I hope move-in went well for those of you whose students are already settled into their residence halls. For those of you whose students move in Saturday and Sunday, I hope the weather cooperates and that you have a smooth process as well.
There are a couple of items I thought I’d share with you today that will let you know how hard we’re working to make this a great semester for your student, that will keep you informed about some important developments and that you may want to pass along to your student.
I can’t stress enough how crucial it is for new students to reach out to their fellow students during these early days of the semester, when everyone is looking to make new friends. Please encourage your student to speak to other students, smile and just generally to be friendly—even if they’re not usually the outgoing type. They will be so glad they did.
New Lancer Days
For parents of new students, please encourage your student to take full advantage of the remaining activities scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday as part of New Lancer Days. This is a crucial time for new students to connect with fellow Lancers in their Peer Mentor Groups as well as their Peer Mentor, who will be an important resource this semester. You can see the schedule for New Lancer days here.
Movies, Magicians and Glow-in-the-Dark Yoga
The Lancer Productions schedule is full of socially distanced activities for all students. Just in September these include Welcome Back Bingo on Sept. 4, Movie Night on Sept. 11, a performance by magician/mentalist Craig Karges on Sept. 19 and a Glowga session (glow-in-the-dark yoga) on Sept. 25. There is also a designated area in Upchurch University Center for students to play video games with others, but they should bring their own console.
Also, you can let your student know about a virtual Involvement Fair about joining student organizations that’s coming up Sept. 1. They can access the fair by going to lancerlink.longwood.edu that day. To prepare to make the most of the fair, your student can complete the Get Involved Calculator on Lancer Link, which will help them connect with their areas of interest.
Take a Chair
You might want to invest in an outdoor chair for your student to use when activities and events are held outside. For example, here’s one that looked promising (but I haven’t bought one myself). If you’ve already moved your student to campus and want to ship them a chair (or another package) via USPS, FedEx or UPS, please see the instructions below.
And while we’re on the subject of chairs, the university has purchased about 100 new Adirondack chairs that will be placed around campus soon to encourage students to get outside and meet with friends. Please encourage your student to make use of the natural beauty of our campus in the fall.
Shipping a Package to Your Student
If you’d like to ship a package to your student’s PO box, you can do that through the U.S. Postal Service. If you’d like to ship via UPS or FedEx (neither of which will ship to a PO box), you can use this address:
Student Name
Longwood University
201 High Street
6-digit number of your student’s PO box (include ONLY the numbers; don’t include the words PO Box)
Farmville, VA 23909
Your student can find their PO box number by going to my.longwood.edu to connect to Banner self-service. They should look for their mailing address. Each Longwood student—except Lancer Park residents—has an individual PO box with a 6-digit number. Mail for Lancer Park residents is sent to their address in Lancer Park, which they can also find through my.longwood.edu.
Family Fall Weekends
Longwood—and Farmville—are special places to visit any time, but especially in the fall.
This year, instead of a designated Family Weekend, we are encouraging you to visit at your convenience and on your schedule. This will also help spread out the number of visitors on campus and in the community.
While you are always welcome and encouraged to visit, several weekends in September have been designated as Family Fall Weekends: Sept. 11-13, Sept. 18-20 and Sept. 25-27. (As a reminder, the policy that prohibits outside guests from entering the residence halls and other Longwood-managed housing will be reviewed by Labor Day and a decision made whether or not to extend it.)
If one of these weekends does not work well for your schedule, please select another date and make your plans. You can find information about dining, accommodations and things to do here.
New Town Ordinance Regarding Face Coverings and Gatherings
On Wednesday, the town of Farmville passed an ordinance laying out requirements for face coverings and gatherings that your student should be aware of. Here’s the full ordinance—and a quick summary:
- Face coverings are required in public places (except in certain circumstances described in the ordinance).
- Gatherings of more than 50 persons are prohibited (except as provided for in the ordinance).
- Gatherings are defined as planned or spontaneous (indoor or outdoor or both) events. This includes parties (including those at private residences), celebrations and other social events.
- Fines of up to $300 may be imposed for violations of the ordinance.
Better Safe…
- Longwood uses Omnilert to send emergency notifications to the campus community. Parents may also sign up for emergency alerts by going to longwood.omnilert.net and clicking “sign up.” If you already have an account, you can add an email or cell phone by logging in.
Faculty Get Creative
Longwood faculty are committed to making this fall a rich and engaging academic experience for your student. Many of them will be deploying new learning technologies and resources that will not just enhance instruction in the face of this fall’s limitations, but far into the future as well. Some examples of these innovative teaching methods are described here.