The UPEI Recruitment and Admissions team would like to welcome the campus community to a "Brown Bag Lunch Session" on Tuesday, March 5th from 12:00 - 1:00 pm in the Main Building Faculty Lounge to learn more about our area. Students, staff, and faculty are invited to join us in conversation to share their ideas, provide feedback, and pose any questions you may like to have answered. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for a Celebration of Peace, to recognize UPEI's Peace Project, on Thursday, March 7 at 10:00 am in the Chaplaincy Centre. Established by Blythe Relf-Phypers as part of a directed studies course supervised by David Varis, this initiative is supported by the UPEI Faculty of Arts, Chaplaincy Centre, and Student Affairs. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend.

Vagabond Productions is presenting "While We’re Young" by Don Hannah. The play explores the trials and tribulations of making the transition into adulthood. The show runs March 20, 21, 22 and 23 at The Guild, 115 Richmond Street (at the corner of Richmond and Queen). The doors open at 7:00 pm, for a 7:30 start. Admission is by cash donation. The play employs mature language and explores mature themes, so it is not recommended for younger audiences. For more information, you can email Dr. Greg Doran at gdoran@upei.ca or call 566-6013.

Brenda Goodine will present her Master of Education Thesis Defense on Friday, March 15 at 9:00am in Memorial Building, room 308. Thesis Title: Painting a Portrait: Early Learning Assessment Practices". All are welcome to attend. ABSTRACT This mixed-methods, qualitative study provided a snapshot of how Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and early learning programs attend to the assessment of young children. While ECEs primarily use observation to assess children’s development and learning, specific assessment tools, which monitor and provide summative results, are implemented amid concerns that standardized measures are not appropriate for young children. The program administrator of an early years program, designated as an Early Years Centre (EYC) by the province of Prince Edward Island, and three ECE staff working with pre-school aged children, were purposely selected to participate in the study. Findings were obtained from a mix of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, ECE journal entries, and one focus group. Additionally, an online questionnaire was sent to 64 program administrators across the province and had a 36% return rate. Study results highlighted the complexities, tensions, and opportunities in creating rich portraits of children’s learning and development. This study provides a context to move forward within the ECE system and shows a need to: (a) address the training and educational needs of ECEs; (b) support the leadership development of program administrators; and (c) conduct further research to enable the opportunity for integrating formative and summative assessment monitoring processes among stakeholders (early childhood, education, public health and social service).

Irene Gillis will present her Master of Education Thesis Defense on Tuesday, March 12 at 3:00pm in Memorial Building, room 417. Thesis Title: "Environmental Influences on Healthy Living". All are welcome. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore what healthy living means to adult women living in a rural area of a Canadian province. This study examined the benefits and barriers identified by the participants in relationship to healthy lifestyles, as well as the facilitators they recognized in relation to healthy living. Eight women, aged 40-65, from Prince Edward Island took part in the study. Using a descriptive, qualitative approach, data was collected through in-depth interviews. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for common themes and codes. Results indicated that the participant’s ideas about healthy living included eating in a healthy way, being physically active, experiencing a personal spirituality, and not having addictions to substances. The participants identified a range of factors that facilitated living a healthy lifestyle including: having balance, having confidence in oneself, being in control, supportive family members and friends, spirituality, and public policy. The participants believed that the benefits of a healthy lifestyle involved alleviating stress, enjoying life, having more energy, and being sick less often. The participants identified a number of barriers to living a healthy lifestyle as well. These include a lack of energy and motivation, stress, a lack of time, conditions in the workplace, the location of the exercise facilities, the size of the community, the cost of food, and the lack of support from family and friends. This research study calls for rethinking the education and teaching strategies used to educate women in the area of healthy living. These strategies should be reframed to address the learner as a whole, thus incorporating the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of lifestyle choices, with a focus on the physical and socio-cultural environments in which individuals live.

AVC's first-ever Art Show featuring an art exhibit by students, staff, and faculty will be held in The McCain Foundation Learning Commons on Friday, March 15 starting at noon. A reception will follow at 5:30 pm for artists and admirers with light refreshments. Everyone is welcome!

For an evening of frolic and fun, come and enjoy AVC's Class of 2015 Suture Review on Friday, March 15, starting at 7:00 pm in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre. It promises to be a great show with videography, skits, music, dancing and acting. Tickets are $8 per person and are being sold daily over the lunch hour outside AVC's cafeteria or at the door. Raffle tickets are also available for some great prizes. This is a fundraiser for AVC's Class of 2015. Everyone is welcome to attend.

SPEAKER: Jordan Poley, Pathology and Microbiology TITLE: Molecular Pathways Involved in Sea Lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) Resistance to Chemotherapeutants SPEAKER: Alyssa Grunwald, Biomedical Sciences TITLE: Investigating fungal and bacterial diversity of Frobisher Bay as a source of bioactive natural products

Join the UPEI English Department to welcome poet Clea Roberts from Whitehorse, Yukon. Roberts will read and discuss her poetry on Monday, March 18 at 7:30 pm in the UPEI Faculty Lounge, Main Building as part of the Winter’s Tales Author Reading Series. Her poetry immerses you in the lifestyle of the Yukon landscape and seasons, and takes you back to the gold rush days, bringing to life pioneers and fortune-seekers of the Klondike. Her reading is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Yukon government.

Join members of UPEI's executive MBA (EMBA) program and the PEI Business Women's Association for a presentation and networking event focusing on workplace bullying. Jodi Murphy, a UPEI EMBA graduate and teacher with the Prince Edward Island English Language School Board will share her research findings on the current state of workplace bullying in Canada and the implications that this issue has on organizations. All are welcome to attend. For more information on the event, or UPEI’s executive MBA program, contact Grace McCourt at (902) 566-6474 or mba@upei.ca.