{"id":1127,"date":"2025-10-03T13:56:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T13:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/?p=1127"},"modified":"2025-10-03T13:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T13:57:14","slug":"making-the-most-parent-family-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/2025\/10\/making-the-most-parent-family-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the Most of Parent\/Family Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making the Most of Parent\/Family Weekend<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Joanne Goldwater, Associate Dean for Retention & Student Success\/<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seahawk Family Liaison<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adapted from PaperClip Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n

At SMCM, we combine Parent\/Family Weekend with Homecoming. This major college event is called Hawktoberfest & Family Weekend and is scheduled for October 17-18. For some parents\/family members, this will be your first time seeing your student since dropping them off in August. This is a great opportunity for you to (re)connect with your student and the College.<\/p>\n

Tip #1: Listen to Your Student<\/h2>\n

Listen as your student tells you about their classes, club involvement, how much they enjoy their lab or petting Meatball (the beloved campus cat) or dislike walking to classes in the rain. This is a wonderful time to communicate face-to-face. Ask open-ended questions (\u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite .\u2026?\u201d \u201cWhat did you do \u2026.?\u201d etc.) Talk less, listen more when you are together. You may pick up some information that did not come through the texts or phone calls.<\/p>\n

Tip #2: Try New Things<\/h2>\n

There are lots of activities to do during the weekend. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new with your student. Build a bamboo boat and race it or watch the Great Bamboo Boat Race. Attend the Seahawks\u2019 Got Talent Showcase. Explore Historic St. Mary\u2019s City. Go to the Boyden Gallery Art Exhibition. Check out the schedule of events for the weekend. Participating in activities on campus is how you and your student will feel more connected to the College.<\/p>\n

Tip #3: Meet and Mingle<\/h2>\n

Get to know your student\u2019s roommate(s) and friends. Talk with other parents, meet administrators (like me!), and faculty members you may encounter. Find out about the resources and services that are available on campus.<\/p>\n

Tip #4: Ooh and Aah Instead of Huffing and Puffing<\/h2>\n

Try to be upbeat, cheerful, and positive throughout the weekend. This is not the time to be complaining, sharing bad news, or arguing. Make pleasant comments about the activities, people, etc. Compliment your student on their room decor rather than complaining about how dirty the room is. Think of this as an opportunity to reinforce and validate your student’s life-changing decision to attend college. There will be other times and avenues for dealing with less pleasant topics. And if you have feedback specific to Hawktoberfest, the Office of Alumni Relations shares a survey after the event.<\/p>\n

Tip #5: Wardrobe Swapping Time<\/h2>\n

The days and nights are starting to get cooler. It would be a good time to consider bringing a load of cooler weather clothing to campus and taking some of your student\u2019s warm weather clothing home for a few months. While you\u2019re at it, this is a good time to restock their snacks, first aid kits, bring refills for medications, etc.<\/p>\n

Tip #6: Put Yourself in Visitor Mode<\/h2>\n

You are on your student\u2019s turf now (even if you are an Alum!). Let your student take charge and show you around the campus. Enjoy your visit!<\/p>\n

Tip #7: Hide a Note<\/h2>\n

Want to make the good feelings from your visit last a little longer? Put a nice note under your student\u2019s pillow or tucked into their laptop\/computer keyboard so they find it after you leave campus. (Please do NOT go poking through their drawers or other private items!) They will appreciate your thoughtful sentiments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making the Most of Parent\/Family Weekend By Joanne Goldwater, Associate Dean for Retention & Student Success\/ Seahawk Family Liaison Adapted from PaperClip Communications At SMCM, we combine Parent\/Family Weekend with Homecoming. This major college event is called Hawktoberfest & Family Weekend and is scheduled for October 17-18. For some parents\/family members, this will be your Find out more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":245,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-parent-family-resources","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1127"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1129,"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1127\/revisions\/1129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/office-student-success-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}