The Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program INSIDER December 2016 Fall Semester Wrap-Up A s per usual, the start of S.M.I.L.E. this year was exciting for all of those involved! A few particular sessions stood out this term though. Tuesday and Thursdays are always fun but one week that was particularly so, was their Halloween themed days! Participants had the opportunity to test their fear, place their hands into mystery boxes and feel all of the gross stuff inside or get their picture taken as Frankenstein in a photo booth. Buzz Lightyear (or someone dressed up as him) even went for a swim with the participants in the pool! In This Issue: Fall Semester Wrap-Up Rotary Club Donation Shoot, Score, S.M.I.L.E. APA Soccer Game Where Are They Now? Volunteer Profile 1 2 2 3 3 4 A New Look at S.M.I.L.E. 4 S.M.I.L.E. Return Dates 4 Friday Night S.M.I.L.E. and S.M.I.L.E. for Adults had the opportunity to head over to Noggins Corner Farm, where they tried their best to not get lost in their corn maze, enjoyed songs and ate s’mores around a campfire, and braved their haunted house. This is an annual trip for these two program days and it is always a highlight of the Fall semester! Saturday S.M.I.L.E. kicked off the year with a Disney themed morning! Instructors, leaders and participants all came dressed as their favorite Disney characters - from Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, to princesses galore - everyone looked incredible in their costumes. The participants helped create a group masterpiece as well, as they individually contributed to a painting based on the Pixar movie “Up”! Needless to say, we are so excited for S.M.I.L.E. to start up again in the Winter semester and are looking forward to all of the highlights to come! Page 1 THE
Insider December 2016 Rotary Club Donation T hank you to The Rotary Club of Kentville for their incredible donation of $9500 toward our Snoezelen Room! This generous contribution will be used to complete a section of the Northwest Territories area of the room, which is due to begin construction soon! Fundraising The Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program is offered free of charge to our participants and our costs are covered solely through our own fundraising efforts. If you would like to donate to the program, you can do so online at http://smile.acadiau.ca/Donations.html or by sending a cheque to: Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program Acadia University 550 Main Street Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R6 Shoot, Score, S.M.I.L.E! S Thank You! hoot, Score, S.M.I.L.E. was a resounding success this year! For the second year, a group of fourth year Kinesiology students took on this fundraising initiative for the S.M.I.L.E. Program as part of their Senior Seminar class. Leading up to the November 26th Acadia Axemen hockey game, tickets for a raffle were sold, with the grand prize winner having the chance to shoot a puck at the net for a chance to win a portion of the raffle proceeds. Jenna MacLean was the lucky winner and got the chance to shoot to win! In addition to the grand prize shot, on the night of the event a silent auction was held, with proceeds from the auction going to the S.M.I.L.E. program. Great prizes were won, including an autographed Carey Price jersey and a jersey signed by all members of the Acadia Axemen hockey team! Thank you to everyone who made this event a success, from buying raffle tickets, bidding on silent auction items and donating money and prizes. A special thank you goes out to the organizers of this event, Kyle Ritchie, Taylor Makin, Geoffrey Schemitsch, Kyla White and Michael Clarke. Page 2
Insider December 2016 APA S.MI.L.E. Soccer Game T he Acadia Players Association is a committee dedicated to enhancing the experience of varsity student athletes at Acadia. As many varsity athletes at Acadia are involved with the S.M.I.L.E. program as both leaders and instructors, fundraising for the S.M.I.L.E. program has become an important part of their year. This October, the APA organized a soccer game in support of S.M.I.L.E. with varsity athletes competing against each other in a friendly match. Funds raised from the game will help fund special events for all of our program days. Keep an eye out for future S.M.I.L.E. fundraising events put on by the APA! Where Are They Now? Megan MacDonald S .M.I.L.E. has been influential in my life and career, it’s a program I think about often and fondly. Since I graduated from Acadia in 2002, I joined Oregon State University as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Kinesiology program. In addition to teaching and conducting research I am also one of 5 faculty affiliated with a program very similar to S.M.I.L.E., called IMPACT. IMPACT, along with other programs in adapted physical activity here at OSU, provide outreach opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students, and provide essential community-based APA services to individuals in the community who have a disability. In 2014, I was honored to be invited to the White House Summit & Research Forum on Improved Health & Fitness for Americans with Disabilities. This forum indicated to me that the health and fitness of individuals with disabilities is a National priority and I am committed to being a part of this progressive change. S.M.I.L.E. has shaped my career. The S.M.I.L.E. participants, volunteers, staff and directors are friends who I am so thankful for. Megan MacDonald was the Interim Director of the Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program in 2007-2008. She was the recent recipient of the David P. Beaver APA Professional Young Scholar Award, awarded for dedication to Adapted Physical Activity. Page 3
Insider December 2016 Volunteer Profile: Music Therapy Students I f you happen to walk around on a Friday or Saturday program day, you may have heard singing and the sounds of musical instruments coming from the Hall of Fame room. The S.M.I.L.E. program is so lucky to welcome volunteers from the Acadia School of Music who come to provide cognitive and motor stimulation through participation or observation in song and sometimes movement and dance. The Music Therapy coordinators are Catherine Kennedy and Mia Clow, and they are usually accompanied by a few other music students equipped with instruments including guitars, ukuleles, and sometimes even wind or string instruments. Their main goal is to provide a fun and happy environment for everyone. A New Look Around S.M.I.L.E. I S.M.I.L.E. Returns f you happen to have been present during a S.M.I.L.E. program session as of late, you may have noticed some S.M.I.L.E. volunteers wearing baby blue S.M.I.L.E. t-shirts during them. These volunteers are not S.M.I.L.E. Instructors or Leaders but do hold other positions of responsibility within the program. Those wearing these t-shirts are either providing music therapy, facilitating our snack program for the participants or helping with marketing/fundraising for S.M.I.L.E. They are important members of the S.M.I.L.E. team and we want to make sure that everyone knows what these baby blue t-shirts represent! Tuesday: January 24th CK/West Hants: January 24th Thursday: January 26th Friday Youth: January 20th Friday Adult: January 20th Saturday: January 21st Have a Safe and Happy Holiday! Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program WWW. smile.acadiau.ca Acadia S.M.I.L.E. SMILEAcadia SMILEAcadia Page 4
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