Dear Class of 2010,

Winter break is finally here!  We know you?re all sad to leave behind your new friends and your awesome classes (not to mention these stimulating first year listserv messages), but we hope you all enjoy your month off!  Eat good food, sleep a lot, and don?t forget this important info about residence hall closing and opening:

• The last day to move out is Friday, December 15th at 8:00 pm
• If you need to stay until Saturday morning (and you have a legitimate reason) you must be out of the building by 10:00 am, and you must have permission for late-stay.  Stop by your front desk and ask to get on the late-stay list ASAP.  Be sure to bring written documentation (an e-mail from a parent, an airplane ticket) explaining why you must stay late. 
• Remember, you will not be permitted to enter your room at any time during Winter Break, so make sure you take everything you need home with you!
• Before you leave your room be sure to:
• Unplug all your appliances
• Turn your thermostat to 65º (or #3 in CBW, Slade, and Coolidge)
• Place a terminator on the cable connector (if you unplug your cable from the wall)
• Take out your trash, compost, and recycling (you do not want to come back to a smelly room at the end of January!!)
• Close/lock all windows and doors (but remember to take your key with you!)
• Double and triple check that all university health/safety policies are being followed?Res Life will be checking your rooms after you leave.
• Residence halls reopen on Sunday January 14 at 12:00 noon.  Classes do not start until Tuesday, January 16, as Monday is Martin Luther King Day.

For more information about hall opening/closing, visit Residential Life?s website at:

http://www.uvm.edu/~rlweb/students/?Page=move_in_out/winter.html&SM=move_in_out/move_in_out_sm.html

Still not sure how you?re making it back home?  Check out the ride board online: 

http://www.uvm.edu/~dos/rideshare/

AGHHHHHHHHH FINAL EXAMS!??!?!??!?!  I?M NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!!!!

We are sure that this is how many of you are feeling, but don?t worry?you will get through the next week and a half!  Here?s how:

Final Exam Study Tips:

• Check out the resources at the learning co-op, such as the Supplemental Instruction Program, The Writing Center, Subject Area Tutoring, and the Learning Skills Program, by clicking here:  http://www.uvm.edu/~learnco/
• Attend a review session or open office hours with your professor.  Not only is this a good study opportunity where knowledgeable people can answer your questions, but it will often give you insight as to what will be on the exam.
• If you study better alone, try leaving your room and finding a nice, quiet place to study.  Only you know what helps you study, but often steering clear of music, TV, conversation, and other distractions can really help you focus.
• If you study better in groups, try asking people in your classes to get together for a study session.  This is a great way to make new friends. Quizzing other people and talking out loud can also help you remember more information. 
• Be sure to take study breaks?get coffee with friends, watch a Disney movie, go for a walk, do some Karaoke, anything to clear your head. 
• Get plenty of sleep this week!  Your mind works much better when it is fully refreshed!
• Double check what supplies you need for the exam?pencil, pen, protractor, calculator, index card, rabbit?s foot?and lay them all out the night before.
• Eat well on the morning of exams?an empty stomach can be a huge distraction during an exam, and will cause you to think less clearly.
• Avoid caffeine/junk food on the day of the test?you will be jittery enough without them.
• Double check where/when your exams are.  Make sure you know how to get there, and leave ample traveling time.
• Get to the exam early and relax?last minute studying will only make you more anxious.

Remember?final exams can be stressful, but with the right preparation you can all do well!  Plus, this is the last step?after this, you?ve survived your first semester at college, which is definitely something to be proud of!

Merry Christmas! Happy ?????.! Merry Kwanzaa and a Joyous Winter Solstice!!!!!

 As the Holidays approach, we take a little look into some of the major holidays celebrated in December:

Kwanzaa (or Kwaanza) ( Named for the river in Angola)  is a week-long secular holiday honoring African-American heritage, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, almost exclusively by African-Americans in the United States of America.

Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift-giving. It was founded by controversial black nationalist Ron Karenga, and first celebrated from December 26, 1966, to January 1, 1967. Karenga calls Kwanzaa the African American branch of "first fruits" celebrations of classical African cultures. They have seven principles:

1.      Umoja (Unity)

2.      Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

3.      Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)

4.      Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)

5.      Nia (Purpose)

6.      Kuumba (Creativity)

7.      Imani (Faith)

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual Christian and secular holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus, along with themes such as family, goodwill, giving and compassion. It incorporates Christian religious ceremonies with the traditions of ancient winter festivals such as Yule and Saturnalia. Christmas traditions include Nativity scenes, the exchange of gifts, the arrival of Santa Claus,cards ,decorations and the display of Christmas trees.

Christmas is traditionally celebrated on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day. Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, which corresponds to December 25 of the Julian calendar. These dates are merely traditional and neither is thought to be the actual birthdate of Jesus

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights or Festival of Rededication, is an eight day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev, which may be in December, late November, or, while very rare in occasion, early January (as was the case for the Hannukkah of 2005?2006). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on.

In Hebrew script, the word Hanukkah is written ???? or ?????. It is most commonly transliterated to English as Hanukkah or Chanukah.

Winter Solstice. No one's really sure how long ago humans recognized the winter solstice and began heralding it as a turning point -- the day that marks the return of the sun. One delightful little book written in 1948, 4,000 Years of Christmas, puts its theory right up in the title. The Mesopotamians were first, it claims, with a 12-day festival of renewal, designed to help the god Marduk tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.

Many, many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root: an ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with anxious vigil or antic celebration.

There's much new scholarship about Neolithic peoples and their amazing culture. For example, it now looks as though writing is much more ancient than we earlier thought -- as much as 10,000 years old.

Neolithic peoples were the first farmers. Their lives were intimately tied to the seasons and the cycle of harvest. I'm certain they were attuned to the turning skies.

Scholars haven't yet found proof that these peoples had the skill to pinpoint a celestial event like solstice. Earliest markers of time that we've found from these ancient peoples are notches carved into bone that appear to count the cycles of the moon. But perhaps they watched the movement of the sun as well as the moon, and perhaps they celebrated it -- with fertility rites, with fire festivals, with offerings and prayers to their gods and goddesses.

----------------------------YAY For SPRING SEMESTER!!!!--------------------------------

So now that Fall semester is almost over and the Spring semester is coming up, here are some suggestions to making next semester even more fun!!!!

1. UVM Pogram Bored programs: check out www.uvm.edu/bored for details in January
2. Try something new like skiing or snowboarding (if you?ve never done so) or just making a snowman or go sledding.
3. Take advantage of the Learning Coop, for academics
4. Look into new clubs or organizations
5. Check out downtown Burlington
6. Do the Penguin Plunge: check out http://www.penguinplunge.org/  for details
7. Check out the Advocat, Student ambassadors, Resident Advisors and Orientation Leader positions that will start their application process late January

We Hhope you enjoy your Holidays and take time for some well earned rest and relaxation. Look out next Spring for e-mail from the 2010 Class Council. Have a great second semester!

Your Student Orientation Coordinators,

Joseph and Stephanie