January Term

Throughout January of each year, students take a break from regular coursework during J-Term to engage in employee-led educational opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. Examples of past J-Term experiences include Capes and Culture, Introduction to Aviation, the Science of Breadmaking, Fantastic Fungi, and extended travel to Costa Rica or the American West. J-Term begins on January 3rd and ends on January 25th. You can view your student’s assigned J-Term class or classes on Blackbaud.

January Term (J-Term) is an essential part of the NCSSM Academic Program. Since class meeting patterns are different during J-Term, attendance is calculated differently. One unexcused hour of missed class will be recorded as one unexcused absence. J-Term is considered its own term for attendance purposes. The number of accumulated absences reverts to zero at the beginning of spring semester.

I'll be off campus traveling to the Galapagos for the second session of J-Term, but fear not: Third Beall will be in great hands! If you need to contact a CC in my stead, Leslie Knight (1st Beall) will be helping out with Third Beall. Additionally, we will have lots of interhall activities lined up so our students have lots of programs to attend! The first session we will revisit my "K-Term" (like J-Term, but "K" for "Kori!") sessions of life skills and learning events.

Winter Break

Can you believe that we have reached the halfway point for the year? With winter break beginning Friday, December 8th I wanted to provide a breakdown of how students should prepare for these longer breaks. Residence Halls close on December 8th at 5:00pm. Halls will reopen on Tuesday, January 2nd at noon. Because this is a long break we require that students unplug all items in their room, including fridges and fish tanks. During room inspections this week I will check that students have properly defrosted their fridges, so that we can avoid any puddles or mold growth over the break. Signing out for this break is handled similarly to an extended weekend:

• 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 location. 

• If a student is not departing early and their final destination is home or they are being picked-up by a parent/guardian, they do not need to fill out any other forms other than the Extended Sign-Out Form, including their LiveSafe app. 

• Students are free to leave campus for the break once they have completed their final exam of the week. If a student is departing before the day the break begins they will need to have a parent/guardian sign them out at Bryan desk or complete the Student Travel Permission Form. They will also need to sign out on the LiveSafe App. 

• If a student's final destination is not home and they are not being collected by a parent/guardian, or if they are taking the train or GreyHound bus, they will need to complete a Student Travel Permission Form, sign out on LiveSafe, and sign out at the Bryan desk.