Parent Update

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Excitement in the Air

New Student Registration Events
May and June have been busy months for staff at the University, as we assist students and families in preparation for fall 2011.

Students will receive their final course schedule in the mail, after the registration events. If a student has any questions about her fall schedule, she can contact:
  • Academic Advising office | 651.690-6803
Parents who were unable to attend the registration events will receive a Parent Information Resource Folder in the mail. To request a folder, contact Ellen Richter-Norgel, Director of Student Retention and co-chair of the Parent and Family Association :

Save the Date for Fall Orientation

Fall Orientation: September 4–6
The orientation program for first-year students will begin on Sunday, Sept. 4, and continue through Tuesday, Sept. 6. It is designed to provide new students with valuable information on transitioning into the University.

A highlight of the program for students is meeting their classmates and their instructor of The Reflective Women (TRW) course.

Students should to make arrangements to be present for the full three days.

Move-In Schedule: Available in July
The move-in schedule for the residence halls will be available in July on the KateWay Residence Life website.

To find the schedule, your student should sign in to KateWay. On the left side, in the Find It Your Way search box type "Residence Life." Select "New Students" tab.

Staggered move-in times ensure a smooth traffic flow and that plenty of assistance is available.

Parent Orientation: Sunday, Sept. 4

Back by popular demand — Shanan Wexler (faculty member for core course The Reflective Women) will share her wit and wisdom with parents and family members in an engaging and poignant presentation, It's Going To Be Ok that will leave parents laughing, reflecting and learning about the joys and tribulations that come with launching a student off to college.

Whether you are a veteran of sending off a child to college, or if this is your first, you will find comfort, humor and guidance in her performance.

Parents will leave this event with a resource calendar they can utilize throughout the year to ensure they are well informed and aware of the available University resources.

Additional dates for parents to keep in mind:
  • Transfer Student Orientation — Sept. 6
  • Fall Classes Begin — Sept. 7
  • Activities Fair —Sept. 22
  • Family Weekend — Oct. 7-9
  • Mid-term Break — Oct. 28
  • Thanksgiving Break — Nov. 24-27
  • Final Exams — Dec. 15-20
  • Winter Break Begins — Dec. 20
  • Residence Halls Close (10 a.m.) — Dec. 21
  • Residence Halls Re-open (noon) — Jan. 1
  • J-term Classes Begin — Jan. 2
  • Winter Classes Begin — Jan. 30

Summer Reading Suggestions


You may already have a stack of books queued up for the summer months, but we think these are worth adding in.

These are great resources for understanding the challenges and joys of parenting during the college years. Happy reading!

Suggested Reading:
  • You're On Your Own (but I'm here if you need me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years
    by Marjorie Savage
  • Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to College
    by Helen E. Johnson and Christine Schelhas-Miller
  • Let the Journey Begin: A Parents' Monthly Guide to the College Experience
    by Jacqueline Kiernan MacKay and Wanda Johnson Ingram
  • When Your Kid Goes to College: A Parents' Survival Guide
    by Carol Barkin
  • When Kids Go to College: A Parents Guide to Changing Relationships
    by Barbara M. Newman and Philip R. Newman
  • Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years
    by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger
  • Millennials Go to College
    by N. Howe and W. Strauss

Did You Know?

The Parent and Family Association website is a wonderful resources, just for you — parents and family members.

This website provides parents with information throughout the year such as:
  • Events
  • University resources
  • Parent and Family Association: general information and how to get involved
  • Parent Resources: information for the families as they go through the transition of sending a child to college
You can navigate to the site from the homepage by finding "Parents and Families" in the menu under Student Life or visit: www.stkate.edu/parents

Be sure to bookmark this page and visit it frequently so you can stay connected to what's happening at the University and with your student.

Home for the Summer: Tips for Parents

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in May 2010, written by the Counseling Center Staff. We thought it was worth re-printing for the summer months.

Aaah, summertime! A time we tend to long for and a time we tend to build dreams around. We imagine time to play or to relax in the shade with a cool drink, long twilight walks and talks around the lake with people we care about, trips and family gatherings of all kinds. Your daughter is undoubtedly excited about summer, the end of the academic year and a chance to put away the textbooks for a while. Unless, of course, she’s in summer school.

If your daughter has been living away from home during the year, you also may dream of chances to reconnect and to feel like a complete family again. Your daughter may be in tune with this image. However, it’s just as likely that she won’t be and will be spending so much of her time working or with peers. You may feel like you need to make an appointment to get time with her and have a sense what’s going on in her life even while she’s living with you.

Learning to adapt to living without your daughter in your life every day might have been a challenge in fall of freshman year. It takes even more flexibility to bounce back and forth between having her gone and then back in your life again. Just as you get used to a daily routine, expected noise levels and workload, everything changes. Think of it as a way for you to stay nimble and adaptable.

You may find that you need to renegotiate some of the house rules and expectations in ways that didn’t come up during short visits during the year. Here’s a passage about this process from a book called Almost Grown by Patricia Pasick:

"While returning-home experiences may be warm and connecting, a transition is still very much in the making. You are searching for signs of growth. Students hope to see that being a college student affords them some new privilege in the family, a new kind of almost-adult status. Negotiation is the key to an evolving, positive relationship between new college students and their families.

"At the least, your [daughter] will want to have her views listened to and respected, even if there are disagreements. On the family’s side, it’s perfectly fine to continue some expectations that, when college students are at home, they’re part of the family with obligations to help out and connect."

So, enjoy your summer with its pleasures and challenges. Try to see clearly the possibilities and joys in the real summer as it unfolds, much richer than the dreams and expectations we create in advance.