SKHS news & updates
December 2020 | Issue #8

Taking PSYC 100, BIOL 102 and/or CHEM 112?

Concerned about taking multiple choice exams?

Scroll down to see what SASS has for YOU!
important dates

December
1st- First date to apply to graduate in SOLUS for Spring 2021. Not sure how to apply? Click here!
7th - Fall term classes end
8th to 10th - Fall term pre-exam study period
10th to 23rd - Final assessments in fall term classes and mid-year tests in multi-term classes
24th to Jan. 10th - Holiday closure

January
11th - Fall term classes start
15th - Last day to apply to the International programs office for exchange programs for 2021-22
22nd - Last day to add/drop Winter term courses without financial/academic penalty
International Exchange
Thinking about going on exchange in 3rd year?
Applications will be available in December.

Deadline to apply is January 15, 2021!

Looking for a 300 level HLTH/KIN Option Course for Winter term?
Check out the courses offered at the BISC online!

contact Jennifer Winter to enroll
Applying to graduate in Spring 2021?
You can apply beginning Dec.1 on SOLUS. Not sure how to apply? Click here (scroll down to Apply for Graduation) for instructions.

Not sure if you are eligible to graduate? You can fill out a Degree Quick Check Form.

If you would like to meet with your Academic Advisor go to skhs.youcanbook.me to book an appointment.
Academic Resources

How to Study for Exams
December 7 & 8, 6:00pm-7:00pm  Zoom
Want insight on how to study for your first-year final exams? Join our SASS peers for the inside scoop and lots of valuable strategies so you’re confident and prepared for test day!
December 7: PSYC100, ECON110, HIST104, and ENGL100  
December 8: BIOL102, MATH121, and PHYS117
Exam prep appointment
Not sure how to start exam prep? Book a 50-minute academic skills appointment with one of our academic skills specialists! They’ll help you create an individualized plan to get caught up and ready to study.
Online exam prep resources
Check out our inventory of exam prep resources here.
Career Services has resources for you about job searching and careers during this time of physical distancing. Got career questions and not sure where to start? Drop-in to our remote career advising any Monday to Thursday from 1:30pm-3:30pm through MyCareer.
There are LOTS of resources to help you succeed mentally, emotionally, physically!
Upcoming Mental Health Events
PEGaSUS Support Group for Sexual Violence

This 8-week professionally facilitated group is a safe space for students who have experienced sexual violence. Through support and education, you will get an opportunity to gain skills and strengths that build resiliency and lead to a sense of self-empowerment. Find out more and register for PEGaSUS that starts in the winter 2021 term.  
Take the 15 Days of Exams Health Challenge!
Find out how you can thrive during this exam season, connect with other Queen’s students and win daily prizes. Challenges will be posted on @queensuniversitybewell on Instagram and @queensubewell on Facebook/Twitter 
 #GaelWishes are being granted on campus! 
 
After 10:00 AM on Wednesday, December 9, tweet @QueensFood and @cocacola_ca, with your food or beverage wish from Tim's, Starbucks, Flipit, PitaPit or The Lazy Scholar. Make sure to include a photo of you studying! If your wish is granted, we will "like" your photo and respond.
Events from the Office of Faith & Spiritual Life
(except 3rd Wednesday)

University Chaplain, Kate Johnson and Associate Chaplain, Wendy Luella Perkins (joined by other campus and community guests) provide the knowledge and recipes, and you bring the ingredients and enthusiasm. Together we’ll create an affordable, home-cooked, yummy supper.  From the comforts of our own kitchens and linked via ZOOM, we’ll cook for the first hour or so and then enjoy the meal, conversation and community together. We make generous quantities, so you’ll have lots to share with housemates, freeze, and/or eat up later in the week. 

Wed. December 9th: Veggie Burgers + Fries

Other News & Events
Did you apply for the Queen’s General Bursary?
2020-21 General Bursary decisions will be posted on SOLUS in late December. All bursaries are paid to students’ accounts. If your student account is paid in full, a refund will automatically be issued to you in early February via electronic funds transfer. Please ensure that your banking information is up-to-date on SOLUS.
 
Receiving 2020-21 OSAP?
The winter term tuition due date is January 31.
·   All, or a portion, of your OSAP funding will go directly to Queen’s from OSAP and be applied to your SOLUS account (usually in early January)
·   Please wait until mid-January (or once the OSAP payment has been applied to your Queen’s SOLUS account) before making an online payment for any remaining fee balance. 
VESA’s humanitarian and conservation projects aim to provide direct action support to communities in parts of the world overlooked by traditional charities and aid organisations. 
 
ECUADOR Each morning you’ll take a canoe to an indigenous community that’s otherwise inaccessible and help out with our infrastructure and teaching projects. Your construction project mission is to build bathrooms/toilet blocks for the Indigenous communities that flank the Napo River. The education project takes place in the community school, where you’ll assist in teaching basic English to children aged 5-12.
 
FIJI ISLANDS Always dreamed of living a completely different way of life? This is your chance, in a traditional Fijian homestay. The infrastructure project will see you working right alongside the locals and VESA team to construct composts and incinerators for the village and the education project gives you the chance to teach local primary school kids geography, maths and science through basic lessons and games.
 
South Africa We cover a broad range of opportunities in Africa, including infrastructureeducation and wildlife conservation projects. You’ll work closely with children teaching English and basic sanitation, hygiene and nutrition through games and activities. As well as this you get the chance to reinvigorate the village facilities with a fresh coat of paint, build new play equipment and help to construct bathrooms and kitchens alongside our qualified tradespeople. Not to mention you will get to come face to face with Cheetahs and crocodiles working on rehabilitation and release projects helping to save these endangered species! 
 
Laos There are countless elephant programs run across Southeast Asia, and it can be tricky to know which ones are ethical and directly benefit the elephants, not the tourists. Stay in a remote elephant sanctuary (veterinary and animal sciences placements are available) and get right up close to its residents. In the rural Sayaboury region the community is suffering from a severe lack of resources. As well as teaching young children English, basic hygiene, nutrition, recycling and waste management, we’ll continue our construction project in 2020– providing a brand new three classroom building. 

If you would like to be a part of something incredible when it is safe to travel again, or would simply like more information please check out our website www.vesabroad.org for videos explaining each country in detail, as well with videos on cost information, fundraising, how to get accepted onto a VESA program and details regarding VESA and Covid-19. We normally hold these information sessions at your university each year, but due to the pandemic this is the safest way to find out how you can make a difference next year! (And they are pretty awesome videos!)
We will be hosting Instagram live information sessions on our Instagram page for more info and to answer all your questions:

When: Every Wednesday & Thursday Until Dec 16th/17th 2020
Mitacs and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) have partnered to offer the RISE-Globalink Research Internship (RISE-GRI), which offers undergraduate students at Canadian universities the opportunity to undertake summer research internships at eligible German institutions.
RISE-GRI pairs Canadian students with three-month projects supervised by PhD students in Germany.
  • Open to full-time undergraduates in biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, earth sciences, or engineering (or a closely related field) who have completed at least two years of a four- or five-year program
  • Students in Quebec enrolled in a three-year undergraduate degree must have completed at least one year of their university program
  • Applications accepted until December 15, 2020. Students must apply through the RISE application portal.
  • Competitive opportunity — only top-ranked students are matched with projects
  • Projects must start between May 15 and July 12, 2021
  • Approved recipients receive $6,000 toward travel and accommodations
For questions about the application procedure, matching process, and internship placements, please contact rise-germany@daad.de.
For any questions regarding the funding, please contact Mitacs International
Film Screening and Panel Discussion: Picture a Scientist

Wednesday, December 02, 2020 - Wednesday, December 09, 2020
12:00 AM - 11:45 PM
Virtual Event. Free to All.

Picture a Scientist, an official selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, is a feature-length documentary film chronicling the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. A biologist, a chemist, and a geologist lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, overcoming brutal harassment, institutional discrimination, and years of subtle slights to revolutionize the culture of science. From cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we also encounter scientific luminaries who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.

Through this exclusive arrangement, you can stream the film in the comfort of your own home any time during the screening period, which runs December 2-9. 

On December 9 at 7:00 PM EST, join us for a live panel discussion on the history, present-day challenges, and future opportunities surrounding Title IX in the U.S. academic research enterprise. More details on this engaging panel will be announced soon.
A Spotlight On...
Elaine Power, SKHS Faculty
Dr. Power, who has been researching food & income insecurity for over 25 years, has written extensively about these issues, especially during the pandemic.

Join Dr. Power on December 8, 2020 4:00 PM (via Zoom)
  
No One Left Behind: Fixing the holes in CERB for 21st century income security
Elaine Power
Professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Studies; Head, Department of Gender Studies, Queen's University

Craig Berggold
Cultural Studies doctoral student, Queen's University
 
George Payne
Medical student, Northern Ontario Medical School
 
 
While the Canadian government acted quickly to provide economic support to Canadians thrown out of work by public health regulations to control the spread of COVID-19, many Canadians were left out. We will report on our research with unemployed Canadians not supported by CERB about their perspectives on how an unconditional basic income available to all those who need it might better serve them, and our social media education campaign in conjunction with the Basic Income Canada Network. 
If you would like to highlight a student, faculty member or event in SKHS, please email Vanessa McCourt