Do you want to do some early Christmas shopping? Are you looking for a way to support UPEI students? If so, drop by the AVC Winter Craft Fair on Thursday, November 20, from 12:00-2:00pm in The McCain Foundation Learning Commons, AVC. Don't miss it!

Are you interested in completing your Bachelor of Education in 12 months? Drop in to the W. A. Murphy Student Centre on Monday, November 24, from 11:00 am-3:00 pm to hear about UPEI's top-notch BEd program and popular BEd specializations. Come and chat with our faculty and staff - you may even win a prize!

Enjoy a Christmas skate and some hot chocolate on Wednesday, November 26 between 11:30 am-1:30 pm. The Healthy Campus Committee will be providing the skate and hot chocolate for all UPEI students and employees for FREE!

The Office of the President invites UPEI students to enjoy a festive study break on Wednesday, December 3 from 12:30 to 2:00 pm, in the lobby of the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. There will be free hot cocoa, coffee, and cookies along with the sounds of UPEI music students -- all to help ease the stress of studying and exams, and to celebrate the holiday season. All students are welcome!

Mother Country by Deirdre Kessler, published by Oberon Press, will be launched on Saturday afternoon, December 6, from 2:30-3:30 pm, at the Confederation Centre Public Library, Charlottetown. UPEI staff member, Deirdre Kessler is a poet (Afternoon Horses, Subtracting by Seventeen, Rearranging the Sky and author of sixteen books for young people, including recently published Born! A foal, five kittens, and Confederation (Comment Naquirent: un poulain, cinq chatons, et la Conféderation), and Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice Award-winning Lobster in My Pocket and Brupp Rides Again. As well, she has published a number of nonfiction and educational texts, including the P.E.I. grade six social studies text, Exploring the Island (L’île-du-Prince-Édouard: une histoire à découvrir). She teaches children’s literature, creative writing, and the course on L.M. Montgomery with the Department of English of the University of Prince Edward Island. She is recipient of UPEI’s 2010 Award for Teaching Excellence by a Sessional Lecturer. Currently she is working on an adult novel, Darwin’s Hornpipe, and a new collection of poetry.

The UPEI Jazz Ensemble presents its annual fall concert on Thursday, November 27 at 7:30 pm in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall. The Jazz Ensemble will be joined by singers from Sung Ha Shin- Bouey’s vocal studio and will be featured on “Conga” by Sheila E and Stevie Wonders hit “You are the Sunshine of my Life.” Featured horn soloists will include saxophonist Lucas MacPhail performing Count Basie’s “Lonely Street” and trumpeter Robyn Verhoeven with a solo feature on “Monday’s Child” by Lennie Niehaus. Other selections will include a big band version of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Quincy Jones and the Buddy Rich version of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” The Jazz Ensemble is under the direction of David Shephard. Tickets are $10 for Adults & Seniors and $5 for Students and are available at the door, online at www.upeirecitals8.bpt.me or in advance by calling 566‐0507.

There will be a UPEI Basic Biosafety training session on Monday, December 15, from 1:00-4:00 pm in AVC, room 287N. Topics to be covered include basic biosafety principles and how they are applied at the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as biosecurity training. Please note: only those who attended a training session after November 2012 are currently considered to be “up to date” in their training requirements. If you wish to attend, you must pre-register by contacting Rita Stanley, Research Services and Graduate Studies, before December 8th, 2014 by email (rstanley@upei.ca) or by phone (ext. 4308). Please include your name, department, email address and phone number in your email or voice message. If you have any questions on this training session, please contact Dr Rhoda Speare, UPEI Biosafety Officer, by phone (ext. 5071), or e mail (rspeare@upei.ca)

There will be a UPEI blood borne pathogen training session on Tuesday, December 16, 9:00—11:00 am in room 313, Kelley Memorial Building. This session is provided for those individuals whose work involves the manipulation of human blood or other body fluids or tissues in the course of their work. If you wish to attend, you must pre-register by contacting Rita Stanley, Research Services and Graduate Studies, before December 8, 2014 by email (rstanley@upei.ca) or by phone (ext.4308). Please include your name, department, email address and phone number in your email or voice message. If you have any questions on this training session, please contact Dr. Rhoda Speare, UPEI Biosafety Officer, by phone (ext. 5071), or e mail (rspeare@upei.ca)

Dr. Kai Ylijoki, Department of Chemistry, Saint Mary's University will present a seminar on Wednesday, November 26, 2014 at 12:30 pm. Dr. Ylijoki’s presentation is entitled Cobalt-Mediated [5+2] Cycloaddition Reactions: Bicyclic Synthesis and Structure/Reactivity Relationships. The seminar will be held in the Regis and Joan Duffy Research Centre, Lecture Theatre, room 212.

Research on Tap returns for its sixth season of public discussion, debate, and ideas presented by researchers from the University of Prince Edward Island. Join our next conversation on Monday, December 1 at 7 pm at the Haviland Club in Charlottetown. Dr. Don Wagner, an associate professor at UPEI’s School of Business, will lead a discussion entitled: Microfinance in Africa. How it works. How it doesn’t. The 2014/2015 season of Research on Tap is presented in cooperation with the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), Atlantic Chapter. The RSC is Canada’s national academy and is the senior national body of distinguished scholars, artists, and scientists. Research on Tap meets the first Monday of every month from October to April. The full schedule of speakers can be found at upei.ca/research/research-on-tap