Going up: the Stratford campus continues to take shape at the build site on the corner of St. Patrick and Cooper streets, two blocks from the campus's temporary location on Wellington Street. The facility should be ready for occupancy by July 2012. Photo by James Wilkinson.

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Staff member wins Waterloo Award

with material from a City of Waterloo media release

Laurie Strome, longtime staff member at the Dana Porter Library, is the latest winner of the Waterloo Award. Writes university librarian Mark Haslett, "This prestigious civic award from the City of Waterloo is granted to an individual for outstanding contributions to the community. Many of you know of some of Laurie's volunteer work; the list is very impressive. Laurie is an active and strong force in the community, sitting on a number of committees and volunteering with several organizations, including 25 years as a volunteer leader with the Girl Guides of Canada...Her tireless efforts in the Sunnydale neighbourhood have helped turn a troubled area into a safe and inclusive community."

The City of Waterloo agrees: "A key initiator of the Sunnydale Neighbourhood Association, Strome has taken on numerous leadership roles within the organization, including chairperson for 15 years. She has also advocated for her community by sitting on the Waterloo community council, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, Waterloo's Safe and Healthy Advisory Committee, WatWave and the K-W Social Planning Council.

Strome (right, with Mayor Brenda Halloran) was presented the award at Monday's meeting of city council.

Waterloo Award nominees are judged by a selection committee on a number of criteria including innovation, impact on Waterloo, letters of support, length of service and leadership skills.

Strome joins a list of 35 distinguished volunteers who have received the Waterloo Award since it was established in 1997.

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New look for Housing website; other notes

The Department of Housing and Residences is pleased to announce the launch of the new Waterloo Residences website in the university’s central Web Content Management System (WCMS). This is an example of what the websites of other support-units on campus will look like in the WCMS. "We’re very pleased with the look of the new website and want to thank Megan Saunders and the whole WCMS team for their endless energy and dedication," writes Bronwyn Forbes, Marketing Co-ordinator for Housing and Residences.

The University of Waterloo Art Gallery is hosting a performance by "yodeling cowboy philosopher" Tiny Bill Cody (right, at the Mississauga Civic Square in 2009) at a casual get-together in celebration of the end of term that starts at 4:00 p.m. today in ECH 1239. Photo by Tor Lukasik-Foss.

The Task Force on Innovative Teaching Practices to Promote Deep Learning at the University of Waterloo (although I prefer to call it by its rather catchy acronym TFITPPDLUW) has released its final report, which is available on the Centre for Teaching Excellence website. "The task force members were charged with identifying innovative teaching practices that could be implemented at Waterloo to promote deep learning," says the report's executive summary.

So what is deep learning? The report says that students are engaging in deep learning when they:

• retain knowledge and apply it in new and different contexts
• focus on relating ideas and making connections between new and prior knowledge
• come to see concepts, ideas, and/or the world differently
• engage in independent, critical, analytical thinking in a quest for personal meaning
• regulate themselves as learners
• rely on intrinsic motivation to learn
• engage in active learning by interacting with others and the course material in their learning

The task force members have identified  eight key objectives, with supporting recommendations, to "support Waterloo's instructors as they learn about and try new ways of teaching to promote deep learning."

A memo sent across campus this week comes from the human resources department and is addressed to all faculty and staff members in the university's pension plan, but particularly those who have maxed out their RRSPs and are looking for a way to put aside more money towards retirement. It makes the annual suggestion that money can be invested in the Flexible Pension Plan, but only with caution — the more so since the end of compulsory retirement at age 65. "Caution is advised to those members intending to work past age 65 who have participated in the past or plan to participate now in the Flex Plan," it says. "There is a greater risk of losing your flex contributions." That's because (the rules are complicated) the pension generated by those extra contributions can be used only in certain ways, and one of the chief of them is improving the level of pension after early retirement. The memo also notes that the flex plan is being wound down. Until December 31 of this year, all existing members of the Pension Plan will be allowed to make flex contributions, and beginning in January 2012, only those members with balances in their Flex Accounts will be allowed to make new contributions. No new contributions will be allowed effective January 1, 2014. There are more details about the plan on the HR web site.

"All The Stops" are being pulled out for Orchestra@UWaterloo and the University of Waterloo Chamber Choir's end-of-term concert tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Writes Orchestra@uwaterloo Council Chair Anna Lubiw, "We are performing Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony, with Ian Sadler on organ. The concert is at First United Church, which has a fantastic organ." This event also marks the first collaboration between the self-described extracurricular ensemble and the University of Waterloo Chamber Choir, as they perform Schubert's Mass No. 2 in G. First United Church is located at 16 William Street and tickets are $10 at the door, with students and seniors paying $5. Photo by Vic DiCiccio 2011.

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