I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Volunteer

Profile 2

Workshops

to Help You 2

Students Use

Their Voice 2

Coach’s

Corner -

Baby Steps

3

Study Tips 3

New Staff 4

Pathways

Hits the

Streets

4

Pathway Press J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E 7 , I S S U E 3

D A T E S T O

R E M E M B E R

Monday, Jan 4 - First

Day of School for

2016

Monday, Jan 4 - First

Day of Pathways for

2016

Tuesday, Jan 26 to

Feb 1 - Exam Period

Tuesday, Feb 2 - PA

Day HWDSB and

HWCDSB

Wednesday, Feb 3 –

PA Day HWCDSB

Thursday, Feb 4 -

First Day of Semes-

ter 2

Monday, Feb 15 -

Pathways CLOSED

for Family Day

P A T H W A Y S T O

E D U C A T I O N — N O R T H

H A M I L T O N C O M M U N I T Y

H E A L T H C E N T R E

successfully complete their post-secondary applications.

Initial feedback from attending students has been positive. “It was fun!” exclaimed Vivian Nguyen when asked how she enjoyed the workshop.

When asked to describe his ex-perience participating in the Group Post-Secondary Application Ses-sion, Zachary Vieira stated that he found the session to be “very easy, very well instructed, and made me feel comfortable while taking a big step in my life!”

The Application Workshop has made this process much more efficient. Additionally, it has added significant value to the program permitting students to complete and celebrate their application success together, united in their accomplishment.

Seeing is believing when assessing the success of the piloted project Pathways Canada Career Mentor Toolkit – Group Post Secondary Applications. Developed in con-sultation with Aaron House, Director of Post-Secondary Af-fairs at Pathways to Education Canada, Group Post-Secondary Application workshops evolved, and were implemented at Path-ways to Education-NHCHC.

Pathways to Education-NHCHC launched its first ever group ses-sion for university applicants on Thursday, November 19, 2015 where 17 youth were in atten-dance and applied to their choice universities and courses that day. In total, 23 of 25 university-bound students applied to uni-versity through the newly offered workshop in the month of No-vember.

Throughout the month of De-cember, college application ses-sions took place where a larger

number of students (47) were anticipated to complete their post-secondary applications to college over two offered Group Post-Secondary Application ses-sions.

We welcomed Ontario Universi-ties’ Application Centre (OUAC) and Ontario Colleges Application Service (OCAS) representatives at each of their respective ses-sions to assist our applying students to

Above - Left to Right: Pathways Hamilton

students, Vivian N. and Judy D.

Pathways Students Apply Themselves

Above - Left to Right: Aaron House, Director of

Post-Secondary Affairs at Pathways to Education

Canada and Nora A., Pathways Hamilton student

Zachary V., Pathways student

P A G E 2

“Our workshops

cover many topics

that students want

to work on.”

Kristian Ferreira,

Pathways Volunteer

at the Eva Rothwell

Program Site

Workshops to Help You Succeed

Students Use Their Voice to Educate

Volunteer Profile – Kristian Ferreira 1. Why did you decide to volunteer at Pathways?

Originally the volunteering was through school as a part of a course, but I saw it as an op-portunity to help the city in which I grew up. I am going to continue to volunteer with Pathways in the future because I believe in what it stands for and promotes .

3. How have you grown or changed as a result of your time at Pathways?

I've grown in awareness of the

needs of students across Ham-ilton, and confidence in my suitability for a future career as a social worker in education. Peers have asked how I get along so well with the stu-dents, and this 'trick' is the tool that will be useful in the future. My technique is treating all the students I come in con-tact with as if we are old friends meeting again after a long absences, no matter who they are.

5. What advice would you give to students dealing with

the change of moving from High School to Post Secon-dary?

The advice I would give is: first, time management; and using the resources available to you. It is absolutely important to stay on top of evaluations and readings because it becomes very easy to get overwhelmed with all that is going on. If you find your own way to organize everything, and setting aside time to do what is necessary, there will be nothing to worry about.

incorporating input from these students, the workshops will be delivered to children all over the City of Hamilton in schools and after-school-programs. After viewing each workshop, the four Pathways students were able to give the presenters feedback on how effective and engaging the workshops were. Their in-sights as teens would be used to make the workshops fun and interesting for the children that would ultimately attend these workshops.

On November 17, four Path-ways to Education-NHCHC students were able to use their knowledge and experience to change the lives of children across Hamilton. These four students attended McMaster University for one evening to give important feedback to the McMaster Child and Youth University In The City Team. These students gave feedback on two presentations created by McMaster students, one on the subject of stress and the other on the effects of sugar on the brain and body. After

Two of the students, Fatxi and Dustin, enjoyed their time at the McMaster Child and Youth University. They both said it was an interesting, positive and helpful experience. They en-joyed learning about stress the most. They liked being able to discuss where stress occurs, what it is and how to deal with it. In the end, not only did the Pathways students get to im-pact the final presentations and thus the children of Hamilton, but they learned something for themselves as well.

finding a job, cooking, improv-ing study skills or becoming a better leader, we have the workshop for you. So join us at one of our upcoming skills workshops. We’ll help you achieve your goals! Talk to your Pathways Coach to regis-

ter. Do you have a goal? Are you working toward your own self improvement? Well, one of our Pathways to Education Workshops is bound to be for you. Our workshops cover many topics that students want to work on. Whether it is

Fatima H. and Olivia T.,

Pathways Students

P A T H W A Y P R E S S

Baby Steps

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 7 , I S S U E 3

It’s that time of year again: after a hopefully rejuvenating holiday, mil-lions of people start re-visioning their futures. Now is the time for dreams and aspirations; for new beginnings and transformations. It’s time for New Year’s Resolutions!

It’s an exciting time of year. Mind you, as a Pathways community we are always setting goals for self-improvement, not just in the new year. And we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make sure you achieve what you set out to do.

Sometimes we scoff at those who set New Year’s Resolutions. After all, everyone knows people stop going to the gym after only a couple of weeks. People start eating junk food after a week of healthy meals. After setting these resolutions and giving up on them, it’s a wonder people spend any time trying to make change at all!

But working for positive change is good! Resolutions can work for you. The key is to recognize that every big goal is made up of smaller steps. As one of our team members

says, if you’re drowning in a sea of pizza, the only way to save yourself is one little bite at a time. As deli-cious as this life-or-death struggle sounds, the point is an important lesson for everyone to remember: the things we want to change start with small, digestible steps. So ask yourself what changes you’d like to make. What will you work for this year? What will you need to ac-complish every day in order to achieve it? Talk to your Pathways Coach for assistance in reaching your wildest goals.

4. Letting yourself feel over-whelmed

5. Looking at the practice answer before attempting to answer

6. Procrastination: I’ll do it to-morrow, I’ll do it later

7. Inefficient use of time when studying

8. Having a heavy meal

9. Pulling all-nighters

10. NOT BELIEVING IN YOUR-SELF

Pathways’ Top Ten Study Tips to Succeed

1. Pick an appropriate place and time

2. Study every day

3. Plan your study time to stay on track and reach your goals

4. Learn how you learn best, and start there

5. Review and revise your notes

6. Take short breaks to refresh during longer study sessions

7. Ask for help – come to Path-ways Tutoring

8. Find ways to stay motivated – reward yourself

9. Take advantage of tech-nology

10. Look after yourself – eat healthy and exercise

With finals right around the corner, we at Pathways to Education want to equip our students with what they need to be successful! With that in mind, here are the top 10 list of things to avoid, as well as the top 10 things you can do to make your studying more productive.

Pathways’ Top Ten Study Habits to Avoid

1. Having your mobile phone on

2. A loud or distracting environ-ment

3. Cramming in too much data for your brain to properly remember and recall

Pathways to Education Study Tips

“Working for

positive

change is

good! The key

is to recognize

that every big

goal is made

up of smaller

steps.”

On Saturday, October 24, Path-ways to Education North Hamil-ton again partnered with the Ham-ilton Fire Department to provide community service hours for stu-dents to earn towards their high school graduation. This year, eleven Pathways to Education participants went door to door with Pathways Coach, Anna Irving-Peckham, and six members of the Hamilton Fire Department offering carbon monoxide detectors to homes in need.

This carbon monoxide education and outreach event with the Ham-

ilton Fire Department was a fantas-tic success. All of the students were engaged, excited and remained in high spirits despite the rainy weather. Towards the end of the event, after enjoying a delicious lunch, the Pathways participants persisted and insisted that the route be finished despite the deteriorating weather. It was a grand day that allowed students to earn needed hours towards graduation while giving back to their community by providing fire safety support to homes requiring carbon monoxide detectors.

Pathways Participants Hit the Streets for Fire Safety

438 Hughson Street North * Hamilton, ON * L8L 4N5

Pathways Direct Line: 905-523-6719 * Pathways Fax Number: 905-523-5173 * E-Mail: pathways@nhchc.ca

Programming Sites:

Keith Neighbourhood: Eva Rothwell Resource Centre, 460 Wentworth St. N., Emergency Contact # 289-683-0504

Bennetto Neighbourhood: North Hamilton Community Health Centre, 438 Hughson St. N., Emergency Contact # 289-684-0774

Pathways to Education is happy to announce some recent changes in the Pathway Staff Team. Begin-

ning in January, Anna Irving-Peckham, Melissa D’mello and Christine Toito will all be welcomed into

permanent full-time positions as Pathways Coaches. We are happy that each of these talented and

committed staff members will be with us in this expanded capacity.

We are also happy to welcome Chris Wilson to the Pathways Team as our newest Pathways Coach.

Chris comes to us with a background in youth and family work, and will be bringing his experience

and enthusiasm for supporting youth this January.

Finally, we are proud to announce that Brandon Love, Pathways Coach, will be transitioning into the

role of Coordinator of Community Engagement. Brandon will be a pivotal team member working in

the community to bring the work of Pathways to Education to a wider community base.

New Pathways to Education-NHCHC Staff