Education student Hope McMahon poses next to a stack of science kits.Education student Hope McMahon led a team from the field experience course in designing kits of science experiments that could be done at home during the pandemic’s lockdown. The kits were distributed through MH100, an afterschool program for underprivileged children in Windsor.

Science kits designed by teacher candidates make learning fun

Underprivileged children in Windsor have a hands-on way to learn about science thanks to UWindsor’s Hope McMahon and five of her fellow students in the Bachelor of Education program.

McMahon and her classmates put together kits containing five science experiments that teach concepts in physics, chemistry, and anatomy. The kits were distributed to elementary-school aged children in low-income areas of Windsor by MH100, an afterschool program run out of the John Atkinson Memorial Centre on Alice Street.

McMahon, a UWindsor Bachelor of Science graduate in her first year of B.Ed studies, started volunteering as a tutor at the program in November. Earning practicum hours for her degree, McMahon began doing science experiments there with students.

“They seemed to really enjoy it, so when we went into lockdown, I thought this would be a good way to continue that,” she says.

With her classmates Olivia Kireta, Victoria O’Beid, Mitchel Desmarais, Connor Campagna, and D.J. Lussier, McMahon ordered supplies online and put together everything students need to conduct science experiments at home. They premeasured ingredients, ensuring liquids were in tightly sealed containers, and packaged each experiment in a separate bag with clearly worded instructions. Each kit also contained safety glasses, plastic tablecloths to cut down on mess, and journals and pencils students can use to record their observations.

They have a dedicated email address for students to ask questions. They also created a website, accessible with a QR code, where students can post photos of their completed experiments.

The 20 kits cost about $300 in materials, with McMahon’s mother, Melissa, covering the largest share of the total. McMahon and her classmates contributed the rest.

MH100 founder Mehari Hagos said he is thrilled with the initiative. A firm believer in education as a way out of poverty, he said the kits are an engaging way to keep kids interested in learning.

“I love it. The kids love it. It’s amazing.”

Hagos delivered each box to the social housing neighbourhoods that are home to the kids in his program. Having grown up in the Glengarry projects in downtown Windsor, he knows first-hand the value of introducing positive influences into the lives of the children and teens there.

“I was being groomed to be a drug dealer,” Hagos said. When he landed in jail at 18 in a crime for which he was wrongly accused, he found an entire cell block populated with young men from his neighbourhood. Later, community advocate John Elliott, executive director of the Sandwich Teen Action Group, showed Hagos a new path. Hagos started working at Windsor Water World, then later opened MH100 there.

He’s now doing for kids what Elliott did for him. Many of the kids who come through MH100 earn post-secondary scholarships and become role models for those who come after them.

Since 2008, 250 children have participated in MH100. They work out, play basketball, and learn about nutrition. Volunteers like McMahon offer homework help.

McMahon said she learned about MH100 while looking for alternatives to classroom placements as part of the field experience course.

The pandemic has posed challenges for the students in the field experience course, said instructor Geri Salinitri, professor emeritus in the Faculty of Education. Students, especially those in first year like McMahon, aren’t able to get classroom placements as they were in the past, so they had to come up with new ways to engage with school-aged children and get practice delivering curriculum.

“This group was extremely creative in finding ways to help the community,” said Dr. Salinitri. “They’ve really gone the extra mile.”

—Sarah Sacheli

Anna Maria DeCia-GualtieriAnna Maria DeCia-Gualtieri has been elected to lead the 2021-22 conference of the National Association for Law Placement.

Law’s director of career services to lead national conference

After 13 years of extensive professional development experience with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), Windsor Law's director of career services, Anna Maria DeCia-Gualtieri, has been elected by her peers to lead the 2021-22 NALP conference.

“I’m looking forward to carrying out this role this year and I was pleased to run against some amazing candidates,” says DeCia-Gualtieri. “I consider myself very fortunate to be part of such a dynamic and supportive group of individuals who share NALP’s vision to drive innovation and collaboration in the legal profession through lifelong education and career development.”

DeCia-Gualtieri has held several roles in the national organization over the years. For the past four years, she has been a part of the Canadian On-Campus Initerview Schedule Working Group, in which school and employer representatives work as a team to ensure that all vested interests are accounted for from coast to coast. She has held the roles of member, chair, past chair, and now vice-chair with the organization, which has been very active since the start of the pandemic, especially when tasked with re-strategizing the entire summer 2021 recruitment plan. DeCia-Gualtieri was serving her final year when she was asked to remain on the committee as vice-chair with Christopher McKenna, Bennett Jones (Toronto) to navigate the challenging issues still impacting recruitment due to the pandemic.

She also proudly served as the only Canadian member of the NALP “Emerging Employer Engagement” task force under president Mina Jones Jefferson. As a team, their work focused on resource development for law students and recent graduates to introduce opportunities of using law degrees for emerging legal jobs outside of traditional practice. This was a catalyst, in part, to the development of NALP’s Summit on Emerging Careers.

“I have built many relationships and learned so much from attending 10 NALP annual conferences,” DeCia-Gualtieri continues. “Now as the elected conference planning co-ordinator for the Canadian region, I will proudly serve as a NALP ambassador, liaison, and resource to all members.”

—Rachelle Prince

Jane McArthurUWindsor alumna Jane McArthur is part of a multinational collaboration to address infection, death, overwork, and stress of health-care workers worldwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health care workers needlessly sacrificed to COVID-19: study

UWindsor researchers are part of a multinational group calling for major changes to address infection, death, overwork, and stress of health-care workers in the wake of COVID-19.

UWindsor occupational and environmental researchers Margaret Keith and James Brophy; alumna Jane McArthur (PhD 2021), toxic campaigns co-ordinator for the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment; and Ontario Council of Hospital Unions president Michael Hurley represented Canada alongside team members from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

“Refusal to accept the scientifically established airborne nature of transmission of the virus, failure to provide needed protections, hundreds of thousands of preventable infections and over 20,000 deaths from COVID-19 plague the global health-care workforce,” says a statement released to the media Saturday.

The researchers developed a collaborative strategy to address these failings, and suggested several measures, including higher staffing levels to prevent exhaustion, involving workers in decision-making, and helping them overcome barriers in exercising agency over their own protection.

Cadence PetitclercGoaltender Cadence Petitclerc has signed on to the Lancer women’s hockey team.

Women’s hockey squad adds netminder

You don’t win championships without a goalie, says Lancer women’s hockey coach Deanna Iwanicka, who has hopes that new recruit Cadence Petitclerc can help backstop her team to a title.

“Cadence is full of potential; she’s got the right attitude and she’s committed to her development,” Iwanicka says. “She will make our team better as we build a championship program.”

Petitclerc comes to Windsor from Williams Lake, BC, and will major in psychology when she begins studies in fall 2022.

“I chose UWindsor for the unique psychology program they offer and to be a part of their rebuilding to help put a strong name to the Lancers,” she says. “The time I have spent getting to know the team has been great and I look forward to being part of a great team, to make a difference, and help the team achieve unprecedented goals.”

Read the full story, “Iwanicka adds goaltender Cadence Petitclerc for 2022-23,” at goLancers.ca.

Electrical plug dangling beside outletAnnual preventative maintenance will require an outage of electrical and steam services to campus on the weekend of May 8.

Maintenance to shut down campus electrical and steam services

Annual preventative maintenance will require an outage of electrical and steam services to campus on the weekend of May 8, reports Facility Services.

The electrical outage will disable card access, elevators, lighting, air conditioning, and all power supply and is scheduled for 12 hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 8. The shutdown will disrupt the main campus buildings, with the exceptions of downtown properties, Great Lakes Institute of Environmental Research (GLIER), Centre for English Language Development (CELD), 2629 Riverside Dr., Centre for Automotive Research and Education (CARE), maintenance and grounds buildings.

Find details in this document: Campus Wide Power Outage (Air Conditioning/Lighting/Elevators) - Saturday, May 8, 2021, 6:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

The steam outage will also disable hot water and heating and cooling systems. It is scheduled to begin at noon Friday, May 7, and run through 6 p.m. Sunday, May 9. The shutdown will disrupt most campus buildings, with the exceptions of downtown properties, GLIER, CELD, and CARE.

Find details in this document: Campus Wide Steam Outage (Steam/Hot Water) - Friday, May 7, 2021 to Sunday, May 9, 2021, 12:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.