Please be advised that Ontario Universities and Colleges and application sites (OUAC Ontario University Application Centre and OCAS Ontario College Application Services respectively) are aware of the current climate in education and will respond should student application and marks transmissions dates be effected.

OSCA/ACOSO is proud of their partnership with Media Planet. Join us in reading their full university planning campaign here.

To read OSCA/ACOSO's article, please follow this link. 

Our Business workshops are back for Winter 2020.

Sheridan’s Pilon School of Business Diploma and Degree programs involve creativity, collaboration, experimentation and hands-on learning to solve business problems. Bring your Grade 10, 11 or 12 Business students on campus to explore the Sheridan experience through one of our six workshops. 

 The agenda will run from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm at the Hazel McCallion Campus in Mississauga and will include the workshop, a campus tour, a college presentation and a short break. 

We can accommodate a maximum of 25 students per session (if you have more students please let me know and we can try to accommodate).

Workshops are free; however, transportation and lunch are not provided. Keep in mind that our campus is conveniently located within walking distance of the Square One bus terminal and have dining options on campus.

Supply Chain Management - Available on Feb 18, Feb 26, Mar 11 & Mar 25

Advertising and Marketing Communications - Available on Feb 19, Mar 4, Mar 10 & Apr 8

Business - Available on Feb 20, Feb 27, Mar 12 & Apr 9

Finance - Available on Feb 13, Mar 5, & Mar 26

Human Resources Management - Available on Feb 11, Mar 3 & Apr 7

Marketing - Available on Feb 12, Feb 25 & Mar 24

Workshops are expected to book quickly. For more information or to book a workshop, please contact Jessica Murchie, Student Recruitment Coordinator, Office of the Registrar at jessica.murchie@sheridancollege.ca.

CERIC is a charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development. In addition to hosting Cannexus, Canada''s largest bilingual Career Development Conference, CERIC also:

• funds projects to develop innovative resources that build the knowledge and skills of diverse career professionals
• publishes the country''s only peer-reviewed career-education journal, Canadian Journal of Career Development;
• runs the CareerWise / OrientAction websites.

Mark Your Calendars: Please plan to join us for Cannexus at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Canada:

January 27-29, 2020

Register now for the annual conference

Have you noticed recent news headlines indicating that food prices for Canadian families will increase by 2 to 4 per cent in 2020?
 
According to Canada's Food Price Report by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph, the average Canadian family will spend $12,667 on food this year, which is an increase of $487 compared to 2019 spending.
 
Invite an AgScape Teacher Ambassador into your classroom to deliver a free lesson on the Business and Economics of Food to explore agriculture and food from a business perspective.
 
Best Curriculum Connections: Business, Food and Nutrition, Civics and Careers, Social Sciences and Humanities, Careers   Book now! 

 Register here

OSCA/ACOSO is pleased to offer Additional Qualifications Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (Specialist)  for Guidance and Career Education this winter! 

Taught by a current Guidance-Teacher Counsellor in an Ontario school, these courses use an online virtual classroom setting, making the courses accessible for all. These courses outline all the necessary practices for delivery of a comprehensive Guidance and Career Education program for your school. There is no textbook in any of these courses. Each registrant receives the current copy of OSCA's Ethical Guidelines and a one year AQ student subscription to OSCA/ACOSO. 

Course dates : Starting now to March 30th. Cost: $650.  
Please visit the rolling banner, on OSCA's website to register at www.osca.ca.  Please note, a person may take one part per session.  Courses run pending enrollment.

Conestoga College is accepting applications for our tuition-free Pre-Apprenticeship Training program. Funded by the Government of Canada, the program will prepare students for in-demand careers and will provide a head start for those wishing to achieve apprenticeship certification.

Welder/ Metal Fabricator
Waterloo campus
Starting April 2020

Starting in April 2020, the Pre-Apprenticeship Welder/ Metal Fabricator program will be offered at Conestoga's Waterloo campus and runs full-time during the day for 25 weeks. This program includes multiple trade exposure with Welder and Metal Fabricator, common core Level 1 apprenticeship in-class training and features an additional eight-week practical work placement experience.

Information sessions will be held at the Waterloo campus, and all potential candidates must attend one information session. Here are all the details.

Attention Ontario Certified Teachers & Teacher Candidates:
 
We're offering 50 new scholarships to enroll in the winter session of the Business of Food course. Take advantage of this limited opportunity to enhance your knowledge and understanding of agriculture and food at your own pace, from any location. 
 
Business of Food is designed to equip educators to deliver factual, relevant and balanced information from across the agri-food sector into Ontario classrooms.
 
BOF 101 will include 12 modules on six (6) agri-food topics and will take approximately 7 weeks to complete. 

Register Now!  

Please Note: This article is written from an American perspective, but the content may be of interest to our OSCA readership as well.

Guidance counsellors often warn their students that college admissions officers may be taking a peek at their social media accounts. And a new survey confirms their cautions.

More than a third of the nearly 300 college admissions officers surveyed by the Kaplan Test Prep company say they have visited sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to get more information about a prospective student. That's up from 25 percent last year, but down a bit since 2015, when 40 percent of admissions officers said they used social media to inform admissions decisions.

However, only 1 in 5 admissions officers say they look at social media profiles "very often" or "somewhat often." About 80 percent say they do it "somewhat rarely" or "very rarely." 

And what admissions officers find is just as likely to help a student as to hurt them. In fact, 37.9 percent of admissions officers say they found something in an applicants' social media profile that helped the prospective student's cause, compared to 32.3 percent who say they found something that hurt an applicant.

Read More

CTRI provides professional development training in the areas of counselling and mental health to over 25,000 people each year. They offer many different workshops across the country. Here are two, just for example: 

Borderline Personality Disorder
Understanding and Supporting
Jan 28, 2020 (9:00 AM - 4:00 PM)
Price: $ 249.00 (regular rate)
Ottawa, Ontario – Best Western Plus/Kanata Hotel
Trainer: Michelle Bentley, MA, RP, RMFT

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a clinical diagnosis that is often misunderstood. The experience associated with BPD involves intense emotional and behavioural challenges for both the individual and their relationships with the people around them. This workshop’s purpose is to increase the understanding of BPD from the perspective of all those impacted, including caregivers, family members, and those diagnosed.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Tools for Thinking Differently
Feb 10, 2020 (9:00 AM - 4:00 PM)
Price: $ 249.00 (regular rate)
Toronto, Ontario – Ramada Plaza
Trainer: Tom Walker, MSW, RSW

Many of the challenges that we experience are based on irrational and unhelpful thought patterns that impact both our feelings and our behaviour. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a time-sensitive, structured, and present-oriented form of counselling that focuses on problem solving and teaching individuals how to modify these distorted patterns of thinking. CBT is also one of the most well-known, researched, and practiced forms of therapy available to us.

For local upcoming workshops, please visit their website.

Expo hours: 1pm to 5pm

Seminars: 12 noon to 5pm

Venue: Metro Toronto Convention Centre (North Building)

Sunday, March 1, 2020

A "must visit" event for students considering their post-secondary options, or experiential travel/gap year programs. Representatives from over 100 universities/colleges from around the world will be at this prestigious student expo, to meet with students, parents and guidance counsellors.

Learn about program options, scholarships and admission requirements. Free admission. https://www.studyandgoabroad.com/toronto

Category
Contribution to Guidance and Career Education

When to Apply
Nominations for this certificate may be accepted all year long.

History
The Award of Merit was first presented in the spring of 1972. In 1977 the OSCA Board of Directors passed a resolution to rename this award The Olive Diefenbaker Award of Merit to honour the late Mrs. Diefenbaker''s contribution to Guidance and Counselling in the Province of Ontario. The first awards were presented by her daughter during the 1977 Annual Conference at Niagara Falls in November. The citation on The Olive Diefenbaker Award of Merit reads: "In recognition of long and dedicated service to guidance and counselling in the Province of Ontario"

This award is to recognize retiring individuals who have made a contribution to the Counselling and Guidance Profession in Ontario

Criteria
This award may be presented to teacher-counsellors, teachers, administrators, trustees and/or members of the community

An OSCA member must nominate the retiree

The nominee should:

• Be retiring
• Have been involved in Guidance and Career Education in Ontario for a minimum of five years.
• Have demonstrated leadership in guidance through active participation in professional development, counsellor education, administrative support, promotion of guidance, professional writing, research, or in contributing to professional guidance and counselling organizations.

The awards will be mailed to the nominator for presentation by the nominator or by another OSCA member appointed by the nominator. These awards are often presented at retirement functions rather than the Awards Banquet. However, the names of the recipients of The Olive Diefenbaker Awards may be noted in the official program of the OSCA Conference.

Procedure

• Nominations for this award must be submitted by an OSCA member
• Nominations should be received six weeks in advance of the presentation date in order for sufficient timing for certificate arrival .

Nominate a retiring colleague.