I am pleased to announce the permanent appointment of Melanie Chai as the Manager, Peer Assisted Learning Services (PALS). Melanie has been at Humber for 6 years now, starting her tenure here coordinating the Transition Advising Program. During her time at Humber she has also worked for Student Life, coordinating leadership programs, and completed two terms as Acting Manager in PALS. In that capacity, Melanie was instrumental in the development and launch of a number of new initiatives in PALS including the Professional Skills Enhancement program and key improvements to our Note Taking Services. Melanie is currently completing her Masters of Education at York University where she was a Teaching Assistant in the Urban Diversity Program in the Faculty of Education and coordinated the field placements in the community. She holds two Bachelor degrees – one in Education and one in Psychology. Melanie has nine years of experience in student services, and over five in a managerial capacity. She brings to the role sound knowledge of learning methodology and demonstrated effectiveness in the application of that methodology to programs and services designed to support student learning and success. I invite you to join me in congratulating Melanie on her appointment. 

Chantal Joy
Director, Advising & Student Academic Support

If you haven’t heard, Testing Services is now accepting testing materials electronically through our Online Test Submission Platform. We have close to 300 instructors currently registered for the service. If you haven’t already, please register at humber.ca/student-life/testing-services/services-faculty/electronic-test-submission. 

Our Online Test Submission Platform is a constantly evolving service, and I want to take this opportunity to bring a couple changes to your attention. First, we now have an electronic scantron available. This is a digital version of the college wide 8.5x11 standard scantron. Students can complete the scantron in Adobe, and it would be submitted to you along with the other test materials – all online! You can then print the scantron, and process it for grading along the rest of the class. If you select “Scantron (please upload w/ test)” as a Permitted Test Material we will be providing the student with the digital copy of this scantron. I have attached a copy to this message.

Second, we have moved up the morning submission deadline to 7 a.m. This means that if you intend to have your student write on a particular day, it must be submitted by 7 a.m. that morning. Any exam submitted after 7 a.m. will only be available the following business day. And as always, we appreciate receiving all materials multiple days in advance if possible.

I would also like to remind you of some limitations of the platform. Please note that instructors must submit all test materials themselves – you cannot have someone else submit on your behalf. This is because our system will automatically filter based on the name of the submitter. If you have a liaison submit your test materials it will be filed under their name, not yours, and we will never be able to find it when the student comes to write. We have also noticed that a number of instructors have been submitting instructions with no actual test materials attached. Please ensure your materials have been properly uploaded before hitting the submit button. Also, if you have multiple documents to upload we appreciate if you ZIP your files and upload the Zipped folder – just a little easier to navigate on our end!

We continue to develop this platform to make it as clear and efficient as possible. We realize there are some limitations in the process, and we are working with our third-party provider to iron out these issues. We are hoping there will be more positive changes in the next couple months, and you will hopefully hear from us again later this winter.

If you have any questions or concerns it’s always best to contact me at robert.forward@humber.ca, or 416.675.6622 x5256.

humber.ca/student-life/testing-services

Humber Interfaith Calendar - Multifaith Holy Days & Festivals
November 2016

In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, we provide the following Multifaith Holy Days & Festivals realizing that it is not exhaustive. Should you wish your faith’s days to be included, please contact the Chaplain at 416.675.6622 x4427 or chaplain@humber.ca for due consideration.

01 Tuesday
End of Daylight Savings Time (Canada)
November: National Native Month (Canada)
Aboriginal Education Month (Humber College)
November = Bashkakodini-Giizis (Aboriginal-Ojibwe)
Water Freezing Moon
All Saints’ Day (Christianity)
Honours known and unknown saints throughout the history of Christianity.

02 Wednesday
All Souls Day (Christianity-Catholicism)
A day for intercessory prayers by the living faithful to help cleanse the souls of those departed.

04 Friday
Qudrat (Power) (Baha’i)
Qudrat, meaning Power, is the thirteenth month of the Baha’i year.

06 Sunday
End of Daylight Savings Time (Canada)

11 Wednesday
Remembrance Day ceremonies (Canada, Humber College campuses)
Ceremonies are held at each main campus (North, Guelph-Humber, Lakeshore, Orangeville) to honour Canadian soldiers who fought in the two World Wars and other conflicts. This Memorial day is observed in Commonwealth countries, since the end of World War I, to remember the members of their armed forces who died in the line of duty.

12 Saturday
Birth of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i)
The birth of the founder of the Baha’i faith; Baha’is suspend work on this day.

14 Monday
Full Moon The moon is at its greatest visibility.
Birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (Sikhism-Bikarami)
The founder of the Sikh faith and the first of the Ten Gurus, was born in 1469 CE. An accomplished poet, 974 of his hymns are in the Sikh scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib.
Lokasha Jayanti (Jainism)
The full moon of the calendar’s first month is a time to celebrate the births of revered and scholarly persons, the most famous of whom is the 15th Century reformer Lonka Saha whose opposition to temple worship and the use of images led to the founding of the Sthanakavasi sect, which emphasizes scholarship.

15 Tuesday
Shichi-Go-San (Shinto)
Prayers are offered for the growth and long life of younger children. They dress up and their parents take them to a shrine to visit a guardian deity.

23 Wednesday
Qawl (Speech) (Baha’i)
Qawl, meaning Speech, is the fourteenth month of the Baha’i year.

24 Thursday
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Sikhism)
Commemorates the death of the ninth Guru who is remembered for his defense of the Sikh faith and also of Hinduism and religious liberty.

25 Friday
St. Catherine's Day (Christianity-Catholic)
Commemorates a Christian martyr of Alexandria in the 4th century A.D.

26 Saturday
The Day of the Covenant (Baha’i)
Anniversary of the appointment of Abdul-Baha, the son of Baha’u’llah, as the Centre of the Covenant.

27 Sunday
First Sunday of Advent (Christianity-Western)
Begins the four-week preparation for Christmas (Advent refers to the coming birth, or arrival, of Christ and, for some, represents the start of the Christian church year).

28 Saturday
The Ascension of ‘Abdul-Baha (Baha’i)
Commemorates the death of ‘Abdul-Baha who guarded the unity of the Baha’I faith.

29 Sunday
New Moon The moon is at its least visibility.

Humber Diversity Committee (the Committee) recognizes that human rights and equity vocabulary is constantly evolving. Committee members identified that there needed to be consistency, shared understanding and definitions of four key terms frequently used in human rights, equity work and education at Humber. Through a series of town halls, Humber’s students, support staff, faculty and administration worked with Committee members to define the four terms.

On behalf of Humber Diversity Committee we wish to express deep gratitude to the students and employees who participated in the process.

To read more please visit:

humanresources.humber.ca/assets/files/human_rights/Key_Human_Rights_and_Equity_Terms_August_2016.pdf