Interested in taking your next Guidance and Career AQ course?  Did you know you can take this course with OSCA from July 3rd to July 31st?  Taught by a current Ontario Guidance Counsellor and entirely online. There is no textbook for the course.  For the low cost of $650  HST, each participant will have access to their own copy of Ethical Guidelines, as well as a one year AQ subscription to OSCA for the school year 2023-2024.  To register, please visit osca.ca.

Each year the Foundation makes available a number of scholarships in a wide range categories. Many of these awards are determined by the number of applications received. All applicants must reside in Ontario and all scholarships are subject to availability.

Now accepting applications and nominations for 2023 scholarships — Apply by June 30, 2023.

Wednesday, October 18 5pm – 9pm Thursday, October 19, 9am – 2pm Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place Learn More...

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Keen to Help is on a mission to help students across Canada find volunteer opportunities to help with the professional development of the future generation of leaders in Canada. We know it can be hard for students to find opportunities that accept volunteers under the age of 18, which is why we have curated a database of close to 100 nonprofits in Ontario (primarily in Ottawa and the GTA) that request help from high school student volunteers. These nonprofits build profiles on our website that we periodically update and advertise to students in schools across the country. Students can browse and sign up to volunteer with these nonprofits directly on our website linked below:

 keentohelp.com/volunteer

We also work with schools who request an online volunteer portal for their school to add opportunities and curate a list of approved nonprofits for students to sign up with. Using this portal, we can also help facilitate the logging and verification of student volunteer hours (if needed). We have set this up for a few private schools in the GTA - should you be interested in learning more, you can contact:

mateo@keentohelp.com

Earth Rangers is introducing a new program called ER Teens. This project-based volunteer program enables teens aged 13-18, to make a difference in their local area and get involved in the environmental space.

When participating in the program, teens will connect with like-minded peers and network with professionals while building leadership skills like communication, problem-solving, and time management skills. They’ll be working with a mentor to design and lead an impactful environmental project in their community with the option to earn volunteer hours!

Registrations are currently being accepted for Summer 2023. Students can also learn more by going to the ER Teens website https://www.earthrangers.com/EN/CA/er-teens/

At this exclusive event, Future Design School leaders will unpack key trends driving assessment transformation in K-12 education, and share innovative case studies, provocations, and resources.

Schools and education systems are at a crossroads, as they face the need to catch students up post pandemic and double down on student development from all angles in order to ensure that they don’t lose a generation of students and teachers. School leaders at the forefront of this effort are finding that assessment transformation is the spark necessary to drive meaningful and lasting change.

This webinar offers a unique deep dive into the insights revealed in the Future of Education Report 2023/24 from Future Design School.

High school students face important decisions around the pathways they want to pursue after graduation. Teachers and counsellors play a key role in guiding and supporting them on this journey. Here are several resources that educators can use to integrate career development into their work.

If you ask any parent what they want most for their child’s future, they will usually express some iteration of "I just want them to be happy." So let’s talk about happiness and what the implications are for becoming our best possible selves in the future. The longest running study on happiness out of Harvard has provided us with a powerful recipe. Dr. Robert Waldinger and his team have decades of data, both quantitative and qualitative, that suggest that a happy life is one filled with happy relationships. Happy relationships within our family, community, and friend groups, but also in our workplaces. The lessons from the Harvard study underscores that "having social connections is better for our health and well being—and conversely, loneliness kills. Second, having higher-quality close connections is more important for our well-being than the number of connections. Third, having good relationships is not only good for our bodies but also for our brains."

If we want to create holistic, impactful career education programs for schools, then we need to bring teachers along for the ride. Teachers are the ones on the front lines, talking to students and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in their adult lives, which puts them in an unrivalled position to positively influence career development.

The problem many of us who work in this space face is that teachers are not the easiest bunch to reach. All teachers, regardless of what they teach, or where they teach it, have had a rough trot over the past few years, and are understandably reluctant to add to their workload or deliver another program (Pressley, 2021). The rise of standardized testing and additional data and accountability requirements on teachers, usually externally imposed, can also make them reluctant to consider new programs or adjustments to curriculum (Perryman & Calvert, 2020).

GAME BRAiN is a free presentation funded by the Ministry of Health which informs youth on the risks of gambling. GAME BRAiN will be available to all Ontario High Schools starting this fall. The GAME BRAiN presentation targets students in grades 9-12 and highlights the risks of gambling, how to avoid these risks and where to get help. Research has shown that youth are 2-4 times more likely to develop a gambling problem than adults, so it is important for youth to be aware of the realities of gambling, the risks involved and where to get help if need be. For more info on GAME BRAiN please click on the GAME BRAiN info sheet which includes a short video and booking form. To date, over 50,000 students across Ontario have found GAME BRAiN to be educational, engaging and a great way to learn about gambling risks.

If you would like to book a free GAME BRAiN presentation for your students, or get more information, please email Mary Davis, Senior Project Manager, RGC at maryd@rgco.org.

OSCA/ACOSO is pleased to announce our 2023 Fall Conference Keynote Speakers:

Dr. James Makokis and Anthony Johnson

The Amazing Two Spirit Couple is on a mission to raise awareness to create equal access for LGBTQ2S & Indigenous populations. Their ability to blend their personal experiences with high-level expertise creates new foundations of understanding for the acceptance of individuals while empowering individuals to give them tools and strategies for how they can be a part of the solution through allyship and unity. In 2019, Dr Makokis competed alongside his husband Anthony Johnson as "Team Ahkameyimok" on the Amazing Race Canada and won, becoming the first two-spirit, Indigenous, married couple in the world to do so.