Happy Fall!

And yes I do mean Happy! I am happy that things are finally starting to settle a bit. I am happy my job is not going to change yet again at a moment's notice, and I'm happy that maybe there will be no more timetable changes!!!! So yes, today as I plan for this upcoming week I am HAPPY! It is the simplest things these days that spark joy but I have started to enjoy the simplicity in the little things that do make me happy. It is hard in these times of change and disruption to find our little joyful moments, but I promise you it is there.

I am also happy and grateful for my OSCA/ACOSO team - we have been busy planning a year and finding ways to help support our guidance community from a distance. Without an annual conference this year we wanted to be able to still provide meaningful PD, up-to-date resources, and ways to collaborate and hear your voices.

Over the next few weeks we will be launching many of our new initiatives for this year. Our OSCAToday magazine will be calling for writers for submissions for our magazine. Our Fall AQ courses will be starting this October. Professional development webinars will be launched and offered to our members, and in January 2021 we will be launching a brand new website!

We are happy to be there for our members and do what we can to support you in your roles during this challenging year. Let us hear your voices in the pages of our next magazine and dive into some new learning in one of our webinars this Fall. There is much to learn and grow with one another.

Fall Session: Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 1:00 PM -to- Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 1:00 PM
Register for the Fall Session here!

Winter Session: Monday, January 11, 2021 at 1:00 PM -to- Monday, March 8, 2021 at 1:00 PM
Register for the Winter Session here!

Cost: $650

The winter issue of OSCA Today is themed, "We Got This!". Our schools look and feel different. Our students, although optimistic, feel uncertain. Our day-to-day routine as educators has been disrupted and we have been forced to become creative and adapt in unfamiliar territory. And yet, we are managing. We got this! For the next issue of OSCA Today, the OSCA Board is seeking out OSCA members to share their experiences in the Guidance Office, the classroom, in the Board office or a post secondary institution. How are you navigating through a school year like no other? Share your tips for mental health and well-being. Have you experienced any silver linings within this ongoing crisis? Reach out to us so we can create a space for you in our next issue! New contributions are welcome. Contributions can be submitted in French, English or both languages. Please send your proposal, outlining your topic area to oscadesk@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

To provide high schools and school boards with greater flexibility for transmitting marks throughout the school year, OCAS has adjusted the data transmission schedule for student marks and enrolment data.
Notable changes include the introduction of target dates for data transmission, allowing numerous opportunities for high schools / school boards to submit marks as they become available.

Start your Research with OUInfo / Démarrez vos recherches avec Info-UO 

 

Ontario Universities'' Info 2021 is live! Find and compare Ontario university programs, and research residences, scholarships, admission requirements and more. 

New this year: We have expanded OUInfo to become the primary online resource for researching Ontario universities. OUInfo now highlights Ontario university virtual events and tours, webinars, chats, videos and more. Students can also request to receive information directly from Ontario universities. 

OUInfo is the only resource that is updated directly by the Ontario universities. Visit: www.ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca.

Universities post updates to OUInfo throughout the year ? check back regularly. 

Find more information about Extenuating Circumstances on the Guidance website. 

All the best in the new school year!
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Le site Web d''Info 2021 des universités de l''Ontario est maintenant accessible! Recherchez et comparez les programmes des universités de l''Ontario, renseignez-vous sur les résidences, les bourses d''études, les exigences d''admission et plus encore. 

Nouveau cette année: Nous avons augmenté Info-UO afin d''en faire la principale ressource en ligne de recherche sur les universités de l''Ontario. Info-UO comprend maintenant des renseignements sur les tournées et événements virtuels des universités de l''Ontario, y compris webinaires, séances de clavardage, vidéos et plus encore. Les élèves peuvent également demander de recevoir des renseignements directement des universités de l''Ontario. 

 Info-UO est la seule ressource mise à jour directement par les universités de l''Ontario. Rendez-vous au : www.ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca/fr. 

 Les universités mettent à jour leurs données tout au long de l''année; nous vous conseillons donc de consulter régulièrement le site Web d''Info-UO. 

 Trouver de plus amples renseignements au sujet des circonstances atténuantes au site Web d'Orientation. 

 Meilleurs succès en ce début de nouvelle année scolaire! 

Ready to start exploring your university options? Join us on October 3, 2020 for the Waterloo Virtual Fair!

At this event you'll be able to:
- Learn about Waterloo's programs,
- Talk with current students about their experiences,
- Explore your study options, and
- Find answers to all of your questions.

We hope we'll see you online!

The Future Further 2021 website is live!
Future Further provides information about supports and services for Indigenous students interested in, or already attending, an Ontario university.
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Future Further : Votre avenir vous attend!
L’édition de 2021 du site Web Future Further est en ligne!
(Nota : Il s’agit d’une ressource offerte en anglais seulement.)
Future Further fournit de l’information sur les soutiens et services offerts aux étudiantes et étudiants autochtones intéressés à fréquenter – ou fréquentant déjà – une université de l’Ontario.

Over the fall semester, join us online to hear from Ryerson community members delivering content across a range of topics. Tune in for mock-lecture, professional development opportunities and more!
Wednesday, September 20, 2 - 3 p.m.
Thursday, October 22, 2 - 3 p.m.
Thursday, November 26, 2 - 3 p.m.
Tuesday, December 8, 2 - 3 p.m.
Further details including registration can be found at the link below - we look forward to seeing you online!

This year's fair is virtual! We are excited to deliver this event virtually, more details to come.

Everything you need to learn about college in one place!

Canada Career Month 2020

Canada Career Month 2020 website is now live.

Canada Career Month 2020: 
The tagline for 2020 is "On The Move," with a focus on resiliency in our lives and careers.

The CCM website is designed to assist groups or individuals with :

• Showcasing their events; accessing resources plus infographics and videos; sharing their career stories, and more! 
• There's also interesting articles including one by Sareera Hopkins discussing the mindset of "positive uncertainty," which is what education is all about!

 

 

For Social Media, the following may be useful:

Hashtags (English and French)
#CCM2020
#OnTheMove
#CanadaCareerMonth
#CareerMonth
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#MCC2020
#Enmouvement
#Moisdelacarrierre
 
Career Month Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/careermonth
Instagram: https:instagram.com/careermonth
LinkedIn: https:www.linkedin.com/showcase/canada-career-month
CCM website: https://careermonth.ca/

This week's video:
How is it different now from when schools closed in March?
COVID-19 turned our world upside down and completely changed how we live our lives.
Schools were shut in March because at that time we were unsure of how bad the pandemic would be.

What is the risk of my child getting COVID-19 at school?
Many parents are worried about what might happen when their children go back to school, since it’s more likely that their kids will get COVID-19 if they’re around a bunch of other kids rather than physical and social distancing at home.

If you’re concerned about quickly transitioning to the virtual classroom, you are not alone. Educators and students around the globe are settling in—at home—to finish out the school year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. For many, the digital classroom is a completely new environment. But there’s good news: studies show that learning online is just as effective as learning in the physical classroom, as long as you prepare yourself—and your students—to succeed.

Presenter:
Julie Binmore, Parenting Coach

In this series, Julie provides reassurance that our job as parents is just what it has always been: to give our children a sense of security and love. Of course, there are things that we can do to make this period memorable, meaningful and engaging. With structure provided by us and the curiosity and enthusiasm provided by our early years learners, we can all find success in learning at home.

When we think of restorative justice, we think of it as a practice, however, in this class you will come to understand that restorative justice is actually a mindset, a way of being. Restorative Justice has been taking schools across the country by storm, but do you really understand the definition and theories behind it? In this class, we will unpack the meaning of restorative justice and learn what it looks like to have a restorative mindset. We’ll also examine the roots of restorative justice from Indigenous peoples and understand how we, as educators/parents/community members, can implement best practices for creating a restorative and relational approach to repair the harm caused by wrongdoing. Participants will be asked to join in exercises aimed at changing your mindset and examining your own beliefs about what justice really means and how it impacts the youth we teach. You will also have the opportunity in this class to observe a restorative circle, which is an exercise you can use in your classroom. This course is for people new to restorative justice and those who have some knowledge of it but want to learn more about where it came from, how it plays out across the world, and can shape our worldview.

Weekly on Thursdays
Oct 15 — Dec 10, 2020 | 4—6 pm
Retreat: Saturday Nov. 28 | 10 am—2 pm

Register here!

Five very important reasons to have FUN!

Ontario Universities’ Guidance Dialogues Fall 2020 – Virtual Event: Save-the-date/Dialogues entre les conseillers et les universités de l’Ontario – Automne 2020 – Séance virtuelle : Dates à retenir 

Ontario’s universities are excited to host a virtual Guidance Dialogues event on October 20-21, 2020.

This will be an interactive event where counsellors can engage directly with recruitment and admission representatives and get answers to their questions.

Universities will be available to answer your questions during the following times:

Tuesday, October 20
12:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Wednesday, October 21
8:30 am to 1:00 pm

Some Ontario universities are bilingual, so attendees may have an opportunity to speak with university representatives in French.

We invite you to attend on 1 or both days. Registration is required and will be available online in early October.
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Les universités de l’Ontario sont heureuses de présenter un Dialogue virtuel les 20 et 21 octobre 2020.

Il s’agit d’un événement interactif au cours duquel les conseillères et conseillers pourront s’entretenir directement avec des représentantes et représentants des services de recrutement et d’admission et obtenir des réponses.

Les universités répondront à vos questions lors des périodes suivantes :

Le mardi 20 octobre
De 12 h à 16 h 30

Le mercredi 21 octobre
De 8 h 30 à 13 h

Puisque certaines universités sont bilingues, les participants auront l’occasion de s’entretenir en français avec certaines représentantes et certains représentants universitaires.

Nous vous invitons à participer à l’une des journées, ou aux deux. L’inscription est obligatoire et se fera en ligne au début d’octobre.

 

OSCA/ACOSO Guidance and Career Education Awards 

Awards are now open for nominations!
Deadline is now May 28, 2021

Curriculum and Resources

**The Elmer Huff Award for Guidance and Career Education Resources - presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to the career development of young people through the creation, development and delivery of high quality Guidance and Career Education Resources.

Counsellor Professional Development

**The Russ Seltzer Award for Contribution to Counsellor Education in Ontario - presented to honour contribution to Counsellor Education in Ontario, including teaching Guidance and Career Education Additional Qualification courses.

**The Howard R. Beattie Award for Contribution to Counsellor Professional Development - presented to a counsellor who has created new and beneficial ideas and techniques for professional use and communicated these through such means as workshops, local leadership and the organization of a conference or guidance professional development activities.

Elementary Guidance

**The Marion Axford Award for Elementary Guidance - presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to elementary guidance in Ontario.

Peer Helping

**The Daryl L. Cook Peer Helping Award - presented to one elementary and/or one secondary school in Ontario in recognition of its exemplary peer helping program.

Contribution to Guidance and Career Education

**The Career/LifeSkills Resources Award for Excellence in Career Education - presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to career development. This award is presented by Career/Lifeskills Resources (www.career-lifeskills.com).

**The Certificate of Appreciation - presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to Guidance and Career Education in Ontario by individuals/groups who are community partners.

**The Phil Hedges Award - presented to recognize the contributions to Guidance and Career Education by dedicated counsellors in the Province of Ontario. An award will be given to one qualifying nominee from each of the six educational regions in the province, or up to a maximum of six qualifying nominees from across the province. **Please refer to http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/offices.html to determine which region each school board is included in.

**The Morgan D. Parmenter Memorial Award - presented to recognizes a person who has made a most significant contribution to Guidance and Career Education in Ontario.

Nomination Form

Over 62 nominations were received. Thank you all for your meaningful and moving contributions. The Governance Committee has completed their voting process, and the nominees listed below received an email letting them know they won the awards.

One thing is clear: Our students are strong and resilient, hard-working and determined. Some of the nominations were difficult to read, as stories of hardship and perseverance were shared with us. If we could, we would have selected them all.

The recipients of the 2020 OSCA-ACOSO Anthony Di Lena Student Pathway Awards are:

Rosemary Cameros Arbizu: University Pathway
Anusha Nimalaranjan: College Pathway
Maggie Benusik: Apprenticeship Pathway
Jackie Mitsima: Workplace Pathway