parents.tamu.edu
March 2011
A Publication for Aggie
Aggie Quick Connection
by the Office of New Student and Family Programs
Welcome Family Members,
Message from the Office of New Student and Family Programs March brings to Aggieland warmer weather and the occasional random shower - spring is right around the corner! To help you stay up to date, this message contains information we hope will be helpful to both you and your student. Don’t forget to visit the Aggie Parent web site for other updates and helpful resources. You can visit us at: http://parents.tamu.edu.
Please feel free to contact the Office of New Student and Family Programs at (979) 845-5826, or email us at nsp@tamu.edu if you have any questions. Thanks and Gig ’em!
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Amplify Upcoming Events and Programs Spring Break Tips General TAMU Resources
SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 15 - 17
PARENTS’ WEEKEND
April 15-17, 2011 marks the 92nd anniversary of Parents’ Weekend! Please remember to book your hotel reservations as soon as possible as Bryan/College Station hotels seem to get booked far in advance. Important Times and Dates: - Aggie Ring Day, April 15, All Day, Association of Former Students - Midnight Yell: April 15, Midnight, Kyle Field - MSC Variety Show: April 15, 7:30 pm, Rudder Auditorium - Maroon and White Game, April 16, 1pm, Kyle Field - Singing Cadets Concert: April 16, 7:30 pm, Rudder Auditorium - Aggie Moms’ Boutique: April 15, 10:30 am- 5:30 pm, Duncan Dining Hall & April 16, 9 am- 5 pm, Duncan Dining Hall - All University Awards Ceremony: April 17, 9:30 am, Rudder Auditorium There are many other events that take place during Parents’ Weekend, for additional information visit the Parents’ Weekend website: ParentsWeekend.tamu.edu. * HOTEL RESERVATIONS Whether coming in for a visit, to attend a football game or for Parents’ Weekend, hotel rooms often need to be reserved well in advance. An on-line listing of local hotels can be found at the Convention and Visitors Bureau website. Look under “accommodations” at http://visitaggieland.com/.
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New Student Programs AMPLIFY: THE SUCCESS SERIES FOR STUDENTS Encourage your student to attend Amplify, a year-long series of programs and workshops designed to assist freshmen, transfer and sophomore Aggies develop skills and make them aware of resources that will enhance their Texas A&M experience. Some example sessions offered this semester include: Cooking on a Budget, Time Management and Procrastination, and Career Assessment Workshop: Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to Help Identify Personality Characteristics. Every program offered through Amplify is completely FREE so we hope your student will take advantage! REGISTERING FOR AMPLIFY WORKSHOPS A reservation is required so that presenters can prepare the appropriate amount of materials and also to help track the programs students are most interested in so that we can refine our offerings in the future. Remind your student to go to http://amplify.tamu.edu, click on a workshop, and select “View Details to Register”. At any time students can view, manage or change the list of programs they are registered for by clicking on “My Profile.” HOT TOPICS THIS MONTH (To view a complete and detailed listing of this semester’s workshops, please visit: http://amplify.tamu.edu/workshop.) ACADEMIC SUCCESS & ENGAGEMENT: • Stress Management & Test Anxiety --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mar. 1, 4 - 5pm / Mar. 10, 12 - 1pm / Mar. 30, 3 - 4 pm • Time Management & Procrastination ------------------- Mar. 2, 3 - 4pm / Mar. 24, 4 - 5pm • Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mar. 7, 4:30 - 5pm / Mar. 22, 4 - 4:30pm / Mar. 31, 4:30 - 5pm • Study Success Strategies ------------ Mar. 9, 1:50 - 2:50pm / Mar. 22, 11:30am - 12:30pm LIFE SKILLS & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: • YESPLUS workshop ------------------------------------------------------------------ Mar. 1, 6:30 - 9pm • Aggie ALLIES --------------------------------- Mar. 6, 11am - 2pm / Mar. 23, 5:30 - 8:30pm • Preventing Sexual Harassment ----------------------------------------Mar. 9, 12:30 - 1:30pm • Finding a Balance ---------------------------------------------------- Mar. 21, 9:30 - 10:30 am • Myers Briggs Type Indicator to Help Identify Personality Characteristics -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mar. 21, 10:20 - 11:20am / Mar. 30, 4 - 5pm • Strong Interest Inventory to Help Identify Career Interest ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mar. 23, 4 - 5pm / Mar. 29, 2:20 - 3:20pm • Workplace Etiquette ---------------------------------------------------- Mar. 24, 1:30 - 2:30pm • Smart Reading Strategies ------------------------------------------- Mar. 28, 10:20 - 11:20am • Telephone Courtesy ----------------------------------------------------Mar. 28, 2:30 – 3:30pm FINANCIAL & DEBT MANAGEMENT: • Money Talks ---------------------------------------------- Mar. 2, 3 - 4 pm / Mar. 30, 3 - 4pm
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Stay Connected with the latest Campus News The Battalion“The independent student voice of Texas A&M since 1893.” www.thebatt.com Texas A&M News and InformationAggie Hotline The Division of Marketing & Communications produces Aggie Hotline, an email news brief service that is distributed to subscribers each weekday. News briefs may also be found online at: tamunews. tamu.edu. Subscribe to Aggie Hotline: Send an email message to listserv@tamu. edu. Leave the subject line blank and type the message: SUB Aggie-Hotline your-real-name.
Upcoming Events & Programs AGGIE ABROAD BREAKFAST The Study Abroad Programs Office invites you to attend our annual Aggies Abroad Breakfast on Saturday, April 16th. The event will be held in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building on the main campus (across from Simpson Drill Field). Breakfast will be served from 8 to 9 am followed by a presentation by José Luis Bermúdez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and a panel of students sharing their experiences overseas. The first lady of Aggieland, Miss Reveille, will stop in to say “Howdy” from 8:30-9 am. Come have a free breakfast and learn more about all the international opportunities available through Texas A&M University. You will learn about planning and financing your Aggie’s international experience, health and safety overseas, and the rewards of studying abroad. In addition to Study Abroad personnel, representatives from Financial Aid and the Career Center will attend to provide their expertise. Please RSVP at studyabroad@tamu.edu by April 13th and join us for a very special event. For general information please feel free to come by our office in Bizzell Hall West or visit the web site at http://studyabroad.tamu.edu.
OFF CAMPUS STUDENT APPRECIATION WEEK Does your student live off campus?! Send them our way! At the end of February Off Campus Aggies will be hosting our first ever Off Campus Student Appreciation Week, which is a week dedicated to giving back to the students who reside off campus and also serves as a fundraiser for the Caring Aggie Mentor Program (CAMP) of Houston. Starting February 28th and ending March 5th, members of Off Campus Aggies will be present on campus handing out free giveaways, hosting a coin drive, raffling off items, and hosting profit shares in order to raise money for CAMP. For a list of events and locations, information on CAMP or information about Off Campus Aggies please visit our website at http://ocatamu.weebly.com/.
MAY 2011 COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES Commencement ceremonies are expected to begin with a convocation that features one notable speaker. The commencement exercises at which degrees will be conferred will follow in subsequent ceremonies on May 13 and 14. Students will not be required to wear academic regalia at the Commencement Convocation, but will need to do so at the subsequent actual degree-granting exercises. Thursday, May 12, 2:00 p.m., Rudder Auditorium • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Friday, May 13, 9:00 a.m., Reed Arena • Graduates and Undergraduates in Geosciences • Graduates and Undergraduates in Liberal Arts Friday, May 13, 2:00 p.m., Reed Arena • Graduates and Undergraduates in Agriculture and Life Sciences • Graduates and Undergraduates in Architecture Friday, May 13, 7:00 p.m., Reed Arena • Graduates in George Bush School of Government and Public Service • Graduates and Undergraduates in Dwight Look College of Engineering Saturday, May 14, 9:00 a.m., Reed Arena • Graduates and Undergraduates in Mays Business School • Graduates and Undergraduates in Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Saturday, May 14, 2:00 p.m., Reed Arena • Graduates and Undergraduates in Education and Human Development • Graduates and Undergraduates in Science
For more information: graduation.tamu.edu.
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Spring Break Tips SPRING BREAK TIPS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS: Plan ahead: YOU may be good at planning ahead for trips and vacations, but has your student planned ahead for their spring break plans (no matter how big or small)? Spring Break can be a time when students experiment with alcohol or drink more than usual in celebration of the time away from school. We want to be sure your students are safe while on break and return to Aggieland safely. “When I went on Spring Break!”: Avoid tales of drinking exploits from your own college years and encourage your students to make responsible decisions while on spring break. Entertaining students with stories of drinking “back in the good old days” normalizes what, even then, was abnormal behavior. It also appears to give parental approval to dangerous alcohol consumption and gives them an automatic excuse for their poor decisions. Stress to students that alcohol is toxic and excessive consumption can fatally poison: This is not a scare tactic, students die from alcohol poisoning each year, even at Texas A&M. Discourage dangerous drinking such as drinking quickly, or playing drinking games. Parents should make sure their student understand how alcohol affects the system and the signs of alcohol poisoning. For more information: http://studentlife.tamu.edu/adep.
SAFE SPRING BREAK: LUAU AT MOCKARITAVILLE! Encourage your student to come get information about having a safe spring break during SAFE SPRING BREAK: Luau at Mockaritaville! - Thursday, March 3rd - Friday, March 4th - Monday, March 7th - Tuesday, March 8th - Wednesday, March 9th
Resource Tables at Sbisa & Koldus, 11:00 am to 1:30 pm Water Distribution at Northgate, 12:00 am to 2:00 am Grab & Go Breakfast at Reed Arena bus stop, 7:30am to 9:30 am Educational Activities at Academic Plaza, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm Pool Party at 2818 Place, 2:00 pm to 6:00 am
For more information: http://studentlife.tamu.edu/adep.
SAFETY INFORMATION FOR AMERICAN STUDENTS TRAVELING ABROAD
Message from Office of the Spokesman, Washington, DC February 9, 2011 As spring break approaches, many students are preparing for a trip abroad. The State Department’s website for students traveling overseas provides useful safety and travel information for parents and students alike: studentsabroad.state.gov. The majority of students will have safe and enjoyable adventures. However, even on the best-planned trips, things can go wrong. Each year more than 2,500 U.S. citizens are arrested abroad, nearly half of them on narcotics charges, including possession of very small amounts of illegal substances. U.S. citizens have been badly injured or killed in accidents, falls, and other mishaps. Many of these incidents have been linked to alcohol and drug use. Other spring break vacationers have been sexually assaulted or robbed because they found themselves in unfamiliar locales, incapable of protecting themselves because of drug or alcohol use, or because they were victims of a “date rape” drug. The most common cause of death of U.S. citizens overseas, other than natural causes, is by motor vehicle accident. Students traveling abroad should be aware that standards of safety overseas are different from those in the United States. For further information, visit: travel.state.gov; studentsabroad.state.gov.
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General TAMU Resources SILVER TAPS Silver Taps is the final tribute paid to an Aggie who, at the time of his/her death, was enrolled in graduate or undergraduate courses at Texas A&M. We encourage all students to participate in this time-honored Aggie Tradition; it is a powerful and moving tribute to fellow students. The next Silver Taps ceremony will be conducted Tuesday, March 1, 2011, in memory of Nicolis Terrel Williams. The memorial ceremony will be held at 10:30 p.m. in front of the Academic Building on the Texas A&M campus. For more information visit: http://studentaffairs.tamu.edu/sas/silvertaps.
ATMentor Does your student need someone to talk to? Grades, career guidance, roommate difficulties, adjusting to campus life, or just an ear to listen, ATMentors are here to help! ATMentors are TAMU faculty, staff, and administrators who are here to help. They advise students in various topics including professional insight, referrals to resources, and general concerns. To find and/or request a mentor, please visit: http://atmentors.tamu.edu or email us at ATMentors@tamu.edu.
TUTORING AT THE STUDENT LEARNING CENTER If your student is having a hard time in one of his/her classes, then he/she should contact the Student Learning Center to see a tutor. Drop-in tutoring, located on the 1st floor of Hotard Hall, is available Sunday evenings from 5-8p.m. and Monday through Thursday evenings from 5-10p.m. For more information, please visit their website: http://slc.tamu.edu/tutoring.
MIDTERM STRESS REMINDER It can be disheartening to hear your student(s) sounding stressed and discouraged when you talk to them. Exams can be major stressors, and with midterms right around the corner, it is important that students know about stress relief resources available to them. Below are several resources that you might consider discussing with your student.
BIOFEEDBACK This service is provided to students free of charge (paid for with student fees) by Student Counseling Services. Biofeedback is a method of using electronic sensors to measure different physiological processes or states, such as temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, electrical activity of the skin and muscles, and brain wave patterns. This information is then “fed back�. The feedback may be visual or auditory, and actually allows one to see or hear what is happening within their body. By learning biofeedback and relaxation, a person can have more control over how his/her body and mind react in stressful situations. Research with college students has consistently demonstrated that students who utilize relaxation on a regular basis not only feel more at ease, but also retain more while studying and recall more during exams. For more information please visit http://www.scs.tamu.edu/personal/biofeedback.asp.
UPCOMING DATES
March 1 (Tuesday) - Silver Taps March 7 (Monday) - Mid-semester Grades Due in Office of the Registrar March 14-18 (Monday-Friday) - Spring Break
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