UNews - South Western Alberta Teachers' Convention Association

1st Choice Centre sees rise in usage

trevor.kenney — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:57:20 +0000

Southern Alberta is finding another reason to come to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge – the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport & Wellness.

Having now completed its second full year of operations, there is context to the facility's usage numbers and not surprisingly, they are on the rise.

"We expected it to be quite popular, however maybe not this popular," says Manager, Facilities & Services, Deb Marek. "We haven't really ever marketed the facility."

Despite ongoing construction, limited use over the summer months and repair work following severe flooding a year ago, the facility still saw a significant rise in visits over the past year. Even more noteworthy was the percentage ratio of community and student users, with about 45 per cent of total visits by members of the community.

"It's a given we'll have the students but to see that many community members coming in is very exciting," Marek says. "The facility was funded partially by the City of Lethbridge, so their expectation is that the community is going to use it and it's nice to see people are coming."

The increase in total member visits from the facility's first year is a healthy 7 per cent, much of that coming from community members, whose usage increased 14.9 per cent in the period from May 1, 2008 to Apr. 30, 2009. That increase is reflected in a substantial uptick in total memberships sold, an impressive 11.3 per cent.

The 1st Choice Savings Centre has also attracted some of the area's biggest events, both sporting and conventional. The 4A South Zone High School Basketball Championships have relocated to the U of L after years at the Enmax Centre, while the facility also welcomed the South Western Alberta Teachers' Convention Association this past spring.

"We're really excited to host some of the bigger events. It's very important to host community events and we found that a lot of the people coming in were seeing the facility for the first time," Marek says.

Looking ahead, the U of L will serve as host to both Alberta high school volleyball and basketball provincial tournaments in fall 2009 and spring 2010 respectively, an important showcase for potential students.

"That's our target market for future students," Marek says. "If we get the opportunity to show it to kids from right across the province, to show what programs we have and to show off our facilities, that's critical for their recruitment in the future."

Refreshed for the push to exams

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:26:56 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Dr. Bill Cade chats about what's happening in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community

Reading Week is now behind us and I trust everyone used the break to advantage.

We are fortunate to have a mid-February respite and it seems to come at a perfect time in the academic cycle. Now, with the days getting longer and spring beckoning just around the corner, my hope is we all feel refreshed for the push to exams and the end of the semester.

I want to congratulate personally those students newly elected to posts in the Students' Union. I commend you for taking the initiative to stand up for student office and assume a leadership role for the student population.

We have been very fortunate over the years to have some outstanding student leaders who have contributed to the U of L in so many positive ways. There has been a revolution occurring in student government over my time in academia, from a place where students essentially had no governance to now, where students are involved in every aspect of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's decision-making process. I much prefer our present situation.

You need only look at the makeup of the U of L's Board of Governors to see how much influence students actually have on the institution's priorities. The President of the Students' Union, the President of the Graduate Students' Association as well as a third, elected undergraduate student, are all on the Board of Governors, helping to shape policy.

Recently, it was announced that we have partnered with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary in creating the Institute for Space Imaging Science (ISIS).

We are seeing much more cooperation between the province's residential universities, something I like to call cooperation to compete. While competition does exist between the institutions, we have carved out our own unique identities and have three quite different universities. Given that, it is in our best interests to pursue collaborative initiatives that serve to benefit our institutions, both individually and collectively.

Speaking of growth, I had the opportunity to tour the Markin Hall construction site recently and was impressed thoroughly with the progress being made. This project is transforming and revitalizing this area of campus and once complete, promises to open a new chapter for both the School of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Management.

The U of L continues to be a hub of activity for the southern Alberta area. In the past few weeks, both the Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games and the South Western Alberta Teachers' Convention Association (SWATCA) used the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as a centre for their activities.

The Winter Games were extremely well received and the feedback I've heard has been wonderful on the performance of our Global Drums group during the closing ceremonies.

It's also great to see SWATCA back at the U of L where they truly belong. This is the second consecutive year their teachers' convention has been held at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ after a prolonged absence. Given the fact a good majority of teachers in SWATCA graduated out of our own Faculty of Education programs, it's only fitting they return each year to further their learning.

At the time of this writing, the Pronghorns men's hockey team is readying to host a Canada West playoff series. It's great to see the Horns back in the playoffs and it shows how this program, once a national champion, is back on the rise.

The spring calendar is once again full of opportunities for students, faculty and staff to make the most of their U of L experience. Whether it is a lecture, a concert, a workshop or one of the many Fine Arts productions on campus, I encourage people to sample from all that are available to them.

Never turn down the prospect of learning something new.

SWATCA descends upon U of L

trevor.kenney — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:02:36 +0000

While there is a distinct lack of students on campus this week, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will be teeming with teachers over the next two days as the South Western Alberta Teachers' Convention Association (SWATCA) holds its 110th Annual Teachers' Convention Thursday and Friday.

Reading week sees the U of L campus deserted by its students, providing the perfect backdrop for SWATCA's appearance. The theme for this year's convention is "Teaching Through the Time Machine."

A conference-at-a-glance website, which contains extensive information about the sessions, speakers and room locations, is available here for reference:

http://www.swatca.ca/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,55/

Keynote speakers for the two-day event include the following:

Ben Mikaelsen, Thursday, Feb. 19
Create positive children in a negative world

Steve Brinder, Friday, Feb. 20
Tales from the Classroom: Surviving Teaching With A Sense Of Humour

Dr. Stephen Murgatroyd, Friday, Feb. 20
Giving Schools Back to Teachers

General contact information for the conference organizing group is available at the following website:

http://www.swatca.ca/content/view/18/32/

UNews - South Western Alberta Teachers' Convention Association

1st Choice Centre sees rise in usage

Related Topics

Refreshed for the push to exams

Related Topics

SWATCA descends upon U of L

Related Topics