Tuesday Newsday
Yesterday I made mention of an email that went out to incoming P’26 families with lots of info about the New Students website. I heard from a number of you that you did not get that message in your inbox. Long story, but apparently our distro list of P’26s did not pull everyone as it should have. We are working on the distro list issue so it is rectified for next week; thank you for your patience and grace. You can read that P’26 message here.
For those who like to follow the news, the latest issue of WFU In the News is now available, covering April 25-May 1st. A couple of the headlines stood out to me: one was Universities adopt iGrad for student financial planning. If you had not seen our previous Daily Deac that included iGrad, it’s worth a read. Summer could be a great time for your Deacs to get started using this tool. The other news story that grabbed me was Walmart, Harris Teeter top Raleigh’s grocery wars, but Wegmans is rising. Admittedly, this is just because I looooved the Wegman’s in my late mother’s town and I have been wishing for one in Winston-Salem 🙂
Finals week continues. I always think of finals as the time of year when you see a lot of ponytails, baseball caps, very casual t-shirt/shorts combos, and a lot of 5 o’clock shadow/stubble. This can be a time of tremendous stress for students, so be aware that they might seem stressed, short-tempered, teary, etc. when you talk/text/FaceTime them.
One of the sagest pieces of advice I ever heard about finals is that in order to bring your best self to your studying/exam prep, you need to get enough sleep, eat healthy foods (think greens – fruits and veggies), and move your body/get a little bit of exercise. Bonus points if you take a walk outside – something about being in nature and observing trees and flowers and the sky has its own calming effect.
Students will often feel like they don’t have the ‘luxury’ of taking time away from their studies to take a walk, or they grab fast or greasy food because it’s quick, or they stay up way late trying to cram for exams. Those could seem like good ideas, but may actually be counterproductive.
There is a slight chance of rain today, but otherwise it is a good – if somewhat warm – day for a walk. Even a 15 minute spin around campus at a gentle pace can clear one’s head and help refocus on the tasks at hand.
Good luck to all our Deacs as they are taking their exams! May you crush them all!
— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)