N E W S A N D V I E W S F R O M C O L L E G E O F T H E N O R T H AT L A N T I CSummer 2003, Vol. 3 No. 4

Students excel at Skills Canada competitions

Students from the college excelled at boththe national and provincial Skills Canada

competitions again this year.At the national competition, held May 30-

31 in Waterloo, Ontario, College of the NorthAtlantic (CNA) students won seven medals,including a gold. The manufacturing teamfrom the college won gold in their nationalcompetition as well, however that was heldduring the provincial competition earlier inthe month at the Prince Philip Drive campus.

During the provincial competition, CNAstudents took away 30 medals, including 17gold, in only 21 post-secondary andapprenticeship competition categories!

Skills Canada Newfoundland and Labradorsponsored the event which drew 250 high-school, post-secondary and apprenticeshipstudents from around the province. The goalwas to test and showcase their skills in atotal of more than 30 trade and technologycompetitions.

It was a busy day at the campus. Inkeeping with its mandate to promote careersin the skilled trades and technologies, SkillsCanada Newfoundland and Labrador alsomounted its 2nd Annual Provincial Career Dayon May 2 at Prince Philip Drive. More than850 students turned up at the college to learnabout career prospects in trade andtechnology.

John Oates, an associate districtadministrator in St. John’s who also sits onthe provincial board of directors for SkillsCanada, expressed his satisfaction at thecollege’s high placing in both competitions.

“I think everyone in the college feels agreat sense of accomplishment. I’m extremelyproud of the students and instructors - andthe curriculum. It’s an indication of howstrong the college is in delivering these typesof programs, particularly skilled trades andtechnologies,” he said.

The Manufacturing team took part in theWorld Skills Competition in Switzerland fromJune 19-22. Keep watching the news sectionon our website for the results of thatcompetition.

2 Helping in the Caribbean

2 Committee updates

3 Memorial garden at Burin

4 Why do we have auditors?

5 Qatari students finish training

6 A letter from India

7 Science fair a huge success

7 Bridging the Gap pays off

8 Program piloted in central

9 Campus wins Water Smart

award

10 Recognition where it’s due!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Above, members of the Manufacturing team and their instructor with their project. Below, a student in the autobody repaircompetition shining up the paint job on a car door.

2 CURRENTS Summer 2003

Theresa Pittman, an instructional designspecialist with the college’s Distributed

Learning Service, recently traveled to theCaribbean to participate in a needsassessment and consultative workshop todetermine the feasibility of a DistanceEducation Network for that part of the world.

The trip was carried out in partnershipbetween the World Bank, the Institute forConnectivity in the Americas, and the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation andDevelopment. While Pittman was able to visitsuch countries as Saint Kitts, Antigua,Dominica, Saint Lucia, Barbados, and Gernada,she was too busy to get much sightseeingdone!

“Small states in the Caribbean arestruggling to renew and develop local post-secondary education capacity that canrespond to international standards. They facespecific issues linked to their size andsituation such as the difficulty to developcost-effective training programs for a limitednumber of students, the cost oftelecommunications, the lack of qualified

teaching staff, and the limited financingavailable,” she says.

New technologies offer opportunities tochange the mode of operation and delivery

and improve access to knowledge. The WorldBank, its partner agencies and the islandgovernments, are exploring the feasibility ofdeveloping and investing in a sub-regional

partnership network to support suchdevelopment efforts.

“The team found strong support for theproposed project agenda, significant ways toupgrade the college capacities to meetexpanded demand for tertiary educationservices, and receptivity towards newtechnical solutions and organizationalinnovations that could help meet the newdemand,” she says.

As a direct outcome of this mission, theheads of community colleges and thepermanent secretaries of the Ministries agreedto participate in a workshop held mid-Marchin Washington, D.C., to further develop theproject concept.

In addition, the team collected keyinformation about each country visited, theirtertiary education institutions, theirstrategies, capacities, and technical resourcesthat need to be considered at the feasibilitystage.

Helping Caribbean develop learning network

Winter’s gone, but ICE remainsWinter may be behind us, but Project ICE

(now Integrated College Environment) won’tbe melting away with the summer sun.

As mentioned in our last edition, thecollege contracted Fujitsu Consulting to assistin the development of a request for proposals(RFP) for an Enterprise Resource Planningsystem.

The RFP was finished and distributed lateMarch and a number of vendors expressedinterest. On April 10, a vendor conference washeld at Headquarters to provide anopportunity for interested bidders to askquestions or for clarifications about the RFPdocument.

The RFP closed on April 25 and threeresponses were received. Software optionsincluded both Peoplesoft and Banner –industry leading software for ERP systems. Allthree vendors will be evaluated using theevaluation methods developed in conjunctionwith Fujitsu.

The project will not be completed forseveral years, however the result will be thetotal integration of our human resources,

finance, and student services systems in aweb-based environment.

Steering in the right directionThe college’s Web Steering Committee

convened via video conference on June 5 andagain on June 19 to discuss reportsdeveloped by the three sub-committeestasked with identifying issues surrounding thesite’s aesthetics, content, and navigation.

The sub-committee reports identified manyissues that need to be addressed with the siteand provided recommendations for action toaddress these areas.

The committee will continue makingimprovements to the content andfunctionality of the site and is planning apublic contest for the fall to solicit newdesigns for the site’s look and feel.

Working on the planThe college’s draft marketing plan has

been presented at each of the 17 campusesand response has been phenomenal. Feedbackfrom faculty and staff indicate they are verypleased the college has undertaken theprocess of developing a plan and then

communicating the plan’s objectives to thewider college community.

Many campus promotional teams havesince been developed and are working atputting out weekly campus newsletters,developing their own action plans formarketing and recruitment, and more.

Members of the HQ team are busycompleting a reference guide for thepromotional teams that will outline for themvarious processes to follow, such as how torequest advertising or promotional items. It ishoped a draft of this guide will be readybefore month’s end.

Only minor changes are required for themarketing plan and the final version will alsobe on the website shortly.

Send us your updates!If you are involved in a college-wide

initiative and would like to inform staff aboutyour project and your committee’s progress,please send the information along. We wouldbe happy to include it in future editions.

Updates from college committees

“Small states in theCaribbean are

struggling to renewand develop localpost-secondary

education capacitythat can respond to

internationalstandards.”

CURRENTS Summer 2003 3

Memorialgarden beingconstructed atBurin campus

For many of the buildings in the collegesystem, this year marks their 40th

anniversary.To recognize this milestone, students and

staff at Burin campus have decided toundertake a project to create a memorial toall of those now deceased who formerlyworked or were educated at Burin.

“Our hope is to create a special memorial,in the form of a living garden, to honour ourdeparted friends and colleagues,” says BrianWalsh, co-chair of the Memorial GardenSteering Committee.

“We have planned the garden to be uniquein that all of the plants, flowers, and trees inthe garden will be native to Newfoundlandand Labrador. When this garden is completed,hopefully in the next couple of months, itwill be the only one of its kind in theprovince.”

Anyone wishing to make a contributiontoward the establishment of the garden orthose seeking further information about theidea can contact Walsh via email or by calling891-5646.

In our Winter edition of Currents, we announced the college’s Awards of Excellence winners. The awards were officially presentedto the winners during various events at their respective campuses. John King (bottom), Leadership Excellence, and Ben Turpin(top), Teaching Excellence, received their awards during a semester-end staff meeting and social at Clarenville campus on April17. Once again, congratulations John, Ben and the other winners: Debbie McCarthy, Staff Excellence, Dawn Hamilton, StudentExcellence, and those involved with the OTA/PTA program which won for Program Excellence.

Leadership Award winners

In keeping with the college’s commitment tobuilding leadership capacity across the

organization, 20 college counsellors recentlyparticipated in one of two FacilitativeLeadership Workshops.

According to the workshop facilitator,Sheldon Brown, “our counselors are uniquelypositioned throughout the organization to beengaged as group leaders in a wide variety ofgroup and organizational developmentprocesses. This three-day workshop integratesleadership principles and skills with practicalfacilitation processes and tools. Participantssubsequently learn how to design andfacilitate collaborative processes for planning,problem-solving, change management,decision-making and team building.”

“The facilitative leadership curriculum wasa natural fit with the core competencies thatour counsellors currently possess,” says ChrisMercer, Provincial Assessment Coordinator. “Bybuilding on our counsellors’ strong base ofinterpersonal and communication skills, we’veadded another dimension to the ways thatcounsellors deliver service to our students.The combination of theory and practice in theworkshop have certainly introduced andreinforced a complementary skill set to ourcounselling staff.”

Evaluation results from the participantsrated both the sessions and the facilitatorhighly, and additional feedback indicates thatthe counsellors began using this new skill set

almost immediately after returning to theirhome campuses.

“The processes and tools learned in theworkshop definitely have merit in anysituation where you are expected to managechange, empower others, solve problems, andmake decisions,” says Mercer.

Workshops were conducted in St. John’sand Stephenville. Additional workshops will bescheduled over the next several months foremployees interested in developingfacilitative leadership skills.

Leadership workshopa hit with participants

4 CURRENTS Spring 2003

We have external auditors who audit usevery year, why do we need internal

auditors?Good question.We are always asked that question,

especially during times of budget cuts. Therole of the external auditor is very differentfrom the role of the internal auditor in thefollowing areas:

Focus: external auditors primarily attest tofinancial statements. Internal auditors providefinancial and operational assurance,consultative, governance, and fraud relatedservices.

Approach: external auditors generallyfollow a fixed approach based on prior work.Internal auditors customize to best meetindividual assignment objectives.

Independence: external auditors areindependent of the business. Internal auditorsdemonstrate organizational independence andobjectivity in work approach, but are notindependent of the organization.

Fraud: external auditors do not review forfraud. Internal auditors include frauddetection steps in audit programs andinvestigate allegations of fraud.

Both roles are important for the fiscalhealth of any organization.

Definition of Internal ControlsInternal control is a process, effected by

an entity’s board of directors, management,and other personnel, designed to providereasonable assurance regarding theachievement of objectives in the followingcategories: effectiveness and efficiency ofoperations, reliability of financial reporting,and compliance with applicable laws andregulations.

Internal control is a process. It is a meansto an end, not an end in itself. Internalcontrol is effected by people. It’s not merelypolicy manuals and forms, but people at everylevel of an organization. Internal control canbe expected to provide only reasonableassurance, not absolute assurance, to anentity’s management and board. Internalcontrol is geared to the achievement ofobjectives in one or more separate butoverlapping categories.

Internal control consists of fiveinterrelated components. These are derivedfrom the way management runs an operationor function, and are integrated with the

management process. Although thecomponents apply to the entire College, smalland mid-size departments may implementthem differently than large ones. Its controlsmay be less formal and less structured, yet asmall department can still have effectiveinternal control.

The internal control components are: Control Environment - The control

environment sets the tone of an organization,influencing the control consciousness of itspeople. Control environment factors includethe integrity, ethical values and competenceof the entity’s people; management’sphilosophy and operating style; the waymanagement assigns authority andresponsibility, and organizes and develops itspeople; and the attention and directionprovided by the College.

Risk Assessment – Risk assessment is theidentification and analysis of relevant risks toachievement of the objectives, forming abasis for determining how the risks should bemanaged.

Control Activities – Control activities arethe policies and procedures that help ensuremanagement directives are carried out. Theyinclude a range of activities as diverse asapprovals, authorizations, verifications,reconciliations, reviews of operatingperformance, security of assets, andsegregation of duties.

Information and Communication –Pertinent information must be identified,captured, and communicated in a form andtimeframe that enables people to carry out

their responsibilities. Information systemsproduce reports containing operational,financial and compliance-related informationthat make it possible to run and control theorganization. Effective communication alsomust occur in a broader sense, flowing down,across, and up the organization.

Monitoring - Internal control systemsneed to be monitored – a process thatassesses the quality of the system’sperformance over time. This is accomplishedthrough ongoing monitoring activities,separate evaluations or a combination of thetwo. Ongoing monitoring occurs in the courseof operations. Internal control deficienciesshould be reported upstream, with seriousmatters reported to top management and theBoard.

The internal control definition – with itsunderlying fundamental concepts of process,effected by people, providing reasonableassurance – together with the categorizationof objectives and the components and criteriafor effectiveness, and the associateddiscussions, constitute this internal controlframework.

Who is Responsible?Implementation of internal control is a

prime responsibility of college administratorsand supervisors. This is not generallyunderstood. There is a perception thatimplementation and monitoring of internal

Who are these auditors and what do they do?

New and improved!A new and improved version of the well control simulator is now functional at Seal Cove campus. At present it is being utilizedby drilling industry personnel for well control. It has also been updated with an advanced software package for petroleumengineering students. Plans are to add a well intervention program that industry can use for completion well control simulations.This initiative was undertaken because the old version of the simulator software was outdated and in need of an upgrade.

Con’t on page 5

CURRENTS Summer 2003 5

controls is the responsibility of others, usually the college’s financialofficers, internal auditors, or central administration (HQ). This is nottrue. Everyone in the college has some responsibility for internalcontrol.

What can my Department do?Control activities include, but are not limited to, the following:Implement segregation of duties where duties are divided, or

segregated, among different people to reduce risk of error orinappropriate actions. No one person has control over all aspects ofany financial transaction.

Ensure records are routinely reviewed and reconciled, by someoneother than the preparer or transactor, to determine that transactionshave been properly processed.

Make certain that equipment, inventories, cash, and other propertyare secured physically, counted periodically, and compared with itemdescriptions shown on control records.

Provide employees with appropriate training and guidance to ensurethey have the knowledge necessary to carry out their job duties, areprovided with an appropriate level of direction and supervision, andare aware of the proper channels for reporting suspected improprieties.

Make sure College and departmental level policies and operatingprocedures are formalized and communicated to employees.Documenting policies and procedures and making them accessible toemployees helps provide day-to-day guidance to staff and will promotecontinuity of activities in the event of prolonged employee absencesor turnover.

Remember, everyone in your department has responsibility forinternal controls.

Con’t from page 4

By Laura CowanInternational Project Coordinator

Late April saw the return of 29 Qataris toour campuses in Placentia and Seal Cove

after they spent the winter semesterparticipating in an on-the-job training workterm in Qatar. These trainees are employed atRas Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd.otherwise known as RAS GAS and are part of aunique contract-training project that wasdeveloped between the company and theCollege in October of 2000. The project iscustomized to address the basic trainingneeds of entry-level maintenance employees,enhancing their knowledge and skill levels ineither industrial electrical, industrialmechanical, or industrial instrumentationtheory and practice. The training program wasdesigned in two phases. Two college electricalprogram instructors delivered the first phaseon site at the RAS GAS training center inQatar. After approximately one year ofreceiving training in basic foundation courses,which included some ESL courses coordinatedby the company, trainees were split into theirdesignated streams and in June, 2002, movedto St. John’s to begin Phase II of theprogram. The project manager is Bill Whalen,ADA, Seal Cove Campus.

Regularly scheduled monitoring andevaluation missions are an intricate part ofthe project program planning. In late April,John Hills, Training Coordinator at RAS GASvisited Newfoundland to report on the on-the-job training work term and take part inproject planning review. This week StevePurse, Head of Training at RAS GAS was inNewfoundland on a project-monitoringmission. Steve took part in program planningmeetings with faculty and projectmanagement staff as well as campus sitevisits to Seal Cove and Placentia. He took thetime out to speak individually with alltrainees to provide the much-appreciatedmoral support and encouragement and well-deserved recognition for their performance inthe training program.

While the mechanical and instrumentationstream trainees will complete their program inAugust, the electrical stream will wrap uptheir training in November this year. Thisproject continues to be a challenge andinteresting experience for the trainees and thestudents and staff of the college.

The home stretch for Qatari trainees!

New appointments

The college welcomes Deidre Dunne whowas recently appointed to the position of

Labour Relations Officer. Deidre replacesWalter Legge (pictured) who retired in April.Have a happy retirement Walter!

Congratulations are extended to MyraWhite, who was recently appointed to theposition of Buyer II at Headquarters inStephenville, and to Melanie Foote, recentlyappointed as Marketing Assistant also atHeadquarters.

Merve McIntyre and Vicki Shawyer recently returned from atwo-week trip to southern India. The following is Vicki’saccount of that trip.

Flying from St. John’s via London toChennai (Madras), we spent a couple of

days in Chennai meeting with potentialpartners. We then flew to Tiruchirappalli, alsoknown as Trichy, where we were met byfaculty from our partner college – PeriyarManiammai College of Technology for Women(PMCTW) in Vallam. CNA has been partneredwith the PMCTW for the last four years in anenvironmental education project, andalthough this project is coming to an end, weare actively looking for other ways tocontinue the partnership.

May is the hottest time of the year inIndia, so Merve and I had to deal withtemperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius,quite a change from Newfoundland! Added tothat, the Vallam area is experiencing a

drought with last year’s monsoon causing verydry and dusty conditions. So with the droughtand a lack of water, things can get a bitsticky!

As always, our hosts at PMCTW made usvery welcome and wereanxious to show us themany changes since myprevious visit. Westayed in theMillennium Cottage - acottage constructed oncampus for visitingCanadian faculty andstudents. The cottagehas two airconditioned bedroomsplus a dining/living

room, so we were quite comfortable.A visit to the local supermarket in nearby

Thanjavur was made during the weekendwhere we spent some time deciding which ofthe various spices we should buy to bringback to Canada. A temple visit was alsoarranged for one evening, and we joinedthousands of local residents as they relaxed,ate snacks, met friends, said prayers and justgenerally walked around socializing. Like all

visits to temples in India, shoes are left atthe entrance (I always carry a pair of socks aswalking barefoot on the hard, hot, gravelyground can be quite painful at times!). Thetemple elephant was on hand to greet allvisitors, swaying gently as the crowd movedforward. It is said that if the elephanttouches you with his trunk, you will havegood luck!

After several days inVallam, we travelled by roadto Pollachi to visit oursecond project in Tamil Naduand our partner institution,Nachimuthu Polytechnic(CNA, in partnership withCambrian College in Sudbury,is currently working withNachimuthu on a four-yearAssociation of CanadianCommunity Colleges project).The drive took about five hours and we leftthe dryness of Vallam for a much greenerlandscape with hills and mountains to be seenon the horizon. This range is known as theWestern Ghats and is quite beautiful.Unfortunately, time did not allow us to visitthe hills, but on my previous visit, I had the

opportunity to visit the Indira Ghandi WildlifeRefuge, a wonderfully cool and peaceful place.

Once again we were made to feel verywelcome, staying on campus in Canada House,a small complex constructed for visitingCanadian faculty and students. With four airconditioned bedrooms, a kitchen and twosmall sitting rooms, it is a comfortable placeto relax. We were visited by a couple ofgeckos (small lizards – and no they didn’t tryto sell us car insurance) that scuttled aroundeating insects! As far as I am concerned, theyare always welcome as they take care ofmosquitoes and other small flying insects thattend to bite!

From Pollachi, we travelled by road toCoimbatore, a fairly large industrial town inTamil Nadu. Then, from there, we flew toMumbai where we caught our very late night(2:30 a.m.) flight to London and back to St.John’s, and a slightly cooler climate!

A great trip despite the hot weather

A letter home from IndiaMerve and Vicki, with their hosts Parveen, Nalini and Aruna visiting one of the rural villages near Vallam.

6 CURRENTS Spring 2003

CURRENTS Summer 2003 7

Over 100 projects at this year’s science fairThe Western Regional Science Fair, held at

Corner Brook campus in April, saw nearly200 students, representing 22 schools,displaying 139 science projects!

The College of the North Atlantic Award ofExcellence was won by Sarah Ball of ElwoodRegional High in Deer Lake for her projectentitled Looming Large 2003.

The purpose of Ball’s project – entered inthe Senior category for Computer Science –was to develop a computer program thatwould help people learn about the universe.She used various forms of media to conveythe information to learners and then testedthem to see what was most effective.

“I tried to develop something that couldalso be classified as an educational resourcetool that could be used in the classroom andwould develop a student’s interest inastronomy,” she says.

“At the same time, I wanted to use today’smodern technology to create something thatwas modern and up to date, instead of thetraditional classroom textbooks and to testwhether or not the programmed voice aided inthe learning process.”

The final result of her project was acomputer program that was easy to use andinvolved the use of video, sound, andprogrammed speech to help teach learners.She tested the program on young students.Half used the programmed speech feature andthe other half used only the text.

“The program can be used as aneducational resource and makes learningabout the universe a little bit moreinteresting for younger students,” says Ball.“Although the voice was sometimes difficultto understand, the overall outcome and

finished product was judged to be good. Also,I found that people who used the programlearned more and remembered more whenthey had the aid of the spoken word.”

The fair’s organizing committee says thisyear’s event was a tremendous success andcredits a large share of that to the college.

“Your sponsorship of a special award hasmade a very positive contribution to thisyear’s event and to regional science fairs inthe years to come. Thanks to yourinvolvement, this year’s winners return totheir schools with a clear message. Hard workand dedication to excellence pay off,” saysWayne Spencer, a member of the fair’s awardscommittee.

Glen Dicks

presents the

College of the

North Atlantic

Award of

Excellence to

Sarah Ball.

The Western Regional Science Fair has become quite a popularevent in Corner Brook and College of the North Atlantic hasbeen there every step of the way to help make this event asuccess. Recently Glenn Dicks, District Administrator at thecampus, was presented with a plaque of appreciation fromWilf Riego, chair of the science fair committee and instructorwith the campus. The plaque recognizes the college’scontribution to the science fair over the past 18 years.

The Bridging the Gap program betweenNewfoundland Hardwoods and Clarenville

campus was completed on Friday, April 4.The good news is that five out of the eightparticipants went to work with NewfoundlandHardwoods on Monday, April 7.

The three participants who were nothired were needed within the next fewweeks and the management atNewfoundland Hardwoods have now hiredall eight. Participants in the Bridging the Gap program included, from left, Jeffrey Dalton, Edward Oldford, David Green,

Jason Barrett, Louise Newell, Gregory Penney, Randy Hart, Randy Short, and Dean Holloway, Instructor.

Bridging the Gap program pays off for hardwoods company

8 CURRENTS Summer 2003

Program piloted in central campusesAgroup of 13 instructors and one counselor

from the three campuses in District 3recently completed a pilot workshop entitledIntroduction to Teaching and Learning. Thefive-day workshop was delivered over twoweekends: March 14-16 at the Gander campusand April 11-13 at the Grand Falls-Windsorcampus.

The goal of the experiential workshop wasto provide the participants with fundamentalknowledge and skills to plan, facilitate andassess adult learning in the community

college environment. Topics included adultlearning principles, the instructor’s role,instructional and learning styles, instructionaldesign, learning objectives, lesson plandevelopment, delivery techniques, assessmentand evaluation of learning, professionalism,and self-assessment. Each participant alsofacilitated a micro-teaching session.

The workshop was facilitated by SheldonBrown, the college’s Professional DevelopmentCoordinator. According to Brown, thisworkshop was designed to prepare new faculty

for their role as instructors. However,experienced faculty members may also findthe workshop valuable as a refresher.

Feedback received from this first groupwas extremely positive and will be used tofine-tune the workshop. The next step will beto develop a process to build the college’scapacity to deliver this workshop for newfaculty in each district.

District 3 Student Councils were all very busy As with every year, fundraising projects

were an important part of the work of theStudent Councils at the Baie Verte, GrandFalls-Windsor, and Gander campuses. All threecouncils conducted Christmas raffles thatcollectively raised over $3,000 for charity.

Each campus also engaged in particularprojects: at Baie Verte, different programstook turns selling tickets on Christmas,Valentine’s Day, and Easter baskets of goodies,with the proceeds used for running theStudent Council. The Grand Falls-Windsorcampus also had a Valentine’s Day fundraiserand raised additional funds through a sale ofCollege clothing to students initiated byPresident, Lori-Ann Leyte, through 50/50draws, and through a special appeal for theresidents of Badger displaced by a devastating

flood in February. The Student Council atGander campus raised funds by selling Collegeclothing, various raffles, 50/50 draws, andhockey pools.

One special contribution that the Gandercampus made with funds they raised deservesspecial note: Student Council has sponsored akennel at their local SPCA, which is currentlythe home of Jo-Jo the dog. We are sure thatJo-Jo and the various recipients throughoutDistrict 3 of Student Council charitabledonations appreciate both the hard work andgenerosity of our students.

Winter Carnivals were also a commonactivity in District 3. Baie Verte studentsenjoyed a day at the Copper Creek Mountainski hill, with outdoor activities such asdownhill and cross country skiing, snow

volleyball, snowshoe obstacle races, andtubing; and with indoor activities such asdarts, pool, cards, and a craft session. Theday concluded with a dance at the ski lodge.

In Grand Falls-Windsor, Winter Carnivalactivities included bowling, skating, karaoke,and a pie-eating contest.

At the Gander Campus there were also anumber of different Winter Carnival activities,such as a pancake breakfast, glow bowling, asnow mobile trip, a “Who Wants To Be a$100aire” contest, an arm wrestling contest,snowman building, and a pubcrawl/social.

Winter Carnivals were very well planned,and students and staff at each campuscertainly enjoyed themselves.

Student Councils in District 3 alsocoordinated various sports activities. Both theCon’t on page 9

CURRENTS Summer 2003 9

Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander campusesparticipated in a co-ed volleyball tournamentin St. John’s in November, with the twocampuses sharing a bus. Students at theGander campus could also take advantage ofa weekly sports night every Thursday night atthe Gander Collegiate gymnasium, and thatcampus also formed a hockey team that heldweekly practices and played Sunday nightgames in the Gander recreation league.

Staying with hockey, the Grand Falls-Windsor campus, along with the StudentCouncil at the Ridge Road Campus,coordinated a provincial tournament that washeld in Grand Falls-Windsor.

All in all, for Student Councils in District3, this was both a busy and productive year.

Con’t from page 8

AETTN scholarship awardedFirst year Engineering Technology

Student Dwayne Noseworthy of Gander

has just been awarded this year’s

AETTN (Association of Engineering

Technicians and Technologists of

Newfoundland) Scholarship of $200.

This scholarship is given annually to a

student who is a member of AETTN, is

enrolled in a full-time two or three-year

Technician/Technology program, is in

good academic standing, is co-

operative with fellow students and

Instructors, and is dedicated to the

program with a good attendance

record and good study/work habits.

Gander campus receivesWater Smart awardGander campus has taken the lead in

offering the Boat Operator AccreditedTraining (BOAT) program by having severalinstructors trained by the Lifesaving Societyand delivering the program in the centralregion.

The campus also initiated the developmentof an instructional aids kit, ran a pilotprogram at Carmanville School Complex, andhas put together instructional kits to bedelivered to 14 other campuses. This will givethe college the ability to advertiseprovincially our ability to offer the pleasurecraft certified training anywhere in theprovince that has a demand.

As a result of taking this lead, theLifesaving Society presented The Royal BankWater Smart Award to Gander campus at itsannual general meeting in Mount Pearl on May23. This award recognizes a community,organization affiliate, or business that hasprovided outstanding community service todrowning prevention education.

Derek Hicks accepted this award on behalfof the campus. Derek has been a driving forcein getting the B.O.A.T. program going at thecampus and in the District.

Jeanette Jobson, Executive Director of the Lifesaving Societypresents Derek Hicks with the Royal Bank Water Smart Award.

10 CURRENTS Summer 2003

Do you have a college story to tell? Do you

know a student, faculty, or staff member that

should be recognized for their achievements?

CURRENTS is looking for a few good stories

about our public college and the people who

make it such a success. Send us your photos,

announcements, and alumni updates. If you

have any ideas, suggestions, or criticisms, please

drop us a line. Please let us know how we can

make CURRENTS a better newsletter for you.

Communications Office

College of the North Atlantic,

Headquarters

432 Massachusetts Drive

P.O. Box 5400

Stephenville, NL, A2N 2Z6

Canada

709 643.7929

communications@northatlantic.nf.ca

CREDITSEditor Stephen Lee

Text Tanya Alexander

Design Stephen LeePaul O’Keefe

Publisher Department ofCollege Development

In our last edition, we featured a story on the excellent fundraising efforts undertaken at various campuses in support of

the Badger relief fund. In that story we failed to mention thetotal from the Stephenville Crossing building (Bay St. Georgecampus) where the idea for a college-wide effort was firstenvisioned. We apologize for the omission.

Recognition whereit’s due!

Staff at the Grand Falls-WindsorCampus would like to salute KenRideout. Ken, who went towork at the campus as aBusiness instructor in 1992,recently transferred to Bay St.George Campus. Our loss is theirgain. Good luck, Ken!

Good bye & good luck

June is graduation time and we, here at the college, would like to extend our bestwishes to all those leaving us in pursuit of their new careers!

Grad time!