Student Leadership & Activities

Family Weekend

Family Weekend is an annual event that occurs each October, and provides Simmons students an opportunity to share their experiences on campus with their families and friends. Family Weekend 2009 will take place on Friday, October 16 - Saturday, October 17, 2009.

Registration

At this point we are no longer accepting online registrations for Family Weekend. If you still wish to register for Family Weekend, please download a copy of the schedule and a registration form, and bring it with you to Family Weekend Registration, which will take place between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 16 and between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 17.

Hotel Information

The following hotels are offering discounted rates for Simmons Family Weekend.

Midtown Hotel
220 Huntington Avenue,
Boston, MA 02115
617-262-1000
$159/night, Reference Code: Simmons College Family Weekend
Reservation Cut Off Date: September 23, 2009

Howard Johnson Fenway
1271 Boylston Street,
Boston, MA 02215
617-267-8300
$165/night, Reference Code: Simmons Family Weekend
Reservation Cut Off Date: September 21, 2009

Best Western Boston— Inn at Longwood Medical
 342 Longwood Avenue,
Boston, MA 02115
617-731-4700
$189/ night, Reference Code: Simmons College Fall Family Weekend
Reservation Cut Off Date: September 25, 2009

Schedule

Friday, October 16, 2009

  • Academic Experience: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Shadow your Simmons student and sit in on her classes.
  • Registration: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m., Pick up your registration packet which includes all pre-purchased tickets and event locations for the weekend.
  • Shabbat Services and Kosher Dinner: 5:30 p.m., Join members of the Simmons Jewish community and their families for Shabbat services that will be followed by a kosher Shabbat dinner. ($25/family, Ticketed Event)
  • Fourth Annual Student Performance Showcase: 7:30 p.m., We invite you to join us again for the annual Student Performance Showcase. Performers include the Concert Choir, Dance Team, Gospel Choir, and the Sirens. (Free, Ticketed Event)
  • IMAX film Deep Sea 8:00 p.m. , Take the "T" to the Museum of Science to unravel the mysteries of the ocean world while taking in spectacular undersea views on the IMAX® Dome screen. Narrated by Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp the film showcases the stars of the underwater world. (SOLD OUT)

Saturday, October 16, 2009

  • Registration & Open House: 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. , Your registration packet includes all pre-purchased tickets and event locations for the weekend. Stop by the Open House in the College Center to learn of the resources and opportunities available to your student.
  • Parents Meeting: 9:15 a.m., Parents' Council, of which all parents are automatically members, provides an opportunity for parents to work with the College to ensure that the student experience at Simmons remains meaningful and valuable.
  • Faculty Lecture: Kelly Hager, Associate Professor, English: "Who Were the Victorians?" 10:00 a.m., Darwin, Dickens, Mrs. Beeton (the nineteenth century's version of Martha Stewart), Florence Nightingale, John Stuart Mill (who tried to get women the vote in 1867), Bram Stoker (who wrote the best-selling novel Dracula over a hundred years before Twilight would so captivate our culture), Charlotte Brontë, who gave us Jane Eyre, and Robert Louis Stevenson, author of not only Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but also A Child's Garden of Verses. These are just some of the Victorian writers, scientists, legislators, and self-styled domestic experts that not only shaped the period we call Victorian (after the long-lived queen) but also had much to do with the way the way our world looks to us today. In this class, we'll explore who the Victorians were and why we're still reading them and still arguing about what they wrote (and still watching their novels come to life on Masterpiece Theater).
  • Faculty Lecture: Dan Connell ,Professor, Communications: Journalism: How to do an Interview 10:00 — 11:00 a.m., Participants will learn the basics of how to prepare for and conduct an interview—and practice doing one. Please bring a notebook and a pen or pencil.
  • State of the College Address with Simmons President Helen Drinan, 11:00 a.m., President Helen Drinan will share the state of the College with families and will be available to answer questions.
  • Family Brunch:11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. , Join your student and other families for brunch at Bartol Dining Hall on the Residence Campus. ($5.00/pre-purchased ticket, $6.83 at the door, Simmons resident students free, Ticketed Event)
  • Simmons Sharks in Action! 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Cheer on the Simmons Sharks! The Volleyball team will compete against Rivier College at 11:00 a.m. and St. Joseph's College of Maine at 1:00 p.m. in the Holmes Sports Center on the Residence Campus. The Soccer team will compete against Emmanuel College on The Winsor School Field (at the end of Pilgrim Road). (Free!)
  • HIDDEN PASSION: Art, Music and Isabella Stewart Gardner: Professor Gregory Slowik, Department Chair, Art and Music, 1:30 p.m. — 3:30 p.m., Join Professor Gregory Slowik and explore Isabella Stewart Gardner's love of music and art and her beloved Fenway Court-the Venetian-style palazzo on the Fenway next door to Simmons College which was her home. The discussion will begin in a Simmons classroom and will include musical examples as well as archival images from the museum's collection. The session will continue with a short walk across the street for a tour of the Gardner museum. You won't want to miss this extraordinary journey to turn-of-the-century Boston. (SOLD OUT)
  • 44th Head of the Charles Regatta, Cheer on the Simmons Sharks Crew Team as they compete in this annual national regatta. The Head of The Charles Regatta will take place all day Saturday and Sunday. Take the "T" to the BU Central stop on the B branch of the Green Line. (Free!)
  • President's Reception: 3:30-5:00 p.m., Join Simmons' president Helen Drinan for our President's reception where you will have an opportunity to mingle with members of the Simmons community, family and friends. (3 complimentary tickets with Family Weekend Registration, $10.00 each additional ticket, Ticketed Event)
  • Latin Night of the Arts and Celebration Dinner, 5:30 p.m., Join the members of Organizacion Latino Americana (OLA) as Simmons celebrates the culmination of Latino Heritage Month. Enjoy the company of other Simmons students and families as you watch performances, listen to music, and enjoy a Latino-themed dinner. ($5.00/ticket, free for Simmons students, Ticketed Event)
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra, 8:00 p.m., Witness the American premiere of Augusta Read Thomas's vibrant Helios Choros II (Sun God Dancers and listen to Stravinsky's sparkling Capriccio, a 1929 piece. The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca is one of several Bohuslav Martinu works on BSO concerts this season, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Czech composer's death. Tchaikovsky's fervent "symphonic fantasia" Francesca da Rimini is a programmatic piece based on a passage from Dante's Inferno. (SOLD OUT).