Reception recognizes researchers

The Office of Research hosted a 2013-2014 Distinguished Awards & Honours reception on Wednesday, May 7 at the University Club for the 90 University of Waterloo researchers who received awards in the last 18 months. President Feridun Hamdullahpur, Vice-President, University Research George Dixon and Associate Vice President, University Research John Thompson were on hand at the mix-and-mingle reception to congratulate the award recipients.

Pictured above with Hamdullahpur are Flora Ng of Chemical Engineering, who received the 2013 Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Award, and Tamer Özsu of the Faculty of Mathematics, who was recently named a Member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences.

 

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Teaming up to build local women's hockey

The Waterloo Warriors varsity hockey teams and Waterloo Ravens Girls Minor Hockey Association (WGMHA) have introduced a working partnership agreement to develop and enhance women’s hockey in Waterloo. 

The Waterloo Ravens Development Program for Female Hockey Excellence program has been in the works for the past three years and continues to gain momentum with the signing of a development agreement between the two parties. 

The Ravens and Warriors have established a four-year agreement that focuses on providing a scalable female hockey development and training program for all age levels in House League and Representative leagues within the WGMHA. The program will receive specialized funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation for the first three years of the agreement. The OTF provides not for profit associations like the WGMHA, grant funding to assist in the creation and long term succession for youth programs like this from its program grant funding.

“The feedback from many members of the association has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Robert Hennig, president and founder of the WGMHA. “After a full year of implementation, there is great benefit from working with the Warrior hockey teams to further promote and develop girls hockey in Waterloo.  The WGMHA has always had ‘development first’ as part of its hockey program strategy and this partnership agreement aligns perfectly”.

For the Warriors, it’s an experiential learning opportunity for Waterloo student-athletes as mentors and coaches in the Ravens development program.

“Working with the Ravens is an important community initiative for the development of young female hockey players while also enhancing the student experience for our varsity hockey players,” said Christine Stapleton, associate director of Athletics.

“The vision and philosophy of the Ravens is on creating an entire organizational culture focused on the development of both our players and coaches, in both House League and Rep” says Scott Davis, director of coaching & player development. “We are very pleased to have entered this formal partnership with the Warriors and look forward to the delivery of high-calibre programming for our members, which will set the Ravens apart from all others.”

The partnership uses a holistic approach to ensure WGMHA teams benefit from the many developmental programs put into place.  Whether at the CIF arena or RIM Park, there are a variety of on- and off-ice programs designed to teach the Ravens players all aspects of the game. 

Warrior hockey head coaches Brian Bourque and Shaun Reagan play an integral part in executing the on-ice development programs led by several of their standout student-athletes.  The Waterloo Ravens “Learn to Skate” program targeted at girls aged 3-5 prepares them for the skating aspects of the game while teaching some of the fundamental hockey basics.  Bourque and Reagan also run a program called ‘Rookie Ravens’ for girls aged 5-7 that teaches more in-depth hockey fundamentals of the game with a big focus on fun. 

Other programs include coaching clinics, power skating, shooting skills, puck control, goalie development, and more.  Although the programs are focussed on skill development, ensuring a fun and enjoyable atmosphere for all of the Ravens players is an important element. 

“We believe that this is only the start of great things to come in the future as we look forward to further developing our ongoing partnership with the University of Waterloo varsity hockey, For the Kids, For the Game, For the Fun of It,” said Hennig.

 

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OPP to use Waterloo mental health tool

by Christine Bezruki. This is an excerpt of a piece originally published on Waterloo Stories.

Starting this spring, frontline officers with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will use a screening tool developed at Waterloo to assess mental health issues, allowing for improved transitions from police custody to hospital care.

The Brief Mental Health Screener (BMHS) is a standardized, science-based assessment that will help officers better respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis and communicate more effectively with mental health professionals at the hospital. The tool was jointly developed by the OPP and Waterloo researchers working with interRAI, an international organization committed to improving care for vulnerable populations with complex needs.

A new screening tool will better equip frontline officers with the Ontario Provincial Police to assess mental health issues. Credit: Ontario Provincial Police.

The BMHS is based on the interRAI Mental Health Assessment System — a system already used for every patient admitted to an Ontario hospital for psychiatric care. With the new tool, officers can accurately measure and articulate symptoms in a way that health care practitioners will understand.

 “The BMHS standardizes police observations and allows them to communicate in the language of the health care system. This will streamline the transition for persons with mental illness from police custody to mental health care provided by hospitals and community-based agencies,” said Ron Hoffman, a Mental Health Training Coordinator for the Ontario Police College who co-led development and testing of the tool as part of his doctoral dissertation at Waterloo.

On top of easing transitions between the justice and health care systems, the BMHS also means enhanced training for officers on the frontline.

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo Stories.

 

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Tuesday's notes

Human Resources has reported that retiree Lenka Cerny died April 27. Cerny began her employment at the University in December 1973. She worked in the Library as a Library Assistant until her retirement in February 2002. She is survived by her spouse, Ivan Cerny.

Enflick, a company founded in 2009 by University of Waterloo graduates and housed in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park will be hosting a bake sale fundraiser for their entry into the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer in June from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the TechTown Atrium. Treats and other baked goodies will be available.

 

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