Charity Ball 2009

Charity Ball 2009 was held Friday, Dec. 11. Proceeds from the event's ticket sales and silent auction raised over $3,300 for Sarah's....An Oasis for Women, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet that provides a welcoming space for women looking for housing, community and safety on a temporary basis.

In addition to the silent auction, guests danced to the wonderful Latin music of Salsa Brosa, took salsa dancing lessons from professional dancers, had photos taken in a vintage photo booth, and enjoyed festive food and beverages.

Thank you to all parents and family members who donated a basket for the auction or attended this wonderful annual event. A great time was had by all! Hope to see you at next year's event!

Students kick off final exam week with midnight breakfast

OK...so it wasn't exactly midnight, but at 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, more than 300 students enjoyed a late-night feast that kicks off final exams week, filled with intense studying.

Served by administrative staff members (including Brian Bruess, vice president for enrollment and dean of students; Curt Galloway, associate dean of student affairs; and Wachen Bedell Anderson, associate dean of students and mulitcultural education), students enjoyed a full breakfast menu, socializing and creating Christmas ornaments as a stress reliever. They left well-nourished and ready for a night of studying as well for the upcoming week of final exams.

Registration for Winter 2010

By now, the majority of students have registered for winter term 2010. If your student has not registered yet, please make sure she/he is aware that the Office of Academic Advising on both campuses is open during the month of January and professional advisers are ready to help your student find the classes she needs.

If there is a reason your student is unable to register due to a registration hold and needs assistance in resolving this hold, please encourage her/him to go to KateWay, St. Kate's intranet portal, and click on the "Student" tab to identify the type of hold.

For additional assistance, your student can contact Ellen Richter-Norgel, director of student retention, at (651) 690-8730 or erichter-norgel@stkate.edu.

Phonathon 2009: A great success!

Thank you to all who participated in our annual fall phonathon. A group of 25 faculty, staff and parents from the Parent and Family Advisory Council called over 400 families on Wednesday, Dec. 2. We were able to speak with 213 of you and we left messages with another 148 of you who were not home.

We received overwhelming feedback that your daughters (and sons on the Minneapolis campus) are having very good experiences — we heard wonderful stories of students making great friends, enjoying their classes and relationships with faculty and new-found friends, getting involved on campus, and getting through the first semester with some bumps, but making the transition pretty smoothly.

We also heard some concerns of students having difficulty finding a job on campus and got some good questions about billing, dining services, registration and financial aid, and how to help your daughters become more involved on campus. We followed up with 76 specific questions and hopefully your questions were answered.

We have shared feedback with various offices on campus regarding the suggestions that you provided. For example, a couple parents suggested that we provide a Spanish and a Hmong version of the Referral and Resource Guide (a great idea). So please know we listened.

If you were one of the households who we were not able to speak with in person, or if you still have questions or anything to share, please feel free to contact Ellen Richter-Norgel, director of student retention, at (651) 690-8730 or erichter-norgel@stkate.edu.

Again, thank you! We really enjoyed our conversations with you.

Residence halls closing for break: Some reminders

The residence halls close at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18 and re-open for J-term on Jan. 2 at noon. Residents may live on campus during January even if they are not enrolled for a J-term class. There is no charge to live on campus during January.

If your student is leaving for break, she has a list of tasks that must be completed before departing. This list, which is posted on her door, includes unplugging all electronics and cleaning/defrosting refrigerators. Once she gets home for break, you can assign her more chores!

We've had a fantastic fall and we look forward to new adventures next semester!

— Sabrina Anderson, assistant director of residence life

Happy Holidays!

On behalf of the Parent & Family Association Advisory Board, we wish all of our St. Catherine families a warm and wonderful holiday season! Looking forward to continuing our relationship into the new year