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.

Big Band Benefit: A Special Celebration Tonight! It has finally arrived: on Monday, April 16th the Department of Music proudly presents the 20th edition of the Vanier College Big Band Benefit! Since this is such a special concert, our dedicatee this time around will be the inimitable Oliver Jones who so graciously hosted the event for so many years. Master of Ceremonies Ranee Lee will also be a guest performer, as will Vanier trumpet teacher and big band director Jocelyn Couture. Testimonials to Oliver will be given by Ms. Lee, and by past department coordinator Nadia Turbide. Also in attendance will be past honorees, including John Lynch, Kevin Roch, Wah Keung Chan, and Tony Romandini. To help us celebrate, the Department of Music will present senior jazz improvisation students from the three-year Professional Music and Song Techniques program. And of course, the J.L. Big Band directed by Christopher Smith will put on another fabulous show for us--all in aid of raising funds for jazz scholarships for the department. Official Facebook posting is at https://www.facebook.com/events/1204199843049741/. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Vanier College Auditorium. Admission is $10 for the general public, $5

for students and seniors. A great price for an amazing show!

Glen Ethier, Department of Music

Classical Music Recital this Week This Wednesday, during UB in the Auditorium, the Department of Music presents a very special recital of classical voice and piano students. The voice students are from the studio of our excellent classical voice teacher, Tamara Vickerd, while the piano students come to us courtesy of our no less excellent classical piano teacher, Julia Gavrilova. Now, you may ask what is so special about singers and pianists. Well, aside from the fact that they are young, talented, and eager to perform for you, we usually hold their recitals in room A-250 of the Music Department. Because of space limitations, the rest of the college is not usually invited to hear them in that room. That’s why you almost never see an announcement about them here. But they do exist (you can sometimes see them lurking in the hallways), and we in the Music Department do love the rest of you and want to share the joy. So, please take advantage of this very rare opportunity to come and hear our singers and pianists in recital on Wednesday!

Glen Ethier, Department of Music

Volume M20, Issue No.13, April 16, 2018

2017

8

Vanier’s Wilma Brown receives the PERFORMA Award for the Quality of Production and Pedagogical Intervention in College Teaching

Congratulations to Assistant Dean Wilma Brown, winner of the PERFORMA Award for the Quality of Production and Pedagogical Intervention in College Teaching (Prix PERFORMA pour la qualité de production et de l’intervention pédagogique en enseignement au collegial, volet anglophone). The prize recognizes her contribution to the development of knowledge related to evolving teaching practices and pedagogical intervention in college education. Wilma Brown is a pioneer in the development of PERFORMA’s Anglophone colleges’ continuing education programs. Her contribution to the elaboration of these programs is very important, once as a local representative, now as a Resource Person at PERFORMA. She played an important role in the construction of the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching, a 15-credit program that focuses on basic training for college teachers. She has also contributed significantly to the growth of the Master Teacher Program with her organizing skills, and helped the MTP Steering Committee and the MTP Graduation Ceremony.

“PERFORMA and the Master Teacher Program is the most wonderful program,” said Wilma Brown. “It allows Cegep teachers and staff members, to take courses that focus on teaching in the Cegep system. The people who take these courses are all highly motivated. It’s a terrific opportunity for them to talk about pedagogy, teaching issues and concerns as well as strategies and approaches, and to exchange with people from other cegeps. It has given me tremendous joy and satisfaction to be able to learn alongside very gifted teachers and staff. I love pedagogy, so it has been very rewarding for me because even as I’m teaching I am also learning along with them. It’s been wonderful.” Annie-Claude Banville, Academic Dean of Vanier College is proud of this network recognition of a Vanier College Academic Manager. “Performa is a wonderful organization that understands the Cegeps and Faculty needs, and offers tools and adapted material for all of us. Willie’s dedication is a good example of the contribution of professionals and managers in pedagogical development, working with teachers throughout the Cegep network. She clearly loves what she does, helps others and it is contagious,” said Annie-Claude Banville. This prize was part of the annual Sherbrooke University Faculty of Education’s Prix d’excellence en education Awards Ceremony held on April 11, 2018. Congratulations to Wilma Brown on this much-deserved award.

Marguerite Corriveau, Vanier Communications

2018 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. 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 for 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 4pm on May 15, 2018.

Donata Parisella, Student Services

Referral Form: Early Alert Support The Early Alert Support referral form is available online for teachers to refer at-risk students to the Academic Success Advisor. Teachers are encouraged to fill out the online referral form as soon as it becomes noticeable that a student is likely to fail and requires support beyond help understanding course content. Referred students will be invited to meet with the Academic Success Advisor, who will work with students, or refer them to the relevant resource(s), and follow up to help ensure the student receives the necessary support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you want further information: extension 7568 or cloughc@vanier.college. Referral form: Early Alert Support: https://goo.gl/forms/k2MxXEMbkFwjVXyd2

Cari Clough, Tutoring and Academic Success Centre, E-308

Storytelling Workshops

The Vanier Storytelling Project, in partnership with Concordia’s Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, is offering three workshops on storytelling, performance, writing, and ethics. Vanier students, staff, and faculty are all welcome to attend. Below you will find descriptions of each workshop and biographies of each presenter. Please contact Stephen Dinsmore (dinsmors@vanier.college ) if you have any questions. We hope to see you there!

Link to registration form to sign up for one or more workshops: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/psi/storytelling-workshops/

Workshops

Oral History, Storytelling and Performance Presented by Lisa Ndejuru Wednesday, April 18, 12:00-1:15 (Universal Break), A-313 This workshop introduces a selection of performance pieces in which oral history and storytelling have come together for teaching and learning through community, memory and art.

Creative Writing as Storytelling Presented by Stéphane Martelly Fri., April 20, 2:00-4:00, A-315 This workshop will offer a few experimentations in writing and storytelling. Voice, chronology and varied forms will be mobilized to help you think and write with / against autobiographical narratives.

Ethical Issues in Oral History Presented by Mark Beauchamp, Ben Lander, and Lisa Ndejuru Wednesday, May 2, 12:00-1:15 (Universal Break), A-313 Sharing authority is a key tenet of oral history practice and one of the ways oral historians deal with it is through negotiating consent to record and use the interviews for research and to go public. This workshop will introduce participants to the complex ethical questions surrounding work on personal or familial narratives, when the participants are around the age of legal consent.

Biographies

Concordia Public Scholar Lisa Ndejuru has been a core member of Concordia’s Center for Oral History and Digital Storytelling since its inception in 2005. For seven years Lisa was a community co-applicant and steering committee member of the major SSHRC-funded community-university project Life Stories Of Montrealers Displaced By War, Genocide And Other Human Rights Violations. Motivated by her own family’s story of trauma and displacement, her current Ph.D. studies are at the intersection of community engagement, clinical practice, and arts-based research. Her extensive experimentation with storytelling, play, and improvised theatre in post-trauma settings aims for individual and collective meaning-making and empowerment in the aftermath of large-scale political violence.

Writer, painter, and scholar Stéphane Martelly, Ph. D., was born in Port-au-Prince and now lives in Montreal. Through a profoundly transdisciplinary approach, she combines theory, critical reflection, and art in her work. She has published poetry and children’s tales, and her pictorial works are showcased in a digital art book. Her scholarly publications notably include work on the Montreal-based Life Stories Of Montrealers Displaced By War, Genocide And Other Human Rights Violations, as a researcher and coordinator. At Concordia University she is Affiliate Associate Professor in the Theatre Department and Main Coordinator of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling.

Mark Beauchamp and Ben Lander are teachers in the History Department at Dawson College. In 2012 they started the Dawson Oral History Project (DOHP) as a concrete way to teach ethics and allow students to conduct original research in their own communities. In 2014 DOHP was awarded an FRQSC Projets Novateurs grant to create a digital archive and interface for students to research and archive oral histories; the project has now collected 1500 life stories.

Stephen Dinsmore and Matt Goldberg, English Department (and Vanier Storytelling Project)

Drop-in English Tutoring

Every Wednesday through May 9th, the English Department offers drop-in tutoring:

12:00-1:30 (UB), in D-242 and

4:00-5:30, in C-418

Please encourage any student in an English class who you think could benefit to show up.

Stephen Dinsmore, English Department

English Exit Exam Information Sessions The Tutoring and Academic Success Centre (TASC) is offering information sessions to help students prepare for the English Exit Exam. Please encourage your students to make use of all the assistance available to them. This 1-hour session will give information about the exam: what it looks like, what one will be asked to do, how it is assessed and suggestions on how to write it. We will also discuss tips on what to do to pass the English Exit Exam. All of these sessions are the same; students only need to attend one.

Wednesday, April 18th, 12:00pm, Amphitheatre (B223)

Thursday, April 26th, 5:00pm, A001H

Friday, April 27th, 2:30pm,A001H

Wednesday, May 2nd, 12:00pm, E501

Wednesday, May 9th, 12:00pm, Amphitheatre (B223)

If you have any questions or concerns, please send me a MIO or visit TASC, E310.

Kimberley-Blue Muncey, Tutoring and Academic Success Centre (TASC)

Free Adobe Creative Cloud Work-at-Home (WAH) program

The Free Adobe Creative Cloud Work-at-Home (WAH) program is part of our campus

license. An active employee of the college can request for the application as long as the

College has maintained its Campus Agreement with Adobe.

To send a request, email helpdesk@vaniercollege.qc.ca

For more information, and for more products, consult: http://itss.vaniercollege.qc.ca/employees/resources/#cc

*Please not that this is for employees only

Chris Amos, ITSS

A Chess Milestone at Vanier Come play chess against the Canadian Chess Champion! The Vanier Chess Initiative and the VCSA are bringing chess Grandmaster Bator

Sambuev to Vanier on Wednesday, April 25th (UB) from 12-1:30 in the STEM Centre, room D-301.

In this simultaneous exhibition, Mr. Sambuev will play all challengers at the same time.

Prizes and food will be available for participants, who will be charged $5 per game, with proceeds going to charity. All (students, staff, and

faculty) are welcome to participate, so please spread the word about this Vanier first.

Mark Cohen, Vanier Chess Initiative

S.T.A.R. Program

The application deadline for the S.T.A.R. Program is coming up soon! The Student Transcript Activity Record (S.T.A.R) is a non-credit entry on a students’ official

transcript for completing 60+ hours of volunteer work in the college or the community.

Participation in the S.T.A.R. Program will be noted on their official Vanier transcript upon

graduation. The S.T.A.R. program is recognized by university scholarship committees, university admissions offices, and by future employers.

To qualify, students:

Must be full-time at Vanier during the period of volunteer involvement

Must complete a minimum of 60 hours of service with their activity

Must be in good academic standing

Must not obtain any form of compensation for their involvement in the activity

Must complete the application form, detailing their experience and skills development and have the form signed by their volunteer

work supervisor or mentor.

The application deadline: May 17 For further information and to apply: www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/star-program/about/ For questions, please contact Kristen Whitelaw at

starprogram@vaniercollege.qc.ca.

Kristen Whitelaw, Student Services

The Vo Van Tho Memorial Scholarship The Department of Mathematics is proud to present the second annual Vo Van Tho Memorial Scholarship. Created in memory of Vo Van Tho, a Mathematics professor at Vanier College from 1982 to 2013, this scholarship recognizes two graduating students, one from Commerce and one from the Sciences, for demonstrating academic excellence in mathematics. For more information on the Scholarship, eligibility requirements, and to download the application form, go to http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/scholarships/scholarships/vo-van-tho-memorial-scholarship/ The deadline is April 20, 2018. Please encourage your students to apply.

Sandi Mak, Mathematics

Ali Alousi Memorial Scholarship Vanier physics teacher Ali Alousi was a steadfast supporter of women in science. He felt that much more had to be done to encourage female

students to pursue science at the post-secondary level, with the hope that gender parity could become a reality. Ali died on November 8,

2016 at the age of 58. Soon afterwards, his family and colleagues in the Physics and Math Departments at Vanier College created an annual

scholarship to honour Ali’s commitment to promoting women’s enrolment in STEM studies, specifically in physics, chemistry, physical

sciences, engineering, computer science or mathematics. In June 2017, the first Ali Alousi Memorial Scholarship was awarded to a graduate

of Vanier’s Computer Science and Math program. She went on to study Software Engineering at Concordia University this past fall.

Any female student who is graduating in a given year and who has applied to university in a STEM program as described above in this given

year is eligible for the Ali Alousi Memorial Scholarship, valued at $1,000.

The application form with instructions will be available online at: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/scholarships/scholarships/ali-alousi-

memorial-scholarship/ as of Monday, March 26. The completed application, along with all supporting documents (e.g., transcript) should be

submitted no later than 12 noon on Friday, May 17, 2018 by email as a pdf to Qi Luo, coordinator of the selection committee,

(luoq@vanier.college). The selection committee will evaluate submissions and choose a winner of the award during the month of May. The

scholarship winner will be announced at the graduation ceremony in June 2018.

Students can contact Qi Luo, Physics Department (A481, 514.744.7500 ext 7872, luoq@vanier.college) or Sandi Mak, Mathematics

Department (D268, 514.744.7500 ext 7553, maks@vanier.college) with any questions concerning the application process.

Karen Tennenhouse, Physics, for the scholarship committee

2018 Saltise Conference

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the upcoming 7th annual Saltise 2018 conference. The event will be held at McGill University on May 31st 2018. The theme of the conference is: | Disruptive Innovations: Changing Educational Landscapes

Everyone is welcome to attend, please register at: https://www.saltise.ca/conference/saltise-conference/ 2018 Saltise Conference - SALTISE www.saltise.ca The annual conference provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and information on the application of theory and development of best practices related to pedagogical approaches characterized as active learning

Marielle Beauchemin, O.S.T Department, Kevin Lenton, Physics Department

26th Annual Symposium on the Holocaust and Genocide

As the symposium has drawn to a close and I reflect on all the talks given during the week, it becomes very apparent that this week of events

only happens because of the help from may people. Let me start by thank my planning committee made up Sophie Jacmin, Susan Bissonnette,

Anne Bernard, Mark Prentice, Renée Karp, Mike Besner and Naomi Kramer from the Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention

Foundation. I would like to thank all the teachers and students that attended the talks in the Auditorium and those that requested lectures

in their classrooms. I’d like to thank the Administration for always lending their support. Also, there are many people that help behind the

scenes to make this a success: Alena Perout, Nora Soukiassan, Ivanka Hillel, Mike Demole, Paula Price, Sasha Weigens, Zsofia Orszagh, Darren

Becker, and Marguerite Corriveau.

If you were unable to join us for the lectures in the Auditorium, they have been taped so that you or your classes can watch them at a later date. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS3g4ylxkU8&list=PLeGlzZkt-xZqhOMaZz6DHGqoqEW36yHCS&index=2 If you have any suggestions for next year’s symposium, please forward to grossmam@vaniercollege.qc.ca.

Marlene Grossman, Psychology

I.D.E.A.S. STUDIO DESIGN COMPETITION – AWARD WINNERS For this second annual design-build initiative in collaboration with the Borough of Saint-Laurent, 15 student teams proposed

temporary installations for the Decelles Shared Street activities which will begin in June 2018 and continue through 2019. Seven

teams were preselected to make presentations to a jury.

A grand prize of $500 and two special mentions were awarded for the best designs (see photos below). These designs will inspire the

works to be built by a team of students this summer under the guidance of Architectural Technology teacher, Richard Klopp.

Grand Prize of $500 awarded to Suzi Moura-Fukutani, Jessica Villarasa, and Dana Almasri The construction budget and prizes were generously provided by the Borough of Saint-Laurent, who also offered all student

participants tickets to local cultural events. This ongoing collaboration with the Borough aims to create meaningful community

engagement opportunities for our students, showcase their talents and contribute to the local socio-cultural scene.

The 2018 competition jury included four members from both the Borough and Vanier, as well as an external design consultant

responsible for the Decelles Street temporary installations:

• Charlotte Badin, Martin Bleau, Catherine Caya, Jacinthe Côté – Borough of Saint-Laurent

• Haritos Kavallos, Richard Klopp, Karine Petrosyan, Andrea Pukteris – Vanier College

• Élise Marchal – La Pépinière | Espaces Collectifs

Special Mention awarded to Reza A Fard, Dongjie Lin, Calina Olari, and Laura Titolo Robitaille

Special Mention awarded to Ushna Baidya, Alyssa Pangilinan, and Thanh Ha Do (missing) As mentioned in a previous post, the Decelles Shared Street project was awarded City of Montreal funding for 3 years to create a

pedestrian-friendly corridor between Décarie and Sainte-Croix. This funding not only includes permanent infrastructure changes, but

also 2 years of temporary installations during the planning and public consultation process. Decelles Street leads directly to Vanier

College and is the main path used by students and others coming from Metro Cote-Vertu. Thus, the transformation of Decelles has

the potential to greatly benefit the entire Vanier community and create a vibrant promenade extending out from our campus.

Bravo to all the students that have contributed their ideas and talents to this initiative!

Richard Klopp, Architectural Technology I.D.E.A.S. Studio, Integrating Design Education and Action for Sustainability

Machine Learning and AI Speakers Series The Department of Mathematics is proud to have Dr. Hugo Larochelle from Google Brain Montreal deliver a talk on Friday, April 20th (2:30 – 3:30) in the Auditorium. This talk is open to all students, faculty, and staff who are interested in the recent development of artificial intelligence. Space is limited, so reserve your spot at:

http://bit.ly/AI-series-april-20 Please encourage your students to come.

Sandi Mak, Mathematics

Needed: Homestay families The Language School is hosting several groups this June and July and is looking for homestay hosts. Students are here to learn French, so a

French-speaking or bilingual environment is preferred.

As a host, you must provide the following:

Private bedroom (2 students per room is acceptable)

3 meals per day (packed lunch to school)

Airport pick-up and drop-off

A warm and welcoming environment

Access to laundry facilities

OPUS pass

Families are compensated $200 per week, plus the expense of the OPUS pass. If you are interested, please click on this link to complete an

application form: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/homestay/family-application-form/

Georgiana Guica, Language School