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.
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 3rd and ends on January 25th. You can view your student’s assigned J-Term class or classes on Blackbaud.
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.
Winter Break:
Can you believe that we have reached the halfway point for the year? With winter break beginning Friday, December 8th I wanted to provide a breakdown of how students should prepare for these longer breaks. Residence Halls close on December 8th at 5:00pm. Halls will reopen on Tuesday, January 2nd at noon. Because this is a 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. Signing out for this break is handled similarly to an extended weekend:
Students will complete an electronic Extended Sign-Out Form during hall meeting. On this form they indicate where they are going for the break, who they are traveling with, and how they are getting to their location.
If a student is not departing early and their final destination is home or they are being picked-up by a parent/guardian, they do not need to fill out any other forms other than the Extended Sign-Out Form, including their LiveSafe app.
Students are free to leave campus for the break once they have completed their final exam of the week. If a student is departing before the day the break begins they will need to have a parent/guardian sign them out at Bryan desk or complete the Student Travel Permission Form. They will also need to sign out on the LiveSafe App.
If a student's final destination is not home and they are not being collected by a parent/guardian, or if they are taking the train or GreyHound bus, they will need to complete a Student Travel Permission Form, sign out on LiveSafe, and sign out at the Bryan desk.