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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

  • Campus hosts summer programs for kids
  • Another year older and still full of news
  • Editor:
  • Chris Redmond
  • Communications and Public Affairs
  • bulletin@uwaterloo.ca

Campus hosts summer programs for kids

The university will offer plenty of kid stuff this summer, with several children’s camps and programs ready to start right after the Canada Day long weekend. Plans look very much like last year’s, but there are a few new wrinkles, and the Engineering Science Quest camp will be offering sessions at two of Waterloo’s satellite campuses (in Cambridge and Stratford) as well as four other communities and on the main campus.

The university’s other big day camp, Arts Computer Experience, has important news, says its coordinator, Marsha Wendell: “Along with our regular ACE program for 7-12 year olds, Arts Computer Experience has added a new program for 2011 — Leaders in Motion. This program is an exciting two-week leadership experience for youth 13-17. During the two-week program, campers will enjoy a one-day canoe trip, rock climbing, team building exercises and hands-on leadership opportunities. An overnight stay on the uWaterloo campus will be included.”

For the younger kids, ACE promises “hours of fun while learning about art, computers, drama and music combined with outdoor activities and swimming”. ACE runs in two-week sessions starting July 4, July 18, August 2 and August 15.

Engineering Science Quest operates in one-week sessions, with various programming aimed at children entering grades 1 through 9. “Now in its 21st year,” publicity material explains, “this student-run program explores new horizons in engineering and science, giving children an opportunity to see, touch, invent, design, create, and experiment. ESQ has two streams of camp programming in the summer: engineering and science camp, and technology camp. The child-staff ratio is six campers for each instructor. The program is organized in partnership with the faculties of engineering and science.”

The former “ExXtreme” technology camps have new names this year — Tesla (for electricity pioneer Nicola Tesla) and Payette (for Canadian astronaut Julie Payette). A grid on the ESQ web site shows which programs are available which weeks, on the Waterloo, Cambridge and Stratford campuses and in Brantford, Chatham, Orangeville and Owen Sound.

Some specialized programs will also be running this summer:

The Warrior athletics program offers several opportunities for the younger generation:

Finally, two of the university’s day care centres — Hildegard Marsden Day Nursery and Klemmer Farmhouse Co-operative Nursery — will have spaces for smaller children available during the summer.

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[Girls in purple and yellow T-shirts]

Engineering dean Adel Sedra and associate dean Mary Wells pose with the participants in last weekend's Catalyst program, which brought 37 girls from high schools across southern Ontario. Lisa Farlow of the dean of engineering office says there were workshops, talks, a scavenger hunt and a Water Boys concert — and more: "Throughout the weekend, the students worked in small groups on a design challenge. They had to design and construct something that would get them through three different obstacles in order to rescue a prince from a tower. They first had to build a boat that would get them through the moat (the pool in the PAC), then build some heat-resistant armour that would get them past a dragon (a propane torch), and finally build a pulley to send the key up the tower to the prince. The weekend closed with an awards banquet."

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Another year older and still full of news

Yesterday was census day across Canada, although the emphasis from Statistics Canada has been on submitting the required information at one's convenience (and mostly online) rather than in a one-day blitz. I asked Chris Read, the university housing officer, how the census was taken in Waterloo's residences. "In working with Census Canada," he reports, "we determined that most of our current students don't have to fill out the census, as they'll be captured in all likelihood at their permanent residence. We have distributed paper forms (in last Friday's downpour!), however, to all our residents who likely have this as their permanent residence. This includes full-time single graduate students as well as all families. They are required to fill out the forms and return them to Census Canada through us." Anybody who needs an extra form can get it from the front desk at the Columbia Lake Village community centre.

"Ever wonder what you would do," asks Katrina Di Gravio of the organizational and human development office, "if while you are serving two students at the front desk, they start speaking to each other in their native language, which makes you feel uncomfortable? If your colleague has left a sticky note on your computer that your cologne is giving them migraines? If a job interview candidate greets you and apologizes for not shaking your hand, explaining it is against his religion to shake hands with a woman? If a student wants an electronic version of a form so they can enlarge the font? OHD has created a Certificate Program with a series of seven workshops based on Waterloo’s Principles of Inclusivity, to help you understand how you may approach these and many other situations. The workshops will help you explore diversity on our campus in an informative, practical and interactive manner. The Principles of Inclusivity, Module 1, starts on Monday, May 16, and is a prerequisite for the remaining modules." Workshop descriptions and registration are online.

A memo to staff members this week from the human resources department: "Your Staff Salary Increase Advice is now available on myHRinfo. Sign-in as normal and select Salary Increase Advice and click on 'Details'. Hard copy advices will be mailed to staff members who have elected to receive hard copy pay advices. If you have queries or need assistance please contact Neime Cahit, ncahit@ uwaterloo.ca, ext. 36649. Your annual increase is effective May 1. For those staff members with irregular work schedules, i.e. varying hours at different times of the year, you will receive a hard copy advice through the campus mail."

[Grinning on construction site]That’s Alice Tsang (left), a third-year accounting and financial management student, at the Habitat for Humanity site in Mozambique where she travelled using savings from a recent work term. She’s featured in the latest issue of the Inside Scoop newsletter for co-op students: “On the last day of the trip, a riot broke out over increasing food prices. Alice and the other volunteers couldn’t safely reach the airport. ‘The scariest part’, she said, ‘was that no one in the world knew it was happening — when we googled riot in Mozambique, there was nothing.’ The group waited until four in the morning, and then snuck into the airport, managing to leave the country safely.” The newsletter also describes her job experience during the winter term at Research In Motion.

As noted in this space on Monday, the "campus walk" event for 2011, a wellness promotion sponsored by the Employee Assistance Program, is under way, and runs through June 5. Organizers like to point out that last year the registered participants covered enough ground to get them from Waterloo to the university's Dubai campus five times over, and no doubt results will be even more impressive this year. As of a day or so ago, more than 320 people had registered, divided into 62 teams, a memo from the EAP committee say. Registration is officially open until tomorrow.

Voting closed May 5 in some elections for members of the university senate, and the university secretariat has announced the results. Elected to seven faculty-at-large positions are William Bobier (optometry), Dan Brown (computer science), Lutz-Alexander Busch (economics), David DeVidi (philosophy), Michael Drescher (planning), Jonathan Li (geography and environmental management), and Barry Warner (earth sciences). In graduate student voting, the two representatives elected are Robert Henderson (physics and astronomy), Krista Mathias (health studies and gerontology) and Hassan Nasir (civil and environmental engineering). Finally, science faculty members elected one representative, Tadeusz Gorecki (chemistry).

The library reminds faculty, graduate students and staff members that books borrowed on term loan before the middle of April will be due on May 15 and should be returned or renewed. • A recreational volleyball league is in operation this summer in the Research and Technology Park (games Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon) and there's room for a couple more teams, according to Carol Stewart at the R&T Park office (phone ext. 36339). • Daani Sarma, graduating in science and business with a chemistry specialization, has been named valedictorian on behalf of students in science; she'll speak at the afternoon convocation ceremony on June 15.

And . . . the Daily Bulletin is 18 years old today. The first, brief, untitled edition of this publication appeared Tuesday, May 11, 1993. The Daily Bulletin appeared in parallel with the weekly Gazette newspaper until 2004, when it became the university's primary internal communications vehicle.

CAR

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Link of the day

Mitchell Sharp 100 years

When and where

Ontario Association of International Educators and Ontario region of Canadian Bureau for International Education, meeting at Waterloo continues, hosted by international student office. Details.

Gauss Contest for grade 7 and 8 mathematics students, organized by Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing , today.

Waterloo Public Interest Research Group action group fair, 10:00 to 5:00, Student Life Centre great hall.

Biomedical Discussion Group: Joanne Nash, University of Toronto at Scarborough, “Understanding  Cellular and Molecular Changes in Synaptic Dynamics in the Parkinsonian Striatum” 2:30, Biology 1 room 266. Details.

Science Society first general meeting of the term 5:30, Biology 1 room 271.

School of Accounting and Finance Leadership Dinner, by invitation, 5:30, National Club, Toronto.

International Genetically Engineered Machine team invites new students to get involved: lab, outreach, and human practices subteams today 6:00, modelling and software subteams 6:00, both in Rod Coutts Hall room 305. Details.

Clubs, Services and Societies Days showing off volunteer and extracurricular opportunities, Thursday-Friday 10:00 to 3:00, Student Life Centre great hall.

Chemistry seminar: Catherine Middlecamp, University of Wisconsin at Madison, “Matching Our Curriculum to Our Planet” Thursday 10:30 a.m., Chemistry 2 room 361.

Colon Health presentation by Dr. Jelena Damjanovic, sponsored by UW Recreation Committee, Thursday 12:00, Math and Computer room 5158.

Career workshop: “Work Search Strategies for International Students” Thursday 2:00, Tatham Centre room 1208. Details.

Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General of Canada, gives the 2011 Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Service Lecture, speaking on national and international issues, Thursday 7:30 p.m., Theatre of the Arts, admission free but registration is full.

Open class enrolment for spring term courses ends, May 13.

Co-op job posting for spring term (main group and pharmacy students) appears on JobMine May 14.

Wildflower hike on the Healthy Valley Trail, St. Jacobs, sponsored by UW Recreation Committee , Sunday 2 p.m.

Spring into Motion including traditional “UW Blooms” gardening event with new clothing swap, Monday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Student Life Centre multipurpose room. Details.

University senate Monday 4:00, Needles Hall room 3001.

Gilbert and Sullivan Society production of “Princess Ida” May 19 and 21 at 2:00, May 19, 20 and 21 at 8:00, Humanities Theatre, tickets $35 (students $20) at Humanities box office.

Alumni reception during Ontario Association of Architects annual conference, May 19, 5:30, InterContinental Toronto Centre. Details.

PhD oral defences

Systems design engineering. Weijie Wan, “Integration of Nanoparticle Cell Lysis and Microchip PCR as a Portable Solution for One-Step Rapid Detection of Bacteria.” Supervisor, John T. W. Yeow. On display in the faculty of engineering, PHY 3004. Oral defence Tuesday, May 17, 2:00 p.m., Engineering 5 room 6127.

Psychology. Karl Borgmann, “Characterizing Cognitive Control.” Supervisor, Jonathan Fugelsang. On display in the faculty of arts, PAS 2434. Oral defence Thursday, May 19, 2:00 p.m., PAS (Psychology) building room 3026.

Physics and astronomy. Kanwarjeet Kaur, “Optical Biosensing Using Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Gold Nanoparticles.” Supervisor, James A. Forrest. On display in the faculty of science, ESC 254A. Oral defence Friday, May 20, 9:00 a.m., Physics room 352.

Psychology. Karen Choi, “Cultural Differences in Compliments.” Supervisor, Mike Ross. On display in the faculty of arts, PAS 2434. Oral defence Friday, May 20, 10:00 a.m., PAS (Psychology) building room 3026.

Positions available

On this week's list from the human resources department, viewable through myHRinfo:

• Coordinator, Living-Learning Communities, housing and residences, USG 7
• Associate director of education, Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program, USG 11
• Client support/ computing consultant, information systems and technology, USG 7-9
• Graduate administrator, MASc program, mechanical and mechatronics engineering, USG 6
• Development officer (family, campaign and special projects), development and alumni affairs, USG 9-11
• Biochemistry laboratory instructor, chemistry, USG 9
• Customer service assistant, registrar's office, USG 5
• Customer service/ admissions assistant, registrar's office, USG 5
• Graduate program administrator and assistant to director of graduate program, geography, USG 6
• Research financial coordinator, electrical and computer engineering (2 positions), USG 6

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