From the Parents' Association

Small bursts of purple, yellow and white are beginning to dot the New England landscape, sure signs that spring is arriving. It also means the end to another great year at Milton is around the corner. The final meeting of the Milton Academy Parents’ Association is Wednesday, May 12, at 6:45 in Straus Library. Head of School Robin Robertson will be our guest speaker and it will be an opportunity to recap the year, thank the parent volunteers who made all our events possible and to introduce the new board and committee chairs for 2004-2005. Perhaps for some of you, it will present the opportunity to speak to participating volunteers and consider joining one of our active committees as a volunteer for next year.

Springtime on campus is often nostalgic, especially for the seniors and their parents. The senior class has exciting plans for April and May. April brings the always popular Senior Dog Day , a school sponsored Senior Skip Day on April 26 and the leadership transition on April 29 as the current seniors begin concentrating on their May senior projects. On May 21 the seniors will enjoy a wonderful prom night in Boston followed by a special all night event on campus full of group activities and surprises.

The Parents’ Association extends our appreciation and thanks to the entire Milton community – faculty, administration, staff and fellow parents – for a wonderful year.

Our Calendar of Events includes the following, none of which would have happened without the work of many. The Parents’ Association is lucky to have such dedicated and energetic parents in the Milton Academy community. Their efforts made the following possible.
* Opening of School Welcome Table
* Welcome mail box gift for students
* PA sponsored dinner and speaker for Parents’ Weekend
* Seven speaker presentations
* Class Dinners
* Faculty Appreciation Days
* Milton Mix-Up
* Summer Opportunities Fair
* Spring Athletic Tea

Each year, in addition to our planned events, the Board produces a list of goals to accomplish during the calendar year - our “wish list” that we set at the beginning of the year. While we may not always accomplish them all, this year we were able to reach many of our goals for one reason only - the energy and focus of an incredible team of parent volunteers that represented Classes I-VI, day students and boarding students from all over the world. The Board members, Committee Chairs and those parent volunteers made the following goals possible during 2003-2004.

• Increase participation in PA dues, which remains voluntary
• Completed two year project for proposed annual budget formula
• Added the following links and topics to our web page: Instituted and coordinated having speaker presentations taped and added to our web page so they are available to download for parents unable to attend or who wish to hear presentation again; links for PIN, Mix-UP, “Your Dues at Work,” Parent Volunteer Opportunities and biographies of our speakers.
• Completed updated survey of Parents’ Associations at New England boarding schools regarding PA sponsored events, programs and organizational goals to help us to compare and assess our own organization, to share information and to facilitate communications with other Parent Associations. Results will be posted on our Web page by mid May. You will be proud of what the Milton PA offers!
• Worked with Class V and VI representatives, Middle School Principal Mark Stanek, Head of School Robin Robertson and Parent Liaison Lesly Freed on organizing, instituting and completing the transition of the Middle School to a separate Middle School Parents’ Association dedicated to the needs and goals of that particular age group.
• Wrote the PA Volunteer Guideline Booklet
• Increased usage of emails notifying parents of updates and events
• Increased joint board neetings and usage of update mails to joint board
• Worked with the Academy to institute PA involvement with re-visit days
• Worked with the ad=dministration to add new PA information in the student handbook, parent handbook and directory
• Worked with FLIK catering/facilities resulting in final checklist for events
• Instituted “Share A Ride” program for interested boarders.
• Instituted new program with the library: all speaker information will now be available for parents to access in the library along with any books written by speakers.
• Instituted and facilitated opportunity for “mix-up” type dinners in other states for parents of boarding students.
• Organized parent book discussion group

The Executive Board, Class Representatives, Committee Chairs and volunteers made for quite a “team PA” this year! The camaraderie and spirit was evident by our level of parent participation and outreach.

We are grateful for the ongoing relationship between the Parents’ Association and the administration, faculty and staff at Milton Academy. We are especially appreciative of all the support and efforts of Head of School Robin Robertson - her guidance, suggestions and commitment to the Parents’ Association have enhanced our relationship with the entire Milton Academy community.

Please continue to visit our web page at www.milton.edu, click on Parents and then Parents’ Association for all the latest news and updates.

Parents’ Association Executive Board
Rhonda Corey-Myers and Judy Tucker, Co-Presidents
Susan Littlefield and M.E. Malone, Co Vice-Presidents
Dr. Ayca Gazelle, Treasurer
Peter Heitman, Recording Secretary/Communication Specialist
Maria Sebastian: Corresponding Secretary