From left: Dental Assisting grads Chelsea Bezditny, Katharina Seibel, Kaitlyn Bezditny, Jillian O’Donnell and Lee-Anne Sabourin.

Dental Assisting graduates from Red River College’s Winkler Campus are gearing up for a summer trip to Guatemala, where they’ll provide free clinical care for local residents in five different locations.

As part of their fifth annual summer mission to the region, five recent RRC grads (now registered dental assistants), as well as a dentist, a dental therapist, and a dental instructor from the College, will provide free dental care to approximately 2,540 Guatemalans — double the number they provided care for during their last trip in 2012.

This year’s team will spend a day and a half attending to locals at San Marcos Church, before travelling to Nuevo Chuatuj, La Felicidad and San Martin Chile Verde in subsequent days. The trip takes place June 30 to July 10; students have been fundraising for months to offset their travel costs.

“Past team members have personally gained a lot from their experiences, and feel blessed by having worked with the people they encountered,” says Athena Wilford, Dental Assisting Coordinator at Winkler Campus. “In spite of poverty and meagre living conditions, the people we met were very gracious.”

Last year, graduates travelled to seven different sites, where they worked alongside medical and pharmaceutical teams Minnesota and North Dakota. The 2012 team also included Steinbach dentist Dr. J. Koepke and students from the Guatemala University Dental School; members first travelled to San Marcos Church in Quetzaltengo, then held their remaining six clinical sessions within the municipality of Coatepeque.

This year’s team will be comprised of Dental Assisting graduates Chelsea Bezditny, Katelyn Bezditny, Lee-Anne Sabourin, Jillian O’Donnell and Katharine Seibel, as well as Wilford (also a Dental Assisting instructor), dentist Dr. Andrew Cheng, and North Dakota State Medical Officer Dr. John Baird.

Click here for more information about the Dental Assisting — Level II program at RRC’s Winkler Campus.

Red River College is pleased to welcome a delegation from Finland, whose members are visiting Winnipeg to discuss possible international partnerships.

The delegation is comprised of instructors and administrators from five Finnish colleges, and includes representation from the fields of Vehicle Technology and Information Communication Technology, Student Guidance and Counselling, and International Affairs.

The visitors are in Winnipeg until Thursday to establish relationships with RRC, and to explore new possibilities for faculty, staff and student exchanges between the respective institutions. While in town, delegates will shadow instructors from RRC’s Automotive and Information Communication Technology programs, visit the educational fields they represent, and give presentations on their work in Finland.

Advertising students from Red River College’s Creative Communications program will pick up five national awards next month, when they head to Toronto to receive cash prizes for their work promoting Canadian charities.

Sponsored by Imagine Canada and Alberta’s Muttart Foundation, the Students Verb Charities contest rewards exceptional promotional campaigns exploring how charities ensure, improve and reflect our quality of life. A total of $100,000 is up for grabs next month, and with five out of a possible six awards going to RRC students, the odds are clearly in their favour.

Working in teams of two to four people, the RRC advertising majors developed creative concepts and videos, for which they’ll receive awards ranging from $2,500 to $50,000. They’ll travel to Toronto next month with their instructors; the Muttart Foundation is covering the students’ travel expenses, as well as putting up the prize money.

In other CreComm news, student Terry Proveda picked up the Best Film and Best Documentary awards for his video Going to Extremes at last week’s University of Winnipeg’s 2013 Student Film Festival, while classmates Katy Slimmon, Owen Swinn and Brian Wrede picked up Best Editing honours for their documentary Living in Harmony, about a local Hutterite colony.

As well, this year’s Broadcast Journalism class won first place in the Video Studio Newscast category at this year’s Broadcast Educators Association of Canada (BEAC) National Student Awards. That award will be handed out this weekend as part of the BEAC Annual Conference in Banff. Click here to view the winning newscast.

Culinary student Randy Grieg, who won a gold medal at last month’s Skills Manitoba Competition.

Congratulations to the 48 Red River College students who won medals at last month’s Skills Manitoba Competition, many of whom will go on to represent the province at the national contest in Vancouver next month.

The 16th annual Olympic-style competition was held April 11 at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus, with students competing in 40 different categories aimed at showcasing their hands-on expertise, talent and determination in a variety of skilled trades and technologies.

RRC students swept the podium in 13 different categories, and earned medals in six more. Those who won gold medals who will go on to compete as Team Manitoba at the 19th Skills Canada National Competition in Vancouver, June 5-8.

More than 500 students from across Manitoba took part in the provincial trials. See below for a full list of RRC winners.

Aircraft Maintenance

• Xiang (Ted) Zhe Yu (gold)
• Colby Shand (silver)
• Ruskin Madill (bronze)

Architectural Technology and Design

• Joël Duhaime (gold)
• Anthony Tran (silver)
• Jesse Watson (bronze)

Auto Service

• Aaron DeBoer (gold)
• Jorden Berger (silver)
• Katelin Smith (bronze)

Autobody Repair

• Tanner English (gold)
• Devon Wiebe (silver)
• Nicolas Bratton (bronze)

Baking

• Jordan Houdayer (gold)

Brick Masonry

• Damien Thenhaus (gold)
• Jesse Hamm (silver)
• Justin Reineke (bronze)

Cabinet Making

• Leonhard Derksen (gold)
• Markus Dyck (silver)
• Alicia Demare (bronze)

Car Painting

• Cam Hampshire (gold)
• Derrick Dujlovic (silver)
• Dylan White (bronze)

Carpentry

• Garett Falk (gold)
• Curtis Combot (silver)
• Jeff Fortier (bronze)

CNC Machining

• Collin McDougall (gold)
• Ben Courchene (silver)
• Devyn Toews (bronze)

Cooking

• Randy Grieg (gold)
• Josh Morrison (silver)
• Bradley Young (bronze)

Electronics

• Jorgen Kaspick (gold)

Geographic Information Systems

• Erik Rowson (gold)
• Kimberly Madsen (silver)

Heavy Equipment Service

• Tomas Lee (silver)
• Orry Enns (bronze)

Mechanical CAD

• Harley Levewue (bronze)

Plumbing

• Simon Scheling (gold)
• Darren Zetterstrom (silver)
• Brant Bell (bronze)

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

• Todd Garden (gold)
• Nick Krause (silver)
• Scott Nicol (bronze)

Sheet Metal Work

• Terry Rogers (gold)
• Jeremy Prive (Silver)
• Tyson St. Hilaire (bronze)

Welding

• Sara Kabaluk (silver)
• Dennis Lewicki (bronze)

Linley James (second from right), with Christine Crowe (Vice-President, Community Development, RRC), Tom Trottier (RRC Recycling Team), and Lori Walkow (RRC Student Services and Community Development Services)

The purchasing agent for RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute has been recognized for his role in supporting those with intellectual disabilities as they find and maintain meaningful employment in the community.

RRC staffer Linley James received the “Outstanding Natural Support” award at this week’s Sweet Success 2013 reception, hosted by Connect Employment Services to honour the achievements of Connect clients and supports over the past year.

In his prior role as Supervisor of Campus Services at the Roblin Centre in the Exchange District, James worked closely with members of RRC’s Recycling Team, supporting them in their day-to-day tasks and researching products and equipment used in the course of their duties.

The Sweet Success reception, held Thursday at the University of Manitoba, included a dessert-tasting and auction, and was attended by the Rt. Hon. Ed Schreyer, former Manitoba premier and governor general of Canada. The event was presented by Connect Employment Services and the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba.

Education Minister Nancy Allan (left) and Winnipeg Construction Association President Ron Hambly (centre) look on as Elmwood High School student Samuel Lopez and carpentry instructor Frank Jess build a toolbox in one of RRC’s Mobile Training Labs.

Red River College and Manitoba Education are helping to boost trades training through a pilot project that provides Winnipeg youth a hands-on introduction to the trades.

The pilot program provides up to 25 students in Grades 7 and 8 the opportunity to “try out” the type of work typically done by electricians, carpenters and welders. Students from Elmwood High School are attending Red River College once a week for three weeks, to learn about career options in the trades.

“The pilot program is intended to expose young people to the trades as a viable career option,” says Stephanie Forsyth, President, Red River College. “One of the ways to get more young people interested in the trades is to give them more hands-on experience, and help them identify a skill they would love to acquire.”

According to Skills Canada, over the next two decades employers in Canada will find it difficult to hire and retain skilled workers. However, a Statistics Canada survey in 2009 showed just 26% of young people aged 13 to 24 plan to consider a career in the skilled trades.

“The future of Manitoba is being trained here today. These students are gaining valuable experience through hands-on learning,” says Education Minister Nancy Allan. “Projects like these expose students to new potential career opportunities that will lead to good jobs and build our province.”

The students will also meet with elders-in-residence to learn more about the College’s School of Indigenous Education and the supports and services it provides.

In addition, students will be exposed to one of the College’s mobile training labs. Each lab consists of a 53-foot trailer with pop-out sides that can quickly transform into a 950 square-foot training facility. They will also visit the Stevenson Campus to become more aware of careers in the aerospace industry.

“In addition to piquing their interest in the trades, we want all young people to feel welcome at Red River College and be assured they are valued,” says Forsyth. “Once high school is over, we’d love to see them back here to train for a rewarding career.”

The College and province will assess the pilot program, with a view to expanding it to other provincial schools next year.

For more information contact: April Krahn, Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations, AKrahn@RRC.CA, or 204-795-1685.

Front Row: Jennifer Kasprick, Janis Ollson, Maddie Tokar-Wolff
Back Row: Eva Brown (instructor), Anita Lesage, Sarah Brown, Sheldon Hamp

Students from Red River College’s Business/Technology Teacher Education program extended their reach clear across the globe last month, while taking part in an international conference on emerging classroom technologies.

The students, all pre-service teachers in Eva Brown’s second-year Teacher Ed. ICT and Multimedia classes, were participants in the 2013 Flat Classroom Conference, held March 8-10 at Yokohama International School in Japan.

Only Brown was actually present in Japan, invited to the conference as a presenter; the pre-service teachers participated via Google Hangout sessions and as online presenters during one of the conference’s three keynote addresses. Prior to the conference, all six students worked as a group to produce a video on the topic of “How We Can Help Others”. (Click here
to watch.)

Their project — showcasing humanitarian initiatives on a local, national and international scale — was presented alongside 14 others, and representatives from Brown’s class were given the opportunity to speak to the 200-plus students and educators in Japan as well as many other virtual participants.

“It was amazing to see the work they did here presented on the other side of the world … so that other people could see their work, and they could connect with other students and educators,” says Brown.

“Now when they go into the classroom (as teachers), they’ll have personal experience in how they can connect their students, so that collaborations like this one become real for them, too.”

Having completed the project and taken part in the conference, Brown’s students agree that emerging technology tools — such as wikis, blogs, social networking, and digital storytelling — have had a drastic impact on the educational landscape.

“It’s a pretty surreal experience … just the fact that we can connect with people on the other side of the world, and show them what we can bring to the table,” says pre-service teacher Anita Lesage.

“If you bring that to the classroom with your students, it gives them the same experience. It’s saying, ‘Look what you can do. This isn’t just going to be seen by your classmates, it’s going all the way around the world.’ And that might motivate them to do a better job, because it’s not just their friends anymore, it’s a grander audience.”

In addition to providing instant connections between teachers and students in all corners of the world, the new technology helps students put a human face on what they’re learning — in a way that textbooks and other traditional resources can’t.

“It opens (students’) eyes to their possibilities and their futures,” says pre-service teacher Janis Ollson.

“It makes the world a little smaller and gives our students more cultural awareness,” adds classmate Sheldon Hamp, “and an excellent memory of the learning experience to look back on.”

“Really, it opens students’ eyes to global opportunties and the future— and levels the playing field, in that respect. They realize that a student sitting beside them (in Manitoba) can be exactly the same as a student in Japan. They know they have that access, and they have that ability to collaborate. They can do projects with them, learn from them, share with them and teach them.”

Click here for more information on the Flat Classroom Project.

“Transitioning out of care can be very challenging for many youth—especially financially,” says Stephanie Forsyth, RRC President. “The prospect of student loans and debts may prevent capable students from receiving a post-secondary education. Red River College is delighted to be able to remove that worry for a number of students.”

There are more than 9,500 children and youth in care in Manitoba, with the majority being First Nations and Métis. Typically, once youth in care turn 18 they leave the child welfare system and must fend for themselves. With few supports available, many will find themselves on social assistance or even homeless.

“Youth raised in foster care face unique challenges once they leave the system,” says Jay Rodgers, CEO, General Child and Family Services Authority. “By waiving the tuition fee, Red River College is giving these young people the opportunity for a much brighter future through education and inspiring hope.”

A handful of RRC students have already received a Youth in Care bursary. With the program becoming permanent as of this fall, a minimum of 20 youth in care per year, selected by a child and family services authority, will be eligible to attend the College on a bursary. They will remain on an extension of care with their authority and have their living expenses covered up to the age of 21, so long as they remain students of the College and take a minimum 60 percent course load.

Students must meet regular entrance requirements. Tuition will be fully covered by revenue generated from the College’s Youth in Care bursary endowment fund, which recently received a $100,000 private donation. The College intends to fundraise $1 million to support the program on a permanent basis.

While mass shootings and other violence on university and college campuses throughout North America have increased our sense of vulnerability, Red River College has implemented a comprehensive plan to communicate threats and enhance the safety of students, staff and visitors. The quality of its Integrated Campus Emergency Alerting System has led to a leadership recognition award from the Human Resource Management Association of Manitoba (HRMAM).

This Emergency Alerting System provides timely and effective warnings to allow people to take appropriate actions that save lives in the event of an imminent safety threat. It includes the following features:

• Emergency announcements through several public address speakers;
• Desktop alerts to computers and text alerts to cellphones for all staff and students;
• A comprehensive education campaign, including orientation for students and new employees;
• Weekly testing of the system, including annual campus-wide lockdown drills to ensure students and staff know what to do in the event of an imminent threat.

“As a result of the Alerting System, the entire College community has become more engaged and aware of their responsibilities in the event of an unforeseen emergency affecting one or more of our campuses,” said Dave Clarke, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.  “It has helped make Red River College a safer environment in which to work and learn.”

The system includes pre-scripted messages to initiate a lockdown at any campus, as well as the ability to issue live or updated messaging as a situation evolves.  Participants can also specify which campus they attend to receive alerts for only that campus.

The Alerting system also includes protocols and procedures for immediate notification of managers and senior staff in the event of a serious incident, as well as departmental call-trees to disseminate information to and from staff who may be off campus.

All three institutions were in constant communication regarding this threat and acted in accordance with their respective emergency protocols in conjunction with the Winnipeg Police Service. Nothing suspicious was found at any of the institutions and all organizations were assessed as being safe and cleared.

Operations will continue as normal at Red River College with no cancellations to exams or any other activity.