Updates

Welcome to NCSSM and 3rd West!

Hello Everyone. I am Alex Currin and  I will be your Community Coordinator this year.  I am reaching out today to share with you several resources that will help you prepare for the transition to NCSSM and life on 3rd West.  I know the transition to NCSSM can be a lot, and I look forward to helping you navigate your time here; it is also my first week at NCSSM and can't wait explore the campus and culture here alongside you!  Please check back here in a few days, as I am working a video tour of the hall that I wills share here !

I want to take a moment to highlight the purpose of this website and all the resources contained within. The hall site has lots of helpful information for you.  On the home page you will see the 3rd West Activities calendar, the School Activities calendar, and the Academic Calendar.   The leadership page of the site includes an introduction to me and an explanation of my role, as well as brief introductions to our amazing team of Residential Life Assistants (RLAs) and their role on hall. There are also pages of resources for both students and families; these are meant to be helpful hubs where you can find reminders of policies and any links you may be looking for.

How to Contact Your CC

If you need to get in touch with me, I am reachable by email at alexander.currin@ncssm.edu. I check my email often and will respond within 24 hours. My NCSSM phone number is 919-416-2691.  I will generally respond after 12pm, likely when I am on duty form 1:30pm to 7:30pm.

What to Expect from Monthly Updates

I wanted to make sure everyone knows what to expect from me in regards to regular hall updates.  By the 1st of each month I will post an update to the updates section of the hall site and send an email alerting you that the update is live. These posts will include recaps of the past few weeks on hall, updates on major hall and campus events, reminders about upcoming events and deadlines, and photos of the student experience on campus.   The most recent update will always be on this page, past updates will be archived in a dropdown menu under the updates tab.

Ways to Support the Hall

There is a whole section of the hall site dedicated to ways you can support the hall, but I wanted to give you a brief overview here.  If you want to contribute to your student's hall community, there are several ways to do that. Opportunities range from snacks during hall meetings, to birthday celebrations, to giving your time or expertise to help at an event! Also, there will be opportunities to supply items for various hall activities outside of the regularly scheduled weekly events. If you would like to help, we have a place for you on 3rd West!

There are a few things I want to share with you concerning opportunities for families to get involved with and support the hall.  The first is our hall snack signup.  Each week during hall meeting on Monday night we will endeavor to have a snack for students to take part in.  You can use the signup to volunteer to provide the snack on one of these nights.  The other thing I want to share is info about our hall Amazon wish list.  I stock the wish list with items we may need for programs alongside snacks.  You can order snacks here for me to keep in storage in case we ever need them or to provide for a hall snack you have signed up for (you can also drop off snacks on your own, do not feel beholden to order off the wish list).  I will add a link to the wishlist here and on the support page in the next few days!

You can also contribute to the hall by helping run activities or sharing your own expertise; if you are interested in doing so, please email me so that we can make a plan!  Throughout the year there will also be lots of opportunities for you to support the school during dances and other large events.

Roommates

For many students their time at NCSSM will be the first time they have experienced sharing a room with someone. It is natural for there to be some growing pains as students adjust their habits and learn to live together. For this reason we encourage students to spend their first few weeks getting to know one another and discussing their sleep habits, study preferences, and what makes them feel comfortable in their shared space. After the first extended roommates will work together to craft a roommate agreement; this agreement will outline how they will respect one another’s space, accommodate each other's sleep and study habits, what they can borrow and share with each other, and how they will keep their room clean. The agreement is a living document and can be revisited as needed throughout the year.

While we hope that all students will get along well, it is possible that your students develop a conflict with their roommate that they have trouble navigating on their own. If this occurs you or your student should let their CC know. We will work with the students to mediate the conflict and work towards a mutual resolution. It is imperative that you speak only to your student about any conflict they are having, do not contact the other student or their family. If the conflict continues the CC may ask that the students work with either the Assistant Director or Director of Housing and Residence Life to continue working towards a solution. NCSSM operates at full occupancy; therefore, room changes are not easy to accommodate. it. No room changes will be approved during the 1st quarter of the school year. Changing rooms is considered only if all conflict resolution options have been exhausted, a space is available, and the move is considered a positive step for all parties involved. For these reasons, a room change should not be viewed as a likely outcome to resolve a conflict.

CCs and Security Staff On-Call

CCs are available 24 hours a day to assist your students. The Bryan CC desk is staffed each day from 7:30am to 1:00am.  All other CC building offices are staffed beginning at 6:30pm each day. Outside of these hours there will always be 2 CCs on call while students are on campus. The contact numbers for the on-call CCs are posted at each CC desk and can be viewed here. If your student has an emergency they are encouraged to reach out to the on duty CCs.

NCSSM also has Campus Safety and Security Officers available 24 hours. They can be contacted in non-emergencies at 919-416-2911. In emergencies they can be contacted via their radios at 919-416-2711; please note that because these calls are handled by a radio you should allow a few seconds to pass before speaking after the officer has spoken.

The Clinic

Student Health Services, often referred to as the Clinic, is located on the first floor of the Hunt Residence Hall. The Clinic is staffed by a nurse, medical assistant, and a family nurse practitioner. Our medical director oversees the Clinic’s daily operation and is present in the Clinic one day a week. The Clinic is staffed and equipped to manage most acute and chronic illnesses that occur while students reside at NCSSM. Common over-the-counter medications, bandages, splints, and crutches are dispensed at no additional charge to students. Prescriptions, if required, can be picked up from a local pharmacy. Some problems may require additional care, in which case students are referred to area professionals. Families will be notified if this referral is necessary.

Students are prohibited from keeping certain types of prescription medications in their rooms (e.g., narcotics, psychotropics, stimulants). These medications must be retained and distributed by the Clinic. Students may keep over-the-counter medications in their rooms for their personal use (e.g., pain relievers, cold medications, stomach remedies, herbal remedies, vitamins, etc.).

The clinic is open Monday - Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm. After hours and on the weekends students can reach out to CCs on duty for help; the CCs will contact a 24 hour telephone nursing service called Healthlink to seek advice on how to aid your student.

Students may schedule telehealth appointments and in-person appointments, as well as medication drop-off/pick-up appointments. The Clinic is not open to drop-in appointments as it has been in the past.

Move-In

Please review the following information as you prepare for Move-In Day:

Junior Move-In Day

Junior Move-In Day is August 11!

Students who signed up for the morning move-in time slot should arrive on campus and complete check-in between 9:00am and 10:30am. During morning move-in families will have until 12pm to unload their vehicle, help their student settle in, and say goodbye to their Unicorn. We need all families that signed up for the morning move-in time slot to leave campus by 12:00pm on move-in day.

Students who signed up for the afternoon move-in time slot should arrive on campus and complete check-in between 1:30pm and 3:00pm. During afternoon move-in families will have until 4:00pm to unload their vehicle, help their student settle in, and say goodbye to their Unicorn. We need all families that signed up for the afternoon move-in time slot to leave campus by 4:00pm on move-in day.

Senior Leadership Move-In Day

Senior Leadership Move-In Day is August 11! Students may move between 1:00pm and 4:00pm. No sign-up is required.

Senior Move-In Day

Senior Move-In Day is August 13! Students may move between 1:30pm and 4:30pm. No sign-up is required.

On the Move-In and Orientation Website you will also find the link for a Move-In Map and the Hunt West Dashboard Card you’ll need to print out and place in your car in order to be admitted to campus on move-in day.

As students prepare for the first extended weekend it is important to understand that we use a special sign out for these weekends away from NCSSM: