NSAC E-Bulletin

Please forward your submissions to the NSAC E-Bulletin to the newsdesk (news@nsac.ca) by Friday at 2:00 p.m. for inclusion in the next week's edition.

NSAC Employees Honoured- Embracing Their World

Today's honouree is Sara Hamilton - Environmental Sciences.

Sara was nominated twice for this honour by Laurie Sandeson and Erin Boutilier.

Sara works with the Grounds Maintenance division and is the sole worker dedicated to grounds at AgriTECH Park.

Sara works steady and diligently from April 1st through to November 30th keeping the grounds at the Park looking beautiful for tenants, visitors and residents of the community of Bible Hill. Sara has been nurturing some chestnut tree saplings over the past couple of years and once established, these majestic trees will certainly add to the picturesque entrance to the Park.

Sara continues to develop new annual beds at the various buildings and entrance ways and takes pride in her work. She undertook a major renovation in front of the Administration Building this fall by removing all of the ivy growing on the brick - thank you to Mona for her assistance. Sara does her own on-site composting and is happy to tell clients that the landscape could easily be certified an organic site. Thank you Sara for your landscape horticultural expertise and for taking such good care of the AgriTECH Park property.

Congratulations Sara

If you would like to nominate a deserving employee to be recognized, please complete the short nomination form at http://www.nsac.ca/news/2006/eyw.cfm

NSAC Student Honoured

On October 5, 2006, NSAC Engineering Degree Diploma Program graduate Mila MacLean received two Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia (APENS) scholarships to attend Dalhousie University to finish the final two years of her B. Eng. degree.

She has enrolled in the Industrial Engineering department at Dalhousie. The $1,000 APENS Award is given to a student in the graduating class at an Associated University, selected by classmates in consultation with Department Faculty, who best demonstrates promise of outstanding abilities to serve society in an ethical manner as a Professional Engineer.

And the $1,500 APENS Entrance Scholarship is given to a student at an Associated University with the highest academic average in the graduating class. Mila is shown here receiving her awards from Prof. Kevin Sibley, P.Eng., Head of the Engineering Department, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro.

Engineering Display at MacRae Library

This year, the Department of Engineering at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) is treating the public to a slice of its past and a look into its future as part of Homecoming weekend.

The Department has organized a display entitled "Engineering at the NSAC - past, present and future" to be located in the lobby of the MacRae Library on the NSAC campus. It will run from Friday, October 20th throughout the weekend.

Dr. Alex Georgallas, curator of the display, is a professor in the Department of Engineering. "It is exciting to look in both directions - to the past and to the future - to see a path leading to a better world", says Dr. Georgallas. Click here for complete article.

Occupational Health and Safety

The Resources Corporate Services Unit is committed to providing occupational health and safety training to staff to ensure all employees have the information needed to perform their work safely. To this end, we are participating in a Corporate OHS training initiative.

The training sessions are also on PSC Corporate Training Calendar. Employees may register through Learn Net. The cost of training is free for all participants. If a registered participant does not attend the training, there will be a $50.00 fee charged to the Department. Departments will be expected to cover other costs, (i.e, meals, mileage)
incurred by the training participant.

If you have any questions, please contact me through GroupWise at mcclarge@gov.ns.ca

ACAA Athlete of the Week

NSAC athlete Trina Bennett is this week's ACAA Athlete of the Week.

In her Rookie Year , Trina has had a tremendous impact on the NSAC's Women's Soccer Program and the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association. She is a formidable striker and relentless in pursuit of the goal! She is very quick with good ball control skills.

She not only scores well, but knows where her teammates are and as a result has assisted on many of their successes.

Trina also competed for Dunbrack Soccer Club on the Under 18 Team over the summer and represented the province at the National Championships over Thanksgiving Weekend.

Trina comes to NSAC from Queen Elizabeth High School, where she received awards for both Track and Field and Soccer in addition to achieving Academic Honors with Distinction in grades 10-12.

Trina is a first year student in the Pre-Vet program at NSAC. She scored 1 goal on Saturday in the 6-1 win over ABU and 4 of the 5 goals for NSAC in the Holland College Sunday match.
(She had 3 previous goals in League Play). Congratulations Trina!

Healthy Workplace Week

Now that fall is well underway, its time for some fun. I'm looking for your participation in a two week challenge. October 23 to 27 is Healthy Workplace Week across Canada and I am proposing to kick off the week by asking all of you to take part in activities that are good for your physical, emotional and spiritual health.

You may volunteer your time for the United Way campaign that is currently underway or another organization or group of your choice, or maybe you want to help out at your child's school; you may try to eat healthier foods; or do something more active like go for a daily walk or use the stairs at work instead of the elevator. This challenge is one way to motivate yourself to healthy living.

For those of you who o participate in this challenge there will be a daily draw for some great prizes and I will personally sign your certificate for participating. To be part of this activity all you have to do is e-mail your name to the Wellness Committee at DAF Wellness Committee or DAFWell@gov.ns.ca for those who work at the NSAC . If you want to brag about your accomplishments, you can even send the Committee updates on what activities you have done. The Deputy's Challenge will run from October 23 to November 3.

So get your name in to the Wellness Committee and have fun!

ROZ Rosalind C. Penfound
Deputy Minister/CEO
E-mail: rcpenfou@gov.ns.ca

Thank You to the Campus Community

Brad and I would like to say a really big THANK YOU to everyone for their messages, cards and support over the last few months.

It is hard to describe the emotional stress of receiving news of the terrible accident that put our son, Jason in the hospital with a brain injury, a dislocated hip and a badly broken left arm. Adding to this was the fact he was half way around the world in South Korea and it was difficult communicating with the doctors directly because of the language differences.

ACORN Workshop

The fundamentals of organic agriculture will be addressed: why organic, what are the basic principles and what support/resources are available for farmers, processors, and others. Learn about the National Organic Standards and the proposed national regulation and how to become certified organic.

The certification processes will also be covered, including: Choosing a C.B. (local vs. export sales), filling out an application, the importance of field maps, the various "grey areas" of standards (i.e. Buffer zones, "every farm is different"), soil analysis & monitoring for a healthy soil, traceability/audits (setting up a simple lot # system) and verification and chain of custody. Please click here for the complete article.

Student Services and the Writing Centre Advisory Group Welcome Coordinator Marg Rovers

We would like to welcome to Campus, Marg Rovers who is the new Writing Centre Coordinator. As a recently retired teacher she is looking forward to developing programs which will benefit NSAC students.

The Writing Centre is located in Room 1 on the lower level of the MacRae Library. The hours of operation will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:30 to 9:30pm and Thursday from 2:00 to 5:00pm.

Marg will work individually with students who need help with assignments and will also offer group tutorials to help students develop their writing skills. She is also looking forward to working with Peer Volunteers who will assist fellow students. Through the Writing Centre, an ESL Instructor will be available to offer two-hour weekly sessions to small groups of students needing English as a Second Language Instruction. In December, a more intensive session will take place over a three day period.

The Writing Centre will begin operation Thursday, October19th, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. There will be an Open House at the Writing Centre for staff and students on Tuesday, October 24, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Please drop by and say hello.

If you have any suggestions on ways to further benefit your students, Marg would be pleased to discuss these with you. She can be reached through e-mail at mrovers@nsac.ca or through Student Services (893-6672).

Horses and Music!

A Musical Ride was held last night at MacMillan Show Centre as part of College Royal activities and to celebrate the launch of the new Diploma in Enterprise Management: Equine.

The program is designed for students who are interested in obtaining a business background and combining it with their passion for horses. Students learn the skills and knowledge necessary to manage or operate a small business plus learn the basics of equine husbandry. Equine nutrition, health, reproduction, and facilities management are a few of the areas that will be discussed. Although the program does not provide instruction in riding or driving, the students in this program need to have horse experience.

Photo Caption: Carollyn Crewe and Dr. Hicks cut the cake while NSAC student Amanda Leslie and her horse Maggie look on.