a Mockingbird, encouraging eighth-graders to dig deep as they analyzed the themes.

■■ Eighth-graders learned about the future of biochemical research during PALS’ fourth annual Pfizer Pharmaceuticals tour.

■■ Pursuing the theme of “Identity,” PALS students showcased their artwork and poetry with PA’s International Club and

Art Club. They also posted their work online as part of master teacher Paul Hurteau’s international art-sharing program.

As in summers past, admission personnel from public, private, and parochial schools in the area—including Pingree Academy, Central Catholic High School, Pike School, Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School, and Abbott Lawrence Academy at Lawrence High School— visited campus to talk about the opportunities offered by each of their schools and answer students’ questions. PALS summer faculty also accompanied interested students on school tours to help them better understand what life is like at a boarding school.

All PALS students learn to play chess and compete individually and in teams. Far more than a game, chess develops strategic planning skills, patience, and intellectual rigor.

Sharing Experiences

Teachers and students learn from one another

“I‘ve always been interested in learning more about the world. I want to meet new people that I wouldn’t really meet if I stayed in Lawrence for the summer.”

—Yalexa, PALS student

PALS students are exceptionally talented and motivated, which is why they were nominated for the program—and why working with them is tremendously rewarding. Over the years, many teacher-volunteers and interns have so enjoyed their PALS experience that they have gone on to major in education in college.

Most summer interns come from the greater Lawrence area and often have a lot in common

with the students. During the academic year, there is a bit of an international twist: several teacher-volunteers typically hail from places such as Thailand, India, and England. In all cases, the learning goes both ways.

Above, language arts intern Stefanos Eskioglu— also head of summer tennis—discusses the work of author and activist Maya Angelou with a seventh-grader.

PALS Alma Maters

Bright, ambitious young students are reaching higher Nearly 100 percent of PALS alumni graduate from high school. Well over 90 percent go on to college.

High Schools* Abbott Lawrence Academy Academy of Notre Dame Andover High School Austin Preparatory School Boston Arts Academy Central Catholic High School Dorchester High School Georgetown High School Greater Lawrence Technical School Lawrence High School Methuen High School Noble and Greenough School Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School (formerly Notre Dame High School) Phillips Academy Presentation of Mary Academy St. John’s Preparatory School

•attended by PALS students since 1998

Colleges and Universities* Amherst College Anna Maria College Assumption College Becker College Bentley University Berry College Boston College Boston University Brandeis University Bridgewater State University Brown University Clark University College of St. Benedict College of the Holy Cross Dartmouth College Denison University Eckerd College Emmanuel College Fairfield University Florida Institute of Technology Gordon College Johnson & Wales University (North Miami) Massachusetts College of Art Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Merrimack College Miami Industrial College of Arts and Science Middlesex Community College Norfolk State University Northern Essex Community College Princeton University Providence College Quinnipiac University Regis College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rivier University Saint Anselm College Salem State University Suffolk University Tufts University UMass Amherst UMass Boston UMass Dartmouth UMass Lowell Union College University of Notre Dame University of Rhode Island Wentworth Institute of Technology Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester State University Yale University

The PALS program builds self-confidence, which helps enable personal and social responsibility during the early teen years.

Our Donors We gratefully acknowledge our 2015–2016 donors, whose generous contributions once again supported 100 percent of the PALS operating budget.

Foundations

Betty Beland Greater Lawrence Summer Fund

PALS

Individual Donors Murali Aravamudan & Lakshmi Murali, P’16

Charles E. Foisy & Florida C.A. Foisy Foundation

Sharyn Bahn

Charles G. Pringle Foundation

Joseph J. & Lynn M. Boyd, P’16

Cornell Family Foundation

Angelina Calobrisi, GP’00

Edward S. & Winifred G. Moseley Foundation

Ellinor Parnes Campbell, PA ’01

Josephine G. Russell Trust Artemas W. Stearns Trust

Sharon Beckwith, GP’17

Christopher H. Corbett, P’86, ’88, ’92

Anne Marino

Alan F. French, P’77, ’82

Hilary Driscoll Price, PA ’91

Ziwerekoru C. Fumudoh, PA ’10 Michael G. & Joann Furlong, P’09 Elinor Cahill Georgopulo, AA ’44 Diane L. Glynn Benjamin J. & Mona K. Goldthwaite, P’18, ’20

Nathaniel & Elizabeth Stevens Foundation

Laura J. Cox, PA ’88

Waldo Trust

Michael R. Deschenes, PA ’91

Hans H. Hertell, PA ’01

Corporations

Michael J. & Rose Marie DiResta, P’00

Gina E. Hoods, PA ’89 Michael J. Koehler, PA ’94

John J. & Alexandra Driscoll, P’88, ’91

Durgesh A. Kudchadkar, PA ’94

Patricia H. & George H. Edmonds, P’79, ’82

Thomas P. Lockerby & Kathleen J. McCrickerd

Mary Rose & Mariano Ezpeleta Jr., P’84, ’85, ’90

Henry W. Manice, PA ’05

Pfizer

Rebecca A. Cullen, PA ’90

*This list reflects gifts received from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016.

180 Main Street Andover, Mass. 01810-4161 978-749-4000 www.andover.edu/pals

Patrick J. & Karen J. Farrell, P’08

PALS Director: Greg Wilkin PALS Master Teachers: Alix Driscoll, Paul Hurteau

Aseem S. Gupta, PA ’98

Susannah C. Parker, PA ’98 Daniel S. Rabinovitz, PA ’97 Daniel & Elizabeth Reardon Aram J. Shrestinian, PA ’11 Robert & Betty Smallridge Kristina Stahlbrand, AA ’61 Deborah L. Stahl-Hannam, PA ’80, P’17 Jesenia Tejada-Perez Sylvia L. Thayer, AA ’54 & Philip Zaeder, P’79, ’83, GP’17, ’18 Joseph B. Wennik, PA ’52 & Inga K. Wennik, P’82, ’86, ’88 Lucy H. Winship, AA ’36 Jeff C. Woodhead, PA ’84

Gifts in Kind Depot Pizza

PA = Phillips Academy P = Phillips Academy Parent GP = Phillips Academy Grandparent AA = Abbot Academy

Please support PALS! You will help deserving Lawrence youth by nurturing and strengthening their aspirations for high school, college, and beyond. Visit www.andover.edu/palsgiving to make a gift today.