RedBlog

Cre Comm students showcase their work

Second-year Creative Communications students at Red River College are showing off their Independent Professional Projects (IPP) at the Park Theatre from March 10 to March 12.

The IPP is a self-directed course that Creative Communications students are required to take in their second year. Here’s how it works:

1. Students come up with an idea for a project and present it to a panel of instructors. Projects generally fall into one of four different categories: creative, promotional, documentary or research-based.
2.  Once approved, students spend the next year completing it.
3.  After the project is complete, students market their work through the appropriate channels.

During the free, three-day IPP Presentations event, over 60 students will be making 10-minute presentations about their work to peers, industry and the general public. Projects being presented include novels, documentaries and events, just to name a few.

Take a look at the IPP Presentations program to see a full listing of students and the projects they are presenting.

RRC takes part in the Olympic Torch Relay

A member of Red River College’s Executive Committee is already feeling the spirit of the 2010 Winter Olympics, a month before the actual games.

David Rew, Vice-President of Student Services and Planning, was asked by Coca-Cola to be an Olympic torchbearer because he represents staff, faculty and student interests through his work at the College.

“When you’re asked, it’s one of those things that you think won’t happen. When [the Vancouver Organizing Committee] called me, I was quite surprised,” says Rew.

An avid runner, Rew carried the Olympic torch on Thursday, January 7, for 300 metres in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

He says his favourite Olympic sports are bobsledding at the Winter Games and marathon running at the Summer Games.

With the Olympics back in Canada, Rew says that not only are the 2010 Games good for Canada’s economy, but they also bring out the best in Canadian pride.

“It’s fantastic. Whenever we’ve hosted the Olympics, whether it was the Winter Games in Calgary or the Summer Olympics in Montreal, it does a lot for the country.”

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games kick off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 12.

Regional campus gets into the Olympic spirit

When the Olympic torch passed through Winkler on January 7, 2010, students at the Red River College Winkler Campus got into the spirit and participated in one of their own traditions -- an annual hockey game.

This year’s installment was titled “The Torch Relay Hockey Game” to commemorate the Olympic torch coming through Winkler.

The boot hockey game, which pits the staff, Dental Assisting and Applied Counseling students against the Business Administration students, is held on the campus parking lot and is a thee-year tradition for the staff and students.

 “It’s a friendly competition that gets the staff and students together,” says Isabel Bright, Regional Manager for the RRC Winkler Campus.

This year, the all-girls team faced off against the mixed Business Administration team, but despite having more players, the girl’s team lost.

“It’s just for fun, but the business students don’t like to lose,“ says Bright, joking about her team’s loss. “It’s only because the boys played like boys that we lost.”

Student journalists' work featured in Winnipeg Free Press

Some Red River College Creative Communications students got to hone their skills in practicing hard hitting journalism, landing some of their final pieces in Winnipeg’s most read local newspaper.

Second-year Journalism students embarked on a Freedom of Information project back in September 2009, which consisted of them filing a formal information request, receiving the information, and making a story out of it. The requests covered a variety of topics, from 311 wait times, to the Manitoba tuition tax rebate to the number of times Winnipeg Police Service members discharged their firearms.

The project, which took the students to the beginning of December to complete, was featured in the Saturday, January 9, 2010 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press both in print and online, where some of the articles were published.

RRC receives $2.3 million for sustainable infrastructure research

Dr. James Blatz (University of Manitoba, NSERC Council member), Ray Hoemsen (Director of Applied Research & Commercialization, RRC), the Honourable Vic Toews, Ken Webb (Vice-President, Academic & Research, RRC).

Manitobans and local businesses will benefit from a new research partnership that will bring together Red River College and industry. The partnership will support innovation and help move new discoveries, developed on campus, into the marketplace, where Canadians and people around the world can benefit from them. The initiative was celebrated at an official event at the college today by the Honourable Vic Toews, President of Treasury Board.

“Our government supports innovation because it creates jobs, improves the quality of life of Canadians and strengthens the economy,” said the President Toews. “This new partnership will provide skills training for Winnipeg, position the Red River College as a destination for international research talent and give local businesses access to the knowledge and resources they need to innovate.”

Red River College was one of nine colleges selected across Canada, following a peer reviewed competition, and will receive $2.3 million over five years. The campus project will focus on establishing a research group that will work with industry to develop improved building and construction technologies.

Funding for the partnership comes from the federal government’s College and Community Innovation Program (CCI), administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Established as a permanent program by the government in Budget 2007, the program enables colleges to develop or expand knowledge transfer activities in their communities through partnerships with local companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. The program is supported as part of the government’s Science and Technology Strategy launched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007.

"The CCI Program builds on other initiatives that foster collaboration between industry and post-secondary institutions,” said Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC. “The partners will be working on important, multifaceted Canadian projects with direct impact on their local communities. We look forward to helping them achieve their maximum potential and impact.”

Culinary students appear on Breakfast Television

Red River College culinary arts students Emma Molaro and Sheldon Saunders appeared with Wendy "The Pear Lady" Barrett, a National Food Educator, on Breakfast Television (December 11, 2009). The RRC students performed a cooking demonstration: Emma prepared Caramelized Pear on Warm Brie, while Sheldon prepared Roasted Pear, Mesculin Mix, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad.

Cre Comm student receives new scholarship from Free Press

Creative Communications student Shelley Cook has been chosen as the first recipient of the John W. Dafoe Free Press scholarship for aboriginal students.

Cook will will serve an internship in the Free Press newsroom where she will hone her craft under the direction of a mentoring reporter and editors.

John W. Dafoe was editor of the Winnipeg Free Press from 1901 to 1944.

Read more at the Winnipeg Free Press.

RRC and Moose team up for reading

On Tuesday, December 8th, 2009, Red River College teamed up with the Manitoba Moose to launch the 2009-10 Respond to Reading program.

Moose Captain Mike Keane and teammate Nolan Baumgartner visited a group of excited grade three classes at Whyte Ridge Elementary School to read The Moccasin Goalie and answer any questions the 110 students had. Afterwards, Keane and Baumgartner signed autographs and handed out RRC and Moose memorabilia.

The Respond to Reading program is now in its tenth year and is designed to be fun, motivational and encourage children in kindergarten to grade five to read. Incentive prizes for students include having Moose players visit their class, a pizza party with Moose mascot Mick E. Moose, and two lucky classes will visit RRC to spend a morning in the broadcast studio or make pizzas with the Culinary Arts instructors.

To find out more about the exciting program, visit the Respond to Reading website.

RRC hosts free Christmas Village

Red River College’s School of Indigenous Education is hosting its second annual Christmas Village at the College’s Notre Dame Campus on December 10-11.

All members of the public can get into the holiday spirit by enjoying milk and cookies with friends and family and then getting their photo taken with Santa -– all for free. Children can also write letters and draw pictures for Santa at the colouring and craft station in the beautiful Christmas Village.

Times:
Thursday, December 10 – 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Friday, December 11 – 9:00 pm to 2:00 pm
 
Location:
Aboriginal Student Support Centre (Building F – Room 209)
Red River College – Notre Dame Campus
2055 Notre Dame Avenue

For more information, please contact Angie Hutchinson at 632-3773.

Hundreds celebrate at immigrant & international student party

Over 350 students, staff and family members gathered at the Notre Dame Campus for RRC's 5th Annual Welcome Party for Immigrant and International Students on Friday, November 20th.

The party featured Winnipeg’s premier sitar player Joshua Stanton, the Marco Castillo Brazilian Quartet, the reggae band Mello Man, salsa and meringue exhibitions by Bolero Dance Theatre, and the Latin Jazz ensemble Papa Mambo. Children could also enjoy carnival games, caricatures and glitter tattoos.

David Rew, Red River College Vice-President, Student Services and Planning; Miguel Lozupone, Project/Recruiter Officer, International Education; Richard Wolter, Red River College Students’ Association Vice President, Support Services, and Barbara Dixon, Manager, Diversity and Immigrant Student Support, brought greetings and talked about the significance of having this party for immigrant and international students to welcome them to the College.

“Over the past few years our immigrant student population has been progressively increasing, contributing significantly to the cultural diversity of our college. I'm delighted you not only have chosen to attend Red River College but that you have chosen to live in Canada and Winnipeg," said Rew. "Canada’s 142 year history is built on immigrants. I happen to be one of them. Immigrants have come to this country, sometimes through terrible adversity. They have worked incredibly hard, succeeded and made a difference to their communities and the country. You are our new generation of immigrant and international students. You too will succeed and make a difference. It is our job to help you succeed”.

Patricia Gonzalez, an international student from Chile currently studying the Sterile Processing Technician Program, attended the party with her classmates and said: “This party is amazing. It is a very good opportunity to meet new people, learn about other cultures and of course have a great time with your friends, especially because we could invite people who are not studying at the school, like friends and family. The food was delicious, the music very fun, good for dance. Thanks for let us having a wonderful time”.

Li Liu, international student at the Greenspace Management Program, originally from China, said: “I had a great time at the party. I absolutely loved it. It is an awesome place to meet people and make new friends. Thanks to all the people who organized this event.”

The 5th Annual Welcome Party for Immigrant and International Students was a joint initiative of the Diversity and Immigrant Student Support department, the International Education department, and Red River College Students’ Association.