Even though junior move-in was delayed to the weather, we had a great start to the year on 1st Hunt! 23 new juniors moved in and 12 seniors returned, with 2 of them being new to the hall as well. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the year and have enjoyed getting to know everyone a little during the course of these first 3 weeks. We have had all types of events from meeting the residents of 1st Beall the first night we were all on campus to participating the 1st Hunt & 2nd West Olympic games to our first Yum Yum Box to a night of playing Coinhole. 

What I've appreciated the most is the camaraderie, support, and hall pride that has been shown thus far. It seems that everyone is enjoying getting to know each other and spend time together. The lounge almost always has residents studying, playing ping pong, hanging out and I see 1st Hunt folks together around campus often. More about the Olympics below, but I believe that was a real bonding experience and brought the hall together! I believe we are building the foundation to a great year and cannot wait to see what we can accomplish as a hall! 

So many thank you's and I hope I include all that need to be included here! If I missed you, please know it was not intentional and I SO appreciate your support. Let me know and I will be happy to add you to the list. I accidentally misplaced a few of the Amazon Purchase notes. Several parents have provided items from the Amazon Wishlist, provided our birthday celebration, or provided for our first hall food! Below you'll find a few pictures from the birthday celebration and hall food night and a message from the hall!

On Sunday, August 12th we enjoyed our first hall activity together without having met each other yet when we participated in icebreakers and name games with our sibling hall, 1st Beall! We had a great time meet each other and students from 1BL. 

On Monday, August 19th, 1st Hunt residents signed up to compete in 4  Olympic events created by Sue Anne and 2nd West CC, Ross Knight.  The events were: Olympic Track, Olympic Field, Olympic Athletics, an Olympic Long Jump. The only thing they knew about the events they were signing up for was that the names were VERY loosely related to what they would be doing. They were given the hint that Olympic Athletics woul appeal to someone who had a lot of knowledge about things (they quickly picked up on it being trivia). The next night, 1st Hunt headed to the gym hoping to come up as the winners of the Olympics! 

Both halls knew that the 2nd event was trvia and thanks to the quiz bowl captains living on 2nd West, it was done right with the use of the quiz bowl buzzers! Ross led this event and created all of the questions which were questions about the Olympics and NC Sports. From the first question on, there was no doubt that 1st Hunt was going to dominate the event and we answered roughly 12 of the 15 questions! Asa, Brendan, and Enzo all contributed to the win and we were on a high! 

Olympic Field was a game of Tank Comander! In the game of tank commander, each hall had 3 teams of four working together. One team member was the "tank" and was on the playing FIELD on their hands and knees blind folded. The other three members were the "commanders" who were directing them around the playing field. The goal was for the tank to avoid the mines (basketballs and volleyball) and to pick up the other balls and hit the other commanders. Once all of the commanders were taken out, the tanks then had to fire at each other to win the game. First Hunt took 1st and 2nd place in the event!

Olympic Track was the quickest, but likely the most fun event for those participating. Each hall fielded 3 teams of 6 where team members wound work together in pairs to race down the TRACK, around the cone and back to win. Once again, 1st Hunt took home 1st and 2nd place in the event.

Every month we'll do two activies in the PEC. For August, the first was the Olympics and the 2nd was a friendly game of dodgeball! 

A long standing tradition on 1st Hunt is to turn the area where the ping pong table lives into a gaga ball arena! This was our first time playing this year and I think roughly 30 of the 35 folks on hall stopped by for a least a few minutes to watch and/or play!

Since the 2nd year I was on 1st Hunt (maybe the first?), we have had a monthly subscription to Universal Yums, which is a monthly snack subscription box from a different country each month. It has been a favorite activity and everyone enjoys not only by finding out what country we'll be dining from but also partaking in the trivia questions from the country as well! This month we traveled to..... AFRICA! There were some treats that did not hit the spot and some that were "fire"!  This month Jack had the honors of revealing the country and Jackson told us what we were having to eat!

• Family Day Preview: 

Each September, NCSSM invites families to campus for a fun and informative Family Day! On Saturday, September 14th, 2024, experience a ‘day in the life’ of your student as you walk through a condensed version of their schedule. You’ll envision the excitement of learning as you have the opportunity to meet your student’s instructors, counselors, and other key campus members, all while exploring NCSSM’s interactive classrooms and innovative learning spaces. 

A detailed agenda for Family Day can be found here. In addition to meeting their student’s stellar teachers, families will have a chance to connect with other NCSSM families at the Parent Association hospitality table and visit the school store, where families can snag some awesome merchandise and show their school spirit!  

Families should RSVP by completing this registration form as soon as possible and no later than Wednesday, September 11th.

• Each CC should also include any plans they have for being available to families on Family Day.  Are you scheduling meeting blocks, should families reach out if they want to chat, etc.  Are you hosting any activities that families can join?

• College Fair Preview: 

The NCSSM Durham community is excited to host our annual College Fair on Friday, September 13th, at the end of the academic day from 3:15 to 5:15pm. This is an amazing opportunity for juniors and seniors to learn more about colleges across the country and explore what school might be right for them.

In the past representatives from more than 70 schools from around the country have been available to talk with students and families about their schools, the college admissions process, financial aid, and scholarships. More information about the schools represented at the college fair this year and student requirements for attendance will be shared in the coming weeks.

• Increasing Workload:

Now that we have made it to the first extended weekend, students should be getting into the swing of things with classes and life at NCSSM. Around this time students will also notice their workload increasing. It is imperative for them to develop strong time management skills and learn to seek out help as they begin to face these new challenges. If needed, students can reach out to their CC and/or any of the following resources:

• Center for Advising and Academic Success (CAAS): CAAS serves all residential and online students during their time here at NCSSM. The purpose and function of the Center is to provide individual, ongoing, and real-time academic support and guidance for all students. Some of the CAAS services include:

  • providing guidance and advice for students on course choices and placement

  • providing academic consultation for students

  • developing and managing academic support plans 

  • communicating directly with student support teams

  • communicating/collaborating with Counseling on academic support

  • providing administrative support for Enrollment Services/Registrar

• Tutorials: Most classes and departments offer formal tutorials for students. These tutorial sessions are led by both faculty and student TAs. Tutorial sessions or resources can be found on each department’s website:

  • Engineering and Computer Science

  • Fine Arts

  • Mathematics

  • Science

    • Science Department Academic Assistance

• Residential Education Courses: All juniors take RE102; in this course they learn about academic success strategies. The skills they develop and the resources provided by their instructor will be helpful to revisit as their workload increases.

• Progress Reports

As September draws to a close, faculty across campus will be completing grading assignments to release progress reports for students on September 20. To view student progress reports, families will need to log into Blackbaud and select the “progress” tab. Families will then click “report cards” to open all the progress reports for the year and select either “Semester 1 - Durham” or “Semester 1 - Durham (no comments),” depending on whether they want to view grades and teacher feedback, or just grades.

If families have concerns about their student’s performance, then please reach out to me if you would like to collaborate on how best to help your student. CCs always meet with students who have multiple Cs or a D to help develop a plan for improvement, but will be happy to meet with anyone if there are concerns. It is also important that students reach out to their individual teachers, counselor, and the Center for Advising and Academic Success for advice on how to improve. This is also a good time for students to evaluate whether they should be attending tutorials more often.

• Residence Halls Closing & Opening:

Just a quick reminder that the Residence Halls will be closing twice during September.

• Closed Friday, August 30th at 5:00pm.  Opens Monday, September 2nd at noon.

• Closed Friday, September 27th at 5:00pm.  Opens Sunday, October 6th at noon.

Students will complete an electronic Extended Sign-Out Form during hall meeting.  On this form they indicate where they are going for the break, who they are traveling with, and how they are getting to their destination.  If students have specific questions about checkout procedures for Extended Weekends, they should reach out to their CC.