The Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program INSIDER November 2017 Page 1 THE
Insider November 2017 Meet the 2017/2018 Student Directors! Tuesday/Thursday S.M.I.L.E. Hi! Our names are Makenzie Branch and Evan Bunkis and we are beyond excited to hold the role of a Student Directors for Tuesday and Thursday Morning S.M.I.L.E. this year. We are both 4th year students who are majoring in Biology and Political Science respectively and over our time as Acadia, we have had the opportunity to see just how much this incredible program means to so many individuals within our university and our greater community. We feel so honoured to be able to work so closely with such an incredible group of student volunteers for the benefit of our incredible participants and we cannot wait to experience all of the fun and witness the progress made over the rest of the year! C.K./ West-Hants S.M.I.L.E. Hi everyone! My name is Rebecca Taylor and I am currently completing my second year of Education here at Acadia; and my name is Sam Freeze and I am a 4th year Chemistry student! Together we are the Student Directors for Tuesday CK/West Hants S.M.I.L.E.! This program day on Tuesday mornings for students from Central Kings Rural High and West Hants Middle School is a calm and quiet atmosphere tailored specifically to meet the needs of the participants. Tuesday CK/West Hants is all-around a positive environment where buddies have an opportunity to develop friendships, apply social skills, develop physical endurance and ultimately further their achievement in a fun and engaging atmosphere! Friday Night S.M.I.L.E. Our names are Erin Welsh and Claire Bullock and we are the Co-Student Directors of Friday Night S.M.I.L.E. I, Erin, am currently in my 5th year of studying neuroscience here at Acadia University and I am excited to have returned for my 4th year as a volunteer in the program and 2nd year as Co-Student Director of the Friday Night Program. I, Claire, am a 4th year student studying Biology here at Acadia and I am so pleased to have joined Erin as Co-Student Director in what is my 4th year as a volunteer with S.M.I.L.E. We have a great group of youth on Friday nights, who always keep things fun, active and creative. Some of our favourite activities here include playing sports in the gym, dancing to the latest hits, painting and drawing, exploring our Snoezelen room and of course swimming! It is always amazing to see the incredible friendships that are formed here at S.M.I.L.E. and memories that will last a lifetime! S.M.I.L.E. For Adults My name is Paetra Addison and I am thrilled to be the Student Director for S.M.I.L.E. for Adults in 2017/2018 . I am a fourth year Kinesiology student here at Acadia and have been involved with S.M.I.L.E. throughout the course of my degree. I feel incredibly lucky to be working with such an amazing group of Leaders, Instructors and participants. With all of the fun that will be had with evenings spent here on Friday Nights doing things like going to The Noggins Corn Maze and having Varsity Athletes Night, it is and will be an unforgettable year! Saturday S.M.I.L.E. Hello! We are Janet Aucoin and Leah Bennett, the Student Directors for Saturday S.M.I.L.E. Janet is a fourth year Kinesiology major and Leah is a master’s student in Pharmaceutical Sciences. We both adore S.M.I.L.E. and are excited about how this first term has been coming together! Our team of dedicated volunteers have already taken our participants for a trip Under the Sea; celebrated Science Day with them and duo of Acadia’s finest professors; and cheered on the kids as they showed off their costumes during our Halloween parade. On top of that, each week we see our participants joining in on games of soccer, working on their swimming skills in the pool and gaining confidence on skates in the ice rink. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings! Page 2
Insider November 2017 Axes In Action 2017 O n September 16th, on what was a beautiful early Fall day in The Valley, roughly 150 Acadia students awoke and assembled at the Student Union Building in order to kick off Axes in Action! The annual Axes in Action fundraiser is a day in which Acadia students spread out around Wolfville and the neighbouring communities of Windsor, New Minas, Kentville, Coldbrook, Greenwood and Berwick in order to collect donations for The Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program and L’Arche Homefires. Volunteers also travelled as far as the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market this year in order to raise money for the two organizations. Throughout the day, they could be heard cheering, playing music and thanking the many generous members of the public who made donations. The event was a huge success, as it raised over $8000. Thank you to the Axes in Action volunteers, the members of the public who kindly donated and the Acadia Students’ Union for organizing it all! SMILE For S.M.I.L.E: Sarah & Jenna Robertson M J y S.M.I.L.E buddy Jennifer has been such a blessing to me in so many ways. I am lucky enough to be paired with her for the third year and I could not even try to list everything she has taught me or attempt to explain how much joy I feel when I am with her. It doesn’t matter how stressful or busy my week was, every Friday I get to spend with Jen brings me back to earth and we have so much fun laughing and spending time together. - Sarah Robertson ennifer brings such happiness to my Friday nights each and every week. She reminds me that life really doesn’t need to be so complicated, and that laughter and appreciation of the little things are what really matters. Spending time with Jen has been such an amazing learning experience over the past 3 years. I still remember the night at Noggins Farm when Jen absolutely astounded us by fearlessly walking up the biggest, steepest set of stairs there were, with barely any help. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet Jen, I would be a completely different person. My sister and I are so happy to call her one of our best friends.- Jenna Robertson Page 2
Insider November 2017 APA S.MI.L.E. Soccer Game rom October 26th to October 28th at The Acadia Athletics Centre, Friday Night S.M.I.L.E. participant and AxWheelchair Dare F cess Acadia student O’Neal Blackman hosted his Wheelchair Dare for the 2nd year in row. The event aimed to highlight the accessibility issues that persons in wheelchairs can encounter as they navigate their local communities, as well as raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy. O’Neal himself has Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy and uses an electric wheelchair for transportation. For the Wheelchair Dare, members of the Acadia University community and the greater public were invited to come to The Athletics Centre and borrow one of a set of manual wheelchairs donated by Lawtons Home Healthcare for the event; they would then have the opportunity to attempt many everyday tasks while using the wheelchair, such as opening a door manually, operating an elevator, entering a bathroom stall and getting up and down a small hill without the assistance of another person. Donations to Muscular Dystrophy Canada were also accepted at the event’s booth over the course of those three days. “The Wheelchair Dare was a big success and I’m so thankful for our amazing volunteers who dedicated time out of their crazy schedules in order to help my mother (Shelly Blackman) and I organize, plan and host my event.”, O’Neal said. “Our volunteers really helped in communicating to the people who participated in the Dare that being physically disabled and dependent on a wheelchair can be very challenging. I’d like to send special shout outs to Cathy Palmer, Hannah Dunn, Rachael Davidson, Katherine Waterbury, Mark Davis, Lisa Howell, Olivia Giansante, Koltin King, Hillary Merks, Maxine Thomas, Julia Bernier, Myles Wilbur, Lindsay Blois, Lydia Broderick and Firefighter Mark Pound from the Kentville Fire Department for their assistance with it. Together we were able to raise $545.45 for Muscular Dystrophy Canada. Thanks guys!”. Instructors of the Month Tuesday: A.J. Allain Thursday: Josh Darling CK/West Hants: Natasha Robertson Friday Night: Meaghan Peterson & Gillian Plummer S.M.I.L.E. For Adults: Lindsey Coughlan & Nicole Kirkpatrick Saturday: Marja Himmelman Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program WWW. smile.acadiau.ca Acadia S.M.I.L.E. SMILEAcadia SMILEAcadia Page 3 INSTRUCTOR OF THE MONTH
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