Intercom is published regularly and serves to inform Vanier staff and teachers of notices and special events. It is posted on the Vanier College website and distributed electronically. Submissions should be sent to intercom@vaniercollege.qc.ca. Submissions should be in WORD, and sent as an attachment. No formatting or bullets. Deadline: 4:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding publication.

Reminder – Schedule Change – Day Division

Please note that on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 students and faculty will follow their Friday schedule. Please remind students in your classes of this change.

Olga Mardas, Office of the Academic Dean

Star Gazing Evening at Vanier

We had 2 enjoyable and exciting astronomy events on April 14, 2016. There was a solar observation that took place around noon and followed by an evening star gazing observation. There were 3 telescopes that were equipped with special filters that made the day time observation easy and safe to look at the Sun! We were lucky to have been able to see a large Sunspot developing on the surface of the sun. Although, the Sun was 'quiet' on this day, some prominent solar flares were easily seen around the edges of the Sun.

The evening star gazing began with the setup around 7:30pm in front of the entrance to the Gym. This location was very central and accessible. It attracted many students, parents, teachers, athletes...etc and kept us busy until 10:30pm. There were 6 telescopes that were setup targeting the moon and its amazing craters, Jupiter and it's 4 Galilean moons, Orion nebula and much more. At approximately 8:45pm, the International Space Station (ISS) flew by and was very visible despite it moving fast in the sky. A special thanks to the members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) for their assistance to help make this event a success. Click the link below to see some photos. https://goo.gl/photos/rZCVzKJkR3bgYwz28

Wissam Chaya, Physics Department

A new complementary course for Fall 2016

Do you have students who are interested in learning about the Indigenous Peoples of Canada (sometimes referred to as Native or Aboriginal Peoples)? Please let them know about the new team taught complementary course offered in the Fall 2016 semester: Never Been Idle – Indigenous Peoples of Canada!

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Volume M16, Issue No. 16, May 2, 2016

mailto:intercom@vaniercollege.qc.cahttps://goo.gl/photos/rZCVzKJkR3bgYwz28

The course will consist of field trips, guest speakers, films and other art by Indigenous peoples, and, of course, readings. We will focus on major issues that have impacted Indigenous people in Canada, with a focus on Indigenous points of view: residential schools, missing and murdered Indigenous women, youth suicide in Indigenous communities, the 1990 Oka Crisis, and more. Many of our students wonder why Indigenous people don’t just “get over it”, what the sources of stereotypes are, or how Indigenous peoples have managed to maintain their cultures and resist assimilation after 500 years of colonization! This course is perfect for students who have these kinds of questions! It’s open to students in all programs and to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. It would be very helpful if teachers and other people working with students would help spread the word about this exciting new course! At the end of the Intercom, you will find a poster. If you would like an electronic copy of this poster, some brochures for your students, or a sign-up sheet to pass around in your classes, please contact Jacky Vallée at valleej@vaniercollege.qc.ca, via MIO, or at extension 8323.

Jacky Vallée, Anthropology, Judy Ingerman, Humanities

Vanier to co-host the 3rd annual Montreal Pow Wow

This year Montreal Pow Wow and Vanier Indigenous Circle have teamed up together to host a two day Pow Wow on the front lawn of Vanier College, on May 7th and 8th, 2016. Bring your family and friends. It’s an all ages, all-inclusive event in a drug, alcohol and smoking free environment. The Mayor of Ville St Laurent, Alan De Sousa, will be there to kick off the Grand Entry. So come on out and try your first “Indian Taco,” buy some handmade local Indigenous art, and watch a vibrant group of dancers and drummers from Quebec and Ontario. It’s free, though we do suggest a donation of $5 to help support the dancers and drummers. Questions? Drop by Student Services to speak to Marya Grant or contact any of the members of the Vanier Indigenous Circle. Feel free to check out our Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1067563283300506/

Marya Grant, Student Services for the Vanier Indigenous Circle: David Piercey

Jacky Vallee Lisa Sparkes Marya Grant

Math and Science Centre

Pre-Final Exam Review Sessions for Select Math & Science Courses Please inform your students of the following pre-final exam review sessions: May 11th starting at 10am: Mechanics Review by Prof. Rhys Adams May 11th starting at 12pm: NYB Chemistry Q&A by Prof. Mauro Di Renzo May 12th starting at 1pm: NYA Chemistry Q&A by Prof. Mauro Di Renzo May 16th starting at 10am: Calculus 1 Review by Prof. Ellen Cooper May 17th starting at 10am: Calculus 2 Review by Prof. Ellen Cooper May 18th starting at 10am: Waves Review by Prof. Rhys Adams Students wishing to attend must sign up online in advance: http://bit.ly/hVuZ4y Space is limited. Math & Science Peer Tutoring Please note that our tutoring program officially ends on Friday, May 6th. However, we will be operating a reduced drop in tutoring service on the week of May 9th to May 13th inclusive. Seeking Student Tutors for Fall 2016 The Math & Science Centre is looking to recruit new student tutors for the coming academic year who are comfortable in math, physics, chemistry, biology or computer science courses. If you have a student or two that come to mind, please send an email to msc@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Thank you for passing on the information to your students.

Haritos Kavallos, Math & Science Centre

Vanier College Collective Garden

Spring is here and gardeners are gardening. Myriam Mansour with Mark Cohen and Maro Adjemian kicked off the Vanier Collective Gardens season with three classes this past week with more to come. If you see them, give them an encouraging word, a thumbs up and if you can, a helping hand. We are still recruiting for the gardening season.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1067563283300506/http://bit.ly/hVuZ4ymailto:msc@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Please note: "Gardening" at Vanier also involves finding solutions and mounting structures to irrigate, collect water, manage the compost, to create original gardening spaces and to deter critters (yes! rabbits, ground hogs and squirrels feast on your produce!). Our resources are limited and we, volunteer gardeners, learn as we go, so your advice or expertise is more than welcome! If you want to get involved, even for a few hours, have recommendations or ideas or have any plants or garden products to donate, please contact me or Myriam Mansour. Follow us on fb: https://www.facebook.com/groups/956934947670755/ And join our Omnivox Portal Community: https://vaniercollege.omnivox.ca/intr/VanierCollectiveGardens/

Evelynne Barten, Environmental and Wildlife Management

Spotted at Vanier

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

A familiar bird to most people, chickadees are year round residents in Montreal. These fascinating birds have amazing adaptive skills that most people are unaware of. They have the habit of hiding food and have shown the capacity to remember where they have stored hundreds of food items. While feeding young, they feed primarily on insects and thus they are considered an important species for insect pest control. Chickadees are opportunistic when it comes to food, especially in the winter and they have been known to feed on the fat of animal carcasses as well as their usually seed, nut, berry and insect diet. These tiny birds weigh only 9-14 grams and have a very special adaptation for cold climate survival. They are able to go into regulated hypothermia and lower their body temperatures, in a controlled manner, to about 10 or 12 degrees C below normal daytime body temperature. This allows the bird to conserve almost 25 percent of its hourly metabolic expenditure when temperatures are freezing.

Studies have shown that every autumn Black-capped Chickadees allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons to allow for adaption to changes in their flocks and environment. Chickadee calls are complex, communicating information on recognition and identity of flocks and individuals, predator alarm calls and contact calls. The more dee notes in a chickadee-dee-dee call, the higher the threat level. Other bird species are known to respond to chickadee alarm calls and respond accordingly. Chickadees are cavity nesters which means they require rotting or dead wood or cavities already developed by woodpeckers to make nests. This is the first spring we’ve had regular chickadee sightings at Vanier. They are feeding at the bird feeder near N building and roosting in the nearby cedar trees. We are hoping that they have chosen Vanier as a regular territory and will spend the year here. They are bold, curious birds that allow amazing wildlife viewing for those that take the time to watch. If you are interested in learning more about birds visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search/ Keep your eyes and ears open. There are many bird species and other wildlife here at Vanier College. Take the time to look around. You may be surprised at what you see.

Evelynne Barten, Environmental and Wildlife Management

2016 STUDENT LIFE AWARD

The Student Life Award recognizes those graduating students who deserve recognition for their commitment, integrity and perseverance in contributing to Vanier's student life, aside from academic achievement. Leadership, effort, and the ability to motivate and involve others are often the qualities exhibited by Student Life Award recipients. To consider information about a candidate's involvement in co-curricular activities, the Selection Committee invites recommendations from those persons familiar with the candidate's activities at Vanier College. Any student, faculty or staff member of Vanier College may nominate a candidate to the Student Life Award. Please print and complete the nomination form found on the web at: http://vaniercollege.qc.ca/student-services/student-development/student-life-awards.php and return it together with your letter of recommendation to the Student Life Award Selection Committee in Student Services, C-203, no later than May 10, 2016.

Donata Parisella, Student Services

https://www.facebook.com/groups/956934947670755/https://vaniercollege.omnivox.ca/intr/VanierCollectiveGardens/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search/http://vaniercollege.qc.ca/student-services/student-development/student-life-awards.phphttp://vaniercollege.qc.ca/student-services/student-development/student-life-awards.php

Capsule linguistique

Bonjour à tous et à toutes! Vous désirez vérifier vos connaissances en français? Rien de plus facile avec les capsules linguistiques. Voici l’erreur incluse dans la phrase de la semaine dernière : « Dans notre société, tout le monde pense qu’ils peuvent faire ce qui leur plaît. » Il fallait plutôt écrire: « Dans notre société, tout le monde pense qu’il peut faire ce qui lui plaît. » Explication: La locution « tout le monde », qui signifie : « la totalité ou l’ensemble des personnes », est analysée comme un pronom indéfini singulier. Ainsi, bien que son sens désigne une pluralité de personnes, le verbe doit s’accorder au singulier. De plus, le pronom de reprise de la subordonnée, son verbe et son pronom complément doivent également rester au singulier. Il faut donc écrire : « tout le monde pense qu’il peut faire ce qui lui plaît » plutôt que « qu’ils peuvent faire ce qui leur plaît ». Voici la phrase à corriger de la semaine : Niveau de difficulté : intermédiaire « Nous étions prêts de quarante personnes à assister au concert. » Vous devez trouver et corriger la faute contenue dans cette phrase. La semaine prochaine, vous obtiendrez la réponse, ainsi qu’une brève explication. Bonne chance!

Isabelle Rivest, département de français

French Writing Clinics

French Writing Clinics

Winter, 2016 Tuesday and Thursday, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

in room K 307

Does sending a letter, a memo or an e-mail in French makes you a little nervous? Well, you don’t have to worry anymore! That’s right. You can now use the services of a professional French teacher to help make your French writing a perfect piece of art!

Come to our French Writing Clinics, where a Vanier French teacher will help you write the professional business correspondences you have been dreaming of!

These clinics will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in room K 307.

For more information, please contact: Isabelle Rivest, French Department, K 307, at extension 7853.

Isabelle Rivest, département de français

Vanier Video Festival

The Communications, Media and Studio Arts Department is excited to announce the 43rd Vanier Video Festival year-end screening happening on Wednesday, May 4th in the Auditorium A-103 at 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30). Come and discover the remarkable talent that this festival consistently delivers! As well, the CMSA Graduating Show

group exhibition precedes this event at 5:30pm in the Henry Lehmann Gallery. An evening not to miss!

Dan Stefik, Communications, Media and Studio Arts

Invitation to Readings by graduating Liberal Arts Students

Graduating students from the Liberal Arts program will read some of their creative writing on Tuesday, May 10, at 2:30 in the Boardroom. The literary reading will be followed by a short awards ceremony and refreshments. Everyone is welcome.

Kevin Bushell, English Department

Belize Exhibition Days: Belize students present their art!

This week, some students present their art inspired by their experience in Belize. They will be in the Carrefour: Monday, May 2 from 10:00 to 14:00 Tuesday, May 3 from 10:00 to 11:30 Furthermore, from May 2nd to 12th, a display on our experience in Belize is up in the Carrefour

showcases. Come by to read students' testimonies and journal excerpts, view a selection of photos and learn more from this 9-day study trip to Belize in the context of the International Project universal complementary course The Tropics: Opportunities and Challenges – An Exploration of Human-Environment Relationships in Belize.

Myriam Mansour, Geography and International Project teacher

Ending the Year on a Strong Note—It’s the TOPS!

That’s right, the Department of Music presents its final UB recital of the 2016-2017 academic year this Wednesday, May 4 at noon in the Auditorium. This is our annual TOPS concert, for which some of our very talented students get accepted for performance by audition only. It’s a rigorous and stressful process, filled with pitfalls and dangers ready to snag the unwary and unprepared. And that’s just the teachers who adjudicate the auditions! The students have it worse. But they always manage to pull through and then the performances are, quite honestly, impressive and even astounding. The performances on the classical solo side are judged during the show, and the person declared the winner is offered a chance to represent Vanier in the province-wide CEGEPs en Concert later in May. It’s a great way to end the semester as we get ready for final exams coming up the following week, so please join us. It is, as always during UB, a free event and open to all. So we wish all our performers good luck on this Wednesday. May the 4th be with them, as a wise Jedi once said.

Glen Ethier, Department of Music

Vanier College Big Band at Jazz Festival 2016

Congratulations to Jocelyn Couture, director, and the Vanier College Big Band. They have been chosen once again to perform at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal this summer. Although we do not yet know which stage they will be on, we do know that they will be performing on Thursday, July 7th at 3:00 p.m. If we don’t find out the venue before the last issue of Intercom, you will be able to look up the schedule of performers on the website: http://www.montrealjazzfest.com (once it is updated for this summer). I’m going to be around at that time, so I will definitely go check them out. And if you come find me in the huge crowd, I’d be happy to treat you to a BEvERage…

Glen Ethier, Department of Music

Vanier College Choir in One More Performance

This Tuesday, May 3rdat noon, the Vanier College Choir directed by Philippe Bourque will be giving, very generously, one additional free concert for the year. With the big (and successful) April 1 show behind us, the choir will head next door to the Pavillon St.-Joseph chapel of the Congrégation Soeurs de Ste.-Croix to delight the residents there (as well as anyone else who would like to join us) with a mini-concert. If you would like to hear this wonderful group one more time, you are more than welcome and the event is free, BUT…you need to follow the choir to the venue. Meet at 11:30 a.m. outside the Robert Frederick Jones Choir Room (A-250). From there the choir will proceed in a calm and orderly fashion to the chapel at Pavillon St.-Joseph, where they will then sing their hearts out in one final hurrah before the end of the year.

Glen Ethier, Department of Music

News from Research Office

Conference of interest - Call for Papers CIRTA (Communauté pour l’innovation et la recherche sur la technologie dans l’enseignement/apprentissage) is currently calling for papers for its conference to be held October 11-12, 2016. This year they are teaming up with the Serious Game Society to include a track on the use of games in education. The deadline to submit proposals is May 31, 2016. For more information, see the conference website: http://cirta.fse.ulaval.ca/ For more information: Isabelle Delisle, Pedagogical Counsellor, Academic Programs and Research Team Leader Institutional and Pedagogical Development and Research delislei@vaniercollege.qc.ca Office: B228D, Phone: 7903

Isabelle Delisle, Institutional and Pedagogical Development and Research

Psychological Harassment-Understanding What it Means and What to Do

Not every unpleasant interaction, instance of disrespectful behaviour, or workplace conflict is considered harassment. In order to be considered harassment, the behaviors, verbal comments and/or gestures towards you must be:

-vexatious

-repetitive

-hostile or unwanted

-adversely affecting your dignity, or psychological or physical integrity

-making your workplace harmful

http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/http://cirta.fse.ulaval.ca/mailto:delislei@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Essentially, harassment means that more than one act or event is needed in order to constitute harassment and that individually, the act or event need not constitute harassment. It is the repetition that generates the harassment. However, one single incident can constitute harassment when it is demonstrated that it is severe and has a significant and lasting impact. Some examples of what may constitute harassment (not an exhaustive list):

Unwelcome physical contact such as patting, touching, pinching, hitting

Isolating and ignoring someone and preventing them from speaking

Undermining and abusing through ridicule, humiliation, insults, intimidation, and threats

Discrediting one’s work by making false accusations and sabotaging one’s work

Unwelcome sexual remarks, invitations or requests

-Physical or sexual assault

Generally speaking, harassment does not include:

The normal exercise of management rights & activities carried out in good faith, without abuse

A conflict between employees and an unpleasant exchange of words

Normal stress experienced at work or school

Difficult working and learning conditions that are justifiable and affect all members in a non-arbitrary way Attention: Even though these points do not necessarily constitute harassment, it is important that they be well managed and addressed otherwise they may be factors that trigger harassment. What to do if you feel like you are being harassed?

Tell the person to stop

Record the incident(s) for your own records

Speak to your manager

Consult with a College Advisor: - Complaint against a student: Ginny Iaboni (Student Life Advisor-Student Services) - Complaint against an employee: Stacey Kennedy (Respectful Learning & Workplace Environment Advisor)

Talk about it with your union representative Please stay tuned for Vanier’s revised Harassment and Discrimination, Prevention and Resolution Policy and Procedure documents. Coming soon….

Stacey Kennedy, Vanier’s Respectful Learning and Workplace Environment Advisor

Student Awards Ceremony

On April 25th, The Learning Centre and Math & Science Centre held the Student Awards Ceremony. This celebration honored all our volunteers and tutors throughout the College. By volunteering and tutoring, these students have helped to contribute to the success of their fellow peers. The following groups were included: Architectural Technology Peer Tutors & Lab Monitors, Nursing Peer Mentors &Tutors, Social Science Peer Tutors, Communications Media and Studio Arts Peer Tutors, Music Peer Tutors & Volunteers, Languages & Cultures Peer Tutors, World University Services Canada (WUSC)

Committee Volunteers, English Peer Teaching Class, Biology Peer Tutors, CLÉO Peer Tutors, Math Award winners, Vanier Robotics Team, English Peer Tutors, Vanier Key Society, Math & Science Centre Peer Tutors, High School Outreach Program Volunteers, VCSA Executives & Student Representatives, Vanier Peer Support Network, C.O.R.E., Sustainability Volunteers and SuperStars (S.T.A.R. Program). We also honored our award winners from The Learning Centre’s various writing competitions. The Student Awards Committee members would like to thank the following people for their help and their contribution to make this event so successful: Danielle Lafaille, Michael Sendbuehler, Alena Perout, and all the presenters. Thank you to Eric Lozowy for his continued support of the Student Awards Ceremony. We would like to give a special thank you to our MC, Emily Duong for making the ceremony flow so smoothly. We would also like to thank our two students from the Music Department, Robert Louette and Ian Down, who provided us with lovely musical

entertainment during our refreshments. Thank you to Zaven Zakarian of the Music Department for his excellent recommendations. We would like to extend many thanks to Danny Roche for his assistance with our preparations in the auditorium. Thank you also to our Service Department for preparing B221 for our reception. Thank you as well to Jake’s Café for the delicious food. Particularly, we must extend our sincere congratulations to our wonderful students for their outstanding commitment to making Vanier a place to be proud of. Their incredible enthusiasm and amazing energy throughout the evening definitely made this an event to be remembered. If you have any tutoring programs, volunteers and/or award winners that you feel should be included for next year, please let us know so that they can participate and make this event as comprehensive as possible. Thank you,

Joanne Ellis, The Learning Centre, on behalf of the Organizing Committee: Joshua Berman, Didier Brule-Champagne, Cari Clough, Joanne Ellis, Pamela Espinosa, Haritos Kavallos

Teaching Tip: The Reflective Teacher

Being a reflective teacher is an on-going practice that needs to be nourished and exercised. Like anything that is worth doing, even if we don’t do it all the time, doing it sometimes is better than never. At the end of the semester is a wonderful time to take stock and reflect on what has gone well this semester and what areas need improvement. Ask our students One obvious place to start, in our reflective process, is to ask our students how the course has gone. A few simple questions, distributed in class or online, can give us important information from our students’ perspective:

What did you like best about this course?

What did you like least about this course?

Do you have any suggestions for ways to improvement the course?

Other comments?

Notice that these questions do not ask for students’ opinions about our teaching; they ask questions about the course. We can be more specific and ask about our teaching, but, generally, the answers supplied to the above questions will give us clear directions.

Write it down When a class goes well we are all certain that we will remember what we did, when and why, and will be ready to do it again the next time. When things go poorly, we are certain we will remember ‘never to do that again.’ Surprise! We all forget lots of things – both the good and the bad. Best practice: write it down. A simple note on the hard copy of our class notes or highlighted notes on the first slide of a PowerPoint are great ways to help us remember ‘for the next time.’ Journaling and Blogging Keeping a journal or blogging, privately or publically, are great ways of helping us to describe our teaching situation and to reflect on the outcome. As many of us know, the act of writing helps us to articulate our thoughts and discover creative approaches in dealing with our reflections. Be creative: photograph, draw, video, tape, share Not interested in writing? Be creative in your reflective process: take photos of students’ work; draw a representation, perhaps a concept map, of your class; make a mini one-minute video of yourself reflecting on your teaching week; tape an audio file; share any of these with a partner, colleague, friend, or online.

Image courtesy of Wilma Brown, Vanier College PDO

Reflective Teaching Practices The simple act of wanting to become better teachers and then documenting our thoughts, gathering student feedback, writing, being visually creative, and sharing with others, helps us to become and remain Reflective Teachers. By doing this, our teaching practice will continue to improve and our students will thank us. Click here for more inspirations about becoming and remaining a Reflective Teacher. For opportunities to discuss reflective teaching practices, please contact Wilma Brown. Other online Teaching Tips are available on the PDO web page.

Wilma Brown, Pedagogical Development Office (PDO)

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reflective-teacher-taking-long-look-nicholas-provenzanomailto:brownw@vaniercollege.qc.cahttp://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/pdo/category/resources/teaching-tips/http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/pdo/http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/pdo/