September 2020
The Year Ahead at Milton
The 2020–2021 academic year will look unlike any other in the history of Milton Academy. As we adjust our program and transform our campus—with the goal of having all students engaged in as much live teaching and learning as possible this year—the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff remain paramount. Our Upper School program aims to maintain interactions and foster connection among boarding and day students—delivering a meaningful, equitable educational experience for all.
We invite families to visit our Milton 2020–2021 webpage, which includes important information on our academic programs, our health and safety measures, and frequently asked questions. The page outlines the School’s plans to execute our academic program in on-campus, hybrid, or fully remote scenarios, and deliver an excellent education—regardless of circumstance.
Family Forum on Academic Program
The Upper School leadership team convened a Family Forum for parents on Monday, August 24, hosted via Zoom webinar, focusing on plans for this fall’s Upper School academic program. The Forum explored sample student schedules and offered details about the School’s models for enhanced remote learning and hybrid learning. Participants included Head of School Todd Bland as well as Upper School Principal David Ball, Academic Dean Heather Sugrue, and Dean of Teaching and Learning Indu Singh. Below is video of the two-hour event, which includes a 30-minute Q&A session.
The First Few Days
Our opening of school programs are geared toward helping everyone get acclimated to Milton. During the opening of school, all students—new and returning—will engage with each other, faculty, and staff. Each person at our School is a part of our community and contributes to the Milton environment in big and small ways. This year, opening of school programming for all students will be conducted virtually. Dates for the start of programming are as follows:
New Student Orientation: Wednesday, September 2 through Friday, September 4, and Tuesday, September 8 through Thursday, September 10. An email from the Deans’ Office went out to students and families on Thursday, August 27, with detailed programming information. A complete schedule of events for all students can be accessed in students’ CampusGroups accounts.
Class I College Counseling Sessions: Wednesday, September 2 through Friday, September 4. An email from the Class I Deans went out on Friday, August 28 with details.
Class I, Class II, and Class III Opening of School Programming: Thursday, September 10 and Friday, September 11. Students will receive emails from Class Deans or the Deans’ Office with details. A complete schedule of events for all students can be accessed in students’ CampusGroups accounts.
Welcome to the Parents’ Association
Welcome to the 2020–2021 school year and to the Upper School Parents’ Association (USPA)! The USPA is a self-sustaining organization dedicated to building community and fostering communication, and we hold several events for students and parents throughout the year. As an Upper School parent, you are automatically a member of the Parents’ Association and welcome to attend our meetings. The meetings are a great way to learn about the School and get to know other parents. They feature guest speakers from the faculty or administration, followed by discussion. Meetings will be held virtually until further notice on the following dates (details to follow): September 22, October 14, October 19, November 10, January 12, February 23, April 13, and May 18. The faculty, parent, and student events sponsored by the USPA are made possible by your generous contributions of time, funding, and gifts—as we are a self-sustaining organization, led by volunteer parents and supported primarily by parent dues and donations. Thank you!
Stay Connected To What’s Happening at Milton
You can connect with goings-on at Milton—formal and informal—and see what students and faculty are doing in several easy ways:
Check the website every day. Milton’s homepage delivers up-to-date news in many forms. Timely feature articles highlight student, faculty, and alumni activities. Video and photos let you in on fun, ceremony, performance, and exhibits.
Set up Milton’s calendar to serve you. Milton’s online calendar includes every major and minor event involving Milton students, faculty, or staff. When you explore the calendar, you can add events to your own calendar and sign up for email alerts. You can set it to sync or email a single event, or a category of events. You’ll see “Add to my calendar” and “Remind me by email” on the top bar of the calendar listings. Simply decide what works best for you and choose the option you’d like.
Dive deep into Centre Connection, Milton’s online parent newsletter. This newsletter, Centre Connection, is the place to see a full art exhibit; learn about Milton’s performances and who’s acting in them; hear a presentation by a well-known public figure delivering one of Milton’s endowed lectures; and find out what classes are doing virtually. Centre Connection is published five times each year. You’ll enjoy scanning the news updates and fun features.
Follow Milton on Instagram. Worth a thousand words, Instagram posts from Milton (@miltonacademy) capture and share slices of School life. Use the Instagram icon on the homepage to find and follow Milton Academy.
Participate in parent events: The Parents’ Association webpage will update you on parent events, volunteer opportunities, and other news.
Read the student newspapers: Two other informative and often-humorous sources of information are the student newspapers, the Milton Measure and the Milton Paper. We encourage you to consider a subscription to one or both papers, which can come to you via regular mail, email, or both.
Performing Arts Auditions
The show must go on! The Performing Arts Department is planning a robust co-curricular season of shows this year including Shakespeare, contemporary plays, dance, and other original work. Students can perform, create, design, provide technical support, stage manage, choreograph, and compete on a nationally recognized speech and debate program. This fall, Milton continues the tradition of the Class IV production as well as two other plays for Classes I–III. Whether remote or in person, we are committed to offering exciting performance experiences for all interested students.
Class IV Production
All Class IV students are invited to participate in the special Class IV production! This long standing Milton Academy tradition and fun production consists entirely of Class IV students who want to participate. No experience necessary! The first meeting will be held virtually during the Opening of School. Details about the show and first meeting times will be shared at a later date. In the meantime, please take a look at previous shows here: https://www.milton.edu/academics/academic-departments/theatre/ and if you have any questions, please email the director, Eleza Kort, at Eleza_Kort@milton.edu.
A New Platform For Student Activities
Students will have a new, one-stop shop for activities, club news, and events in the 2020–2021 school year. Milton has partnered with CampusGroups, an online platform where they can connect with one another, express their identities, learn about special interests, and plan their attendance at events throughout the year.
The Deans’ Office will send information in the coming days about how to access CampusGroups. The platform will be rolled out over time, beginning with opening of school activities and programs.
Last spring’s switch to remote learning in response to COVID-19 highlighted the need to streamline information about co-curricular activities, said Kelly Reiser, director of Student Activities. The flurry of email from different clubs, publications, and departments across the School overwhelmed the inboxes of students who were already seeing an increase in messages related to their classes.
“We have talked so much about the importance of building community, especially during times when we can’t all be together physically,” Reiser said. “This is a way to keep those connections going and offer fun activities.”
What is an Advisor?
An advisor is a faculty or staff member who helps oversee and guide your child’s overall experience at Milton. They are the main communication link between you and the School on matters that relate to your child. Each advisor typically advises six to eight students and many students have the same advisor throughout their Upper School experience.
Meet Milton’s New Faculty
New faculty gathered virtually in mid-summer with members of the Upper School Deans’ Office. “It was so amazing and inspiring!” said Academic Dean Heather Sugrue. “I’m excited about all of these people joining the School.”
Mahmoud Abdalrahman joins the Science Department. He earned his bachelor’s in chemistry at Clark University and his Ph.D. in bioinorganic chemistry at the University of New Hampshire. His graduate work focused on environmental sensors and cancer imaging. He comes to Milton from St. John’s School in Houston, Texas, where he taught chemistry.
Akinade Adeboye joins the faculty of the Math Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Covenant University in Nigeria and master’s in educational leadership from Southern New Hampshire University. Prior to Milton, Adeboye taught math at both Austin Preparatory School and St. Johnsbury Academy, where he also served as an advisor and dorm proctor.
Aprotim “Cory” Bhowmik joins the Math Department. He has a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education where his focus was on computational neuroscience in learning and education. He also has a M.S. in biomedical engineering from Columbia University and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. His academic research focused on machine learning, signal processing, and neuroscience.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships (CEPP) office remained busy this summer. Some students had weekly volunteer Zoom calls with children at the Brookview family shelter; donated food and activity supplies to local families in need, as well as to the Navajo community in Thoreau, New Mexico (normally the destination for the June service trip); or planned for the new school year with CEPP’s partners.
“In these unusual and uncertain times, opportunities for connection, compassion, and learning together are more important than ever for our students and our partner communities,” said Andrea Geyling-Moore, faculty director of CEPP.
CEPP’s 2020–2021 school year will begin with an online sign-up process once classes are underway. More than 20 regular partners are eager to stay connected through Zoom tutoring, penpal letter-writing, the arts and athletics, events to raise funds and awareness, and more.
Answers to Your FAQs
How is Milton thinking about academics for the fall? What should I do if I have concerns about my student’s access to technology? What will the daily schedule look like? How will my child receive feedback this year? Find answers to these and other frequently asked questions.
Featured Videos
All American Films
Two student films were accepted into the All American High School Film Festival in the drama category. Dash Evett ‘21 and Jace Fuller’s ‘21 film, The Grievance, features Conner Hartman ‘21, Ben Simpson ‘21, and Charlie Volpe ‘20. Evett’s’s film, Guy, features himself and his brother Spencer Evett ‘17.
The Grievance
Guy
Featured Photos
Performing Arts at Milton
Use the links below to enjoy photos from some of last fall’s performances.
Class IV Follies
view photos
1212 Play: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
view photos
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
view photos
Exploring Typography
At the conclusion of Nicole Darling’s Technology, Media and Design class last spring, students studied typography, which is the art and technique of type design, lettering, and calligraphy. “It is arguably one of the most important components of graphic design. It requires designers to have the ability to make messages readable while expressing, emoting, and projecting concepts to the audience,” says Darling. Below are images of the students’ work.
We need parent volunteers. The Milton Fund directly impacts the lives of Milton’s students and faculty by providing the funds to address the needs of the School during these challenging times. A successful Milton Fund ensures that Milton will continue to thrive today and in the future. If you are interested in volunteering for the Milton Fund, please contact Alana McGrath, Annual Giving Officer, at alana_mcgrath@milton.edu.
Thank You for Supporting Milton Through Dare
We’re excited to share that—thanks to generous parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends—we concluded Dare: The Campaign for Milton on June 30, raising more than $182.7 million in support of students and teachers. Publicly launched in 2015 with a $175 million goal, Dare made a commitment to the people of Milton, with student support and faculty recruitment and retention named among our top priorities. Your generosity enabled our financial aid budget to grow by 47 percent, created professional development opportunities for faculty, improved campus facilities, and helped us cover School essentials through the Milton Fund. Learn more about the impact of your generosity and thank you for supporting Milton.
