<p>How much contact with the outside world is there during Plebe Summer? Do you guys have any suggestions for ways of keeping in touch that don't take much time? I'm thinking of making up form-letters for my friends to send to me. Any suggestions would be wonderful.</p>
<p>Go to the parent's forum. There's a thread over there for 2011 parents and there are some ideas on there.</p>
<p>One is hand out cards with envelopes to your friends (have them pre-addressed, maybe stamped) and have them write to you. So, in effect, this kind of is like a form letter. I plan on doing that for my son. Although he'll get cards from me all of the time, this'll give him more of a variety instead of always being from his "mommy."</p>
<p>Don't know about contact with the outside world. Anyone else?</p>
<p>I thought we don't get our address until I-day? Well I mean we won't find out our Company and Platoon numbers until I-day. Tell me if I am wrong because I have thought about giving about pre-addressed envelopes to my friends.</p>
<p>I've also thought about just telling my friends to email and have my brother print them out and mail them to me.</p>
<p>My son's friend, who is at AFA right now, had an address beforehand where you could mail to him. Yes, I realize this is USNA, not AFA, and they may do things differently (see "better"). :D</p>
<p>Anyone who knows?</p>
<p>you do receive your platoon number and company assignment as well as addresses about a week or less prior to I-Day, if i remember correctly. my mother had people write cards for me at my going away party and then she would mail them to me along with the family letters over plebe summer.</p>
<p>We had our son's address before I-day. The best way we found to communicate was to send a simple letter with questions and check boxes for answers. That way, all he had to do was put a check in a box (saved time!) and shove it right back in the self-addressed, stamped envelope from us. It was amazing how much could be communicated by the number and intensity of the checks in the boxes! :) He loved it and wrote in the margins "Send more like this!" He also added notes in the bottom, back, etc., but this let us get the answers to our questions and saved precious time during the calls since we already had some information. Just our experience.</p>
<p>For the class of 2010, the addresses came in a packet that was received about 2 weeks or so prior to I-Day. </p>
<p>TO communicate with your plebes over plebe summer:</p>
<p>-do pack a cell phone and charger...it will be taken away from them on I-Day, but returned to them for each of their 3 phone calls</p>
<p>-make sure you are home for those calls. You will be notified ahead of time the date and time (can vary from the posted time so expand that time frame by a bit on both sides)</p>
<p>-if there is a gf in the picture, don't be surprised if one of those cherished calls go to her (or him, if it's a bf), Heck- be the "bigger person" and even suggest it to your plebe that one of the calls can go that direction....it will alleviate them of that emotional tug of war, and they will be grateful for that.</p>
<p>-calls last approx 4 minutes....to the second. Let them talk- and be a good listener. Put them on speaker phone if mom and dad and siblings are all fighting for the phone. Some parents even taped their calls.</p>
<p>-plebes will be required to write a note home at the end of I-Day, and then 1 to 2 more times over the summer. Don't expect much. especially from that first one. It will be scribbled, about 4 lines, in pencil, and won't say much except that they are "fine." a</p>
<p>-send letters...notes...cards...send them daily. They may not receive them daily (sometimes they will get a whole batch once a week) ... and keep them on the shorter side as there will not be too much time for reading.</p>
<p>-send care packages ...weekly is good...take advantage of the flat-rate boxes from the post office. Send the first one out from Annapolis on I-Day...nothing perisherable or that melts....the summer is hot and the packages may sit for awhile before they actually get delivered to your plebe.</p>
<p>-repect plebe summer. No hiding in bushes to catch a glimpse. You will only get them in trouble. What some parents did was to attend the baseball game in August in Baltimore, where they "caught a glimpse" of their plebe....but no interaction of any kind. Respect the rules....the summer will pass faster than you think.</p>
<p>-the class of 2010 was blessed with 2 wonderful angels that took thousands of pictures from around the yard over the summer, posting them on dropshots for all of us to see. It became a national USNA parent passtime trying to "find waldo" on them each day...... and lots of fun to pass the news of a "sighting" to family and friends.</p>
<h2>Hang in...they will be fine....</h2>
<p>2010 ... very helpful, thanks. :)</p>
<p>Who were these "angels" and what was their "angle?" :cool:</p>
<p>Perhaps back to the future, what were they doing this summer? :confused: Were they still game?</p>
<p>no angles...just parents trying to let other parents know that their Mids are okay! Sort of an unwritten rule to try and get as many Plebes are possible in a picture for parents who don't have the opportunity to get to the Yard</p>
<p>did the Acad take a "position" or angle on the angels? Just curious as it seems to go against the grain of 2010's previous point of "No hiding in the bushes to catch a glimpse ."</p>
<p>If you're at a football game and watch march-on, it's taking pictures of the entire company rather than just your kid...same for Formation and Parades. That's all, no bush-hiding needed</p>
<p>About two weeks before I-Day the parents/guardians of the class of 2011 will be receiving their USNA parking passes in the mail. Your mids alpha number is printed on the passes. The alpha numbers are the mids unique identifying numbers, their USNA email address will be based on that number, as will their midstore number, etc. Plebes will know that number better than their name at the end of I-Day :) (they will be writing it on almost every thing issued to them). </p>
<p>Do NOT disclose that number or (worse yet) post that number on line. Some people in their excitement posted it on "My Space" sites, etc. last year. You wouldn't post your social security number, don't post the alpha number.</p>
<p>flusna-</p>
<p>Are these temporary parking passes, or good for whenever one visits the yard? </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>My understanding (and hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong) is that these passes replaced the FONA passes. My understanding is that they are good for all four years but they are subject to many restrictions. </p>
<p>I have never used ours for parking. We stay at a hotel in walking distance, leave the car there and walk in the gate. I use the pass as an access pass (maybe that's what it really is). The pass, together with a picture ID, allows us entrance throught the gate without question (during normal "open" hours). </p>
<p>We received two passes, one with my husband's name, one with mine. The passes include our home address, and our mid's name and alpha number.</p>
<p>Parking Passes: Good for all 4 years, allows you to drive onto the Yard when the general public cannot. Just show it at the gate with drivers license and you are good to go. Have used it at both gate 8 and gate 1. During I Day and PPW you will not be allowed to drive onto the yard.</p>
<p>Go to Drop shots: <a href="http://www.dropshots.com/USNA2010%5B/url%5D">http://www.dropshots.com/USNA2010</a> and <a href="http://www.dropshots.com/USNA2010and07%5B/url%5D">http://www.dropshots.com/USNA2010and07</a> These were and still are the two parents who made all of us 10Parents happy campers for the summer!</p>
<p>Of what I understand, they were cleared through the channels in order to take pictures at some of the "indoor" events.</p>
<p>Phone calls: If you have questions write them down before as you will forget. Also, do not ask yes/no questions it just wastes time and you learn nothing. Phone call lenghts vary by company and "privelges" earned. Yours may be a 5 minute and then you will see on the list serv that another got 20...that's just the way it is. </p>
<p>Don't send anything with Chocolate over the summer...it melts and they do not want to get chocolate on the uniform, especially after they get their Whites as those are already "dirt magnets" and they don't need any help getting them dirty.</p>
<p>Write and then write some more but keep each letter short, they do not have time. Also, don't be surprised when they tell you that "I can't read Grandma's handwritting in the amount of time I have."</p>
<p>Send pictures of everything ...family, pets, the house and the friends!</p>
<p>Send twinkies!!!!! They lose weight and he asked to send twinkies because the mid can quickly shove several twinkies in their mouth and keep on travelling. They don't have a lot of time to eat and the "squaring" the meals doesn't lend itself to enough food during mealtime. He didn't have enough time to chew the more healthy stuff.</p>
<p>Those 3 calls home were marvelous!</p>
<p>The thought of gulping twinkies on a hot, humid, day, while in motion makes me want to hurl! :(</p>
<p>Does it really work?</p>
<p>Communication during plebe summer...</p>
<p>Was there any??? Oh yes, that phone call when I hung up on my son while trying to put him on speaker phone...By the time we got him again, all you could hear was the cadre counting down the last two minutes....Very meaningful conversation.</p>
<p>Losing weight...
My son lost about 20 lbs. At parents weekend when we met his Lieutenant, we jokingly said something about him looking a little thin. She turned to him and said "You were provided with X amount of calories per day. Why didn't you eat?" "Cough, sniff, cough, Maam, no excuse maam. Hack, hack, cough." Good thing he answered!?!
So, think before you speak.
If you go to PPW, you might want to wear a mask. You don't have to be a plebe to get "plebe hack."
Right along with the chorus of "I DO" at the I-Day ceremony is the memory of walking through the lobby at our hotel at PPW hearing EVERYONE hacking away. One more obstacle of plebe summer...</p>
<p>With the twinkies, weight loss was kept to a minimum. I agree it sounds gross but it worked and no crumbs....</p>
<p>Oh yes, I remember now....send cough drops/most of them won't tell you that they are sick or have yelled too much....</p>
<p>He liked to keep those priority boxes for quick storage too...</p>
<p>If you think they might want to Box during the Summer,,,send a mouthguard or 2 promptly with the first package.</p>
<p>But they really can go there without anything, the academy provides it all. </p>
<p>I was amazed at how much they were issued.</p>