Upcoming breaks

With both November and winter break approaching, we’ve collected these updates and resources to help you know how to best support your student.

• November break is Nov. 20-28. As in past years, students will need to return to campus after the November break to complete the fall semester; there is no remote learning option this year.

• If your student prefers to stay on campus rather than travel for break, they are welcome to do so. They should be aware that during break, residence halls will be open, but dining will be closed. 

• Students who have travel plans that will cause them to miss their Thursday, November 18 scheduled testing must notify the COVID-19 Testing Center by completing this form. There will be no testing during November break, and the testing program will resume Nov. 29. 

• If you have students traveling for November break or planning ahead for winter break, please make sure they check the latest updates from Campus Safety about Concord Coach service to campus/Auburn and watch BatesToday for information about campus shuttles, arranged by the Office for Campus Life. Students receive BatesToday every morning in their email; you can see a preview here for those outside the campus community.

• Looking ahead, the option to remain on campus winter break is only available to a small group of students who meet certain qualifications. There will be an application posted in BatesToday later this month for students who wish to apply to remain in housing for some or parts of break. 

Resources for student support

• While the college’s COVID-19 numbers remain low as of this posting, this is the time of year when students come down with routine colds, respiratory ailments, and other seasonal illnesses – many of which have symptoms not unlike those of COVID. If your student is feeling unwell, please encourage them to reach out to Health Services.

• If your student has a physical health concern after hours that cannot wait, please remind them of the services available and of steps they can take to access care.

• CAPS (Counseling & Psychological Services) continues to expand their services. Students can learn more and schedule an appointment directly.

• Their student support advisor (SSA) is often the best first place for students to check in if they are struggling with any area of their Bates experience and unsure how to proceed. SSAs are familiar with the wide range of resources across campus and can connect students with support of all kinds.

• As the end of the semester approaches, it’s a good time to remind your students of the many academic resources available to them in addition to their faculty advisor and professors, including: 
  • The Office of Accessible Education
  • Academic Resource Commons
  • Mathematics and Statistics Workshop
  • Writing@Bates

Planning ahead

For Class of 2022 families, Bates still plans to hold Commencement on May 27-29, 2022. Logistical details will again be made available later in the academic year than in pre-pandemic times in order for the college to make the most informed decision possible. That said, it’s always useful to keep an eye on the current campus visitor policies as a bellwether for how Bates is likely to approach large-scale on-campus events.

For all other current families, please mark your calendars for next year’s Back to Bates, which is scheduled to take place on October 1, 2022.