July 2, 2020 Dear PALS 9 Students,
Congratulations on completing 8th grade!
We know that the spring was not as anyone expected and we hope that you and your family are healthy and safe. This summer the PALS Program had hoped to bring nearly 100 rising 7th, 8th, and 9th graders from four schools in Lawrence to the Phillips Academy campus in Andover for programming in July. Instead, due to on-campus restrictions, we are sending this package to you and over 40 other students.
Research has shown that staying engaged with learning over summer break can help prevent what is often called the “summer slide” – or the loss of acquired knowledge while away from school. Reading is a great way to keep your brain active and provides huge benefits!
We have designed the PALS Summer program to be at-home and at your own pace without the need for a computer or internet connection.
While your engagement with these books is on your own schedule, see the Getting Started sheet (also outlined on the PALS 9 webpage) for a proposed timeline to help you work through them over the month of July.
All three books provided are broken up into four parts or chapters. You could choose to do one part from each book each week or go at a slower pace and work through the journal, text, and workbook over the course of the whole summer. There is a lot to dig into - and over 450 pages of reading, reflecting, and writing - there's no need to rush!
Though a device is not required, we will offer additional ideas and programming through this page.
For the month of July, we will add articles and other ideas and resources to help prepare you for high school.
We hope that you will also take our online PALS Summer Survey at the end of the month as well as keep in touch with us over the next four weeks through emails, photos, and videos – sharing your reading, reflecting, journaling, learning, and enjoying what PALS has sent you.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach us at PALS@andover.edu.
The PALS Program sends our best wishes to you for your first year of high school!
Sincerely,
Ms. Shadeed Director, PALS Program
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