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NAPS Parent
Handbook
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NAPS Parent
Handbook
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At the beginning of the Academic Year, each student is issued a computer and an email account. You will be informed of their email address. It involves the first 4 characters in their last name plus an Alpha Code which is their Company number, their Platoon number and two numbers they are randomly assigned. This will be a major means of communication for the year. If you haven't done so already, get a computer set up in your home that will be able to access the Internet and send and receive email. If money is an issue (and when isn't it?), you can buy a used computer. You don't need an especially new or powerful machine, just one that can send and receive email. You'll also need an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Since you're reading this electronic version of the Handbook, it's assumed that you already have most of this set up and running. It is not unusual for students to send VERY short, almost cryptic messages when they do send email but email allows you to keep in touch on a daily basis, sending news of home and the normal world to your NAPSter. Just don't expect multiple page letters in return. There really isn't time. A wonderful service available to Parents is the website USNA.com or usna.org When your students goes off to the Naval Academy, you will be able to join the usna-parent listserve discussion forum where you can continue the communications and friendships you made on the NAPS Parents Page site. Many students use cell phones and if that's a financial possibility, it's a wonderful way to connect with your student. Reception in Ripley Hall is lousy so students hang out the windows or step outside to improve reception. Rules change all the time, but there are restrictions about when the phones can be on and where students can use them. Check with your student about the regulations as they change year to year and even trimester to trimester. They will know the most current regs. You can always call and leave a message for them to return your call at their convenience. Cell phones are a great tool for communications!Your student is permitted to receive packages of "Goodies" from home as often as you care to send them. It is best to keep them on the small side and send them more often. Some cadres have allowed NAPSters to receive packages during Indoc. Others don't. For those that did, the complete care package had to be consumed before taps. That meant everyone shares. However, once the school year begins, all students LOVE getting care packages and we suggest the following items for almost any Candidate...
Re-package all items to make them as small as possible and make sure they are individually wrapped to allow quick and fuss-free, "grab-and-go" consumption. The first care package should be packed in a resealable plastic container (shoebox size is best). This will help in keeping all of their treats fresh throughout the year. Remember to send lots of small packages. Especially after Christmas
when morale runs to new low points during the "Dark Ages".
Once the Academic Year has begun, you are permitted to visit. Candidates will have some free time on weekends. Depending upon their academic standing, they may have more or less time available. If they are on restriction for bearing board hits or for personal reasons, they will be confined to their rooms. Keep your plans flexible, with the military, you never know what will happen until the moment comes. Things come up and plans change and NAPS doesn't consider parental plans to be a priority. It is a great relief to visit and see that they are still your kid!! So if you can, do it! And then be sure to share you experience in the guestbook for those parents who would love to have done it, but can't. Parents need to know what the rules are for getting past the gate houses
and onto base when they come to visit. On special weekends, ie: I-day,
Parents Weekend, etc, the command gives a list of all expected parents
to security at Gate 1. With heightened security concerns, you have to
have special permission to enter the base on other weekends. The solution
is for the student who has relatives visiting to talk to their Company
Officer or Senior Enlisted Advisor and fill out a visitor pass request. This
is then sent to security. The request must be filled out at least 2 days
prior to the visit. Then, the gate personel will be expecting you and
it will be less of a problem. You will get a paper pass for the weekend.
Just turn the pass in on your last trip out the gate. Since September
11, 2001, all adults passing through the gates of the base are required
to have some form of picture ID. This includes people with military stickers,
passes and or those with no military papers. You will have to show it
every time you pass through Gate 1. The ID for non-military types can
be a driver's license.
A sample of possible PW activities include: Friday,You will get your schedule of events several weeks ahead of time. Try to be there! It is a wonderful experience to visit your adult child in uniform. A personal transformation will have occurred. They will look different. They will walk differently. You will be amazed at how grownup they have become. You will like their friends. Your child will be more polite than you can imagine! Enjoy the time with your NAPSter, but let them set the schedule of what to do and when to do it. You may not have a lot of free time with them. They may have watch to work around. That's part of their military commitment. Go with the flow. They can not change their schedules to fit yours. Try to make the Friday afternoon ceremonies. If this is impossible, so be it, but it is good to spend the afternoon in Gym 1801 meeting teachers and staff. You all will enjoy the time most if there is no pressure to go here, there or anywhere else at a certain time. Your student will open up and share all sorts of stories and emotions. Just sit back and listen. They will talk about Indoc as one of the more hilarious experiences of their lives! It will sound like they had fun. Just nod your head and smile. Don't remind them of the awful parts. Get your NAPSter to give you a tour of the base. There are many places you will have heard about. Visit the Navy Exchange and buy some Navy paraphernalia. Have them show you inside Perry Hall. It's the stage of their daily lives. Get them to show it to you. Parents Weekend is really a good opportunity to do some basic networking and establish your ties to other families that will really understand what you are going through. Don't forget to introduce yourselves to your student's friend's families and then keep in touch with them. Tell others about this website. Belonging to a group of families who are all experiencing this together makes it an easier task for all of us. Your student might just want to "get away" and forget about school for awhile, but take care of your networking needs too. Print up copies of our website's business cards and pass them out to families who don't know about our site. If you have been corresponsing with other parent page parents, it's a real pleasure to put faces to email addresses. The Football Game. Saturday there is always an obligatory football game. It will take all afternoon. Don't plan on going sightseeing. About half the battalion does the march on in uniform and so they will need to be on base at noon to get organized. If your son is on the football team, don't try to talk to him. He will get in deep trouble for it. Just cheer and talk to other parents. Hopefully you will have established relationships with several other parents through the guestbook by then. There will also be many staff members around. Check out the name tags and find your NAPSter's teachers. They are probably at the game too. You might want to wear a nametag too. That way people will recognize you. If you missed the Friday ceremonies you can make up for it at the game. Cheer loudly and wear "Beat Army" gear. Saturday night plan to have dinner in town. There are many good restaurants and you will undoubtedly run into other NAPS families on the street. Newport will be crawling with NAPS families. It is a festive occassion. Make reservations because it will be crouded! Waits of 30-50 minutes are not uncommon. Sunday morning there is a brunch at the Officer's Club. It is in an attractive Ball Room overlooking the bay. Many families will be there. Reservations are suggested (call 401- 846-7987), but stop in on Saturday and register if you forgot ahead of time. Or, if you don't manage to register, just stop in. There is plenty of room. When you leave on Sunday, it will be an emotional time for both you and your NAPSter. It is hard to leave them, but try to keep things in perspective. Remain upbeat and positive! Your son/daughter needs to know that you love them and are proud of them! And of course, we are proud. That's why we cry! Enjoy meeting all of the other NAPSters and make sure to give them all a hug, in case their parents couldn't come to Parent's Weekend. Perhaps (funds permitting) you could even sport a meal for a few that are orphaned that weekend. Think how YOUR son/daughter would feel if you had not been able to come! Besides, a nicer group of kids would be hard to find. You will really enjoy spending time with a group of NAPSters. You will hear many new and interesting stories whenever you spend time with a group of students - often things your own son/daughter has forgetten to mention. Maybe things they didn't want you to hear. Being with a gang of NAPSters is a delightful experience. What wonderful kids! Must be the great families that they all came from. During their NAPS and academy years your sons and daughters will be having their photographs taken annually in a formal military pose for use in the yearbook. These photos are wonderful and parents can order copies. To place an order for their NAPS photo, you need to call the Portrait Studio on base. Their number is 401-847-3815. They are professionally priced and if that puts it out of your budget, consider having your student sit in uniform for a portrait at WalMart or Sears, etc while they are home on holiday. Take your own American flag along as a background. Those portraits can be very nice as well and can be much less expensive. Either way, it's wonderful to have the formal shots of our kids to show admiring friends and relatives. Parents can also order extra copies of the NAPS yearbook. You can contact LT Chris Keith at 401 841 6962 or email him at keith@naps.edu. Yearbooks are not available until September as they contain the entire NAPS experience. Student will all receive a copy which will be delivered to their Academy My NAPSter kept her yearbook at home so I didn't order an extra, but some of you might want a second one. It's also possible to have a special tribute to your NAPSter included in the back section of the yearbook. For that you need to contact LT Keith as well.
Thanksgiving break is from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week. That doesn't leave alot of time when transportation is figured in.
Your student will, however, have become a master at getting things done
in an efficient a manner as possible! This is their first extended time
off since arriving in July. They will be looking forward to seeing old
friends and sleeping in. Just make sure their transportation schedules
are firm and leave plenty of time for the unexpected. You will hear
that admonition repeatedly! Make the most of your time and try to be
as normal as possible. Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary should
be planned. What they long for is the "home front" as they remember
it. Don't overdo the parties. Stand back and watch them "Pack it in". Cozy Cabs Incorporated From Derby Derby Line Morgan Newport
Yellow Cab Company Black Tie Limousine Service
Christmas Leave is a wonderful extended vacation. You will have more than two weeks to work with. Stay in constant touch to schedule transportation for this Leave period. It is especially important to allow extra time for the return trip in the event of weather related delays at airports across the country or when driving back. Surprisingly, they will say they are "going home" (!) and they are talking about Newport. NAPS gives no quarter for being late when reporting back from Leave. Officers are expected to plan for the unexpected and perform duties regardless of unforeseen circumstances. Want some ideas for what to give your student when their possessions are so limited? Here's an idea list which comes via USNA parents.
As the Candidates return from Christmas Leave, they must settle in for the long, cold and depressing months ahead. Traditionally, the months of January through Spring Break represent the Dark Ages. This is a time of shortened daylight, intense studies and little or no encouragement. This is the time when some students will fall into depression of one degree or another. As Parents, you must be prepared to write more often, send more care packages and generally be extra supportive and encouraging to help them get through the winter. But since you have been doing that all along anyway, just keep it up! The closest ski/snowboard option is Yawgoo Valley in Exeter, RI which is only about 20 minutes away. Although it only has 8 runs and 245 feet of vertical, Yawgoo at least provides locals with a ski resort to call their own. Yawgoo also has a separate tubing area and snowboard park. Ski passes are reasonably priced. This is a good beginner option. If your NAPSter is a ski fanatic they better head to NH or ME for the big places like Attitash or Sunday River. Those places cost alot but are huge and dramatic. More than most beginners would want. Try enjoying the weather. It sure beats complaining!
One of the inevitability's of adult life is taxes. Our NAPSters are now considered adults. Most NAPSters can still be claimed on their parents tax forms as they didn't begin their military training until July. The guideline says if you support your child more than 50%, they can be claimed as dependents. Since July is the beginning of the second half of the year, they do qualify (this year) as dependents. There's a big UNLESS though. If your students is a prior, they are not eligible to be claimed. If you didn't support them 100% until Indoc, you can't either. Mind you, we ALL support them 110% after July as well, but the feds don't count that in their formulae for dependency! They have to pay state taxes as well. Students file state taxes in their
state of origin, not Rhode Island unless that's where they legally resided
before NAPS. There's lots of information at irs.gov
to help sort out the technicalities. NAPSters can file online as well
which saves time and money. Next year, since they no longer are your financial
responsibility, parents can't claim them as dependents and they will have
to sort all this out themselves. Take the opportunity to talk to them
about this fact of life. It's one of live's responsibilities. They are
adults. Make sure they understand the responsibility.
Here is a look at NAPS Gradution 2006 and another page with NAPS Graduation 2005. Your NAPSter's graduation day really will come too although it feels like it's in the far distant future a lot of the time! Candidates will have liberty each night during the Post-Ac Period which is after finals and before graduation. The exact times for liberty to commence and expire are not posted, but it's safe to assume that from around 1600 to around 2200 will be liberty hours. The only overnight that will be granted on a weeknight will be the night of the Graduation Ball. With the completion of classes and testing, the NAPS Year finally comes to an end!!! Now officially NAPS graduates, there are celebrations and ceremonies to look forward to! There is a "Graduation Ball" which takes place the night before graduation. With only 17% female population, the guys can invite outside dates. Girlfriends wear fancy prom dresses. NAPSter women wear their uniforms and skirts. There is a long uniform skirt which can be purchased to make it a little dressier, but it's still no coming out cottilion gown. NAPS women can invite outside guys as well. Parents come as formal as they are comfortable being. There is a wide variety of interpretation of what formal means. The location is extraordinary and you get to meet friends, teachers, staff and your student in their finest. For the Graduation Ball the prescribed dress is as follows: NAPS candidates - Full Dress Blue with out covers. Prior Enlisted - Prior enlisted Navy are authorized, if desired, to wear Full dress blue (jumpers). Prior enlisted Marines are authorized to wear Dress Blue Alpha. Military staff / Military guest - Dinner Dress white, Dinner dress white w/jacket & mini medals, or equivalent; evening dress Bravo or equivalent. Civilian staff/guest - semi formal (coat & tie) to formal (tuxedo or
These are some suggestions for hair salons:
The graduation ball is held at Rosecliff Mansion which is an exquisite home in Newport overlooking the ocean. The biggest problem with the graduation ball is that each student only gets two tickets for guests. Although NAPS would like to invite everyone, the fire code maximum occupancy rules prohibits a general invitation. That means Mom and Dad or any other combination of two relatives or friends. Sometimes your NAPSter can find another student who won't be using both their tickets, but unless they can finagle extra tickets, you need to plan on only two of you going. The tickets cost about $25 or $30 each depending upon whether they include alcohol or not. It's a magnificent location and you will have a fabulous time. Go if you can. Since many graduations and weddings take place in May, you may find that graduation weekend will be a double (or triple?) event weekend for you. If you must attend and run off to your next commitment, you can expect to be able to take your newly graduated student with you after the graduation ceremony. The graduates are free to leave after 12:30. If you can stay awhile, there will be many people to visit with and a leisurely departure is optimal. However, the NAPS grads are free of all military obligations after 12:30. Some students opt not to graduate or are opted out of graduation by final grades. If they have finished up the year at NAPS, their departure is not nearly as swift as the graduates who can leave right away. DOR students linger in waiting for many days. This is difficult for families who have to deal with the change of plans on so many fronts. A DOR student's paperwork is dealt with in turn, but as there is a multitude of details pertaining to graduates, the process of being turned loose seems to take longer than earlier in the year. While the post graduation time is a delight and pleasure to families of graduating students, a note had to be added to inform the non-graduate families of their continued wait for the return of their non-graduate students. A special blessing is certainly due all families of students who finish up the year and do not manage to carry on to the academy of their choice. Our cyber family includes all NAPS families. We are here to support families in all different situations - both the celebration of graduation and the distress of discovering new plans need to be made. Either way, you will be proud of the mature and competent human being that the NAPS experience has molded. At the end of the year, if your student is a fence sitter hoping to get the magical 2.0 gpa, you may need to make plans that include not getting your student home quickly if they don't make the cut off. Just one of those things to take into consideration.
Students get about 5 weeks of time off between NAPS graduation and I-day at their academies. Navy students and Priors get to keep thier military ID's and can take advantage of some really great deals for travel on a military discount. All the deals I could find are at http://www.usna-parents.org/mid.html. It's really worth considering doing some travel because independence and travel opportunities will be severely limited for some time. Many of the accommodations will cover family or friends who can also benefit from your military status. The Disney World options seem like the deal to consider. For Coast Guard Students... |
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Native
New Englanders are used to the seasonal variations and get through this
cold dark time of year by enjoying it. Imagine that! They see the
snow as an opportunity to get outside and play. Encourage your student
to learn to ski or snowboard. Send them one of those roll up sleds or
a blow-up tube sled that they can store in their lockers and bring out
for fun. Many students in the Northeast slide on cardboard boxes or cafeteria
trays as well as sleds. Any hill will do. Ice skating outside is a seasonal
pleasure - there's really nothing like skating on a pond in the moonlight!
This time of year can be wonderful as long as folks have the right attitude.
There is a Martin Luther King 3 day weekend in Jan. and also the 3-day
Presidents Weekend in Feb as well. Encourage them to get out and play
in the snow. Some students go off to Vermont or Maine or visit NYC or
Boston.
