Room Sign-Up for 2009-2010

You should receive information about this in the mail in the next couple weeks as well, but we wanted to make sure we got the word out in as many places as possible.

Since many of you will be discussing Room Sign-Up for 2009-2010 over the dinner table in the coming weeks, we wanted to provide you with some important information concerning housing for the 2009-2010 school year. First of all, your student has received information in his/her mailbox, on his/her apartment door, or in his/her Webster email that explains how to apply to live on campus again next year. Here are some of the key points and important deadlines related to that information:

• If your student’s permanent address is outside 35 miles from the Webster Groves campus, it is mandatory that he/she live on campus for his/her first two years.


• Included in the paperwork your student received was a Housing Intent Form. This form must be returned to the Office of Housing and Residential Life, whether he/she is returning to campus housing or not. If the form is not returned, your student may forfeit the $150 security deposit.


• Housing Intent Forms are due by 4:30PM on Monday, February 2, 2009.


• The Housing Intent Form is not an actual housing assignment. Your student will receive an email giving him/her an assigned date and time for Room Sign-Up, which takes place February 19, 20, and 21.


• At Room Sign-Up, your student will choose a space in housing for next year and will sign a housing contract/lease for 2009-2010 housing. If he/she chooses to cancel that contract/lease after signing it, cancellation charges may apply.

If you have additional questions about the Room Sign-Up process, please don’t hesitate to contact us (314-246-4663 or housing@webster.edu). There is also a more extensive list of information regarding this process on our website: http://www.webster.edu/housing/apply.shtml#fall09

Your Student is Stressed Out! What Can You Do For Them?

Written by Jennifer Casady, Hall Director of East, West, and Maria Hall
jennifercasady27@webster.edu

It’s that time of the year when your son or daughter is hitting that invisible wall of stress. Over the next 5 weeks your student has major academic pressure to finish projects, study for approaching tests, and keep that grade from slipping down below a C. Additionally your student is no longer living in the honeymoon stage of their college experience. The idea that they can be best friends with everyone has faded and now your students are juggling finding out who their friends are, finding out who they are,and finding out what college is all about. This often leads to difficult conversations with your student’s friends which only adds to the pressure. On top of that, some students are balancing their jobs with school and social life. The cherry on the top of all this stress is the change in seasons and the approaching holidays. This all leads to a recipe for stress. If you were to talk to our school counselor, Dr. P. Stack, he would say that stress is needed in all of our lives. It is the continued excessive stress that we need to be aware of. So how can you help your student out as they finish the next 5 weeks of school? Below are a few tips and things to consider as you talk and support your student.

1. Talk with your son or daughter about once a week and ask what is going on in their life. Ask what projects they are working on and what tests are looming in the background. If they sound frustrated, stressed that they don’t the class material, or overwhelmed, you have some great resources at your fingertips. Recommend that they set up an appointment at the Academic Resource Center or with Counseling Center. If your student says that they don’t have time to check out these resources, you can point out that it is better to spend the extra time to figure out how to work through these things now then to continually struggle the rest of the semester or year. a) The Academic Resource Center is a great place that helps students to develop study habits, provide assistance on writing papers, helps your student to become organized, and assists your student on good study tips. b) The Counseling Center is another great place for your student to go if they are feeling overly stressed, overwhelmed, and frustrated. Our counselors will help your student to work through their stress and help them to find productive ways to deal with it. Additionally the Counseling Center can help students that are struggling with depression, insomnia, stress, dealing with difficult friends, adjusting to college life, and more. The counselors are not scary people. They are people who happen to have a great understanding about these areas and can help students become more successful.
2. Make sure your student is getting enough sleep. Students tend to think that instead of sleeping they should stay up and keep studying or working. You already know that isn’t a good idea but sometimes trying to help your student understand that is difficult. If you find out your student isn’t getting enough sleep because of school work, refer them to the Academic Resource Center or Counseling Center so they can gain skills to improve their study skills or time management. The more sleep they can get the productive they will be the next day. In turn if your student is consistently sleeping more than 8 hours be aware as that is also a sign of excessive stress.
3. Send them mail! Students always enjoy getting fun mail. A card, a package with fun food, or a postcard from their little brother are all great things to send your student. These small acts help support your student and give them a break in their day to remember that you do support them.
4. It is also that time of the year where your student will begin to register for classes. If your student is struggling with which classes to take, which major to select or switch to encourage them to talk to their advisor and other teachers or staff that they have built a connection to. These people can help your student discover the best course for him/her. Additionally they can get help at Career Services with class selection and selecting a major that fits with their strengths.

I hope that you find these tips helpful as you communicate with your student over the next few weeks. If you have any questions about how to help your student or resources on campus please check out our website at www.webster.edu/students/ or contact us at housing@webster.edu.

Closing Notice for Residence Halls

This Closing Notice is going out to all current residents in West, East, and Maria.

IMPORTANT CLOSING INFORMATION

Dear East, West and Maria Hall Residents:

As the semester draws to an end, I wanted to take a moment to outline some important information about closing at the end of finals week:

• As stated in the residence hall contract, the residence halls will close at 5:00pm on Friday, December 19, 2008. This is the last day of finals week. At that time, all residents must be gone from their rooms and will not be allowed to re-enter until the halls open for the spring 2009 semester on January 10, 2009. Staying past December 19 will result in fines beginning at $50.00.
• Residents are expected to leave the residence halls for the break within 24 hours of the completion of their last final exam.
• Before leaving your room, please unplug all appliances from the room outlets, including refrigerators. Please remember to clean out your fridge before you leave and make plans to take care of fish if you have any in your room. Any messes that staff attend to will result in fines. Please close your windows and shades, turn off the lights, and close and lock your door.
• The RA staff will enter each room after the halls are empty to ensure all items are unplugged and perform routine health, safety and maintenance checks.
• If you will be withdrawing from the university for any reason or studying abroad during the spring semester, you must make sure to do three things:

1. You need to fill out a Request for Termination form. Explaining in detail your decision not to return to Webster (i.e. studying abroad or transferring). This form can be picked up in the Residential Life Office, 130 West Hall or on-line at the following website: http://www.webster.edu/shared/shared_reslife/documents/Request_for_Termination.pdf. You may drop your form off at the Residential Life Office in West Hall, or email me the completed form at maloneke@webster.edu.
2. Tell your roommate as soon as possible about your decision to leave.
3. Make an appointment with your RA to check out of your room. Not doing so will result in a fine for improper check out. Please schedule this appointment two days in advance; trying to find your RA the day you are leaving without a pre-scheduled time and claiming s/he was unavailable will not prevent the fine being assessed.

• If your roommate will be leaving the university, the space will be filled. If you know of another resident in your hall that you would like to share a room with, please pick up a Room Change Request Form from Kelly Malone, 130 West Hall and turn in by Monday, December 8. Any other residents that would like to request a room change at semester must have paperwork in by the same date. Any room change must be completed before leaving for break and must be authorized by the Coordinator of Housing and Residential Life.
• The halls will re-open at 9:00am on Saturday, January 10, 2009.
• Any request to stay past December 19 or return prior to January 10 must be made in writing no later than 4:00pm on Monday, December 1. You may deliver your letter to the Residential Life Office in West Hall, or you can email your request to me at maloneke@webster.edu. If you have already booked airline tickets, please include a copy of your itinerary. Your requests will be approved or denied by December 12. Exceptions are not made to accommodate work schedules. (No one will be allowed to stay in the halls from December 24, 2008, until January 5, 2009, at 8:30am, as the university is closed.)
  

IMPORTANT! The date for closing the halls in May was incorrectly printed in our housing contracts. The correct date of closing is Friday, May 8, 2009, at 5:00pm. All students must be moved out of the residence halls by this date or fines may be incurred. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The fall semester has been great and I look forward to seeing you back in January. Have a safe and wonderful holiday season!

Sincerely,
Kelly Malone, Coordinator of Housing and Residential Life

Meet Me in St. Louis

If you're planning a visit to Webster University to see your son/daughter in the next couple months, you may consider some of the upcoming and ongoing events going on in the St. Louis area.

17th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival
Date: 11/13/2008 - 11/23/2008
Location: The Tivoli and Hi-Pointe theatres and other venues
For more information call: (314) 367-3378
Website: www.cinemastlouis.org
Screenings of films, shorts, features, documentaries and independent features from all over the world, with special emphasis on American independents, world cinema and prize-winning short subjects. The festival has achieved an official designation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a sanctioned short subject qualification event.

Shows at the Fabulous Fox Theatre:
http://www.fabulousfox.com/upcoming_shows.aspx
Sweeney Todd: November 14-16
Cats: November 28-30
The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller: December 5-6
Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes: December 11-28

She Loves You! Beatles Tribute
Date: Wednesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 5 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 5 p.m. through Sunday, January 4
Location: Playhouse at Westport Plaza (I-270 and Page Avenue, Maryland Heights)
Website: www.theplayhouseatwestport.com
Tickets cost $44 to $48 and are available at the box office or through MetroTix (314-534-1111 or www.metrotix.com). She Loves You! is an audio-visual mash-up of '60s television footage and live performances of 30 Beatles classics.

Discounted Gift Certificates for Local Restaurants:
Of course you'll want a nice meal while you're in St. Louis. If you're looking for an inexpensive way to sample some of the local fare, consider buying a $50 gift certificate for just $25. The websites listed below sell half-price gift certificates through various media outlets. The available gift certificates change from week to week, and there are a limited number for each restaurant. You might also keep these in mind for occasional gifts to your son/daughter--they could be a helpful push to encourage them to explore all that St. Louis has to offer.
http://ksdk.mediawebconnect.com/
http://kmox.mediawebconnect.com/
http://kyky.mediawebconnect.com/

Holiday Favorites:
--Tilles Park Winter Wonderland is one of my personal favorites. It opens Wednesday, November 26, 2008, and closes on Sunday, January 4, 2009. It's only $9 per family vehicle to ride through this beautiful holiday light display: http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/parks/ww/ww2008.htm.
--Wild Lights at St. Louis Zoo is another holiday wonderland of spectacular light displays. It takes place Fridays through Sundays starting the weekend of November 28 and continuing through December 28. Admission is $4/member; $5/non-member. Children under 2 are free. Free parking on South Lot.