RedBlog

Aboriginal Youth Soar at RRC's H.A.W.K. Camp

Aboriginal youth aged 11 to 13 got their first taste of trades and technology programming, while participating in Red River College's second annual Hands-On Activity Week for Kids (H.A.W.K.).

The five-day summer camp, which ran July 25 - 29, blended cultural programming, recreation time and team-building exercises with hands-on activities and games that introduced them to such skilled trades- and technology-related programs as Construction Trades, Electronics, Mechanical Engineering Technology/Manufacturing, Aviation and Civil Engineering.

Girls Explore Career Options at Trades & Technology Camps

 

Staff and instructors at Red River College helped expose young women to an array of trades- and technology-related career options this summer, by hosting the Girls Exploring Trades & Technology (GETT@RRC) Camps over three weekends in July.

With a focus on technology and applied skills, the GETT@RRC camps provide girls 12-14 with a chance to explore non-traditional career options via hands-on activities and encounters with female mentors. The camps reinforce the importance of pursuing science, advanced math and industrial arts courses in high school, by stressing the impact these subjects can have on future career choices.

“During the five-day GETT camps, the instructor and assistants emphasize to the girls the importance of continuing with Math and Science courses because many occupations, particularly technical ones, require a solid grounding in these subjects,” says Dr. Dale Watts, Dean of the School of Construction and Engineering Technologies. “An awareness of that requirement at this age may provide the motivation for these students to continue taking Math and Science courses throughout secondary school.”

Shaw TV's Joanne Kelly to Join RRC's CreComm Team

 
Shaw TV's loss is Red River College's gain.

Longtime Shaw TV personality Joanne Kelly has revealed she'll be leaving the community-access channel by mid-August, having accepted a new position as a journalism instructor with RRC's industry-renowned Creative Communications program.

"I can't believe I am writing this," Kelly said in a Twitter post yesterday, "but after seven amazing years at Shaw TV I am moving on to my other dream job — teaching CreComm!!!"

Kelly — who's served as host and producer at Shaw since 2004, and a producer at CTV stations in Winnipeg and Vancouver in years prior — will take over broadcast journalism duties from former CreComm instructor Steve Vogelsang, who retired in June.

"TV and storytelling is a passion of mine, so to be able to share that with the students, and to help them become better storytellers, is a real dream come true for me," says Kelly. "I'm looking forward to helping students have that moment where everything clicks into place."

Larry Partap, RRC's Creative Arts chair, says Kelly will be a welcome addition to the CreComm team.

"She's a very talented person who can wear many hats, and has developed strong relationships with the College and the community," says Partap. "She is passionate as a person and as a teacher, and she really wants to share her wealth of knowledge with the students. We certainly look forward to having her in the Creative Arts department."

Click here for more information about RRC's Creative Communications program.

RRC Instructor Accepts Prestigious Industry Award

Red River College instructor Linda Ament accepted a prestigious honour on behalf of General Mills Winnipeg recently, after the company was named Employer of the Year at the Manitoba Food Processors Association's Industry Excellence Awards.

The award was based on a wide range of criteria, including General Mills' employee relations, training, communications, continuous improvement, labour relations, and compensation and benefits practices. Ament (shown, bottom right), who serves as Human Resources Manager at GM's Winnipeg plant, says the honour comes at an especially important time in the company's evolution.

"We've gone through a huge transition over the last year, because we've expanded our product line," says Ament, who's been an RRC instructor for more than 30 years (she started while still a student). "We were a Canadian company — and marketed only in Canada — but now we've started marketing into the U.S. This is a very big launch for us, and we've put a tremendous amount of effort into preparing for that."

Over the decades, Ament has taught a range of business and human resources classes for RRC's School of Continuing and Distance Education, drawing on her wealth of work experience with some of the highest-profile companies in Canada and the U.S. She's also taught at a number of post-secondary institutions, but counts RRC students as her favourites, noting their practicality make them a perfect fit for her brand of industry-informed instruction.

"I tell them stories from the field — from the trenches — and we talk about situations that I've encountered, ways in which we've dealt with things," she says. "I find that students want that hands-on experience. They're here to become practitioners themselves, and if their instructor doesn't have an industry background, they question credibility."

Measuring Sustainability Success

Building on the honour of being named one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2011, Red River College (RRC) is the first post-secondary institution in Manitoba to join a new program to measure sustainability in all aspects of higher education across North America.

The Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). To date, over 230 higher education institutions have registered as STARS participants, including 22 in Canada.

"We’re participating in STARS to give us a measure of our sustainability performance in all areas of the College – from the courses we deliver, to the way we operate our campus, and the way we plan for the future," explained Sara MacArthur, Manager of Sustainability for RRC.

AASHE’s STARS program is the only one of its kind that involves publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in three overall areas: 1) education & research, 2) operations, and 3) planning, administration & engagement.

“The advantage of STARS is that institutions can earn credits for all of their contributions to sustainability,” said AASHE Executive Director, Paul Rowland. “From providing sustainability coursework, to using green cleaning products, to energy efficiency in campus buildings, there are lots of opportunities for a school to identify and track its sustainability progress.”

STARS is open to all institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Canada, and the program criteria and ratings are transparent and accessible to anyone. Because it provides a common standard of measurement, STARS allows colleges and universities to compare their sustainability performance against peers across North America.

"We're looking forward to engaging the College community in this process, and watching our sustainability efforts grow across all our campuses through our participation in STARS,” said MacArthur.

For more information about the STARS program, visit www.aashe.org/stars.

RRC Appoints New Chair of Aviation and Aerospace

Bill Fraser has been appointed the new Chair of the Aviation and Aerospace department at Red River College.

Bill has been involved in aircraft maintenance training for 16 years, and has spent the last nine years as the coordinator for the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) diploma program at RRC's Stevenson Campus in Winnipeg. Previously, he worked for several companies as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, including eight years as a crew chief supervising AMEs and apprentices. Bill holds a current AME M1 and M2 license.    

An accomplished writer, Bill is the author of “CARs for the AME”, a text on the Canadian Aviation Regulations used by approved training and maintenance organizations across Canada. He has also published articles for the CBC, Wings magazine and the Winnipeg Free Press. Bill has been very active within the Manitoba aerospace and aviation industry, and has received an award of recognition from the Manitoba Aerospace Association for his leadership in organizing aviation events, such as the Centennial of Flight Aircraft Display.

"Bill is very enthusiastic about the future for aviation and aerospace in Manitoba, Canada and globally," says Don MacDonald, Dean of RRC's School of Transportation, Aviation and Manufacturing. "We are excited to have him lead our aviation and aerospace programs, staff and students — ensuring we meet the challenges and opportunities of the future."    

RRC Signs Credit Recognition Agreement with other PSE institutions

Manitoba’s public college and university presidents have signed an historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will make it easier for students to transfer credits between post-secondary institutions and receive credit for prior learning as they work toward careers in today’s provincial economy.

“Today’s historic event is about system-wide collaboration and co-ordination between our institutions.  This new agreement focuses on the needs of Manitoba students who want to receive a high-quality, post-secondary education and develop the marketable skills they need to succeed,” said Premier Greg Selinger.  “The colleges and universities partnering in this MOU will aim to at least double the opportunities for student mobility in the next four years.”

A task group of key stakeholders will develop a plan for appropriate articulation agreements and credit-transfer arrangements between universities, colleges and post-secondary institutions to ensure students receive maximum benefit from prior learning.  Options may include articulation and credit‑transfer agreements, dual-credit courses, co-op programs and priority areas where prior learning will be assessed.

“On behalf of Manitoba’s post-secondary institutions, I am pleased to say we are forging ahead to create clearly defined education pathways that will help students move from technical and vocational schooling to certificate, diploma and degree programming,” said Stephanie Forsyth, President of Red River College.  “It will be a pleasure to work with my colleagues to make Manitoba’s post-secondary education system as seamless and student-friendly as possible.”

The memorandum of understanding will guide the planning process and an interim report will be provided to the minister of advanced education and literacy later this fall with a final plan to be developed by no later than Feb. 15, 2012.

Animal Blood Bank Celebrates 15 Years

The Canadian Animal Blood Bank (CABB) will celebrate 15 years of giving the gift of life to animals at a special reception to be held on Thursday, June 23rd at Red River College's Exchange District Campus.

Established in 1996 by Red River College and the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, the CABB collects blood from hundreds of donors each year to assist dogs that need transfusion therapy to recover from illness or injury. It is the primary national supplier of animal blood products in Canada, providing over 1,800 units annually to veterinarians in every province.

The CABB is headquartered at Red River College's Notre Dame Campus, with a satellite collection site at NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta.

Event Details

Canadian Animal Blood Bank 15-Year Celebration
Thursday June 23rd
4:30 – 6:30 pm
Red River College, Exchange District Campus, 160 Princess Street

This event will be attended by representatives from the Canadian Animal Blood Bank, Red River College and the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association. Several canine donors will also be recognized for their years of service to CABB.

 

Simulation Lab Enhances MLS Program Training

Diagrams and PowerPoint presentations have been replaced by real-life technology thanks to a new simulation lab that's been added to Red River College's Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) training curriculum for biochemistry.

This innovative new teaching approach — the result of a partnership with Diagnostic Services of Manitoba Inc. (DSM) and Roche, a diagnostic vendor — provides RRC students with a more dynamic learning experience and better prepares them for both their on-site practicum and eventual employment.

"I was surprised that by just changing the way you teach and how you present your information, you can dramatically alter how we — the students — perceive the topic and our recall ability," said Anthony Villanueve, a med lab technologist-in-training who was among the first group of RRC students to use the simulation equipment.

"The activities stimulated our minds and made us think, instead of just absorbing. Instead of asking (us) what we would do in a situation, the situation was created and we were asked to fix it."

Youth Rec Activity Worker Program Marks 10th Anniversary

Staff and graduates of RRC's Youth Recreation Activity Worker program were joined by community leaders and local dignitaries earlier this month, to celebrate the program's 10th year of making a difference in the lives of inner city youth.

The program — which prepares young adults (aged 18 to 29) to work with inner city youth by providing healthy recreational activities — was launched in 2001, in response to a need for trained staff to facilitate drop-in programming at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

Building on existing materials from RRC's Child and Youth Care program, a new 10-month certificate program was created to train young adults as recreational leaders.

Students involved with the program — all of whom face multiple barriers themselves — study such topics as child and youth care, psychology and first aid. Many go on to find employment with Boys and Girls Clubs and other inner city youth agencies, and as childhood educators and teacher's aides.