Next week is Convocation Week at UPEI! UPEI employees and faculty are invited to attend the Convocation exercises on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. The Friday ceremony begins at 1:30 pm; the Saturday morning ceremony begins at 10:00 am; and the Saturday afternoon ceremony begins at 2:30 pm. Each ceremony is preceded by a procession of graduates across campus. 

As seating is limited due to safety regulations, all guests must present their invitations in order to be admitted to the Sports Centre. Staff/faculty members can pick-up their one invitation by contacting Eileen Kinch at kinch@upei.ca.

For Faculty who have regalia and wish to participate in the Academic Procession, please line up with the graduates in the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering building concourse 45 minutes before each ceremony. 

For more information please visit: upei.ca/convocation

Degree framing services are offered by the UPEI Alumni Association. Visit the secure site 8734upei.com to view the five models of frames that are available and to order (choose "pick up in store" option). Each frame includes a mat with the UPEI coat of arms embossed in gold. 

Frames may be picked up at the reception in McMillan Hall immediately following convocation ceremonies.

Contact Sarah Hastelow in the UPEI Alumni Office at (902) 566-0615 or frames@upei.ca with any questions.

Please join a group of colleagues from across campus in reading and discussing Bob Joseph's 2018 book, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality. On May 2, 12:00-1:00, in the Main Building Faculty Lounge, we'll discuss pp 3-105 and Appendix 3, pp 130-161 (the TRC's Call to Action). The book is easily available: the UPEI Bookstore has copies, and it's widely available online too (and perhaps also at other local bookstores). In addition, the Robertson Library has a copy of the book on reserve and has a number of valuable resources on its Truth and Reconciliation Resources page: https://library.upei.ca/trc

All faculty and staff are invited to attend the “Celebration of Colleagues” on on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 from 10:30am-12:00pm, in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre. 

Come to socialize and celebrate the achievements of our friends and co-workers at UPEI. Refreshments will be served! At 10:45am, the 25-Year Service Awards and The Presidential Awards of Merit for Faculty and Staff will be presented. 

For further details on the awards, please visit: http://www.upei.ca/president/presidential-recognition-awards-merit

Hope to see you there!

New Student Orientation 2019 is right around the corner and we're looking for some amazing students to join our NSO team! Our Volunteer/Leader application can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQANC1Pnv8nx23SwxbAzI9o_mjR2mJLwxqFa6tf6X1ssISsw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Our Point People application can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciupjsL0gKPuuO7fQWB1iJu9tJ66LzJVeCw3vlw0Uu-HfSSg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Applications are due May 17th at noon, so get yours in today! If you have any questions, you can contact Erin MacNeill at nso@upei.ca or at (902)620-5054.

This award-winning documentary tells the story of Canadian scientist Dr. Anne Innis Daag as she traces her 1956 journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild. Limited seating, $5 tickets can be purchased at https://giraffemovie.eventbrite.ca. 

This screening opens the Atlantic Connections Conference on Sustaining Women in SETT (ACT attendees can reserve one free ticket). More information and registration to ACT can be found at: http://atlanticconnections.ca/event-registration/ 

Thursday, May 30, at 6:30 PM in Theatre A, AVC.

Looking for an enriching volunteer experience this summer? The UPEI English Language Centre is looking for volunteers to join us in assisting with afternoon socio-cultural activities and acting as conversation partners in hosting this year’s English Language Camps for International students! This is a fantastic opportunity to learn and strengthen valuable skills, experience other cultures, and of course have a blast doing it! Activities may include things such as scavenger hunts, tours, on-campus workshops, beach visits, and more! If you are interested, please email Owen Shaw at oshaw@upei.ca, or call 902-566-0529.

As an instructor, you’ve set up a syllabus that clearly explains your expectations for where students will end up. Then you set them on the journey to that destination. However, some will get off track along the way. The information you provide, how you provide it and when you provide it will be key to getting them back on the right path or in keeping them on the right path. In this workshop instructors will learn strategies for the use of feedback and rubrics that they can use to accompany student assessments. The workshop takes place on Thursday, May 2nd from 10:30 to 11:30 am in Room 265, Robertson Library. REGISTER

Human Resources has developed a new online Tuition Waiver fillable form. The form, for both the Employee and Spouse/Dependent waivers, can be found on the main page of MyUPEI under UPEI Forms and on the Human Resources portal under Professional Development. Please submit all Summer 2019 semester Tuition Waivers via the online form as soon as possible.

If you have any questions please contact Heather Walsh at: (902) 566-0514 or hwalsh@upei.ca.

Interactive content can increase learner engagement and also help increase learning. Adding interactive content to your course is now so very easy to do. You can make videos interactive, images interactive, presentations interactive, quizzes interactive. The sky's the limit. In this workshop come learn how to get started creating your own interactive content. This workshop takes place on two separate dates: May 15th or June 13th from 10:30 to 11:30 am in Room 265 of the Robertson Library. REGISTER

The School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at UPEI is hosting its 17th Annual Math Camp scheduled for the weekend of May 3 to 5, 2019. This year’s event has 25 students participating from Island high schools. 

Math Camp is an initiative of the School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, in association with the Canadian Mathematical Society and the Atlantic Association for Research in the Mathematical Sciences. The first Math Camp at UPEI took place in 2002, and has been held annually since then. Math Camp brings to campus a group of grade 10 and 11 students, who spend a weekend participating in a variety of math-related activities, such as group problem solving, math relays, math trivia and sessions with faculty. The goals are to give the students an opportunity to broaden their mathematical horizons and to encourage them to continue their math studies at university.

The 2019 Math Camp is organized by Dr. Shafiqul Islam and Dr. Michael McIsaac.

Math Camp is sponsored by:
• Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS)
• Atlantic Association for Research in the Mathematical Sciences (AARMS)
• Dean of Science, UPEI
• School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, UPEI

Due to software updates, UPEI Marketing and Communications will conduct testing on Tuesday, April 30, beginning at 1:30 pm, to ensure emergency messages display correctly on the campus screen network and UPEI.ca homepage. The testing is expected to be completed by 2:30 pm.

The UPEI Emergency Alert mass notification system (email and text messages) and fire/security alarm system are not included in this test.

Questions or concerns about the testing may be directed to web@upei.ca.

UPEI's Second Annual Teaching Community Conference will be hosted on May 7th, 2019 from 9:00 - 3:30. The conference features UPEI faculty and staff talking about their teaching and how they support teaching at UPEI. The afternoon will feature special guest Dr. David Creelman (UNBSJ) facilitating his popular workshop "Using Groups and Teams: A Practical Approach."

All UPEI faculty and staff are invited to attend any sessions of interest and join in the conversation. Nutrition breaks and lunch will be provided.

A schedule for the conference is available at http://www.upei.ca/teachingsupport/upei-teaching-community-conference