_____________________________________________________________________________________

OSCA/ACOSO invites presenters to submit proposals for workshops to be considered for our 2025 Conference, LEADERSHIP STARTS HERE: Empowering Leaders, Inspiring Change.

We are seeking presenters who excel in their areas of expertise and can deliver captivating and educational presentations to inspire NEW and EXPERIENCED teachers who are involved with Guidance and Career Education and Student Success.

NEW WEBINAR! TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH at 1:00 PM
Future-Proofing Students: 
Essential Skills for Success in the Evolving Workplace

Equip your students for the future with skills that matter! In this 60-minute webinar, The King's Trust Canada will share insights from its Skills Academy, highlighting the importance of meta, transferable, and self-navigation skills. Learn how these competencies prepare students to thrive in an ever-evolving job market, and gain practical strategies for fostering these skills in high school settings to empower students for lasting success.

The King's Trust Canada is a national charity that creates pathways to employment for young people facing barriers. Founded in 2011, by His Majesty King Charles III, The King's Trust Canada (formerly the Prince's Trust Canada), works with leading Canadian employers, community partners, and educational institutions to advance our mission of helping 100,000 young people increase their employability. Register Here!

All those who register will receive the webinar recording and any shared resources. Don't miss out! 

Register for Carleton University’s March Open House

Join us on campus on March 8, 2025 for March Open House! From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (ET),
you can customize your day by attending information sessions, tours, fairs and more.
Registration is now open and we can’t wait to CU there!

Register here!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Discover Carleton's campus

a student tour guide to visit Carleton classrooms, lecture halls and study spaces. Discover
all the resources available to Carleton Ravens. Visit our website for dates, times, more
information and to register. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

- Connect with representatives from 24 Ontario colleges.
- Learn about new programs, admission requirements, supports, hidden gems, experiential learning, pathways and more!
- Get your burning questions answered to allow you to continue to offer the best support for your students.
- Tour our fabulous facilities and see first-hand the learning labs and supports available for students.
- One word...LUNCH!

May, 6th, 2025 - Toronto Congress Centre

This enlightening conference provides career educators an opportunity to learn about skilled trade careers and the pathways that follow in relation to the journey. Our goal is for attendees to leave the conference feeling empowered and educated in sharing the day’s information with their students who may be considering a skilled trade career!

The conference features expert-led panels, a keynote speaker, thought-provoking discussions and the chance for participants to network with like – minded educators from across the province.

As a neurodivergent learner, your success at university or college starts with
knowing the tips and tricks to help you succeed.

This guide includes key information on how to prepare for higher education as a neurodivergent learner. These tips and tricks are meant to help set you up for success and make your transition easier.

The 6Rs of Connection – A Guidance Educator Resource describes a relational approach for responding to students when they express emotions, problems or mental health concerns. The resource provides some considerations, talking tips, resources and reflection questions to help support the practice of guidance educators; however, all educators may find it useful.

Post-secondary education represents a crucial opportunity for students to lay the foundation for sustainable and fulfilling careers. However, traditional employability models have often focused narrowly on skills and attributes, overlooking the broader range of personal resources—collectively known as "employability capital—and external factors that influence long-term career success. This narrow focus leaves students underprepared to navigate complex career environments and thrive over time.

In response, this webinar introduces the Employability Capital Growth Model (ECGM), a comprehensive framework that integrates nine forms of employability capital, external factors and time dimensions. By leveraging the ECGM, students can identify and pursue personal outcomes that matter most to them, such as career progress, earnings, well-being, or career satisfaction. Together, we will explore how the ECGM can be integrated seamlessly into your career centre’s existing approaches, equipping career development professionals to prepare students for sustainable careers and contribute to a thriving career ecosystem.

Catch up on your career development reading this winter with these recently released books! The 10 titles below cover a wide variety of topics including career theories, decent work, military-to-cilivilian employment and refugee integration. Check out this list by following the link below!

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the human emotional aptitude that represents an inherent ability for learning or understanding in human interaction and interpersonal relationships. Research suggests that social and emotional competency, as represented by EI, are significant predictors of individuals' success in their lives and careers. To this end, this article addresses the role of EI in the context of vocational and career psychology. Guided and informed by major career theories, it will propose counselling interventions that may help individuals with low EI enhance their capacity to cope with their vocational life more effectively.

Spring Session: April 7th to June 6th, 2025 

OSCA-ACOSO is pleased to announce that they will continue to offer Part 1, Part 2 and the Specialist in Guidance and Career Education Additional Qualifications courses this summer.
Additional sessions will take place in the fall and  winter. Advantages of taking the course with OSCA are the instructor is a current guidance teacher-counsellor, a one year OSCA subscription is included ($55 value if currently not active) and a downloaded copy of Ethical Guidelines ($25) is included. As part of the OSCA subscription, participants have the opportunity to attend the fall conference at a member rate, gain access to webinars throughout the year on topics related to guidance and career education, receive the weekly OSCA News to keep up to date with guidance/career topics, and receive the tri-annual OSCA Today, the professional magazine of the association.

Cost: $675 plus HST.
To register: www.osca.ca --> Next AQ course
Registration closes Friday, March 21st at 11:55 pm. This is a FIRM deadline.  
Teaching experience forms (Part 2 and Specialist) are all due no later than Wednesday, April 2nd. 
Please register early to reserve your seat!.

OSCA/ACOSO recently held its first official Board of Directors meeting for 2025. We are thrilled to welcome new Directors to the board: Ron Perron, David Boshra, Kelly Stromme, Senthuran Paramasamy, and Sandra Idone.

The discussion agenda included presentations from prominent stakeholders: Theresa Wilson from School Mental Health Ontario, Chris Coupland, Chair of the Ontario Universities Council, Patty Marino from the Ministry of Education, and Derek Serafini from the Council of Registrars, Admissions, and Liaison of Ontario.
_________________________________________________________________________________

L’OSCA/ACOSO a récemment tenu sa première réunion officielle du conseil
d’administration pour 2025. Nous sommes ravis d’accueillir de nouveaux directeurs au
conseil?: Ron Perron, David Boshra, Kelly Stromme, Senthuran Paramasamy et Sandra
Idone.
L’ordre du jour de la discussion a compris des présentations d’intervenants importants :
Theresa Wilson de Santé mentale en milieu scolaire Ontario, Chris Coupland, président
de l'Ontario Universities' Council on Admissions, Patty Marino du Ministère de
l’Éducation et Derek Serafini du Comité des registraires et agents d’admission et de
liaison.

Forms are to be submitted no later than Friday, September 12, 2025 by 4:00 p.m.

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-ACOSO Anthony Di Lena Student Pathway Awards' mandate is to assist at-risk students in their journey towards success. An award is given 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, community living, university or work.

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. '

The deadline is Thursday, May 1st, 2025 by 4 PM.