December

• January Term:

Throughout January of each year, students take a break from regular coursework during J-Term to engage in employee-led educational opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. Examples of past J-Term experiences include Capes and Culture, Introduction to Aviation, the Science of Breadmaking, Fantastic Fungi, and extended travel to Costa Rica or the American West. J-Term begins on January 7th and ends on January 29th. You can view your student’s assigned J-Term class or classes on Blackbaud. This year I'm teaching an on campus J-term course for the first time with Dr. Sakaguchi! We are teaching indoor rock climbing. 

January Term (J-Term) is an essential part of the NCSSM Academic Program. Since class meeting patterns are different during J-Term, attendance is calculated differently. One unexcused hour of missed class will be recorded as one unexcused absence. J-Term is considered its own term for attendance purposes. The number of accumulated absences reverts to zero at the beginning of spring semester. 

Most students will have more free time during J term than during the regular semester, so we plan to take advantage of that by upping our programming for the month. Our RLAs have made plans with other halls to host a number of programs in January, including Gagaball, open gyms, disc golf, and dodgeball. I will release the finalized schedule once students return to campus after winter break. 

• One last reminder about SAB Winter Semi-Formal:

Semi-Formal, NCSSM’s annual winter dance, is Saturday, December 6th from 8:30 – 10:55 PM in the PEC Gymnasium. This year’s theme is Coral Cove! All students are invited to take a trip under the sea with us and enjoy the evening with friends and hallmates. There will be festive decorations, music, snacks, and dancing!

Students planning to attend are encouraged to bring semi-formal dress clothes back to campus after the break. Appropriate attire includes a dressy skirt, shirt and tie (jacket optional), dress pants, a dress, and dress shoes.

Families, if you are interested in volunteering at or donating to semi-formal, view the opportunities and sign up here!

• Winter Break:

Can you believe that we have reached the halfway point for the year? With winter break beginning Friday, December 12th I wanted to provide a breakdown of how students should prepare for these longer breaks. Residence Halls close on December 12th at 5:00pm. Halls will reopen on Tuesday, January 6th at noon. Some students may leave earlier than the 12th if they are done with exams. Because this is a very long break we require that students unplug all items in their room, including fridges and fish tanks. During room inspections this week I will check that students have properly defrosted their fridges, so that we can avoid any puddles or mold growth over the break. Students should also make sure to take home any open food packages due to the long break. Signing out for this break is handled similarly to an extended weekend.

Students will submit an Overnight pass on Orah before or during our hall meeting right before Winter Break. On this Orah pass, they indicate where they are going for the break, who they are traveling with, and how they are getting to their destination. If students have specific questions about checkout procedures for Winter Break, they should speak to me. This is similar to our last extended weekend.