lOMMUNr VCC connections : c. 2 (TS) v. 9 no. 2; 2003 (02) Feb 28 »// Inte 31 09 00854 0254 f , r February 28, 2003 Help us rename Connections - details inside! VCC Chefs Place Second in Canada! VCC Rolls Out New Software! Above: (from left) Laura Sharpe, Ryan Stone, Harold Bonkowski, Farand Lee, Ian Shandler and Tobias Grignon. Vancouver Community College apprentice chefs competed at the CFCC/ Knorr Junior Team Culinary Competition in Toronto, Feb 15-19th and placed second in Canada (story on page 3). ¥¥¥¥ IJW CfohhtCtiOhS Connections Correction Oops! We apologize for a mistake in the last issue in regards to the 5th Annual Recognition Event. The description under the picture at right of employee Ngee-Moi Voon was incorrect She won Excellence in Teamwork as did the Assessment Centre-there was a tie! She did not receive the flowers on behalf of the Assessment Centre as she works in College and Career Access. Right: Rob Henderson congratulates Ngee-Moi Voon on her Excellence in Teamwork win. Education's Web Connections Global Virtual Fish Tank http://www.virtualfishtank.com Communication Design a fish, tag it and release it into a tank. The program requires the Macromedia Shockwave Player, which you must download if you do not already have it installed on your Link From June 21 to July 6, 2003 the Ministry of Education RhmelandPalatinate is offering a seminar for American and Canadian teachers and administrators in Ingelheim on the Rhine River and in Berlin that will allow you a closer look at different German institutions in education, economics, and politics, and will give you a taste of culture as well. More information can be found on the web http://bol1.coba.unr.edu/elfi/ Donna Hooker system. Appointment I am pleased to announce the appointment ofSandi Bailey as Department Head of the Denturist/ Dental Laboratory Technology Department. Sandi's appointment is effective January 1, 2003. Pat Bawtinheimer Daily Grammar http://www.dailygrammar.com Submit your e-mail address and have grammar lessons e-mailed to you on a daily basis. Help us Rename Connections-Deadline Mar. 14th We are asking for your clever ideas for a new name for "Connections"! We will be refreshing the look of Connections in the coming months and thought it would be a great time to review the name as well. Since this is your "newsletter" we are asking you for ideas. Or, if you don't want us to change the name- we would also like to hear why we should keep the name "Connections". Email your name ideas to kwilson@vcc.ca with the subject line: "Connections: NEW NAME" by Mar. 14,h at 5:00 pm. Check out March Connections for a list of submitted names. Who knows, your idea may be chosen to rename VCC's most popular reading material! Page 2 Vol 9 No 2 www.vcc.ca VCC chefs win 2nd Place in Canada at national championship in Toronto Five apprentice chefs from Vancouver Community College competed at the CFCC/Knorr Junior Team Culinary Competition in Toronto Feb 15-19th and placed second in Canada. Coach Harold Bonkowski and his team of 5 chefs: Ryan Stone, 21, PEI at the Olympics in the fall of 2004. Go Canada!" Costs for the team's trip were covered through a sold-out fund-raising dinner hosted last month at the college's downtown campus. Tobias Grignon, 21, Laura Sharpe, 19, Farand Lee, 21 and Ian Shandler, 21 have been practicing for 3 months to get ready for this intense competition. Their months of intensive training and the pressure of competition together spell an invaluable experience for these apprentice chefs. VCC's team is the only British Columbia entry in the competition. "To compete at this level has been a character-building experience," says Grignon, who along with his team-mates as been preparing for Above and Right: Ryan Stone and Tobias Gngman, apprentice chefs and key members of the VCC culinary team. the competition since last fall. For team coach Bonkowksi, the competition is all about showcasing the skills of young local chefs. The apprentice chefs had just 3 1/2 hours to create a four-course meal of appetizer, soup, entree and dessert. Their ingredients: Arctic char, prawns, wild poultry and pork tenderloin. "We want to show the rest of the country the level of expertise of our apprentices here on the West Coast," he says. "There's some regional pride involved here." Glen O'Flaherty sums up their achievement, "As Department head of Culinary Arts, I could not be more proud of our team. Harold hand picked the team and practiced with them every Saturday and Monday night for months They come home with a silver medal and a lifetime memory. There is no such thing as second place here, we are all winners and we will cheer on the team from February 28, 2003 Page 3 CJo^MCfiohS VCC rolls out new office software VCC is launching a new suite of office software - StarOffice - that stands to save the college money and streamline the way users create routine memos, letters and other materials. StarOffice offers users a powerful package of common applications - word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tools and database - all of them essentially equivalent to Microsoft's Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. "This suite is dramatically less expensive for the College than the Microsoft products that are currently installed on our network," says Des Dougan, director of Information and Computing Services, who works regularly with StarOffice. "Our department is always looking at ways to deliver quality software at the best cost - this new package does that," he says. Total cost of licensing StarOffice across the entire College computer network: $40. Compare that to an estimated $130,000 it costs the College each time it upgrades the Microsoft Office suite of Word and other applications. StarOffice is a version of what's called 'open source' software, meaning that it's available free, with users paying only a minimal fee for discs or distribution. Behind StarOffice is one of the biggest names in the computing world, Sun Microsystems, which is an international leader in hardware and software development. "It's often hard for people to believe the low cost," says Dougan. "But that's the beauty of 'open source' software, which companies and developers create with the philosophy of having quality applications for the good of the community." StarOffice will be rolled out across the College computer network over the next several weeks, when users will be able to access the software by way of the start menu or the Windows desktop of their computers. Microsoft Office applications will continue to be available, but users are encouraged to try out the new StarOffice software. So .. now for some technical stuff about StarOffice: StarOffice can save files in its own format - XML-based for those who are interested - or more importantly in MS Office formats, up to and including Office XP. It can read all common file formats, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint used at the College, as well as versions of WordPerfect and other, older, applications. This package will be available only on the College network, but home users who want this powerful suite can download a free companion version called OpenOffice. Visit www.OpenOffice.org to find out more. Both StarOffice and OpenOffice have some limitations - they are not quite as polished as MS Office, for instance, and may not present imported MS Office documents exactly as they would look in Word (especially) or Excel. "Those limitations are really quite minor when you consider the cost and the array of added features that are in the works for these packages," says Dougan. "StarOffice offers a far greater capability for templates, which means that users will be able to save a lot of time when they're creating a lot of your day-to-day documents." 3. Walk, do not run. When you have reached the outside of the college, move away from the building to allow others behind you to emerge from the exit. 4. Proceed safely across the streets. 5. Do not go back into the college for any reason until the fire department has given its permission to do so. Dm Safety Sam, I am an instructor at VCC. Times and situations have changed over the years and I was wondering if you can refresh my memory about exactly what I should do when the Fire Alarm Sounds. Signed, Wanting to Know Page 4 Dear Wanting to Know, Your question is one that has come up recently at some of our Safety Meetings When the Fire Alarm Sounds: 1. Secure your area. 2. Follow the instructions of the emergency personnel or person in charge then proceed to the nearest exit and evacuate down the stairwells. 6. Stay out of the building until the three rings of the bell (City Center) or three blasts of the hailer (KEC) are heard. To find out about other Emergency Procedures, the VCC Emergency Procedures Handbook is available through the Facilities Department in room 105 at the City Center Campus or by calling the Safety Assistant at local 8456 and a copy will be forwarded to you. Vol 9 No 2 www.vcc.ca LEARNING CENTRE NEWS Upcoming Learning Centre Workshops (KEC) The following workshops are available for VCC students. The location is the Workshop Room in the KEC Learning Centre. Workshops are limited to 16 students only. Resume Workshop with Nancy Ban February 21, 2003 11:00-12:00 Sentence Structure (Intermediate to Advanced) with Veronica Jorna February 25, 2003 11:00-12:00 Pronunciation (Int. to Adv.) with Michael Daniel February 25, 2003 2:00-3:00 How To Learn Vocabulary (Int. to Adv.) with Carrie Leggatt February 26, 2003 11:00-12:00 Cross-Cultural Conversation (Int. to Adv.) with Michael Daniel February 26, 2003 2-00-3:00 CBC News (Int. to Adv.) with Nancy Ban February 27, 2003 11:00-12:00 ESL News (Beginner to Intermediate) with Lee Henderson February 27, 2003 2:00-3:00 New City Centre Learning Centre Hours Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 6:30 pm Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm BOOKS, VIDEOS AND ACCC 2003 CDs FOR SALE The 2003 Buy-a-Book Campaign will begin on April 1, 2003. The Committee is planning a sale of used books, videos, and CD in support of the Campaign. Please bring items to either the KEC or the City Centre Library. They will be sorted and priced by Library staff and available throughout the Campaign. All proceeds will go to the VCC Foundation's Library Acquisition Fund to help purchase much-needed materials for both Libraries. CONFERENCE IN VANCOUVER As you know, this year's ACCC conference will take place in Vancouver, May 25 - 27 with the conference theme,"Our Changing Landscape". The conference locations are the Vancouver revitalize your personal collection, so Fairmont and Hyatt Hotels. VCC is the lead host institution, working with Capilano, Douglas and Langara Colleges, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, the Justice Institute and Kwantlen University College. Linda Martin is the Chair of the Host Planning Group and Sarah Lucas is please... the local Conference Coordinator. This is an excellent opportunity to GIVE A BOOK TO BUY-A -BOOK!! Make-Up Exam Times (KEC) Instructors are reminded of our make-up exam times: Monday - Thursday 9:00 am - 11:00 am Monday - Thursday 3:30 pm - 6.30 pm Friday 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Exams must be STARTED and COMPLETED within the scheduled Detailed information on the conference can be found on the ACCC website at www.accc.ca. If you enjoy working with colleagues from across the Lower Mainland, please think about volunteering to work at one of the conference locations on at least one of the days. Details on sign up for volunteering activities will appear in the next edition of Connections. We believe that this conference provides something for everyone in the college community. If you need further information, please contact Sarah Lucas at local 7158 or by email at slucas@vrc.ca\acccconnections time periods. Two New College Policies At the Board meeting of January 28, 2003, two new College policies were approved: i.) A.1.1. Board Meetings Policy. This Policy replaces A.I.3 and A.I.6.; ii.) D.I.2 Selection of Instructional and Library Materials Policy. The Policies may be viewed on the College Website. If you require a hard copy of the policies, please contact Vivienne Garrott at 7159. NOTICE TO ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS If you are making changes to courses or programs that will require Education Council (and perhaps Board) approval, please remember that the Council (and the Board) often do not have a quorum for a July and/or August meeting. If the changes are to be in effect for September, then submit your request for approval as early as possible so that it can be processed in time for .. continued on page 6 February 28, 2003 Page 5 CZatoMC&ehg-. continued from page 5 the June 3rd meeting. Send your submissions to the Curriculum Committee for review and suggested revisions before your submissions are considered by Education Council at its June 3rd meeting. The Curriculum • The Business Management Department is m the discussion stage with SAIT and CGA to offer some of their courses at the International Centre on a cost recovery basis. Committee meets on March 18th, April 3. Report of Education Chair 15th, and May 20th. Forms for submissions are found on both drives at: Common/ Education Council/Curriculum Cttee. Michele Bickell is the recording • The Chair received an appeal to Education Council on academic matters. The Tribunal ruled that the appeal was unfounded and should not go to a hearing. secretary and can be reached at 8717006 or by email at mbickell@vcc.ca. • Budget discussions took place at the College Board meeting in Ted Hougham, Chair Education Council Summary of Minutes of the Education Council Meeting Held on Tuesday, January 7, 2003 in KEC Room 5025 at 3:30 p.m. 1. Advice to the College Board: December. • A motion was passed expressing concern about the loss of library hours and the impact on programs and students due to budgetary constraints. Meet the Writer Series! VCC welcomed Bilhe Livingston • Approved the Selection of Instructional Et Library Materials Policy. • Approved the course change in Civil Level 3, Drafting Architectural, Civil Structural and Computer Aided Drafting (CAD). 2. For Information • The Policy Committee will be writing a policy on distributed learning. • It was decided that instructors would continue to accommodate religious observance to the extent that it was possible and that a policy was not necessary. • The drafting program name has been changed to Computer Aided Design Drafting (CADD), on Wed. February 19. She read to staff, students and visitors from her new book. Don't miss the next 2 brilliant B.C. writers: Marilyn Bowering and William Deverell. Marilyn Bowering - at VCC on Wed. March 19, KEC Cafeteria 12:30-1:45 William Deverell The Dance of Shiva (KEC) PS 8557 E92 D36 1984 Fatal Cruise (CC) PAPERBACK Kill All The Lawyers (CC) PAPERBACK Laughing Falcon (KEC) PAPERBACK Mindfield (KEC) PAPERBACK (KEC) PS 8557 E92 M56 1989 Platinum Blues (KEC) PS 8557 E92 P58 1988 (KEC) PAPERBACK Street Legal : The Betrayal (KEC) PAPERBACK Trial of Passion (KEC) PS 8557 E92T75 1997 PURCHASE OF SERVICE FOR COLLEGE PENSION PLAN MEMBERS (FACULTY) Any faculty member who has considered purchasing past non- contributory pensionable service or service while on unpaid leave of absence (including maternity/ parental/adoption leaves) may wish to do so before March 31, 2003. If you purchase service after this date, the cost will be higher because of new salary rates effective April 1, 2003. William Deverell - at VCC on Wed. April 16, KEC Cafeteria 12:301:45 In order to purchase service at a lower cost, a M%eC$0h£. VANCOUVER COMMUNITY For Sale COLLEGE Volume 9, Number 2 For Sale Editor: Karen Wilson Phone 604-871-7152 Honda Accord1993. Color: Green. Fully loaded (power locks, power windows, air conditioning, etc.) Fax 604-871-7451 Excellent condition Marketing & Communications email kwilson@vcc ca • Design: Daniel Rohloff Layout: Lindsay Bourne Asking: $9,000.00(060) Call Una at 604 628 5904 or 604 435 3080 Media Services email drohloffi3>vcc ca lbourne@vcc ca Web Manager: Tene Barber email tbarber@vcc ca Submissions for Connections: Send details of your upcoming events, department news and achievements, and information to Connections Due to time constraints, we can only accept electronic versiona We do, however, accept photos Submit your pieces via email to Karen Wilson, kwilson@vcc.ca A Loving Home is Needed... For a sweet little female white and grey domestic short-haired cat with beautiful turquoise eyes. She is five years old and needs a quiet setting where she can feel safe and loved. She likes to be near people, and enjoys the occasional playful chase after a string. We are currently fostering her for the S.P.C.A., and would dearly like to find her a comfortable and caring home. Please call Delia at local 7016. For Sale: Large Black Laquered Wall Unit with Mirrors and Glass Doors, $375 0B0. Call Lindsay at local 7131 or 604-205-5896 Please title submissions. Connections: (with article name) Deadline for submission for next issue March 19, 2003 by 5 p.m. Please note Material may be edited for clarity and for length. Karen Wilson Marketing and Communications Officer Vancouver Community College Ph 604-871-7152 Fx 604-871-7014 kwilson@vcc ca http.//wwwvcc.ca The printing & paper used fn the cover shells for VCC Connections i was generously donated by A Hemlock 1 PRINTERS LTD. 55© Page liinections Vol 9 No 2