A December to Remember

Hello again all!

December is fast approaching, and with it comes all sorts of changes; the end of the semester, finals, turning in of late work/assignments, and adjusting to the new weather, to name a few. Here in A wing, we're also planning a few fun and relaxing programs to help people de-stress before the impending doom that the students see as "finals week".

Because finals week is going to have a different setup for check-outs than normal Extended breaks, so please make sure to be communicating, so you know when your last final is, and can be ready to sign-out with your parent or guardian for the four weeks away from campus. Students do need to leave within 24 hours of their last final, and will sign-up for a 15 minute window as a "check-out time" with their individual RC, and will need to be cleared by their RC to leave before they can go.

The final exams schedule can be found here, and any questions regarding the academic schedule can be directed to the principal's office. Any questions regarding checking out of the residence halls, please let me know :)

-- Robyn

Now for November!

 

Hello again, parents & students of 02A!

October seems to have flown by, and I can hardly believe we're already done with Quarter 1! The students have been working hard to not only stay on top of their work, but continue getting back in the swing of things here at IMSA as the weeks have gone on. October certainly kept everyone busy, in more ways than one, but we also tried to make sure that everyone had a bit of fun along the way!

In addition to IMSA's Fall Festivities, including a costume contest, fall fun week with a hypnotist, pumpkin "picking" and decorating, and a haunted house, 1502 had our own fun! We had a door decorating contest within the hall, and a few of our A wing rooms took the chance to participate -- we even had one of our rooms (Kaz & Lucie) tie for first place within the hall! Take a look at the doors for A wing below.

 

Ritu & Vanali (A11)

Rachael & Em (A14)

 

Kaz & Lucie (A15; tied for overall hall winners!)

Karina & Alyssa (A20)

Anisha & Amanda (A22) -- tied for wing winners!

Everyone did a great job, and I was really impressed with the creativity, ideas, artwork, and execution that all of them did. I hope they all had fun taking part, and each pair that participated got a mini-prize, with grand prizes including gift cards to Starbucks or Amazon!

Across campus, halls also participated in "Wing Wars" which is a weeklong event where the wings in the hall compete in friendly competition events, to see which wing is the "best". A wing may not have won the week, but roommates Janelle & Catherine got first place in our roommate wars competition; Jo Jo showcased her incredible voice in our talent show; Kaz & Alyssa got to flaunt their fashions in our fashion show; Rachael was able to contribute her paints & her art skills to our mural; and several other members of the wing worked hard to show their pride and gratitude for living in A wing. I was a very proud "mama" throughout the week, and hope they know that! Major shoutouts to Gabi & Em also, who (as our Hall's Community Coordinator & Diversity Coordinator) put together most of the events themselves! October was a month of fun and bonding, but I can hardly believe how quickly it went by.

Here's to hoping November takes its time a bit more -- though I know everyone is already counting down to Thanksgiving Extended. Just a few more weeks!

-- Robyn

It's Finally Fall!

 

Happy October, everyone! This month in Res Life, we'll be focusing our time on a few different things, from healthy relationship conversation & love languages, to sexual education, to strengthening our bond as a wing during our hall "wing wars" event, and more! The wing has been very respectful and receptive to our programming and wing chats so far, and I've really appreciated the honesty and attentiveness that has been brought by our wing to the programming we've had.

This month, the academy will also wrap up our first quarter with the end of the second week of the month. A lot of students have already been stressing, so I'm sure we may have plenty of parents who are as well -- I can promise it's not worth it to do so. The students are all working very hard, and semester grades are what show up on transcripts, so I encourage students & parents alike not to let the daunting presence of first quarter grades get to them. There is still another two months left for students to improve upon grades, and I'm sure we all know how stressful and difficult the first quarter has been, with so many of our students being new to campus (heck, even our Seniors still feel like Sophomores, being back here!)

I know we'll also have plenty of fun fall events going on throughout the month, including a door decorating contest within 02 for Halloween, which the RCs are really excited to see! These first several weeks seem to have flown by, and while each day can also feel a bit slow, I think having those exciting little things to look forward to can make all the difference. We're already almost to our first Extended, which means that once we return, Thanksgiving Extended will be right around the corner! I know our students are very excited to be able to spend some time with you all again, and I myself am also grateful that they'll get to do so.

If you're interested in being an active part of our hall, we do have a hall wish list, where we post items and ideas for things we'd like to have for use around the hall (https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3N52FTOESRDJJ?ref_=wl_share)! They can be anything from items for programming & bulletin boards, to items for everyday use within the wing, hall, or office, to fun items like movie packs or candy for events like Halloween :) If you have any questions about the wish list, please let me know!

Happy fall!

-- Robyn 

So glad it's September!

Welcome, parents & students of 02A!

For some of you, it's welcome back, and for others, it's welcome for the first time. Regardless of if you're a new or returning member of the 1502A family, I'm happy that you're here. Last year's virtual status was difficult on all of our IMSA students, as well on us faculty/staff, so I can't put into words just how grateful and excited I am to have everyone back with me in our "nest".

The first few weeks in August seemed to zoom right on by, and I'm so glad that everyone is working to get into the swing of things. As a reminder, there are certain rules & regulations that all IMSA students must abide by, but there are additional ones this year because of Covid regulations, so please make sure you're always keeping yourself familiar with both the student parent handbook (which can be found here ---> https://www.imsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-2022-Student-Parent-Handook-USE-1.pdf); the Return to Learn & Work plan (found here ---> https://indd.adobe.com/view/9da9dd15-3dc2-42b3-9ad9-da18dfbf17d4) and your student's RC blog (which you've obviously already found here :) I'm also placing our important times of the day sheet here for our students, who should be getting fairly familiar with them already, but just in case, here's an extra copy of it....

We also ask that parents follow a specific protocol while on campus, to align with our health & safety regulations. Anytime you plan to visit with your child on the outdoor campus grounds, or if you plan to sign your child out and take them off campus, all visitors must first check-in with security and get a visitor's badge, that allows the rest of the staff on campus (including us RCs) to know that you've done what was necessary in checking-in with security, and being cleared to be here. This must be done every time a visitor comes to campus, regardless of how many times they have visited before.

In September, we have a whole bunch of exciting activities happening across campus, including an all-campus movie night, 02 specific movie nights (to align with our hall themes of different decades), Mental Health Initiative week, and Homecoming week, to close out the month! We'll have plenty more updates and information from the events in next month's post, so be on the lookout :)

Until then, enjoy one of my favorite pictures from move-in, of our lovely Resident Student Leaders (RSLs) helping move our excited underclassmen in!

Hall Community Coordinator Gabi Georgieva, A Wing alternate Liaison Karina Byers, Hall Diversity Coodinator Em Johnson, and A&D Wing Liaison Madeline Fields Halva are ready to move in our Sophomores!

Have a fantastic month, and we'll see you soon!

-- Robyn

MAY I please be done with school now?

How can it possibly be May already??

It seems like just yesterday that I was emailing all of you students & parents, attempting to give a bit of information about myself, and the craziness of the upcoming year. Fast forward 9 months, and here we are! The wing has gone through a series of fun programs, extra virtual-social activities, and a lot of fun interactions via our hall's discord. We still have a bit more fun in store for the end of the year, though, so hopefully no one is too checked out already!!

In addition to a slew of fun programming put on by our wing liaison, we'll also be having a few programs about online etiquette, and how to stay safe on various sites teens use on a daily basis, and one on budgeting, going over everything from FAFSA to taxes to savings! I like to think that the knowledge I try to give our students is the type of knowledge that can transfer over into the real world, and be things they can take with them even as they leave IMSA. 

Speaking of leaving IMSA, one last thing of note for May is going to be the last week of May, when we welcome our Seniors back to campus for a small Senior celebration. I am so beyond excited to get to see all of our Seniors back on campus, and am looking forward to getting to celebrate them, and all that they've accomplished! It's been a very quiet and somewhat sad year without them, and the rest of our students, so I'm hoping that it will bring some positivity and life back to campus. More information will be coming in our student affairs newsletters, so keep an eye out in your inbox for those!

I know everyone is itching to make it to summer, and we're so close! Lord knows we could all use the break! But, in the meantime, let's make it a great last month!

-- Robyn

Marching Right Along

 

Happy March! 2021 is already flying by, and I can hardly believe we're in the home stretch, towards the end of our school year. There's still plenty to get through before we cross the finish line, though, so I wanted to share a bit of that with you all here...

March is CLASH month, which is one of the most exciting months of the year at IMSA. For those who don't know, the CLASH of the Halls is an event put on annually by our Campus Activities Board, in which each hall competes in a series of artistic based events, with each hall choosing a theme. Each theme is chosen by focusing in on a given color (1502 is green) and is then the central focus of each event (for example: we have a hall mural, hall movie, hall t-shirt, profile pictures, a choreographed drill routine, a talent show, a riddle activity, and more)! The final events take place the week of March 22nd-25th, just before our Spring Break (cue cheers of joy) begins after classes end on the 26th.

Until then, we're still doing a lot of fun things not just as a hall, but as a wing! We just started our whodunnit murder-mystery series Harper's Island, which is a 13 part mini-series from 2009. A handful of members of the wing have already started watching along, and formulating their guesses. Apart from that, we're also going to have our long awaited Palentine's Day event on March 4th, which will be a lot of fun activities, love language learning, and prize winning! I for one am very excited.

Obviously, the thing most present in most student & parent minds right now is repopulation. Dr. Torres made the announcement a little over a week ago that we'll begin repopulation the first full week of April, in two waves; one for a few weeks in April, the other for a few weeks in May. While I wish I had all of the answers and direction to give, I'm afraid there's still a lot that we're still figuring out -- and plenty of logistics that we have to re-examine as we go along in that process. Please be patient with us, and know that we will share whatever we can with you once we are able. I will do my best to answer questions as I can, so if you have any, feel free to send them to me. I'll do what I can to figure out the most appropriate answer, and will get back to you once I have done so. If I don't have the answer, please know that I will still have made note of your question, and will continue to try and find it.

I hope you're all staying safe, and are doing well. I was able to get my first dose of the vaccine last week, and am staying optimistic for the future; my hope for this month is that we're all able to keep finding those things that help us stay as positive as possible. 

-- Robyn

Feeling like February

Hello again! It's crazy to think that we're already our second month into second semester, and that in just a few short months, our year of virtual learning will come to an end. The students have all done a great job considering the circumstances, and I'm proud of the renewed vigor and determination that many of them seem to have going into the new semester! Students from all classes have made it their goal to stay driven and focused as the months go on, and I'm a proud RC getting to see that. Specifically, students mentioned feeling excited for certain classes or teachers, the fact that they were able to "recharge" over winter break, determination to do better in classes this semester than last, feeling more ready for the challenge of virtual learning now that last semester is over, getting into better sleeping habits, new organizational tools and plans for 2021, and simple gratitude for being halfway through the schoolyear.

What particularly warmed my heart as an RC was hearing how many students missed the "res life" part of IMSA, even while we've been virtual. I'm grateful to know that our weekly programming is a high point for so many of my residents, and that it's a fun space for them to speak freely, or even just listen & learn something different each week. My goal is to continue creating that virtual space for them this semester, in as many ways as possible. We'll continue to have our regularly scheduled programming, which will include productivity tips and tricks, and a program on respect while in our virtual state. Outside of that, myself and our wing liaison will be putting on different social programs, including a 13-part whodunnit miniseries that I'll be showing for anyone interested, and prepping the wing for our annual CLASH of the Halls event, which the students are always especially excited for!

We'll also see another of our Student Wellness Breaks coming in mid-February, giving the students another 4 day weekend to relax and recharge. The week of the 8th-12th will be an ABIC schedule, with no classes on Friday the 12th, and the week of the 15th-19th will be a DIAD schedule, with no classes on Monday the 15th. If any of that should change, I'll be sure to let you all know!

In the meantime, Happy February, and stay safe!

-- Robyn