For Faculty of Nursing sessional instructor Katherine Beaumont, her third-year students, and Grade 6 teachers at West Gate Public School, providing self-care teachings along with essential personal hygiene products for pre-teens in need reaffirms the idea that great things happen when you work together for a common good.

As part of the BScN students’ school health education placement program, lessons included fun and immersive games intended to engage and punctuate the importance of personal hygiene, oral health, hand washing, bathing, and self-esteem.

What started out as a small token of care products from nursing students quickly evolved to greater collaboration and included such community partners as Youth Wellness Hub, the United Way, and Windsor Goodfellows. The group donated personal health kits consisting of combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, deodorant, first-aid kits, small packets of laundry detergent, and wellness literature. In some cases, feminine products such as tampons, liners, wipes, and additional pamphlets with coupons were also included.

“Grade school children are impressionable and can form early insecurities as their bodies undergo changes,” says Beaumont. “Our message is that it’s okay and that a little education and self-care can help them overcome anxiety, boost self-esteem, and alleviate some of the social pressures they may be experiencing.”

Kimberley Mann, an outreach worker with Youth Wellness Hub of Windsor-Essex, emphasizes that connecting with adolescents and assisting them to create or positively change hygiene habits increases the chances of a life-long healthier outlook.

Leilani Logronio is optimistic to see more collaboration in school and community health education from the University in the future. Manager of labour programs and services for the United Way, swhe adds that the benefit becomes exponential when more partners are involved.

BScN student Josh Taylor believes his placement experience validates the reason nursing students enter the field of health care and education.

“Quite simply, I’m thankful for the opportunity to be a role model and give back to the community,” says Taylor. “We’re proud that our group was able to provide valuable health teaching and personally, I had an amazing time working with the students at West Gate Public School.”

This spring, the Incubator Art Lab is hosting Nate Talbot (BA 2020) as its alumni Artist-in-Residence.

As part of his residency, Talbot is hosting a public workshop at the lab on Friday, April 26. Called “Biomorphic AI-driven Animation for Beginners,” it will invite participants to create an animation by combining household items, fruits and vegetables, and AI tools.

Talbot’s work under the name “N8” explores the intersections of technology, spirituality, and cultural identity formation. With a MFA in bioart and a degree in philosophy, he takes a unique perspective that challenges traditional notions of portraiture and explores human-non-human symbioses. Talbot is an expert in a variety of media, including three-dimensional scanning and modelling, virtual reality sculpting, motion design, digital holography, and artificial intelligence art.

Workshop participants should bring fruits and vegetables for use as a base for an AI animation, as well as a smartphone, laptop, or tablet computer. They will be further instructed to download an app before the workshop.

“Participants will take away a deeper understanding of how AI works, some of the ethical issues surrounding it, as well as a practical working knowledge of these tools,” says Talbot. “Participants will learn text-to-image, as well as image-to-video AI tools.”

No prior experience is necessary — this event is perfect for beginners.

Running 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the studio at 144 University Ave. West, the workshop is open to the public and costs $6.66 for ages 16+. Scholarships are available upon request. Participants can register on the Incubator Eventbrite page.

Monitors in the SoCA Armouries and Alan Wildeman Centre for Creative Arts will display works by students in a second-year digital photography class through May 7.

Entitled “Watching at the Same Time,” the slideshow acts as an exhibition of course projects that range from portraits and landscapes to more experimental and abstract photographic studies, says instructor Julie Sando.

“This is the first photo-specific course students in the visual arts program will have taken,” she says. “They received instruction on the use of DSLR camera functions but were also encouraged to use their smartphones to complete their assignments.”

The course offers an introduction to the elements of digital photography including image processing through applications in Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop and artificial intelligence image generation tools.

“I am really proud of the students’ hard work and encourage everyone interested in seeing the results to stop by and view the exhibition,” Sando says.

A free workshop May 2 will involve participants in bringing to life trauma-informed practice in research on gender-based violence.

PhD candidate Dianne Lalonde from Western University will cover trauma-informed principles as relevant to research including examples focused on theoretical writing, interviewing, surveys, and vicarious trauma. By the end of the workshop, attendees will have enhanced their ability to understand how trauma-informed principles can be used in research and identify concrete ways to use trauma-informed principles in their own research.

Presented by the Health Research Centre for the Study of Violence Against Women in partnership with Western University’s Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, “Trauma-Informed Research on Gender-Based Violence: A How-To Workshop” is open to the public and will take place virtually from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 2.

Register for this workshop.

Are you a University employee eager to enhance your Drupal web development skills?

The training session offered on Thursday, April 25, is designed to empower you with the skills needed to create and manage web pages on the official UWindsor website. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned web content editor, this session promises practical knowledge you can apply immediately.

During this training, you will learn how to:

• Create engaging webpages
• Understand how to upload graphics
• Organize menus effectively for seamless user experiences
• Learn about web standards, accessibility, usability, and functionality

Web development team leader Rob Aitkens will bring a wealth of experience to lead this session and guide you through the Drupal content management system.

This training is open to all faculty, staff, and student employees responsible for maintaining content on UWindsor’s official website.

Secure your spot in this dynamic class on Thursday, April 25, from 1 to 3 p.m., by visiting the IT Services Booking page and sign up for the Drupal 7 + Web Accessibility Basic Training.