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New School Family News, October 2022

Dear Parents and Family Members,

We were thrilled that so many of you were able to join us this past weekend for Family Weekend at The New School. Whether you joined us at our New York City campus or tuned into one of our virtual events, I appreciate the opportunity I had to connect with many of you.

As we shared throughout this weekend, you are vital members of our New School community, and most importantly, you are our partners in supporting your students in their success. At our “Supporting Your Students New School Experience” panel this weekend, we enjoyed a great dialogue about the ways you can be there for your New School student. I want to highlight some of the key takeaways from that discussion in the hopes that you will continue to reflect on them:

While we hope to empower your students to advocate for themselves, you are a crucial part of their support system, and we want to hear from you.
As your students are exposed to new ideas and diverse perspectives, they may grow to be different from the person you knew them to be before. That’s okay, and even expected. We’re here to support you in embracing that change.
Stay connected. We hope you’ll continue to reach out to your students to offer support and ask them about their experience (even if they aren’t as quick to respond as you might hope). We also encourage you to take advantage of The New School’s robust public programming.

As we prepare for the Thanksgiving Holiday, you may be getting ready to welcome your student home for the first time this semester. We hope you will use this as an opportunity to engage with them about their New School experience. Ask them questions that get at the heart of who they are becoming and how they want to include you in that process. As always, my team and I will be here to support you every step of the way.

In New School Pride,

Rob Mack

Family Weekend in Review

Thank you to each of you who joined us for Family Weekend! In an effort to continue improving our programming, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to complete a brief survey about your experience. We look forward to welcoming you next year!

Take the Survey

We look forward to sharing photos from Family Weekend with you in the next edition of our newsletter.a

From the Dean's Desk

Dr. Shondrika Merrit, Associate Provost for Student Affairs, Dean of Students

We are delighted to share that Dr. Shondrika Merritt has been promoted to Associate Provost for Student Affairs, Dean of Students. Throughout her time at The New School, Shondrika has consistently demonstrated strong leadership and unwavering dedication to students. She will continue to oversee her current portfolio in the areas of Student Support and Advocacy, Student Disability Services, Conduct and Community Standards, and Title IX. In addition, Shondrika will also lead Housing and Residential Education (HRE), Orientation and Transition Programs (OTP), and Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI). If you’d like to connect with Shondrika, you can email her at merritts@newschool.edu.

You can look forward to a special message or tip from the Dean's Desk in future newsletters.

Flu Clinics will be held at Student Health Services on the following dates by appointment:

Thursday, October 27
Tuesday, November 1
Thursday, November 3
Tuesday, November 15

Vaccination Updates

Student Health Services hopes your student is having a safe and healthy fall semester. We encourage all students to get their Flu vaccine and bivalent COVID-19 booster. Student Health Services will be hosting Flu Clinics throughout the fall semester. Students can make their appointment by visiting the Student Health Services Portal.

COVID-19 Bivalent Booster

The bivalent booster is the most recent version of the COVID-19 vaccine. It contains both the original COVID strain and a strain derived from the BA.5 omicron variant, which makes up the vast majority of infections here in NYC and across the U.S. Because it is well matched to the current dominant variant, the new bivalent booster is expected to maximize protection against severe disease and potentially also from infection. Even if your student received two previous booster shots, you should encourage them to schedule an appointment through the New York City Vaccine Finder because the bivalent booster will provide better protection against severe COVID infection.

Learn More

Fall Food Pantry hours will be Tuesdays from 12:00pm-3:00pm, Wednesdays from 10:30am-1:30pm, and Fridays from 1:00pm-4:00pm.

Food Pantry

Current New School students who do not have the means to buy adequate food for themselves are eligible to use the Food Pantry. It is a free service open to all students across all schools and programs—including undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs. Students are also eligible to use the pantry to meet the needs of all members of their household. Any other adults, children, or seniors who live with a student and buy and eat meals with them are considered part of their household. As an emergency food program, we are also able to connect students to other resources to help ease their financial burdens. The food pantry is located at 6 16th Street, 12th Floor.

Learn More

Gnarls the Narwhal sits across from another Narwhal having a discussion over their laptops.

Alumni Engagement

If you didn't get a chance to tune into the Alumni Pathways + Networking Resources Zoom Panel this weekend, make sure you check out the recording for great resources. If you have any questions about how Alumni can help your student, or want more information about our Parent and Family Council, please contact Casey Maloney at maloneyc@newschool.edu.

Learn More