Alicia Aguirre elected to NDNU Board of Trustees

ESL Professor Alicia Aguirre has been elected to the Notre Dame de Namur University Board of Trustees.

Aguirre has served as mayor of Redwood City since 2011. She was originally appointed to the Redwood City City Council in 2005 and was elected in 2005, 2007 and 2011.

She has served on the boards of numerous schools and organizations, including Service League of San Mateo County, Latino Community Council of Redwood City and Shelter Network, and was elected to the Redwood City School District.

Aguirre was inducted into the Redwood City San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame, and was honored as a Fulbright Exchange Professor. She has a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University and has done doctoral studies at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She was selected as State of California 21st Assembly District's 2012 Woman of the Year.

The Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning has a new blog

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning has a new blog. According to Anniqua Rana, one of three faculty coordinators for CEITL, the blog is designed to keep faculty up-to-date on the latest professional development opportunities.

CIETL is dedicated to innovation and excellence, initiated by the Vice President of Instruction (and validated and supported by the administration), as an institutionalized place for directed focus on issues of teaching and learning. The center is committed to the college’s core mission of helping students move successfully through their academic plan, including basic skills, transfer, and career/technical education courses. CIETL does this by piloting, evaluating, and supporting innovative teaching and learning practices that encourage collaboration and community building and increase the retention, success, and persistence rates of our students. CIETL promotes sharing of this scholarship of teaching and learning among faculty here and elsewhere.

Current blog entries include a description of the workshops offered this fall by the San Mateo County Genealogical Society; a review of the recently completed orientation sessions for new faculty hires; and a preview of upcoming instructional design and technology workshops.

Fashion bloggers meet-up at Cañada

Bay Area fashion bloggers congregated at the college on Monday, Aug. 13 to share ideas about fashion and blogging.

Bloggers meet-up at Cañada

Special guest included Sara Alm, teacher and author of Fabulous Frocks; Wayne Wichern, teacher and owner of Wayne Wichern Millinery; Lynda Maynard, teacher and author of Couture Sewing Techniques; and Ronda Chaney, head of the Fashion Department at the college.

"It was a fabulous event with lots of sharing on fashion design along with blogging," said Chaney. "It was a great way to connect with former students and the bloggers were able meet each other and share ideas. In some cases, they had never met before."

"I am an alumnus of the Cañada College Fashion Department - having attended in the early 1980s," wrote Sharon a.k.a. Shams, author of the Communing with Fabric blog. "It's clear to me that Ronda has done amazing things with this department and that it is as good, if not better, as in "my" day."

Other bloggers in attendance included:

www.katyrenee.com/blog

www.jillybejoyful.blogspot.com

www.sunnygalstudio.blogspot.com

needlespinthorns.blogspot.com

sewwell.wordpress.com

cationdesigns.blogspot.com

www.waynewichernmillinery.com

Rolling Drops Begin Aug. 6

Beginning today, August 6 (two weeks before the start of the fall semester) students will be dropped at midnight the day following their registration for non-payment of any unpaid fees. This will continue until the start of the semester. If you had paid your fees in full by August 1, but then added classes, you must pay for these classes by midnight the day following your registration. You will only be dropped from the classes that you have added and not paid for.

 If you need assistance in paying your fees you may:

·         enroll in an inexpensive payment plan via WebSMART by 11:00 p.m.

·         complete the Board of Governors Fee Waiver via WebSMART 24 hours prior to the drop date and submit additional documents if required within that timeframe.  Check your student account on WebSmart to make sure the BOGW was automatically posted.

·        complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. A minimum of five (5) business days processing time is required to ensure receipt of the FAFSA to prevent your drop for non-payment (school code required: 006973 Cañada, 001181 CSM and 007713 Skyline).

Take any of the above actions to prevent being dropped from classes.

If you still need financial assistance after exhausting all options listed above, please contact the Vice President of Student Services.

Honors Courses are for Everyone!

Did you know that Honors courses at Cañada College are open to everyone? This Fall, several new Honors courses will be offered, including a new Western Civilization course:

"From Optimism to Anxiety and Back Again: European Literature and History from the Early Modern Era to the Post-War World"

To enroll, you must be eligible for English 101 but there are no prerequisites necessary. Why should you enroll in Honors Learning Community HIST 101/ENGL 110?

• Honors credit looks good on your transcript
• You will get a taste of the kind of holistic, integrated liberal arts education that you can expect at a four-year university
• Watching films, visiting museums, and attending concerts are all part of the curriculum
• Knowing the history will make the literature easier to understand; reading the literature will make the history come to life
• These high-level, demanding university-style courses will be challenging, but you will get the support you need to succeed
• You do not have to be a part of the Honors Program to enroll in these courses

This honors learning community will cover topics that reflect the emotional, psychological, and cultural impact of historical trends and revolutions on actual human beings from the 1500s to today. Reading works of literature that explore these topics will allow students to assess the human experience in a particular period, through marker points, and during paradigm shifts. The courses will also present literary theory in the context of the historical and cultural circumstances that bring theory and literature into being.

Need more practice with reading & writing? Improve Your English and Reading Skills with Word Jam

This free, week-long program helps students practice college reading and writing strategies.

Word Jam is a free, non-credit, one-week program aimed at providing additional support to current and in-coming Cañada College students in all levels of English, Reading, and ESL. It will be held Monday through Friday, Aug. 6-10 from 9 AM to 12 Noon in the Cañada College Learning Center.

 

Word Jam students work with Cañada faculty to practice college-level reading and writing strategies, learn the expectations of their specific English, Reading, or ESL courses, and become familiar with Cañada College resources. Past students in Word Jam have even boosted their Cañada College placement test scores!

“I participated in Word Jam, scored higher on the placement test, and I was able to skip the remedial classes and start in college-level English," said Christian Ayala, Cañada College student and Word Jam participant last year. "Word Jam taught me some new skills and helped me remember some of the rules I learned in high school.”

To enroll in Word Jam, participants must be a current Cañada College student or an in-coming student who has completed the Cañada College application and taken the Placement Test. To sign up for Word Jam, email Julie Wilson at wilsonj@smccd.edu. Include your: 1) name, 2) G-number, 3) contact information (phone & email), and 4) the results of your Cañada College Placement Test.

Enrolling this Fall? Plan to Attend an Orientation and Academic Advising Session

New students are required to attend.

Are you planning to enroll at Cañada College this fall? If you are new to the college, remember, you must attend one of our orientations, complete assessment testing, and participate in an academic advising session.

The assessment will ensure you enroll in the appropriate level of English and math; and the orientation and advising session will provide you with information you need to be successful in college.

You will receive information and meet individually with a counselor to help you identify the classes you need to take during your first semester. New students must complete assessment and attend the orientation and advising session to become eligible to register for classes. You can do either of the following:

• Complete orientation first, followed by assessment, then register for an academic advising session; or
• Register for orientation and academic advising session AFTER you have completed the assessment.

You can register for the “Orientation and Assessment” in English through WebSMART using your student ID number and your PIN. Under Student Services, click on “Schedule Appointments”. You will then click on “Orientation and Assessment” where you will be directed to a third page where you can select and register for one of the sessions that best fits your schedule. Please note, space in each session is limited. If you receive a message that states the session date you selected is full, please select another session date.

For assistance, call (650) 306-3452.