I apologize for taking so long to write. I was out of town helping my ailing father; a couple days after our return, our family dog went missing, so we spent five intensive days searching for him. Thank God we have him back! Then I was sick and exhausted and spent time recovering. Whew! Anyway …
Can you feel it? Fall is definitely in the air — leaves turning colors, cooler nights, less daylight, lots of pumpkin products and frisky horses! There are many things to enjoy about fall, even if those I mentioned don’t rock your world. Our Sweet Briar girls are definitely enjoying the season. My daughter has posted some beautiful photos, once again making me oh-so-happy that she is back at Sweet Briar! One doesn’t show the autumn colors, but it does reflect the beautiful view of Monument Hill on a crisp fall trail ride.
Exciting news! Sweet Briar is hosting a Families’ Day on Saturday, Nov. 7! It will be a day of special events showcasing your student’s Sweet Briar experience. You’ll have the opportunity to see why Sweet Briar women call this place home. Come see where your student lives and eats, the land she explores and the classrooms where she learns. Sit through a presentation with one of her professors and see firsthand the unique interactions between faculty and students that make Sweet Briar a learning community. Families’ Day is for everyone who is part of the Sweet Briar community. Everyone is in this together to support your student’s pursuits.
Details of the day can be found by visiting the Families’ Day website. Registration for Families’ Day is required. A per-person fee of $20 includes breakfast, lunch and access to the scheduled events throughout the day. The schedule provides flexibility so families can spend time exploring aspects of campus life that interest them — be it a lecture on history, exploring an engineering lab or hiking to the Outing Cabin. However you plan to spend your day, Sweet Briar looks forward to having everyone join together over lunch, which will include an address by President Stone.
Here’s how the ticket process works: When you check out, you are linked to a site to complete payment. There is a $20 per ticket fee for registration. There are also four other free tickets that can be claimed. The free tickets are placeholders for programs that have a size limit. The hike to the Outing Cabin can only accommodate 10 people, each canoe session can only accommodate 14 people and the field trip to the weather tower can accommodate 17 people. Once those sessions fill, it will be noted on the registration form and families will know there is no longer space available in those sessions.
Reminder for families that may desire an overnight stay: Please check with the Elston Inn for availability; if they are full, there are many hotels in nearby Lynchburg.
Please do check out the agenda! Sweet Briar has put together a wonderful day with various options for how each family can experience Sweet Briar, and it is well worth your time. Also, feel free to bring friends or prospective students and their families.
On a different note, I have a personal moment of joy on the date I am writing this (Wednesday, Oct. 21) because it is a campus-wide “pink out day” at Sweet Briar in support of breast cancer research. As someone who is in recovery from a recent brutal bout with breast cancer, I am so blessed that years of research mean that I am currently cancer free, able to enjoy life, and able to give back. How wonderful that Sweet Briar chose to support breast cancer research, and in doing so, is reinforcing for our girls the importance of coming together to support important social causes.
Also happening this Sunday — students in the Sweet for Schools business seminar will host the Fall Bucket List Festival to benefit Amherst County Public Schools from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, on campus. Admission is free; game and raffle ticket prices will vary. Activities include hayrides, football toss, ring toss, pumpkin bowling, face painting, pumpkin painting and more. The festival will also feature local vendors That’s Too Cute Boutique and Creative Carmella. Light refreshments will be available. Come and enjoy everything you would like to do on a fall day with family and friends! For more information, please email briarsfallbucketlist@gmail.com or call (434) 381-6296.
Those are just two examples of how Sweet Briar educates our daughters outside the classroom. There are many others that have occurred previously, or will occur in the future. Thank you Sweet Briar!
That’s all for today 🙂 What topics would YOU like me to address? Send them to me at SBCParentToParent@gmail.com, and I’ll address them in upcoming posts, or sooner if needed. Until then, talk to you soon!