Thursday, August 29, 2019

Welcome wellness into your new school year

By Magda Bentia. This is an excerpt of an article originally published in Waterloo Stories.

As the days get cooler and August comes to an end, going back to school begins to creep into the minds of many. Whether you’re a student, staff or faculty member, a new term can be stressful, but it can also be a fresh start with many new opportunities. Incorporate these helpful habits to make the most of the year both academically and personally.

Take care of yourself

Being a student isn’t always easy and sometimes, amongst a long to-do list, you may find yourself compromising your wellness. The most important thing you can do for both your academic and personal success is to take care of yourself. Getting enough rest (eight-hours a night), eating right, exercising, spending time with friends and drinking enough water are all great ways to look after yourself. Resources on campus can also help you navigate these areas, including:

• Getting active on campus with Waterloo Athletics
• Chatting with a peer at UW MATES
• Discussing your nutrition or food-related health concerns with Nutrition Services at Campus Wellness
• Walk-in (for urgent concerns) or book an appointment at Health Services if you have questions or concerns about your health
• Learning about self-care tips on the Campus Wellness blog
• Taking some time to de-stress and meet others through clubs on campus or volunteering in the community
• Familiarize yourself with the Committee on Student Mental Health(CoSMH) and their initiatives

Time management

This semester, start preparing  for deadlines and tests earlier. Creating a daily schedule to complement your class schedule will also add structure and a routine to your days. Maximize your time by using breaks between classes to review content. Learn how to make time for review sessions to heighten retention and learning with the Curve of Forgetting concept.

The Student Success Office also offers Study Skills workshops that cover topics like Trouble Shooting your Time Management to learn how to manage deadlines and Get this Term Started for planning your semester. 

#Goals

To help you stay focused, set some short-term and long-term goals at the start of the semester. Along with these goals, add one to two points about how you will achieve each goal. For example, if your goal is to achieve a certain grade in a course, you can plan to study that course material for an hour each day and to ask your professor for help when needed.

Know your resources

Everyone needs help sometimes and knowing where to go for help ahead of time is a great place to start. Check out these undergraduate student resources for academic and student life help, along with wellness services being offered on and off campus. There are also plenty of graduate student resources available.

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo Stories.

Class will soon be in session, says Registrar's Office

Even as Orientation 2019 gets underway, the Registrar's Office is hard at work keeping new students informed about their first few days at school. According to a notification sent out yesterday, classes and lectures will begin on Wednesday, September 4. Classes will follow the normal Wednesday schedule.

Next steps for fall 2019 students include: 

• Finalizing and confirming class schedules on Quest;
• Checking important dates and deadlines for the fall term; and 
• Connecting with academic advisor if you have questions about your courses.

If you have questions about this email, contact askthecentre@uwaterloo.ca.

The Registrar's Office is also reminding students that The Centre will be open noon to 4 p.m. on Labour Day (September 2) and 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from September 3 to September 20 (business days).

Reminder: President's Community Impact Award nominations are open

Nominations for the third annual President’s Community Impact Awards are open. There is still time to recognize individuals or teams who embody the University's spirit of innovation and contribute to making Waterloo Region strong and prosperous by filling out a nomination form.

Award winners may be distinguished through such community service activities as volunteer work, public speaking, school outreach, or other outstanding community service.

The awards will:

• Reward and recognize community excellence
• Inspire us to engage in activities that develop leadership, foster social responsibility and contribute to the well-being of our community
• Promote community pride and participation
• Engage with, serve, and draw strength from the diversity of our external communities.

Up to four awards will be handed out in two categories each year:

Community Leader awards - A Community Leader is a current University of Waterloo student, faculty or staff member who "impacts their community through voluntarism, philanthropy, or other community engagement."

University Champion awards - A University Champion is an individual or organization from Waterloo Region or Stratford who has "demonstrated a commitment to championing the impact of the University in our community either through partnership with the institution or in working with individual students, faculty or staff of the University."

Terms of reference and nomination guidelines can be found on the Office of the President's website. The guidelines for collecting supporting documentation are also available.

Nominations close on Monday, September 23.