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Dear Bobcat Parent and Family Members,paws to de-stress

By now your student has returned to campus after a much needed respite at home. I hope that the time spent together during Thanksgiving was enjoyable and filled with great conversations, some reminiscing and time to rest.  

My family was creating memories of our own over Thanksgiving in a small yurt near West Yellowstone. As you can imagine, our 15-month old was not a fan of her father waking up every two hours to feed the noisy woodstove. We ended the adventure a day early since none of us really slept the night before, but all in good spirits. 

It's back to school now for the last weeks of the term: Final exams are fast approaching and can be a time of stress and anxiety for many students. Counseling and Psychological Services has tips for students to manage their final exam stress. While it is important to offer support and encouragement to your student, it is also important to recognize they are swamped and may not communicate as much with you. Here's a link to the finals schedule if you're helping out with your student's travel plans to return home in December.

Because this time in the semester can be stressful, we offer several programs and host events geared towards reducing stress and promoting academic success:

SmartyCats has tutoring options, which include drop-in hours. They post a new schedule daily.

A hilarious evening with a hypnotist - The Office of Student Engagement is hosting an evening with Saliesh the Hypnotist tomorrow night, Wednesday, November 28th. Several students will be pulled on stage to experience hypnosis!

The final Service Saturday of the semester is Saturday morning, December 1st. Students will spend from 9:30 - noon supporting a number of local non-profits, including the annual Downtown Bozeman Association Christmas Stroll. 

The MSU Library partners with Intermountain Therapy Animals to help students de-stress during the last two weeks of the semester. The MSU Library's website posts the Paws to De-Stress daily schedule.

You might also remind your student of the many other on-campus resources to be found on our Division of Student Success homepage. 

Finally, for those parents and families who have a student graduating this December, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Information about deadlines and commencement activities is available on the Office of the Registrar's website.  

If you need any last-minute advice or support, please don't hesitate to contact us through the Bobcat Parent & Family Program.     

Sincerely,

Matthew R. Caires

Dean of Students

P.S. How about those Bobcats! The recent Brawl of the Wild was one of the most exciting games during my time here, and now we're all closely following the 'Cats in the playoffs. We are fortunate to have great coaches in our Athletic department inspiring all of our student-athletes. My hat's off to Coach Choate and his staff and Go Cat's this weekend in Fargo!

Bobcat Parent & Family Program
174 Strand Union Building | P.O. Box 174220 | Bozeman, MT 59717
www.montana.edu/parents | [email protected] | 406-994-7359