Join us for a rewarding and enriching afternoon of laughter, self-care and to recognize you are not alone!
When: Wednesday May 12, 2021
Title: Hope & Rejuvenation: Taking Care of Each Other
Theme: Wellness for Guidance Counsellors
Scope: Half-day, "mini" conference offering a keynote speaker, workshop options, healthy
breaks, and networking opportunities.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! CLICK "LEARN MORE TO FIND THE REGISTRATION LINK.
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Rejoignez-nous pour un après-midi enrichissant de rire, de soins personnels et de reconnaître que vous n'êtes pas seul!
Quand: le mercredi 12 mai 2021
Titre: Espoir et rajeunissement: prendre soin les uns des autres
Thème: Bien-être pour les conseillers en orientation
Portée: demi-journée, «mini» conférence offrant un conférencier principal, des options
d'ateliers, des pauses santé et des opportunités de réseautage.
L'INSCRIPTION EST MAINTENANT OUVERTE! CLIQUEZ SUR "EN SAVOIR PLUS POUR TROUVER LE LIEN D'INSCRIPTION.

OSCA/ACOSO is going virtual for 2021 and we are looking forward to connecting, learning, and sharing with you in new ways this year! With valued feedback from our members, we are excited to host a virtual conference for 2021. Join us as we move forward: FORWARD21: Moving from Chaos to Opportunity. 

Stay connected with us for conference registration and more details.

http://www.osca.ca/

This year OSCA/ACOSO 2021 celebrates 57 years of leading the way in Guidance and Career
Education in Ontario. It has been an unprecedented year riddled with never-before-seen challenges and relentless change. The context of the pandemic has brought about needs and disruptions in Guidance and Career Education work; needs and challenges that are uncharted. In many ways, we are planning for the unplanned and tasked with forging new paths forward.
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Cette année, OSCA / ACOSO 2021 célèbre ses 57 ans à l'avant-garde de l'orientation et de la
formation professionnelle en Ontario. Ce fut une année sans précédent pleine de défis inédits et
de changements incessants. Le contexte de la pandémie a entraîné des besoins et des perturbations dans le travail de l'orientation et du cheminement de carrière ainsi que des besoins et des défis inexplorés. À bien des égards, nous prévoyons les imprévus et sommes chargés de tracer de nouvelles voies.

2021 OSCA/ACOSO Guidance and Career Education Awards

The Ontario School Counsellors' Association has a long-standing tradition (over 40 years) of recognizing and awarding those who stand out in the field of Guidance and Career Education. OSCA recognizes individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution to Guidance and Career Education in Ontario. We can say with confidence that our past award winners have helped thousands find their pathways to successful futures! OSCA's awards are an excellent way of recognizing your most dedicated peers.

Awards Overview

Click here for the Nomination Form!

 

OSCA-ACOSO Anthony Di Lena Student Pathway Awards' mandate is to assist at-risk students in their journey towards success. One of the most important ways this is accomplished is by providing the OSCA-ACOSO Anthony Di Lena Student Pathways Awards to at-risk students who have demonstrated the exemplary ability to succeed in the face of adversity. $500.00 awards are presented to students who, in their postsecondary pursuits, are taking a pathway to apprenticeship, college, university or workplace.

 

One of the most important mandates is to provide scholarships to exemplary at-risk students for post-secondary education or vocational training.

Nomination Deadline is May 28, 2021
Click Here for the Nomination Form

Award Criteria

Nominated students must be graduating/or have graduated from an accredited public secondary, Catholic secondary, or inspected private secondary school, including First Nations, in the province of Ontario in the previous school year. 

Students must be nominated by a classroom teacher, a Student Success Teacher or a Guidance Counsellor who are not their parent. The nominator does not have to be a member of OSCA.

In order to be nominated, a student must fulfill one or more of the following criteria:

• The student succeeded in school despite having to overcome personal obstacles.
• The student succeeded in school despite having to cope with bullying and/or violence.
• The student succeeded in school despite being socio-economically disadvantaged.
• The student succeeded in school despite having to manage a mental health issue.
• The student succeeded in school despite having to overcome academic challenges

A complete nomination requires three parts:

1. Completion of the on-line nomination form found below;
2. A detailed description, written by the nominator, of how the nominated student fulfills one or more of the criteria mentioned above;
3. A short description, written by the nominated student, of how they have overcome these obstacles and achieved their success.

Four Pathways Awards will be awarded for $500 each.  The nominator should indicate which pathway the nominated student will pursue after completion of their high school education ? University, Apprenticeship, College, or Workplace. 

It is our hope that this award could be presented to the receiving student at their graduation ceremony.  The nominator should provide the date of this ceremony.

• Students may not be nominated for more than one award per year.
• Students may receive an OSCA-ACOSO Award only once.
• OSCA-ACOSO Awards are one-time awards only.  
• Decisions made by the OSCA-ACOSO Board regarding nominations are final.

Nomination Deadline is May 28, 2021

We are pleased to invite you and your students to view the updated Tours and Events section on Ontario Universities’ Info (OUInfo). We made changes to this section to make Ontario university events more visible and easier to search.

Upcoming Ontario university events are highlighted on the OUInfo home page in an auto scrolling bar. They are also highlighted in the new Tours and Events section using graphical event cards that can be sorted by date. From there, students can find more information about each event and registration details (if applicable). Ontario universities are hosting many virtual events this spring, including open houses, webinars and tours. Visit OUInfo to view a list of upcoming events!
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C’est avec plaisir que nous vous invitons, ainsi que vos élèves, à consulter la section Tournées et événements révisée du site Info-UO (Information des universités de l’Ontario). Nous avons apporté des modifications à cette section afin de rendre plus visibles et faciles à rechercher les événements proposés par les universités de l’Ontario.

Ainsi, les événements à venir des universités ontariennes sont mis en évidence dans la page d’accueil d’Info-UO, sous forme de barre de défilement automatique. Ils sont également mis en évidence dans la nouvelle section Tournées et événements, à l’aide de de cartes graphiques d’événements pouvant être triées par date. À partir de ces dernières, les élèves peuvent trouver de plus amples renseignements sur chaque événement, ainsi que des détails relatifs à l’inscription (le cas échéant). Les universités de l’Ontario organisent ce printemps de nombreux événements virtuels–portes ouvertes, webinaires et tournées, entre autres. Consultez Info-UO pour afficher la liste des événements à venir!

Wize is passionately focused on helping people reach their potential and they deeply understand that we all learn in wildly different ways. Our institutions of education were not designed for that, and this last year has made that glaringly clear. During the pandemic, the Wize team accelerated their plans to aid learners at every level -- high school, university and postgraduate education. Sure, it’s a massive business opportunity, but the Wize experience is entirely focused on delivering on the human opportunity.

Every day, educators and students are exposed to big and small challenges that can contribute to feelings of stress. This year educators and students have risen to the challenge in innovative and creative ways, connecting and building meaningful relationships with students and families. As the impact of the pandemic continues to evolve, providing opportunities for explicit skill development will continue to be an essential part of bolstering positive student mental health. As an educator, it is equally important to prioritize your own well-being.

The field of computing has expanded rapidly over the past 10-15 years, and students need better information about the field and its related careers. In reality, there is no single computing discipline but at least five. Including different sub-specialties, there are dozens of possible computing educational paths for prospective students.
The second edition of this guide (2020), produced by Mount Royal University and funded by CERIC, answers these three questions.

- Why should you consider computing when choosing a career?
- What kind of computing jobs are out there?
- What kind of education pathways will guide you to the computing career you desire?

The guide outlines the five distinct computing disciplines identified by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and how the disciplines relate to specific job titles and tasks. Listings of core courses, sample degrees and other pathways at Canadian colleges and universities are also provided for each discipline. The five computing disciplines are:

- Computer science
- Computer engineering
- Information systems
- Information technology
- Software engineering

The guide is designed to support prospective students, career practitioners, academic advisors and career counsellors by outlining these five areas of practice. This information will help students to better understand what each one of the computing disciplines does and which best suits their interests, talents, skills and abilities. This is expected to inform their choice of education program and major selection.

Bridging Two Worlds provides teachers, school administrators and counsellors with the knowledge and practical resources to deliver more informed and culturally responsive career development and guidance to newcomer and refugee youth from Kindergarten to Grade 12. This book and the study upon which it is based grew out of the Canadian spirit of cultural diversity and inclusivity. Bridging Two Worlds offers data-informed curriculum development and instructional ideas that recognize and address educational gaps as well as cultural or experiential differences that impede progress.

Learn More...

When it comes to traditional measures of success in school, some of the common yardsticks that are used include things like aptitude and IQ tests. Indeed, measures of perseverance and success have often been attributed mainly to cognitive factors such as intelligence and academic abilities. As such, students are gauged by how well they perform in testing, or the level of detail and analysis they can provide in their assignments. Although certainly important in helping to forecast students’ academic abilities and eventual success, research into other factors that are different in nature – namely non-cognitive ones –are gaining traction. Non-cognitive factors have shown promise in determining how well a student prepares, adapts and succeeds in the transition from high school to post-secondary.

This spring marks a full year since COVID-19 brought devastating impacts to our country and our sector. As we move forward into year two of the pandemic, we’re reconvening our panel from December’s State of the Sector webinar to take a pulse check on how the sector is holding up and managing through. In this session, Imagine Canada’s President & CEO, Bruce MacDonald, will facilitate a panel discussion featuring Mary Barroll of CharityVillage, Paul Nazareth of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP), Paula Speevak of Volunteer Canada, and Sandra Sualim from AFP Toronto and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada Foundation. Panelists will discuss how the implications of 2020 have carried over into 2021 as well as new trends that have developed this year, while looking ahead to what a post-pandemic recovery might mean.

Thinking we know what is best for youth without considering their lived experiences can inhibit their visions of their future selves

In Canada, the tendency to pressure youth to get serious about what they want to do with the rest of their lives is ever present. The education system tends to be career-motivated, structurally merit-based and unforgiving of the developmental changes youth experience. The risk of thinking, as adults, that we always know what is best for youth – especially without consideration of cultural context – is that can stunt career exploration inside or outside of school. This is not a risk we should be willing to take.

I am really happy to be back on the OSCA Board this year! I have been in Guidance for over 15 years and OSCA is by far the best PD for our needs in Guidance. This year is no different. We have all needed to learn a lot very quickly to navigate the COVID waters this past year. I am thankful for all the supports OSCA has provided. Going back to basics has been what has helped me most this year. I have focussed on family, friends, nutrition and personal wellness to keep me in the best position to meet the challenges we have all faced this past year.
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Je suis vraiment heureuse de faire partie du conseil d'administration de l'OSCA/ACOSO cette année! Je suis en orientation depuis plus de 15 ans et l'OSCA/ACOSO est de loin le meilleur développement professionnel pour nos besoins en orientation. Cette année n'est pas différente. Nous avons tous eu besoin cette année de beaucoup apprendre et très rapidement pour naviguer dans les eaux du COVID. Je suis reconnaissante pour tout le soutien que l'OSCA/ACOSO nous a fourni. Le retour aux sources a été ce qui m'a le plus aidée cette année. Je me suis concentrée sur la famille, les amis, la nutrition et le bien-être personnel pour me maintenir dans la meilleure position pour relever les défis auxquels nous avons tous été confrontés au cours de la dernière année.

 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

This next issue of OSCA Today will drop into your mailbox one year into this global pandemic,
which only appears to be getting worse before it gets better. We have all made sacrifices.
Many of us may be managing but many more are not. Educators across our province are
witnessing first-hand how many of our students are struggling. This pandemic continues to put
a strain on all of us especially our students and their families. We need help with advice and
resources. We need you!

Here is what we need:

First. Resources. We would like your suggestion for support agencies that our students can
reach out to. We especially need resources for our BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour,
2SLGBTQQ students.

Second. Articles. If you have stories, ideas or advice to help us and our students endure this
pandemic, we would love to hear from you. We would love it if you would write an article for
OSCA Today.

Please reach out and submit your resources and articles ideas to Roderick Conte, OSCA VP of
Communications at rbconte@yahoo.com

 

Next session: July 9th to July 31st

All three parts will be offered. Candidates may enrol in one part.

Cost: $650 (includes a copy of ethical guidelines and a one year OSCA Subscription)

Taught by a current school Guidance Counsellor, through an interactive, online classroom environment.

Candidates must hold a valid OCT and be in good standing to register.