Thursday, July 23, 2009

  • 6,000 flock to campus on Saturday
  • 4,000th Daily Bulletin goes out today
  • Editor:
  • Chris Redmond
  • Communications and Public Affairs
  • bulletin@uwaterloo.ca

Kirsten Lim, Shad Valley paticipant, with sculpture, July 2009Tangled beauty. Kirsten Lim, a Shad Valley participant, holds a geometric sculpture created at a workshop conducted by computer science professor Craig Kaplan, while classmate Deanna Lammers admires. It's one example of the activities and projects that will be on view in the Great Hall of Conrad Grebel University College today, 1:30 to 4 p.m., as Shad Valley Waterloo hosts its Open Day. "Shad Valley is a month-long enrichment program that combines entrepreneurship with science and technology," says program assistant Tania Cheng. "Since June 28, 48 of the top high school students across Canada have been living at Conrad Grebel residence, attending lectures and workshops across campus, and working on their design projects."

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6,000 will flock to campus Saturday

from UW Media Relations

Many students attending the University of Waterloo for the first time will come to campus Saturday (July 25), along with their parents, for a preview of university life before classes begin in the fall.

poster for Student Life 101An estimated 6,000 students and family members will take part in Waterloo's Student Life 101, an all-day orientation program designed by students for students. Now in its 14th year, it helps families begin the transition to the campus world before the fast-paced weeks of classes start in September.

"This summer-time orientation event was created to relieve student and parent anxiety and reassure them that the University of Waterloo is a warm and friendly place," said Cora Dupuis, student life co-ordinator for first-year experience. "We want to let them know that there are a lot of people and services here to help them and to make their years here fun."

Dupuis organizes the event, with the help of more than 220 student volunteers, including six Student Life 101 directors.

A key presentation — Student Life at University of Waterloo — provides students with information about the diverse services and resources available to help them throughout their university careers. The morning event will be held from 9 to 10:20 a.m. in the physical activities complex.

Students will also have an opportunity to discover the services available on campus and talk to the people running them.

Participating departments include: athletics and recreational services, co-operative education and career services, counselling services, distance and continuing education, student life office, food services, housing and residences, information systems and technology, library services, office for persons with disabilities, retail services (bookstore, computer store and Waterloo shop), finance and student awards (loans and scholarships), the English Language Proficiency Program, and the WatCard office.

Afterward, students and their parents can visit the Student Life Centre — known as the living room of the university — and learn about the federation of students, the English language proficiency program and the student health plan.

Other presentations will focus on:

  • Co-operative education: to inform students about the co-op system.
  • Career services: to outline the resources and services available for students to become career activists and plan for the future.
  • Getting off on the right foot: to give advice on how to combine academics and extracurricular activities.
  • Making the transition: to discuss how to ease the move from home to campus life.
  • Show me the money: to learn how to receive government loans and assistance this September.
  • So, you're living off campus: to find out how to search for accommodation in the local community and pick up tips on being an off-campus student.
  • Getting involved in Rez: to become aware of all the leadership opportunities available to first-year students while living in the Waterloo residential community.

As well, each faculty will host a presentation for incoming students on academic support available to them during first year.

During the day, students can also visit Waterloo's federated and affiliated institutions: St. Jerome's University, Conrad Grebel University College, St. Paul's United College and Renison University College.

Student Life 101 will offer podcasts on its website of many of the services sessions for students and parents who are unable to come to campus, along with information materials used at the sessions throughout the day.

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4,000th Daily Bulletin goes out today

Today’s issue is the 4,000th UW Daily Bulletin since this service was introduced to the university — originally as an electronic supplement to the Gazette newspaper, then as a companion, and eventually as a replacement after the Gazette ceased publication in 2004.

The first Daily Bulletin appeared on May 11, 1993, and although publication was erratic through the summer of 1993, there have been issues on every working day for the university since August 12 of that year — somewhere between 246 and 248 issues a year for 16-plus years. It adds up.

Originally the Daily Bulletin was distributed by “gopher,” an almost forgotten Internet application to deliver text files to dumb terminals. In the spring of 1995 the first Web versions of the Daily Bulletin were tried out. In 1997, helping to mark UW’s 40th anniversary, a “Today in UW History” feature appeared each day. In 1998, the “Link of the Day” was introduced; in 1999, the use of photos became a regular occurrence. The “When and Where” events listings began in 2003, and the present graphic design dates from June 2006.

All the past issues, right back to Day 1, are available online (and searchable). At a rough average of 2,000 words a day, that’s eight million words of UW’s history, from the Social Contract to Campaign Waterloo, from Kalbfleisch and the Fifth Decade Plan to Chakma and the Sixth Decade Plan, from “best overall” in Maclean’s to “best overall” in Maclean’s. Along the way, a single campus became a multi-campus university, with the Daily Bulletin one of the key strands that keep people connected wherever they are.

It offers a mixture of news, announcements (both from UW’s central administration and the communications office, and from individual departments, institutes, associations and clubs), and observations of campus life, all filtered through the editor’s sense of what’s happening in the university and what will be important to staff, faculty and student readers. (There’s also a modest following off campus, among alumni, parents of students, friends at other universities and in the community, and media.)

Chris RedmondFor all this time the Daily Bulletin has been edited by Chris Redmond (right), formerly the editor of the printed Gazette. Several colleagues in what’s now the office of Communications and Public Affairs (it was “Information and Public Affairs” in 1993) have filled in when he was away, including, just at present, Patricia Bow. Hundreds of people across campus have contributed information and made suggestions — this daily report couldn’t happen without them. And now, time to start compiling issue number 4,001.

CPA staff

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Link of the day

First ice cream cone?

When and where

Farm market operated by UW food services and volunteers, today, 9 to 1, Environment I courtyard.

Student Life 101 faculty and staff information sessions, today, 10:30 and 11 a.m., Needles Hall room 1101.

Job information sessions for graduating students, today, 2:30, Arts Lecture Hall room 116. Attend if you are on a work term September-December, for information about on-campus recruitment and career services.

Career workshops today: “Success on the Job” 2:30 p.m., location to be announced; “Business Etiquette and Professionalism” 3:30, Tatham Centre room 1208; “Getting a US Work Permit” 4:30, Tatham 1208. Details.

180 Degrees of Change event by UW Sustainability Project. Today, 5-7 p.m., outdoor games behind Student life Centre; board games and documentary in SLC. 9-11 p.m., bonfire and music jam at EV1 fire pit on Seagram Drive.

Orchestra @ waterloo players perform chamber music by Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Villa-Lobos: fund-raiser for orchestra, today, 8 p.m., at KWCMS Music Room, 57 Yonge St. W., Waterloo. Tickets $15 (seniors $10, students $8). Details.

SDE product design exhibition, Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Davis Centre room 1301.

Free soda pop floats Friday, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., CPH courtyard and between RCH and Physics. Donations accepted to Waterloo Region Food Bank.

Disorderly Conduct: conference on language and concepts in a shifting model of medical and clinical care, UW and WLU, July 24-25. Details and to register.

Book store, Waterloo Store, Campus Tech and Write Stuff special hours for Student Life 101: Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Waterloo at the Zoo outing to Metro Toronto Zoo for alumni, family and friends, Saturday. Details.

Class enrolment for fall term courses: appointments until July 26 for new students; open enrolment begins July 27.

Library hours July 26 - August 15: Davis centre, open 24 hours, except closed Sundays 2 to 8 a.m. Dana Porter, open Monday - Friday 8 .am. - 11p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 11a.m. - 11p.m.

UW Bookstore Read and Relax book sale. July 28 and 29, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., South Campus Hall Concourse.

Spring term classes end Tuesday, July 28. Exams August 4-15; unofficial grades begin appearing on Quest August 17; grades become official September 21.

Reception for Ursula Thoene, computer sciences, retiring after 28 years at UW. Thursday, July 30, 4 to 6 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1301. RSVP by July 20.

‘Dealing with Difficult Students’ workshop organized by Centre for Teaching Excellence, Friday, July 31, 10:30 a.m., Flex Lab, Dana Porter Library. Details.

Civic Holiday Monday, August 3, UW offices and most services closed.

CECS employer interviews (main group) begin August 4 and continue to August 28.

Co-op job postings open August 4 and continue into the first week in October.

Instructional Skills Workshop organized by Centre for Teaching Excellence, August 6, 7 and 10, 8:30 to 4:30, Flex Lab, Dana Porter Library. Details.

Architecture co-op employer interviews August 6, 13, 20.

Ontario Mennonite Music Camp August 9-21, Conrad Grebel University College. Details.

Documentary by engineering alumnus: Greg John (systems design 2003) in film about sustainable development in Tanzania, August 11 and 12, 9 p.m., Princess Twin Cinemas. View the trailer here.

Alumni workshop: “Enhance the Networking Experience” Thursday, August 13, 6 p.m., Tatham Centre room 2218. Details.

Jim Brox retires: reception Thursday, August 13, 6 p.m, University Club. RSVP to Donna Schultz.

Fee payment deadline for fall term is August 31 (cheques, fee arrangements) or September 9 (bank payment). Details.

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