Fwd: spouses&partners@mit news August 2009

[Debra L. Martin]

spouses&partners at mit news August 2009


Orientation:
We are excited to meet the families of incoming graduate students and 
postdocs! Our GSC Orientation events will take place next week.
            Coffee Hours in Twenty Chimneys: Tuesday at 10 a.m. and 
Wednesday at 3 p.m.
            Welcome Tent for spouses at the GSC Picnic: Thursday at 12 noon.
            Ice Cream Social (cosponsored with the Baptist Campus 
Ministry) on September  9 at 3 p.m. in the Bush Room.
Please stop by and say hello! If you have materials you would like me 
to distribute at these events, please let me know.

Weekly Wednesday gatherings begin September 16 in Eastgate:
Topics for the upcoming semester include Surviving Culture Shock, 
Fall Foliage Walk, Understanding American Schools, Thanksgiving 
Dinner, and a talk by MIT's Sexpert Kate McCarthy. Participants do 
not need to register in advance, and optional babysitting is 
provided.  If you have a topic you would like to present at our 
meeting, please contact me.

New Special Projects Assistants for spouses&partners at mit:
Welcome to Amy Holland, from the Lesley University Intercultural 
Relations program.  Amy will work with our members to explore 
volunteer opportunities in the Boston area and will assist at the 
weekly Wednesday gatherings. Also starting in September, Lindsay 
Guest, from the MIT Medical Mental Health Service, will lead the 
spouses&partners at mit Job Support Group meetings for our members who 
are seeking work in the Boston area.

FamilyNet: http://familynet.mit.edu
  We have 4 great forum moderators who are now facilitating new 
conversations on our site. Topics range from transitioning from crib 
to bed and registering for school and choosing a school  to 
recommendations for ESL classes and the best burgers in Boston.

Newcomers Guide:
Newly updated sections include Parenting Resources, Extracurricular 
Activities for Children, Apartments, Utilities, Moving, Donations, 
and Traveling Abroad
Check it out at:  http://web.mit.edu/spouses/newcomers_guide/index.html

Coming later this semester....
A talk for international newcomers by an expat couple coach: Being 
Empowered in the Face of Cross-cultural Dilemmas
A brand new Language Conversation Exchange website - participants can 
post their profile and search for other conversation partners online
A MIT grad dad blogs about parenting on MIT FamilyNet

Stay tuned!

Jennifer

P.S. For your next meeting or gathering, consider playing 
Redundancia: A Foreign Language Simulation. I would be happy to come 
to your office or group to facilitate this fun and eye-opening 
exercise. Please ask me for more details if you are interested.


Jennifer Recklet, Program Manager
spouses & partners @ mit
MIT FamilyNet
MIT Language Conversation Exchange

617-253-1614 reck at med.mit.edu

Office Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
(Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays)
E23-323 (3rd floor, MIT Medical)

http://web.mit.edu/spouses
http://familynet.mit.edu
http://web.mit.edu/lce


These programs are sponsored by the Center for Health Promotion and 
Wellness at MIT Medical. The Center provides expertise, health 
resources, and programs specifically designed for the MIT community. 
We also collaborate with our partners to create an environment 
supportive of health and wellness across the whole Institute. More 
info: http://medweb.mit.edu/wellness




-- 
*****************************************
Debra L. Martin, Programs Manager
MIT
Vice President for Research Office, Rm 11-268
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139
617-258-0310, 617-252-1003 (fax)
debra at mit.edu