UPEI MENTAL HEALTH WEEK SCHEDULE

UPEI Men's Soccer coach Lewis Page brought the audience to their feet in a standing ovation after sharing his journey with depression at yesterday's kick off to the 2016 UPEI Mental Health Week. Encouraged by the overwhelming positive support after sharing his story during the Bell Let’s Talk campaign in January, Page focused his talk yesterday on the relationships that have mattered most in his life. 

Sarah Thompson, a mathematics and computer science double major, was also announced as the recipient of this year's "My Abilities" award, granted to a full-time student registered with Accessibility Services at UPEI who has demonstrated involvement in community and/or campus life. 

President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz welcomed the audience and encouraged "all members of the University community to participate in the week, but to take the opportunity to also learn more to support fellow students, colleagues and friends year-round." UPEI Student Union president Dana Kenny also provided an update on the UPEI Mental Health Initiatives Fund, a fund that was established by the Student Union and University to support student-led initiatives in an effort to support the mental health of students.

One benefactor of the fund is the Zen Zone that has been created in The Credit Union Day Lounge at the W.A. Murphy Student Centre for the duration of Mental Health Week. This space will serve as an area for relaxation, reflection, and mindfulness. Members of the campus community are invited to come into the Zen Zone and participate in quiet activities such as colouring, journaling, reading, or reflective thought or take part in any of our planned events.

Find the full schedule for Mental Health Week events online, and be sure to join in the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at the hash tag #upeimentalhealth.

A new book by UPEI’s Dr. Gregory Irvine examines the life and legacy of legendary tuba player and teacher Arnold Jacob (1915-1998). The book is published by Scholar Publications of Chicago.

Arnold Jacobs was an orchestral tuba player, and a long-time principal tubist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As Dr. Irvine writes in the introduction of his book, Jacobs was also a highly sought after teacher. “Brass players, both experienced and inexperienced, flocked to his studio because they had heard of his unique teaching and the success others before them had achieved under his guidance.”

Dr. Irvine’s book explores Jacobs’ unique pedagogical approach, which contrasted sharply from conventional teaching styles at the time, and explains his teaching principles through Irvine’s own experiences, and those of others as his students.

Chuck Daellenbach, the tuba player with the Canadian Brass Quintet and a former student of Jacobs, writes in the book’s forward: “For those not lucky enough, or old enough to be part of that tradition, Irvine has given vibrant insights into the mystique that was Jacob’s studio. This will be a book we will all keep close for those moments we wish to revisit the legacy of our once-in-a-millennium teacher, coach, mentor, and champion.”

Arnold Jacobs’s Legacy can be purchased online at CanadianBrassStore.com.

Would you know what to do if a cut on your dog’s leg was bleeding badly or if your pet was having a seizure? Do you know what common household items and foods are toxic for your pet?

Hosted by AVC Community Practice veterinarian, Dr. Kathy Ling, this session will provide basic information on how to recognize and care for emergencies and injuries in dogs and cats. Topics will include primary assessment, handling an injured pet, bleeding, shock, common toxins, and recognizing signs of pain and distress.

"Basic First Aid for Your Pet" will take place on Tuesday, March 29, from 7:00–8:30 p.m. in Lecture Theatre A at the Atlantic Veterinary College. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome! For information, call (902) 566-0589, or visit upei.ca/avc.

The University of Prince Edward Island will welcome prospective students during Open Class Day 2016 on Friday, March 11, from 8:15 am to 4:30 pm. The day starts at 8:15 am with a welcome session for prospective students in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall.

Participants can attend a selection of first-year classes in the faculties of Arts, Business and Science, and they can participate in hands-on labs, campus tours and information sessions about new student orientation, scholarships and awards, and other relevant topics. They will receive assistance with on-site admission and registration to prepare for the start of classes in September 2016, and enjoy free lunch at the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall.

Prospective students are coming to Open Class Day from across PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. To register, go to upei.ca/openclassday. For more information, contact Morgan Byng at mbyng@upei.ca.

 

The University of Prince Edward Island extends its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Reverend Brady Smith who passed away on March 6, 2016 at the age of 90. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University in 2001.

“Father Brady made an outstanding contribution to his community as a pastor, counselor, lobbyist, and advocate, all for the betterment of others,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “Our province has lost a great man who overcame great odds to help people with addictions.”

Born in rural Prince Edward Island, Father Brady Smith left school after grade six to earn a living. He fell prey himself to alcoholism that later he would help others overcome. After coming close to dying as a result of his addiction, Father Brady studied social work at Centennial College, worked on skid row in Toronto, and returned to PEI as a counselor. At the age of 56, he entered Holy Apostles Seminary and was ordained in Charlottetown in 1984.

Over his lifetime, Smith worked with more than 5,000 Islanders, helping individuals and families cope with alcohol addiction, drug and gambling addiction, marital problems, spiritual issues, grief and depression. In 1990, he established Serenity House, a refuge for people coping with addictions and other problems and tirelessly visited hospitals, halfway houses, prisons, high schools, 12-step meetings and homes. He also garnered tremendous public support on issues such as eliminating video gambling in corner stores, establishing halfway houses for inmates released from prison, and creating the addictions treatment centre in Mount Herbert.

John DeGrace, UPEI’s registrar at the time Smith received his honorary degree, read the citation and said, “Father Brady Smith is a man who has indeed walked through the valley of the shadow of death and who has emerged to walk in the clear light of the love of God…Father Brady is known to the people of Prince Edward Island as a respected priest, a man of compassion, and a beacon of hope.”

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Hennessey Cutcliffe Charlottetown Funeral Home.

The UPEI Wind Symphony will perform a recital of “Contemporary Works for Wind Band” this Saturday, March 12 at 3:30 pm at the Paul O'Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library.

Under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, the fifty-member UPEI Wind Symphony has been applauded for its performance standard and progressive approach to programming. 

The recital will feature several emerging masterworks of the genre. Among the centerpieces is Magnolia Star, a programmatic work by American Steve Danyew. This piece, written using a blues scale, captures the sounds typically associated with train travel. Another work, Jug Blues & Fat Pickin’, by Don Freund, conveys music styles of Tennessee, inspired by the Memphis Jug Band (Beale Street, late 1920's) and bluegrass banjo playing. The program will begin with Fanfarria, a powerful and heroic fanfare by Spanish composer Javier Perez Garrido, and reminiscent of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Additional works by Percy Grainger and Luke Ellard will be performed.

The UPEI Wind Symphony received the 2014 Music PEI award for Achievement in Classical Music. With performances throughout the Maritimes, partnerships with PEI school music programs, and utilizing unique performance spaces, the UPEI Wind Symphony is known as one of the region’s most respected large ensembles and features outstanding student and professional soloists.

Members of the public are invited to attend this free performance.

The UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week for the week of February 29-March 6 are Kiera Rigby, Women’s Basketball, and Milorad Sedlarevic, Men’s Basketball. On a weekly basis, UPEI Athletics and Recreation recognizes these talented student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are then nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who:  Kiera Rigby, Women’s Basketball, and Milorad Sedlarevic, Men’s Basketball

What: UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week

When: Week of February 29-March 6, 2016

Where: University of Prince Edward Island

Why: Rigby, a third-year Bachelor of Science student from Charlottetown, PEI, competed very well during the Panthers’ 76-65 AUS Women’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal loss to the University of New Brunswick. The 5’11” forward recorded 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and was 7 for 8 from the foul line.

Sedlarevic, a second-year Bachelor of Arts student from Jesenice, Slovenia, enjoyed a strong weekend for the Panthers at the AUS Basketball Championship. In the Panthers’ two games, an 87-66 semifinal win over Acadia and a dramatic 87-85 championship loss to Dalhousie, Sedlarevic recorded 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and shot 4 for 10 from the three-point range.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation
• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place and UPEI Turf
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

UPEI is participating in a mental health initiative with universities across Atlantic Canada called the MoodCheck Challenge. From March 14-25, students are encouraged to use the MoodCheck phone application to track their moods. Twice a day, at random times, their phone will prompt them to check in and enter their mood, the activity they are taking part in, where they are, and who they are with. The goal is to motivate students to be mindful about how the things they do affect the way they feel. This increased awareness is known to be a strong predictor of improved mental health and well-being.

Students gain points each time they check-in, and gain bonus points the more often they check-in. At the end of the challenge, the university with the highest points will receive a cash donation to be used toward a campus mental wellness initiative. Prizes will also include MoodCheck “swag.”

“I encourage students to try this app for the two week period,” said Treena Smith, manager of Student Affairs at UPEI. “The wonderful thing about this challenge that students get to try this app to see if it works for them. It's about offering choices and different modes to decrease stress and increase happiness—if this app does not work for one student, it may work for another and how great is that.”

The MoodCheck app is part of a larger program called WellTrack, which was developed by Darren Piercey, a psychology professor at the University of New Brunswick. The program provides students with a number of online tools and resources aimed at helping them manage stress, anxiety, depression and specific phobias, such as fear of public speaking.

The challenge results will be announced on Tuesday, March 29.

UPEI will host a “Checkup” event to launch the MoodCheck Challenge on Tuesday, March 15 at noon. Similar to a “tweetup,” whereby people gather in one place to tweet about a particular topic, students will meet at the Wave to collectively check-in on their MoodCheck app and tweet about the experience with the hashtag #moodcheckchallenge.

UPEI students, what are you waiting for? Download the app at the App Store (for Apple users) or Google Play (for Android). Sign in as a new user with your UPEI email address and the access code MCC. Check in daily! It only takes five seconds.

Take the MoodCheck Challenge, and see how keeping track of your moods and activities can improve your mental health! 

University of Prince Edward Island Women’s Hockey Coach Bruce Donaldson is pleased to announce that Orleans, ON, native Kaylee Dufresne has committed to the Panthers for 2016–17. Dufresne currently attends Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, NH.

During the past two seasons with Brewster, Dufresne recorded 31 goals and 19 assists in 41 games. In 2014/2015,Dufresne was selected to the Lakes Region All-Star Team, and this past season led the team offensively along with a Cushing Tournament All-Star selection.

Comments Coach Donaldson, “Kaylee is a quick, skilled player who reads and reacts very well with offensive success. She has a great personality with a strong work ethic along with demonstrated leadership qualities. She will be a great addition to our program with a recruiting class designed to make our team faster, stronger, and better offensively”.

Comments Dufresne, “I’ve decided to choose UPEI because of many different things: I loved the campus and how beautiful Charlottetown is. The size of the school is exactly what I was looking for. Meeting Coach Donaldson was another big seller for me; he gave me a feel for how the people in PEI are like, which was very friendly and welcoming. I am very excited to start my university career at UPEI".

Dufresne will be entering the Faculty of Science at UPEI.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

UPEI will celebrate co-operative education during National Co-operative Education Week in Canada from March 14–18, 2016. This year also marks UPEI’s 20th year of offering co-operative education programs.

UPEI co-op students will be recognized for their achievements in cooperative education at the annual Co-op Awards Ceremony on Thursday, March 17, from 4-5:30 p.m., in the Robertson Library. A “Co-op Student of the Year” prize will be awarded to a student in each of the programs that offer co-operative education: Business, Computer Science, and Physics.

“Co-operative education provides participants with the opportunity to apply the knowledge they gain in their academic studies in a paid work term,” says Donald Moses, Interim University Librarian and Director of Skills, Development and Learning. “Students can experience a variety of workplace environments, develop critical workplace skills, and explore career options. They gain valuable relevant work and life experiences, employment that can be documented in their resumes, and access to a network of contacts they can leverage after graduation.”

UPEI is among many colleges and universities across Canada, developing their students into workplace professionals through co-operative education. UPEI’s Co-operative Education Program is a partnership between the student, the employer, and the institution—all of which benefit. Students gain hands-on work experience; employers have the opportunity to mentor innovative and enthusiastic students; and co-operative education provides a bridge between industry and the institution, and fosters positive relationships for all involved.

For more information about UPEI’s Co-op Program, visit www.upei.ca/co-op or email co-op@upei.ca