Northwest Community College Connections

NWCC Skills Canada BC Regional Trades Competition 2013 Winners

Junior Skills Category
Spaghetti Bridge — Students from Mount Elizabeth Middle School in Kitimat BC came away with the top prizes with Jared’s team taking first place. Congratulations to all participants, who learned today that spaghetti is not a great building material.

Secondary Skills Category
Automotive
1st place: Scott Beertema, Hazelton Secondary, Hazelton BC
2nd place: Jordan McNiece, Caledonia Senior Secondary, Terrace BC
3rd place: Andrew Martel, Northwest Community College

Carpentry — sponsored by Progressive Ventures
1st place: Brayden Fulljames, Smithers Secondary, Smithers BC
2nd place: William Helps, Smithers Secondary, Smithers BC
3rd place: Kristian Vidal, Caledonia Senior Secondary, Terrace BC

Culinary Arts — sponsored by Sysco Vancouver
1st place: Ben Williams, Hazelton Secondary, Hazelton BC
2nd place: Luc Statham, Charles Hayes Secondary, Prince Rupert BC
3rd place: Phil Ralston, Caledonia Secondary, Terrace BC

Welding — sponsored by KBR
1st place: Kolton Miller, Northwest Community College
2nd place: Jeremy Soares, Caledonia Senior Secondary, Terrace BC
3rd place: Colton Szmata, Mount Elizabeth Middle School, Kitimat BC

Electrical Wiring
1st place: Chris Leblanc, Northwest Community College
2nd place: Duncan Fisher, Northwest Community College
3rd place: Josh Clark, Northwest Community College

Post-Secondary Category
Automotive
1st place: Jocelyn Harris, Northwest Community College
2nd place, tie: Bertram Gonu and Cody Nelson, Northwest Community College

Carpentry
1st place: Brandon Stella, Northwest Community College
2nd place: Ian Fromm, Northwest Community College
3rd place: James Haley, Northwest Community College

Culinary Arts — sponsored by Sysco Vancouver
1st place: Candice Thomas, Northwest Community College
2nd place: Janelle Robinson, Northwest Community College
3rd place: Leah Kolesar, Northwest Community College

Electrical Wiring
1st place: Shonte William, Northwest Community College
2nd place: Linnea Waechter, Northwest Community College
3rd place: Allen Noordhoff, Northwest Community College


Thank you to the sponsors of the Skills Canada BC Regional Competition:
KBR
Progressive Ventures Construction
Galore Creek Mining Corporation
Avanti Kitsault Mine Ltd
Imperial Metals
Shell
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines
Sysco Vancouver
Classic Rock CFNR

Prizes were donated by these generous local businesses:
Convoy Construction Supplies
Spectra Energy
Kaman Industrial Technologies
Rudon Hydraulics Ltd
EB Horsman & Son
Air Liquide
Praxair
NAPA Auto Parts
McCarthy Motors GM
Finning Canada
Western Equipment Ltd
Canadian Tire

NWCC staff co-author guide for literacy practitioners

HOUSTON – Two Northwest Community College (NWCC) employees, both tireless champions of learning and literacy in the Bulkley Valley and beyond, have been instrumental in creating a new tool for literacy practitioners.

Houston-based Sandi Lavallie, Career & College Prep Instructor and Coordinator, and Dee McRae, Regional Literacy Coordinator, teamed with Anne Docherty of the Storytellers' Foundation in Hazelton to create The ACME Guide to Literacy Practice in Community: A Conversation for Literacy Practitioners.

The result is an interesting and provocative look at those complexities and what it means to engage in meaningful literacy practice. Written in an innovative and engaging comic book style and addressed directly to literacy practitioners, it is an accessible and highly engaging conversation for practitioners and tutors in adult literacy settings.

"This guide is about the nature of literacy and the implications for practice," said Lavallie. "It is intended as a professional development tool that will spark dialogue, debate, ideas and reflection about how we define literacy, how we define literacy progress, and other 'big picture' questions.
 
"While it was originally intended to be a fun, informal introduction to measurement, we found that as we wrote, we kept going back to the essence of literacy practice. We first need to look closely at literacy and learning in community to really see the complexities.”

Lianne Gagnon, NWCC's Dean of Student Development and Instruction has read the guide, finding it to be both informative and fun.

"I'm very pleased that Northwest Community College—through the effort, skill and passion of Sandi and Dee—has played a significant part in creating this great new literacy resource," said Gagnon. "Sandi, Dee and Anne possess a wealth of literacy experience and it is reflected in this book for practitioners. These three individuals are well known for their expertise in literacy and their successful grassroots initiatives. The Northwest region is a more literate place because of their endeavours. I recommend the guide to anyone in the field of literacy."

The guide is a product of the project From the Ground Up: A Research-in-Practice Approach to Outcome-Oriented Program Evaluation managed by RiPAL-BC (Research in Practice in Adult Literacy–BC) in partnership with Literacy BC and funded by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

In addition to viewing it here in PDF format, the College has six copies available at its campus libraries in Hazelton, Houston, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Smithers and Terrace.

NWCC is a valuable community asset, impacting the lives of students and our communities. Through its nine campuses, 500-plus employees and an annual injection of over $30 million into the local economy, NWCC is an economic engine supporting the many communities that look to us to provide innovative programs and services.

Student Services Team welcomes much-needed computer donation

TERRACE – Students with disabilities at Northwest Community College (NWCC) have benefitted directly by a generous donation of refurbished laptops, thanks to the Computers for Schools BC (CFS-BC) initiative.

The laptops are proving to be invaluable for enhancing NWCC's Student Services Team, in particular the Accessibility Services Coordinators, who work with students with disabilities to pursue their post-secondary education.

The donated refurbished laptops were distributed among NWCC's campuses where the need was greatest—Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers and Prince Rupert. There, they are readily available for the students to use; students can just sign them out for the term, or for just a day as required, says Terrace-based Accessibility Services Coordinator Pat Stone.  
 
Stone adds the students are using the computers to help them in a number of ways, by facilitating learning processes and by lightening the load they have to physically carry on a day-to-day basis. These students are benefitting from an online textbook service with large print, PDF, audio and e-book format from CILS, a library service for people with disabilities, along with standard word processing and internet capabilities.

"We are so pleased with the immediate benefits these computers have brought to our students," said Stone. "The students we help face greater challenges than able-bodied students and to augment the tools they have at their disposal can provide a major boost to their learning outcomes."

She says feedback from the students they help has been overwhelmingly positive. Students have said having access to a laptop means they don't have to carry around as many heavy books, that e-books and laptops have helped with vocabulary and that it saves on the physical toll some students with disabilities can encounter by having to get to the campus computer lab.

CFS-BC provides quality refurbished computer equipment to schools, libraries, community access  sites and learning focused not-for-profit organizations across BC. Computers for Schools BC is administered by British Columbia Technology for Learning Society and was incorporated in 1995.

NWCC is a valuable community asset, impacting the lives of students and our communities. Through its nine campuses, 500-plus employees and an annual injection of over $30 million into the local economy, NWCC is an economic engine supporting the many communities that look to us to provide innovative programs and services.

Student jobs available for upcoming 2011 census

The 2011 census is staffing 35,000 jobs across Canada.
If you are over 18 years old and can commit to at least 20 hours per week including evenings, weekends and holidays, apply now.

Rates of pay ($14.72 to $18.04 an hour) vary by assignment. The work period is early March to the end of July 2011, depending on assignment.

Please tell friends and family about opportunities to work on the census. Visit the 2011 Census website for more information.

To download and submit an online application, click on the Apply now graphic (left).

For more information about this opportunity, contact:

Sarah Miller
Communications Officer
Statistics Canada
email: [email protected]
tel: 604-658-8202 

NWCC campuses take a holiday recess

Northwest Community College (NWCC) campuses will be closed to the public during the upcoming holiday season, though the hours differ from campus to campus.

Please see what hours and days each campus is affected:

Note: All campuses will be closed by 1PM on December 24.

Hazelton Campus – closed to the public from 3pm December 24 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Houston Campus – closed to the public December 25 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay – closed to the public December 17 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Kitimat Campus – closed to the public from 1pm December 24 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Masset Campus – closed to the public December 17 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Prince Rupert Campus – closed to the public from 3pm December 24 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Village of Queen Charlotte Campus – closed to the public December 13 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Smithers Campus – closed to the public from December 25 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

Terrace Campus – closed to the public from 3pm December 24 through January 3 inclusive. Regular campus hours resume January 4, 2011.

NWCC Kitimat graduate earns prestigious award

Recent Northwest Community College (NWCC) student Marjorie Ramdatt, who graduated from the Community Mental Health Worker program in Kitimat earlier this year, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2010 Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal winner.

Established in 1979 by the Ministry of Advanced Education, the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal is awarded to students in vocational or career programs less than two years long who have excelled in their studies and who have contributed to the life of their post-secondary institution or their community. Nominees are chosen by the institution they attend.

NWCC Vice-President of Education Beverly Moore-Garcia congratulates Marjorie.