Greetings, Parents!

This is one of my favorite times of year – the beginning of the academic year – it holds so much promise and promises to be so much fun! We kicked the year off with some New Student Send-Offs, casual gatherings throughout New England in the summer for new students and their parents, hosted by generous alumni or parents. The send-offs provide a wonderful opportunity for newly enrolled students and their families to get to know each other and foster friendships – some that may last a lifetime! Thank you to all who hosted or attended!

Two weeks later it was Orientation Weekend. And what a weekend it was! The weather could not have been nicer. I enjoyed meeting and talking to many of new parents as you picked up your parent packet in Ross Sports Center, arrived for Opening Day Convocation, and enjoyed the dessert reception that evening. Those of you who are sophomore, junior or senior parents may have noticed some changes to the campus. We now have two new state-of-the art residence halls and a renovated dining hall and expanded bookstore. Also during the summer the classroom space in Jeanmarie Hall was upgraded and improved to include the latest technology. These additions and improvements, along with a streamlined meal plan, are all part of the College’s commitment to a 100% residential campus. Saint Michael’s believes that the residential experience is an integral part of the overall college experience. Learning and living in an intimate, caring community teaches students the importance of respect and creates further opportunities to grow outside the classroom.

This is the second year of Parent Talk and I have enjoyed providing an e-mail newsletter specifically designed for parents. In this issue, you’ll find information on the College’s Centennial Celebration, the Writing Center, an update on the Visions Campaign and the Parent Fund as well as important dates to know and fun photos to view.

As always I encourage your feedback. Happy reading!

Sincerely,

Terri Selby - tselby@smcvt.edu
Director for the Parent Fund
Office of Institutional Advancement
802-654-2462

P.S. Also, please remind your son(s) or daughter(s) that the primary way the College, faculty and staff will communicate with them is via their SMC phone numbers and official SMC e-mail. Important messages will not be sent to cell phone numbers or alternate e-mail addresses.

Saint Michael's Centennial
by Marilyn Cormier
Assistant to the President

Greetings parents and a special welcome to new parents! As chair of the Centennial Committee, I would like to let you know about the important celebrations going on at Saint Michael’s College this year with a little historical background. For further details on this historic occasion please click on the College’s special Centennial webpage at www.smcvt.edu/centennial.

In January 2004, Saint Michael’s College began an eighteen-month celebration of the 100th anniversary of its founding by priests of the Society of Saint Edmund. Our centenary offers many occasions to highlight the historical roots of the College, which date to the arrival of the Edmundites in Vermont in the early 1900s. Before that time, they took part in the restoration of the famous abbey at Pontigny and were caretakers of the world-famous pilgrimage site at Mont-Saint-Michel. However, after being expelled from France as the result of anti-clerical laws and arriving in northern Vermont a century ago, these exiled priests established a rather unique bilingual school, which has evolved into the contemporary Saint Michael's College. The Society of Saint Edmund has sponsored our institution since founding it and has blessed Saint Michael’s with great spirit and soul. Over the past 35 years, lay leadership has taken over from the Society, but in the course of our Centennial, we will pay tribute not only to the Edmundites’ role and history, which goes back to Saint Edmund of Canterbury, but also their success in bringing meaningful, Catholic education first to the local population in this region and now to a national audience.

While Centennial events will be held throughout this academic year, 2004-2005, the six weeks between the feast days of Saint Michael on September 29 and Saint Edmund on November 16 will be the highlight of our celebrations, with daily events scheduled for the week of October 18, culminating in our Centennial Homecoming Weekend on October 22-24. The broad range of Centennial events, from convocations to art exhibits to lectures to theatrical productions to town meetings to concerts to panel discussions, offers something of interest to every member of the Saint Michael’s family.

We encourage you to join us in marking this monumental achievement for Saint Michael’s College throughout the coming year and especially by joining us for the unique celebrations being planned for Homecoming 2004.

The Writing Center at Saint Michael's
by Elizabeth Inness-Brown
Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center

As you know, all Saint Michael’s College students must demonstrate writing proficiency prior to graduation. Strong writing skills—including the ability to use writing to think through questions and problems—are the foundation of any good liberal arts education, and, we believe, the foundation of a life of good citizenship. Thus Saint Michael’s fosters good writing in many different ways—not least of which is through the requirement of writing across the curriculum. Writing isn’t just for English anymore! 

You probably also know that for many people, writing is a lonely and sometimes frightening process. But it doesn’t have to be. At the Writing Center we offer support to students on their individual journeys as writers. And we do this primarily through two other language skills: questioning and listening. In conversation with student writers, we find out what they really want to say, and we help them discover their own way of saying it, loud and clear. We’re not an editing or a proofreading service, but really a reading service—a place where a writer can find out what a reader (one of our writing coaches) thinks about his or her writing. Sure, we can help with grammar, punctuation, and all that, but what we’re really about is helping students to make meaning on the page.

What makes the Writing Center work is that our coaches are students themselves. In a friendly, unintimidating atmosphere, students work with other students on their writing. It’s almost as simple as that. The coaches, of course, are hand-picked, recommended to me by their professors. They must pass an entry test before enrolling in the four-credit training course, Teaching Writing, offered through the English Department, which I teach every fall. If they successfully complete the training course—which includes tutoring two hours a week in the Center—they then become “core,” or paid, coaches.

Many of them coach several hours a week for as long as three years, giving us a very experienced and talented staff. They come from all majors, and they work with all kinds of students, from nervous first-years to graduate students, from students with learning disabilities to students for whom English is a second or third language. They work one-on-one, an hour at a time, often a word at a time, providing motivation, giving feedback, sharing information, and teaching skills. It’s quite a remarkable process, all the more remarkable because it happens between students.

In case your son or daughter asks, the Writing Center is located in Klein Hall. We have hours every evening Sunday through Thursday, and some appointment times during the day as well. Our service is free of charge. For more information, call me at 802 654-2441, or visit our Web page at http://academics.smcvt.edu/writingctr/.

This is an exciting time to be associated with Saint Michael’s College! Not only is the College celebrating its 100th anniversary, but it is also the final year of our campaign for endowment and scholarship – Visions: A Campaign for the Saint Michael’s Student. The success of this campaign will ensure that Saint Michael’s will continue to provide an outstanding liberal arts, Catholic, residential education for another 100 years and beyond. The students who will benefit from this are your sons and daughters – a very special group of people who will be the founders of the second century at Saint Michael’s.

We are happy to report that over the past six years $45 million has been raised in gifts and pledges toward a $52 million goal. These funds will help the College provide much needed financial aid and scholarship assistance to worthy students. If you would like more information on Visions or how you can support this important campaign during this pivotal time in the College’s history, please click on the logo above.

Saint Michael's Ranked 11th in 2005 U.S. News
Saint Peter Claver Choir Performs at Saint Michael's
Saint Michael's Gives a Ski Pass to Every Student

• Tuesday, November 23 – Thanksgiving Recess begins after last class
• December 13-17 – Final Exams
• December 18 - January 16 – Holiday Break
• February 4-5, 2005 – Winter Weekend
• April 17-19, 2005 – Family Weekend
• Friday, March 11, 2005 – Spring Break begins after last class
• May 9-13, 2005 – Final Exams
• Wednesday, May 18, 2005 – Baccalaureate
• Thursday, May 19, 2005 – Commencement

2004/2005 Academic Calendar

For more information on these programs, visit our Parent Page or contact Terri Selby, Director of Parent Programs (802) 654-2462 or tselby@smcvt.edu.

Local Hotel Information
Burlington Area Weather
Vermont Ski Areas

Parent Fund Update

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004 the total new business dollars raised was $759,799 – Thank you so much!

Participation:

Support the parent fund today!