Category Archives: Midd Points

MSA Financial Forum

Human Resources, Midd Points

Live Financial Forum – Financial Goals | May
23, 2019 | 9:00
AM (PST) & 12:00 PM (PST) |  Register Here.

Our next Financial Forum is
scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd. Financial Forums are held four times a year,
and the purpose is to answer live questions on any financial topic or this
forum’s theme of “Financial Goals.” Our panelists will be ready to
answer your questions on subjects ranging from debt and mortgages to
investments and retirement. If you are ready to set some financial goals, log
in to ask your question. The more the merrier, so please encourage any
co-workers that have questions on goals to attend.

Note:  If you register and cannot attend, a recording
of the webinar, along with a copy of the session presentation and handouts,
will automatically be sent within
24 hours.

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You work hard for your money, but is your money working
hard for you?

When
it comes to our finances, we always wonder if we are making the right moves and
searching for answers can feel overwhelming.

Middlebury College provides all employees access to
financial well-being thru My Secure Advantage (MSA).

MSA helps you make the most of your hard-earned
dollars!  When it comes to living a financially stress-free life,
every decision you make adds up.  Through MSA, employees and their
covered dependents can work with a personal Money Coach and utilize website
services to make financial stress a thing of the past.

What’s Included

  • 90 days (per calendar year) of personalized
    money coaching with a personal, confidential, unbiased, and guilt free
    Money Coach.  Coaches don’t sell products or services: their
    only job is to provide expert guidance and improve your financial life.
  • Guidance on financial topics,
    goals, challenges, or questions.  Whether you’re getting by,
    digging out, or saving big, connecting with a Money Coach to discuss
    options, identify things to consider, and build out a plan can only help

Work with MSA to tackle questions
like “Should I be saving more or paying down debt?” “When will I be able to
retire, and how much do I need?” “What type of portfolio is best for me?” “How
do I balance enjoying life now with saving for the future?” and more.

  • Online tools include videos,
    calculators, articles, and budgeting software to help you stress less and
    save more.

Questions?  Learn more
about MSA here. To get started,
sign up, and schedule your first appointment with a Money
Coach call 888-724-2326.

*Benefits-eligible faculty and staff are
eligible for MSA benefits.

College Community Chorus presents Spring Concert, Sunday, May 5

chorus, For Faculty, For Staff, Midd News & Events, Midd Points, ,

The 90 members of the Middlebury Community Chorus present their spring concert on Sunday, May 5. Most all the works on the program receive their first-ever Vermont performance at the 3pm concert.  Conductor Jeff Rehbach remarks, “We hope the music and lyrics at our spring concert—spanning the globe and from across the centuries—will lift spirits as spring and summer return to Vermont. As the lyrics of our songs suggest, within our singing we can hear words of healing, the melding of the parts to whole, the very language of the soul; any song we sing every word will rhyme, running through the summer sunshine!”

Middlebury Community Chorus
Students, alumni, community members enjoy rehearsal (photo: Silvia Cantu)

The choir welcomes guest violinist Romy Munkres, a Middlebury Union High School junior and the Young Tradition Vermont 2018 contest winner. She will play solo fiddle as the chorus accompanies her in a traditional Norwegian song, Gropen, a lively dance tune. From Celtic traditions, the ensemble offers Aisling (meaning ‘dream’ or ‘vision’) scored for solo violin and gently accompanied by the choir and piano.

The program features pieces in contrasting styles by American composers Gwyneth Walker and Susan LaBarr who set the poetry of Sara Teasdale for the songs Refuge and Grace Before Sleep, as well as music by composer Kyle Pederson, a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, who combines Arabic and English texts in Hands are Knockin’.

Also on the program, Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo’s song The Rose lyrically portrays the this flower’s beauty; Irish composer Michael McGlynn’s Sunshine joyfully celebrates the coming of summer, while Haitian-American composer Sydney Guillaume’s Kanaval portrays the festive atmosphere of a mardi gras celebration in his homeland. Music faculty member Damascus Kafumbe adds vibrant color to this piece with special percussion instrumentation.The program includes dynamic choruses from Handel’s rarely performed The Triumph of Time and Truth – a work based on one of his earliest Italian oratorios, and then rewritten in the final years of his life. The choir will also sing Handel’s lovely Music, Spread Thy Voice Around. In these pieces, College students, staff, and community members sing solo parts, including Harper Baldwin ’19, Hannah Resnick ’21, Tahira Hasan ’21, Mingjui Gao ’21, Betty Kafumbe, Anna de Boer, and Louise Whalen Wright.

Chorus members hail from nearly two dozen towns throughout the Champlain Valley, and with student members from across the globe. Jeff Rehbach conducts, with Tim Guiles accompanying at the piano.

Ken’s Ride, Ride of Hope (May 11th)

Midd Points

You’re invited to Ken’s Ride, Ride of Hope!

Date: Saturday, May 11th , 2019
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail – St Albans to Sheldon Jct VT
Or
KEN’S RIDE, THE VIRTUAL RIDE OF HOPE via Facebook.

The Ride of Hope Bikeathon if organized to celebrate the life of Ken Appel, Vermont attorney and passionate cyclist, who passed away from Prime of Life neurodegenerative diseases, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). The proceeds of the event will be shared between CurePSP, a national organization that helps support research efforts to find a cure and treatment for Prime of Life Brain Diseases (PSP, FTD, MSA, ALS,CBD) and a local agency, Franklin County Home Health Agency that offers comprehensive health care within the home setting.

More details and registration can be found online:  http://cpsp.convio.net/kensride2019

Mindfulness Basic Class with Laura Wilkinson and Barbara McCall

Midd Points, Wellness

4-week
series Thursdays (5/2-5/23) 8:30am – 9:45am in Proctor Basement 
Free – space is limited and Registration is required here.

Developed at
Duke University, Koru Mindfulness is an evidence-based curriculum found to have
significant benefits on sleep, perceived stress, mindfulness, and
self-compassion. Koru Basic in an introductory 4 class series designed to help
you learn mindfulness through the practice of specific skills that calm and
focus your mind. Participants will receive a copy of Real
Happiness: The Power of Meditation by Sharon Salzberg as a tool
to read throughout the series. We will also be using the Koru app to track
practice and give participants access to skills tutorials, meditation tracks,
and more. Preference will be given to those participants who can make all four
sessions.

The Eat Well, Be Well Challenge has begun but there is still time to join the fun.

Midd Points, Wellness

National Nutrition Month® is celebrated in March, but making smart diet choices year-round is key to eating well – and being well!  In addition to encouraging you to stay physically active, this challenge will boost your ability to navigate nutrition and provide resources to help you make healthy food choices now and in the future.  The challenge, sponsored by the Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium, starts on April 15th and ends on May 25th. You will earn Wellable Points for tracking physical activity, logging meals and snacks, and participating in weekly nutrition quizzes.   

Weekly $50 gift cards to your local food coop will be raffled off each week and at the end of the challenge three grand prize winners will be drawn at random to win one of three $100 gift cards to your local food coop.  Don’t miss out. Please join us.

This challenge is for faculty and staff.  To register, new Wellable users can click here.  If you have participated in a Wellable challenge (i.e. Mind Body Challenge) in the past you have been automatically registered to participate. Questions can be directed to Rebecca Schubert, GMHEC Employee Well-being Program Coordinator at rebecca.schubert@gmhec.org.

Stargazing at Mittelman Observatory – Spring 2019

astronomy, Midd News & Events, Midd Points, observatory, physics, Science

Mittelman Observatory and Middlebury Physics will again host stargazing open house nights this spring. These Observatory events are scheduled for Friday evenings, April 26 and May 3, from 9:00 PM until 10:30 PM, weather permitting.

Mars will be in the evening sky on these dates. A variety of interesting stars, star clusters, and nebulae will also be visible through the Observatory’s telescopes. The Observatory includes a 24-inch telescope in a dome and smaller telescopes on the roof.

Observatory open house nights are free and open to the public. However, these events will take place only if the sky is expected to be mostly clear. Please check the Observatory web site at go/observatory or call the Observatory at 443-2266 after 7:00 PM on the evening of the event for weather status.