Chardin Collegium Newsletter
Last one of the Quarter!
A Few Closing Reminders
Yes, unfortunately that time of the quarter is coming! The Chardin will be closing on Monday, March 16, at 5:00 PM! Here are a few things to keep in mind:
· Take ALL your stuff out of the space!
· Yes, ALL your stuff.
· FOOD. Yes, that includes all your food out of the fridge or it will inevitably be thrown out!
· On that closing Monday, please help to keep the space clean for our closing CCLs!
· We will re-open on March 30th, at 7:30 AM! Yay!!!!
· Important: The first weekend back is Easter weekend! That means that the school and the Chardin will be closed on April 3 and April 6!
Have a fun, but safe, spring break! We look forward to seeing you after break!
A Letter from Becca
Dear Chardin Community –
It is with great excitement and a bit of sadness that I write to you today to let you know that I have accepted a full time position at Bellevue College in Academic Advising. This means that I will no longer be serving as the Coordinator for the Chardin Collegium. This is the natural next step in my career, and it is an exciting opportunity that I have to take at this time. I have enjoyed getting to know each of you, and the time I have spent in the Chardin with you has been so much fun! Each of you has so many talents and skills that you bring to your fields and to your community, and I am so excited to see what y’all go on to do in this world. I will always cherish my memories of loud games of Bananagrams and Dutch Blitz, pancakes on Monday mornings, and deep conversations about meaningful topics with all of you. You’re all rock stars and I promise to come visit you soon!
Blessings,
Becca Van Drimmelen
What to do for Spring Break!
Thinking of ways to spend your brief week of freedom (well, besides sleeping and recovering from finals)? You actually don’t need to go far to have a good time in the Pacific Northwest! There are a whole host of activities and destinations to choose between; from clubs to beaches, restaurants to wineries, mountains to plateaus… we have it all!
It you are the outdoorsy type, you will definitely appreciate Washington’s diversity when it comes to land features and climate. On the Eastern side of the state, it is dry and flat (and fairly mild in temperature this time of year). The Scablands are history written in the land: as the great glaciers melted thousands of years ago they washed away chunks of Earth, exposing the basalt underneath while sparing certain sections of the original surface. When viewed from above, the effect is a mottled and jagged appearance with interesting rock formations. The Frenchman Coulee and Echo Basin are particularly interesting areas to visit. Other land features in the East include the Columbia River, Grand Coulee Dam, and Palouse Falls. On the Western side, the climate is more similar to what we are used to here in Seattle. Of course Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens are always great places to go – with fresh air, warm days, and cool nights, but also consider the numerous hot springs such as Carson Hot Spring and Sol Duc in the Olympic National Park.
If you’re more of a city person, consider traveling across the US-Canadian Border to Vancouver and enjoying the many attractions they have there. Just a short ferry ride away is also Victoria, BC which offers a somewhat calmer vacation with their many bike trails and old-world Island charm. Washington also boasts a wide variety of wineries, distilleries, and breweries (remember to be a SafeHawk though!) that offer beautiful scenery and food as well. If you like brief excursions into the suburbs, visit the tulip farms in Skagit valley, which should be in full bloom by March 27th. Lastly, but not least, if you really just need to feel those beats, remember that there is always Volume (for the more adventurous) and the Vera Project.
Whatever you choose to do with your Spring Break, just remember the most important thing to do with your time off is to take time off. Let yourself decompress, sleep, and do what makes you happy!