So far...

So far this break I have.....

• decorated my Christmas tree (only with non-glass ornaments this year because it seemed a little crooked and we were afraid we would wake up and the tree would be on the floor! So far it has stayed up though)
• decorated my house with Christmas cheer!
• helped prepare meals
• gone back to work at the dry cleaners
• bought most of my textbooks
• finished a Christmas puzzle- it was called White Christmas, and when we originally got it I hadn't seen the movie it is from, but luckily, a few weekends ago, my friends and I took it out from the library and watched it!
• watched The Grinch and some other childhood movies
• returned my rented textbook
• started reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (excellent book by the way)
• went to NYC to see a play called Porgy and Bess with my mom- it was AMAZING! If you ever have the chance to see a play go see this one!!!!

a wonderful view of Times Square

this was on the train ride home in case you wanted to see :)

What I hope to do this break...

• babysit the little boy I watched this summer!
• finish knitting my baby blanket
• set up an ebay account
• work! work! work!
• visit my friend Joanna
• go to the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn
• see the Muppets

    Hope you have an excellent break and if you have any questions concerning college life, tweet me, contact me, or formspring me!

Kayley

Textbooks

     I'm so happy to be home after a hard week of studying for finals and I can't wait to begin my winter break!  I especially love this time off for get ready for the coming semester, and one thing I look forward to is buying my textbooks. 
     There are few options when it comes to obtaining textbooks. You can either buy or rent your books and there are many websites that cater to college textbooks. The easiest and fastest way to get all your textbooks without any problems and without time delay is by ordering through the school bookstore.  They have reasonable prices and you can choose on the order form whether you would like used or new books.  Buying used books can save you a ton of money, but it's always nice to have the option of buying new. 
      Usually, I tend to shop on several different textbook websites to try and get the best price possible for my books.  I use

• amazon.com
• textbooks.com
• campusbooks.com

     Sometimes I am faced with using an expensive book for one of my classes that I am not willing to buy.  When this happens, I find that renting usually affords me the best price and I don't have to worry about trying to sell my book after! I just mail it back! Here are the renting websites I use

• collegebookrenter.com
• campusbookrentals.com
• chegg.com

     At the end of a semester, I LOVE selling my books back to the campus store.  Unfortunately, sometimes a book will be worth $0.00, so I always end up donating the book to charity after.  Conveniently, there is a huge cardboard box always located outside the store to collect used books and they are then donated to a great charity!  My friend Megan always sells her books back on amazon.com by using the student textbook buy back offer.  This is a great opportunity to make some money (an amazon credit) which can be used to pay for next semesters books!
     I hope you have a great week and always feel free to contact me, tweet me, or formspring me!

Kayley

Kindness Counts

     Final exam week has gone pretty well for me and I only have one exam left- Early Christianity on Friday.  So far I have had three exams, Spanish and French yesterday and British Literature today.  I am definitely looking forward to break and seeing my family, but I really don't want to leave all my friends on campus!          
     I have been studying a ton and I'll be studying until Friday afternoon.  Last night I went to the library around 7:00 pm and was surprised to find the Random Acts of Kindness Club handing out goodie bags to everyone who was going into the library!   Here is a picture of my treat bag!

     It was filled with yummy candies, index cards, a pencil, a highlighter, and a nice quote.  My quote was "if you're going through hell, keep going."  I'm still not quite sure what it means, but I was told it's from a country song!  I have also seen this club handing out hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and cider donuts on cold days, and also giving out hugs!  After receiving this goodie bag last night, I am really interested in joining this club and am going to be watching out for emails about club meetings! 
     I hope your studying goes well and if you have any questions about college life or life at Saint Michael's, tweet me, formspring me, or contact me.

Kayley

Alternative Study Spaces

     Durick Library is an absolutely amazing study space.  I love it so much I wrote two blogs about it...here and here.  Sometimes, though, it is nice to study in another area for a change, especially if you want to study for your finals.  I have compiled a small list of some of the possible alternative study spaces on campus!

• the academic buildings- the academic buildings are open until very late at night and are really nice and quiet study places.  I went to Jean Marie with my best friend Megan today and we spent about 3 hours doing our Christianity study guides.  I really liked doing my homework there and I will definitely be going to other academic buildings in the future.
• the Center for Women and Gender- this house is right near Ross and is an excellent place to do homework.  I have gone there before when Megan has volunteered there.  They are open frequently, but have limited hours-

Sunday            6 pm – 10 pm

Monday          12 pm– 9 pm

Tuesday          12 pm – 9 pm

Wednesday     9 am – 10 pm

Thursday        12 pm – 10 pm

Friday              CLOSED

• Eddie's lounge- located upstairs in Alliot, there are some comfy couches, chairs, and tables for you to do your work
• the purple couches in Alliot- pretty self explanatory, but they are so comfortable and today the fireplace was on!
• Upstairs in Alliot- there are some nice chairs and tables next to the balcony overlooking the purple couches and also there are some private rooms that you could work in
• Saint Edmund's lounge- another great study place with lots of seating
• don't forget about the common rooms in your dorm building, they are made just for studying!
• the upper room of the chapel- the upper room is always open and has two nice big couches and is a really welcoming a warm place to get away to

     I hope that if you choose not to go to Durick Library, this list will give you some inspiration of other places to go study.  I know that I will be using these different areas this coming week to study in.  I hope you all have a good rest of the semester and that you're not too stressed. 

Kayley

The Defender

     Happy Thursday all, the week is almost over and then it's finals!!  I am so excited to go home and see my family, but I don't want to leave my friends here at Saint Mike's.  It's always tough this time of year for students to leave their friends behind, but we're always happy to go back home! 
     As you all already know, the Defender is our student run newspaper.  It is extremely popular on campus and everyone looks forward to it when a new issue is due!  It's a ton of fun to read the articles with my friends and comment on what is going on in the news at SMC. 

My friends Megan, Taylor, and Marci reading a copy of the Defender last year!

     One of my favorite parts of the paper is the editors' page!  Recently my fellow blogger Tarah wrote in about the lack of "intelligent female role models" in the media today.  I think she wrote an excellent article and you should definitely pick up a copy and turn to page 6. 
     I hope you choose to pick up a copy and I hope you have a good finals week.  Remember, don't stress too much, just try hard and have no regrets.  If you have any questions about life at SMC, tweet me, contact me, or formspring me!

Kayley

The First Snow

     Today was the first major snow!  I celebrated it by making ginger bread houses with VITA!  My friend Alex, who is a leader of VITA, invited me to the social and I am so happy I went.  I love making ginger bread houses and I absolutely love making them with my friends.  Here are some pictures of our creations!

This is the chapel I made!

This is the house Alex made!

Everyone making their houses!!!

     I had so much fun tonight!  If you have any questions about life at Saint Michael's, tweet me, contact me, or formspring me!

Kayley

Knight Chats

     Hi everyone, I hope you have all had a relaxing weekend!  Even with classes ending, I still found some time to relax with my friends this weekend and enjoy their company.  Friday night Alex, Taylor, Allyson, Megan, and I watched White Christmas and we all had a really fun night enjoying the movie.  We have even decorated our suite with a small light-up Christmas tree, paper snowflakes, and Christmas lights all around the ceiling. 

Compliments to Marci for the great picture!

     Contrary to what I have just written about, I'm actually writing this blog to inform you about Knight Chats for incoming First Years!  Knight Chats are great tools that you can use to ask all the possible questions you may have about college right to us bloggers!  You can sign into this chatroom and directly talk with bloggers and other incoming First Years to ask us questions about classes, social aspects of life here, etc.  It's simple to start an account with the blogger chats and is definitely worth it. 
     I hope you choose to come join us this Tuesday December 6 from 7:30-9:00 p.m!! 

Kayley

Sticky Note Plans!!!

     One thing that some major departments will teach is how to make a sticky note plan.  Making a sticky note plan is one of the best ways to help plan out your career here at Saint Michael's.  There are a couple of ways to make one but its main premise is to help you visually map out what courses you will take and when you will take them.  I just like to use a piece of computer paper, but I know that others use manila folders.  

my own sticky note plan!

 How to make one

• you first have to look up the Liberal Arts Requirements and the requirements for your major.
• then you have to write down each class you must take on a sticky note (I also recommend you write down the course number for future reference)
• finally you try to spread them all out over the next couple of years and see how they all fit!

     I have worked out my next two years here and also two study abroad opportunities! It's an excellent idea to try and map out what you will take here at Saint Michael's and I hope that this planner will make it a little easier!  Please ask me any questions you may have about college!

Kayley

Lessons and Carols!

     Tonight I saw an awesome concert called Lessons and Carols!  It was held at 7:30 in the Chapel and was hosted by the Saint Michael's Chorale and the South Burlington Community Chorus.  They both sang beautifully and did a really spectacular job.  I went with my best friend Taylor and we had such a good time singing and enjoying the wonderful Christmas music. 

     They sang-

     O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
     Gloria
     Do You Hear What I Hear
     Joy to the World
     Sing for Peace
     It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
     The First Noel
     Silent Night
    
     We even got to stand up and sing along with the choirs during O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Joy to the World, It Came Upon a Midnight, and Silent Night.  During the song Silent Night we were able to light the candles that we received at our entry into the chapel.  With the lights dimmed and all the candles shining it was truly a beautiful sight!  I hope if you were able to go you enjoyed it, and if not, I hope you can go next year!

     It was really a nice program and it was so incredibly wonderful to share the experience with my friend.  Feel free to ask me any questions about life here at Saint Michael's College!

Kayley

IT is where it's at!

     Happy Thursday readers!  As I sit here in my room not wanting to start any homework, I remembered a Founder's Society meeting I went to a couple of weeks ago where representatives came in from Information Technology.  They reminded us about just how technologically advanced and up to date we are here at Saint Michael's.  It really is a blessing that we have all these amazing facilities right at hand and we probably don't even think about it!  Here are some services we have here on campus:

• Campus Wide Wireless Internet Access- everywhere you go you can be connected and ready to do some homework! 
• Computer Support- there is an IT Department Helpdesk located in Saint Ed's 221 that is open throughout the day and ready to help fix your computer issues! Open during the week from 7:30-7:00!!!
• Tegrity- a computer system that allows professors to record classroom presentations for later use!
• eCollege- a course management system that allows students to view their homework, receive materials from professors, view a  syllabus, submit essays, and see course grades.  
• Classroom Technology- there are smart boards in over 1/3 of the classrooms on campus as well as sound systems, BluRay players, and document cameras.

     Technology has become increasingly important over the years, and it is wonderful that Saint Michael's has kept up with the current innovations.  This may be something that you have considered in your college search and Saint Michael's may be the right place for you! If you have any questions at all tweet me, formspring me, or contact me!

Kayley