Most people probably don’t give it a lot of thought, but physics plays a major role in their everyday lives, according to graduate student Theresa Spanjers. However, teaching its more daunting modern concepts at the high school level can be a challenging task, even for some of the best educators.

That’s why Spanjers, along with physics professors Chitra Rangan, developed a package of new resource materials they’re making available on line for Grade 11 and 12 science teachers to introduce some of the tougher concepts to their students in a more understandable way.

Focus On Reaching Curricular Expectations (FORCE) Physics Lesson Packs contain easy-to-use teaching materials that target specific provincial science curriculum objectives dealing with non-traditional topics. Designed to be covered over one or two 80-minute class periods, they include a PowerPoint presentation, teaching notes, supporting handouts, suggested classroom activities and a lesson plan.

“It’s a resource that will help teachers introduce more modern physics concepts like quantum mechanics and relativity,” said Spanjers, who besides earning a Master’s degree in physics, also has a B.Ed degree behind her name, as well as this year’s Graduate Assistant/Teaching Assistant (GATA) educational leadership award.

“Some teachers might not feel adequately prepared to teach these subjects in depth, but you can introduce them at a conceptual level,” she added.

Dr. Rangan said the lesson packs are a nice addition the resources the university already provides to high school science teachers in the form of student-generated, multi-media web modules.

Spanjers and Rangan presented the materials – which were produced with support from the Leddy Library and the Centre for Teaching and Learning – at the Science Teacher's Association of Ontario conference in Toronto last Saturday and said they received a lot of positive feedback.

“There was a lot of interest from the teachers who were there,” said Spanjers. “They said they thought it would be very useful to them.”

The team has created a web site where teachers can download the lesson plans for free, as well as provide constructive feedback on how to improve the materials.

The Office of Public Affairs and Communications and the Document Imaging Centre have teamed up to make it easier to send holiday greetings on campus.

An online form will allow departments to order cards bearing a selection of seasonal imagery and text greetings for use as printed cards, e-cards, or both.

“We wanted to give people the flexibility to personalize their holiday cards, while still ensuring a manageable workload that can turn around the product in a reasonable amount of time,” says Jennifer Ammoscato, senior manager of marketing, publications and Web.

The cards feature a choice of eight images of winter scenes and eight suggested verses, as well as the option for clients to supply their own message. When the form is completed, it submits the order to Ammoscato. Once the client approves the card design, public affairs will send it for printing by the Document Imaging Centre or provide a jpeg image for the client to use in an e-card.

To ensure completion for delivery before the holiday break, clients must submit requests by December 7.

“We understand that people want to share the joy of the holidays with their colleagues and hope that our online request form makes it easier,” Ammoscato says. “It’s one less thing to worry about at this busy time of the year.”

View the online Holiday Cards Order Request form.

The Celebration of Teaching Excellence, held this year on November 14, has become a featured annual event in the UWindsor calendar, says Alan Wright, vice-provost, teaching and learning.

“The Celebration of Teaching Excellence has grown from its modest beginnings in 2006 to a well-attended community gathering highlighting extraordinary commitment to quality teaching and learning across all of the faculties at the University of Windsor,” he says. “It provides a unique opportunity for the award-winners, family members, friends and colleagues, as well as support staff and the academic administration, to join in a collegial toast of outstanding teaching achievement.”

Among this year’s honourees was Judy Bornais, experiential learning specialist in the Faculty of Nursing, who received a provincial teaching award from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.

A colleague described her teaching as “a heartfelt passion, dedication, enthusiasm and caring for her students.”

A full list of the award winners and a copy of the evening’s program are available on the event Web site.

Watch a video produced by Peter Freele of the Centre for Teaching and Learning recounting the event.

Christine Palmer, a secretary in the Faculty of Engineering, won Thursday’s DailyNews quiz and two tickets to “Songs of the Sea and Beyond,” the University Wind Ensemble’s end-of-semester concert, on Friday, November 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Banwell Community Church.

Palmer’s name was drawn from all respondents who correctly identified G.F. Handel as the composer of the Hallelujah Chorus, F minor as a key in which J.S. Bach failed to compose a flute sonata, and the oboe’s reeds outnumbering the flute’s 2-0.

Banwell Community Church is located on Windsor’s east side, at 2400 Banwell Road, one block north of Tecumseh Road. Tickets to Friday’s concert are $10 general admission and $5 for students, available at the door or in advance by phone at 519-253-3000, ext. 4212; or online at www.uwindsor.ca/music.

The Friday after US Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is traditionally the beginning of the holiday shopping season, says Martin Deck, marketing manager of the University Bookstore.

“We wanted to find a way to honour that tradition and save our loyal customers the hassle of driving stateside to shop,” he says.

The Bookstore will offer University of Windsor faculty and staff a 10 per cent discount on all clothing and giftware at its kiosk in the CAW Student Centre for one day only—Friday, November 23—from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Be sure to ask for your discount before the clerk rings in your purchase!” Deck cautions.

Bookstore grand re-opening planned for Monday

The Bookstore will celebrate the opening of its temporary location in Vanier Hall with special savings on Monday, November 26.

The sale offers an additional 50 per cent off all previously-marked-down sale books and a special discounted T-shirt—only $9.95—available only at the Vanier location. The Bookstore will also be displaying demos of the new iPad 4 and iPad Mini, available for purchase soon.

From noon to 1:30 p.m., UWindsor alumni Elaine Weeks and Chris Edwards of Walkerville Publishing will be on hand to sign copies of their best-selling 500 Ways You Know You’re From Windsor.

The Bookstore is situated on the west side of Vanier Hall’s upper level and sells all textbooks as well as office, computer, art and school supplies. Clothing, giftware, graduation rings and diploma frames are available at the Bookstore’s kiosk in the CAW Student Centre.

Men on campus participating in the annual moustache-growing initiative known as Movember will gather together at the University Club restaurant at noon on Monday and are inviting the rest of the campus community to participate in a fun contest to help support the cause.

For any sized donation, people can check out the variety of moustaches and cast a vote in two categories: the “Finest Mo Grow” and the “At Least You’re Trying” awards. Members from two campus teams – the Faculty of Mo and Mo Leddy – are vying for the awards.

Voters will have their name entered in a draw to win lunch for two at the University Club, two tickets to the School of Arts and Creative Innovation’s Festival of Christmas concert, or two tickets for an upcoming University Players production.

Movember is an annual event that asks men to grow their moustaches throughout November, while raising money for prostate cancer and mental health research. There are a number of Movember teams across campus and Faculty of Mo team captain Phil Graniero said this will be a great opportunity for them to get together.

“There are people right across campus taking part in Movember, but a lot of them don’t even know each other,” said Dr. Graniero, a professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences. “This will be a great chance for them to meet and share some social time, have some laughs, and help raise awareness for a great cause.”

The HomeStyle station in the Marketplace will take on the taste of Italy for dinner Saturday, November 24, featuring dishes that hearken back to the old country.

On the dinner menu are:

• Tortellini boscaiola, peas and forest mushrooms served in a blush sauce with a side of fresh bruschetta, $7.99
• Chicken marsala with grapevine with side, $8.99
• Spezzatino, stewing beef, carrots, celery, onion, potato and Roma tomato puree with side, $7.99
• Baked fish with Sicilian peperonata served over risotto Milanese, $8.99

The Marketplace food court, located in the CAW Student Centre, serves dinner Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m.

After releasing a debut EP, producing its first music video and playing several opening gigs for bigger Canadian acts, Windsor-based alternative rock band Pulp City Inn has had its busiest year yet.

Band members—lead singer Justin Zuccato, guitar player Darryl Festa, bass player Brandon Zuccato and drummer Brandon Lefrancois—have been struggling to juggle their academic and musical careers.

“It’s not easy. We try to put as much time and effort into the band as much as possible while keeping busy with school,” said Lefrancois, who is pursuing a double major in music and communications, media and film.

Brandon Zuccato, a criminology and psychology student, said the January release of their EP, seems further off than a year: “It feels like forever ago.”

The EP, Welcome to Pulp City Inn, is a compilation of four songs, including “My Surrender,” which has had airplay on Windsor’s 100.7 The Rock radio station, and is in the postproduction stage of being made into a music video.

The video is currently being edited by LadyMeta Movement, which is owned by University of Windsor grads Catrina Franzoi and Daniella Bumbacco. Festa said it was a cool experience working with LadyMeta Movement.

“It was nice not to have to worry about the planning and the logistics of shooting a video and instead having other people do it for you,” he said.

The band brainstormed with Franzoi to get the idea for the video, which follows the band’s lead singer on a “crazy adventure” as he runs into some unusual characters. Franzoi said that it is rare for a band to want to have a say in a video’s plot.

“The guys have a strong opinion of who they are as a band and definitely had a lot of ideas towards their video,” she said. “They understood the video would reflect on them and it’s nice to see a band care that much.”

Band members said they appreciated opportunities to open for bigger Canadian acts.

“It gives us a good opportunity to expose our music to fans of these bigger Canadian acts,” said Lefrancois.

The band will opening for Faber Drive on November 25 at The Room nightclub in downtown Windsor. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. To find out more about Pulp City Inn’s music, check out the group’s Facebook page.

— article and photo by Jessica Hoffman

University of Windsor graduate Talish Zafar (BA 2012) is excited to debut his play Fireflies in the City: A Conversation about Love this weekend at Mackenzie Hall.

“It’s a comedy that ends up turning into an actual conversation about love,” Zafar said. “It gets emotional and even brutal with the reality of what love actually is.”

In addition to writing the play, Zafar is acting in one of the lead roles.

“I enjoy being able to say the words that I wrote and in the way that I meant for them to be said and interpreted,” he said.

The play will be his first step into the real world of production, not only as the writer but also as the director and producer. Dealing with the challenges of funding and marketing outside of the school environment makes his transition into the professional world a reality.

University of Windsor student Caylen Bellis, another of the production’s actors, says the comedy is very relatable.

“Anyone will watch it and think: I’ve had a relationship like that,” she said.

The production runs November 23, 24, and 25 at the Mackenzie Hall Cultural Centre, 3277 Sandwich Street.

Admission is $10; tickets are available for purchase at the door or in advance through Mackenzie Hall. The Dominion House Tavern is offering a dinner theatre special for $20, which includes a ticket to the show and a dinner entrée.

— by Jordan Tapak

Flu clinics on the University of Windsor campus November 21 and 22 did a brisk business, administering the vaccine free to Ontario residents.

“Our numbers overall are up this year in comparison to previous years,” said Judi Wilson, health promotion nurse in Student Health Services.

She said the Windsor Essex County Health Unit offers the mobile clinics to make it more convenient for people to get vaccinated: “We try to go all around the community and the county and hit all the major areas.”

If you missed the campus clinics, you still have opportunities to get a free vaccination. The health unit will hold public clinics in Belle River on November 26 and in Amherstburg on November 27 before returning to Windsor on November 28 and 29. Find more information, including times and specific locations on the health unit’s Web site.

— by William Humphrey