Friday, March 22, 2024

Orientation's To Be Honest: The Musical wins Innovative Program Award

By Becky Wroe.

The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) is excited to share an update about Waterloo Orientation’s To Be Honest: The Musical (affectionately known as TBH).

NODA – the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education, recognizes several programs and people each year for their work. NODA’s Region VII (encompassing post-secondary institutions in Ontario, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio) has awarded To Be Honest: The Musical with the Innovative Program Award! Orientation produces TBH in partnership with Campus Wellness. The musical is designed to share a glimpse into the experiences of new students at the University of Waterloo. It is performed by upper-year students and delivered multiple times during Orientation Week in September.

We thank the many students and staff across the University and WUSA who have supported the production each year and have provided content through collaboration and consultation. The cast of the musical in 2022 recorded the original score, which can be found here. While the production of this musical is certainly a team effort, it couldn’t have been done without Amanda Kind, UW Alumnus and Director of the 2022 and 2023 productions of To Be Honest: The Musical.

Want to see what all the hype is about? Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 29, at 3 PM to join us in the Physical Activities Complex for a premiere showing of the 2024 production of TBH. You’ll learn a little bit about the new student experience, enjoy some toe-tapping and handclapping, and leave with some excitement for the fall term! Stay tuned to the Daily Bulletin for more updates in August. In the meantime, you can learn more about TBH. 

You're invited to this term's Social Impact Showcase

A message from United College.

Each term, United College’s  social impact incubator, GreenHouse, hosts the Social Impact Showcase to celebrate the social impact and entrepreneurship accomplishments of our students. This term, ten ventures will be pitching for funding from the Social Impact Fund on March 27, from 3:30 to 5:30pm in Alumni Hall. Come by before the pitches start to see our Social Innovators in Training cohort demo their prototypes and ideas for community engagement and feedback. 

You can also have your say by voting for your favourite student-led social venture in the People’s Choice Awards. The People’s Choice Award will be given to the social venture with the most online votes, granting them $1,000 to jumpstart their project! Voting opens today (March 22) and will remain open until Sunday evening (March 24) – the winners of the People’s Choice Awards will be announced live at the Showcase. Register today! 

Freedom of Expression task force launches anonymous feedback form

A message from Drs. Scott Kline and Christine McWebb, co-chairs of the Freedom of Expression and Respectful Engagement Task Force.

The Freedom of Expression and Respectful Engagement Task Force wants to hear from you!

We invite members of the University community to provide their perspectives on freedom of expression and the principles that are foundational to the exercise of that freedom by sharing their thoughts through an online anonymous feedback form.  

As stated in the announcement launching the task force, among the task force’s objectives is the development of principles to guide University members (faculty, staff, students) in upholding freedom of expression and in understanding the relationship between freedom of expression and academic freedom as components of an inclusive environment that fosters respectful engagement. 

The online anonymous feedback form is open to faculty, staff, and students. If you wish to participate, the form can be found on the Freedom of Expression website.

We look forward to your feedback. 

Waterloo recognizes outstanding supervisors of graduate students

This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on Waterloo News.

Three Awards of Excellence in Graduate Supervision were recently announced recognizing faculty members from the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics.  

“As an institution, we are committed to creating environments in which graduate students are empowered and supported as they pursue their academic, professional and personal successes,” says Jeff Casello, associate vice-president, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. 

“The relationships between graduate students and their academic supervisors are critical to achieving this goal. Our colleagues who are receiving the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision have been and continue to be exceptional collaborators with and mentors to our students. We are thrilled to celebrate their vast contributions to the graduate community.”  

Read the full article with winner profiles on Waterloo News

Friday's notes

The University of Waterloo Black Association for Student Expression (UWBASE) is hosting its annual showcase on Saturday. "BASEd On Our Roots" will highlight Black art, music, dance, creative talent and small businesses in the K-W community. There will be singing, dance, spoken word, instrumentals, modeling by young fashion designers, and food. The showcase will take place on Saturday from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at THEMUSEUM on King Street in Kitchener.

There's still time to check out Knowledge Integration Museum eXhibition (KIX) 2024, which bills itself as "a convergence of disciplines, teaching methods and creative minds in an object-centric exhibition on topics related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals." The exhibition, sorry, "eXhibition," has been running since Monday, March 18 and will conclude its run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday March 23 at St. Jerome’s University Siegfried Hall Residence Wellness Centre Gym.

As an aside, the Knowledge Integration program celebrated its 15^th anniversary this week. Congratulations!

Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian blog series, entitled Confluence - Exciting Announcement.