Winter session: January 8 to March 8, 2024

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 fall. Additional sessions will take place in the winter, spring and summer. Advantages of taking the course with OSCA are the instructor is a current guidance counsellor, a one year OSCA subscription is included ($55 value) and a downloaded copy of Ethical Guidelines ($25) is included. As part of the OSCA subscription, you 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: January 2, 2024  at 12 noon. Please register early to reserve your seat!

Save the Date – New OSCA/ACOSO Webinar!
Tuesday, November 28 @ 1:00 PM
Financial Literacy & You! Taxes, Insurance, Money Management & Budgeting

Join OSCA/ACOSO and Lee Taal, entrepreneur and innovative CEO, for this session filled with resources available via Chatterhigh! Lee will lead us through the Chatterhigh platform to learn how to help our students take advantage of a number of federally funded, online financial literacy activities, designed for youth: "Learn About Your Taxes” (CRA); "Money Management and Budgeting” (FCAC); "Insurance Literacy and Me” (Insurance Institute). Attendees will learn about these and other resources, as well as how to participate in the bi-annual Financial Literacy Fest competitions, with $40,000 in prize money! Register Here

As high school students explore their options of programs at colleges and universities, making that "right” decision can feel like an overwhelming task. Knowing that you aren’t locked into any path – that change is possible after one semester or even mid-stream – can ease the anxiety considerably.  
 
ONTransfer.ca is a free tool that helps students navigate their academic pathways by allowing them to identify postsecondary transfer options. Developed and maintained by the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT), ONTransfer.ca helps learners explore academic pathways.  
 
Every student’s academic journey is unique, and sometimes, there are unexpected challenges; for example, a student may not get into their first choice of program or school, a program or school may not be a good fit, or interests can change along the way. ONTransfer.ca helps students discover a myriad of program options and pathways and uncovers a world of possibilities. 
 
Guidance Counsellors and teachers assist students tremendously, helping them make informed choices and feel confident in their postsecondary decisions. To support Guidance Counsellors, ONCAT has developed the ONTransfer.ca Digital Resource Kit; this downloadable kit provides valuable materials and information about pathways, student mobility, and how ONTransfer.ca can help students reach their academic and career goals.

ONTransfer.ca is developed and maintained by ONCAT and funded by the Government of Ontario.

All About Mental Empowerment

Being a guidance counsellor is overwhelming. You are juggling individual student needs, academic matters, and assisting students with complex personal issues, including mental health concerns. We understand the daily challenges that you are facing. We appreciate your role and the value that you provide to your student community. This is why we want to help you by offering you a complimentary student workshop!

We, Dr. Bisleen Attli, ND, and Tara Rawana, are the founders of All About Mental Empowerment. We bring expertise in naturopathic medicine, nutrition, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Having worked with over 15,000 students through our workshops and courses we are dedicated to enhancing the well-being of school communities.

For schools we haven't worked with yet, we are thrilled to extend a unique opportunity—a complimentary workshop, "Navigating the Online Universe: A Social Media Mastery Workshop for Students." In response to students' concerns about the impact of social media on mental health and body image, this workshop empowers them with knowledge and tools to develop a healthy relationship with social media. Emphasizing thoughtful content sharing, essential safety tips, and practical engagement strategies, we also delve into the profound effects of social media on body image.

To explore how our workshop can benefit your student community, we invite you to schedule a meeting with us HERE. This free workshop offer is limited, so please book a meeting promptly if you are interested.

New OSCA/ACOSO Webinar! Tuesday December 12 @ 10 AM
Eating Disorders in the Classroom: Tips & Tools for Guidance Educators

In this webinar, facilitators from the National Eating Disorder Information Centre will lead guidance counsellors through a session on the pertinent signs of disordered eating in youth. Attendees will learn practical strategies for taking a comprehensive school health approach to eating disorder prevention, including frameworks to support a student or teacher coming forward with concerns; conversation tips that centre weight inclusion, food neutrality, and body acceptance; and community resources that could provide referral options to support all those that are affected. The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) is a registered Canadian charity that has been helping Canadians affected by eating disorders since 1985. We operate a national toll-free helpline and live chat program, providing in-the-moment support, information, resources, and navigation of healthcare services for people struggling with eating disorders, as well as the families, friends, and professionals who care for them. Register Here!

Re-Igniting School, Skills and Futures!

The Project Youth Energy team is working with young people, 15-25 years of age,
who have fallen off their educational path, due to school and work closures in recent years, and now struggling to get back on track.

We work directly with young people to assess their needs, and connect them with the
appropriate Mentors & Coaches, Educators, Trainers and Business Partners,
to give them direction and focus, and help them level up their academic and job skills.
We tailor a plan to the individual’s needs, and there is no cost for our services.
We are powered by The Institute for 21st Century Questions and Ontario Skills Development.

Check out our website for more information on the work we are doing.

Do you know a young person who could benefit from the PYE program? I’d love to
chat with them! My contact information is below or connect via our website.
Can our team help your team in your work with Youth? I’d love to hear from you!

We are very excited about this initiative, and are committed to helping our youth and our
communities to move forward positively, after the challenging pandemic years.

Elizabeth Galvin, Director
C: (905) 580-7821
elizabeth.galvin@i21cq.com

www.projectyouthenergy.com

https://mysparkpath.com/pages/parent

This year, National Skilled Trade and Technology Week (NSTTW) will be held from November 5 to November 11, 2023. NSTTW is a key date in the annual Skills/Compétences Canada (SCC) calendar. The goal of this week-long event is to promote and host awareness raising events around the many career opportunities in skilled trades and technology in Canada.

Learn more about this week on Skills Canada's website.

Is your school or school board hosting a post-secondary fair this fall for your grade 11 and 12 students? If so, we would love to be involved!

We are seeing that more and more students are interested in taking a purposeful gap year after high school to gain work experience, travel, volunteer, and figure out their next steps after high school. At Discover Year, we help students do all of these things!

If you would like Discover Year to attend your school's post-secondary fair this fall or deliver an information session for your students, please get in touch with us today!

Loss of meaning at work is a growing source of motivation for career change, particularly when it follows a significant event. A striking example of this is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has given rise to a phenomenon of "quiet quitting." This has prompted organizations such as CERIC and UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal) to address the issue by funding a research project aimed at understanding how major upheaval affects the meaning that individuals derive from their work and their decisions to change careers.