Calendar years may change every January – but every student, faculty member, staffer and parent knows that September marks the real turning of the page.
The resumption of school is, by turns, exhilarating and daunting; exciting and nerve-wracking; inspiring and challenging. This fall, following more than a year of unanticipated upheaval because of the pandemic, the Western world returns to class. Back-to-school tips, information, insights, research, profiles and protocols are more important now than ever.
Western News has compiled some of the best features and news-you-can-use stories in one place. We’ll be adding to them throughout the first two weeks of September, so check back often. We invite you to read, enjoy – and learn.
10 tips to ace return to class this fall
Your brain brims with questions far heavier than your new backpack: How can I achieve academically and stay mentally healthy? And how do I carry that momentum throughout the year?
We have mined some of Western’s top minds in academic success, child development and mental health, and distilled their expertise and advice into one practical – and quick – top-10 list.
Getting back into the swing of school isn’t easy, but some basic strategies can make it easier.
Math whiz one of 6 new Schulich scholars
Incoming student Andréa Jackson’s penchant for problem-solving includes a hobby that might make most of us throw up our hands in frustration. Jackson first took up the ‘basic’ 3×3 Rubik’s cube and graduated to increasingly more difficult ones, including a 7×7 cube she completed within a day. “Math is just everywhere,” she says. “I love the different applications of it.”
She is one of six recipients of prestigious Schulich Leader scholarships, awarded to high-achieving university students in engineering and science. Check out their fascinating stories.
Puzzle-solving comes naturally to student Andrea Jackson, one of Western’s six new Schulich leadership scholars. At her left hand is a standard 3×3 Rubik’s cube and at her right hand, a complex 7×7 cube that she solved in less than a day. Submitted photo
Western serves up sustainability in residence
Residence food at Western is about freshness, nutrition, taste, quality and variety. But it’s also about going beyond what’s on the menu and considering how ingredients are grown, processed, purchased transported, packaged and prepared, as well as how any waste is managed
Read how sustainability is baked into every aspect of the menu.
Sustainability in Western residences includes using compostable containers, like the ones food services staffer Marilyn Malko serves up. Photo by Debora Van Brenk / Western News
Western welcomes first National Indigenous Scholarship recipients
Recognized for academic excellence, commitment to community, three Indigenous students make up first cohort. Read more.
Delainey Mattern, Isabel Savard and Nicholas Keller are Western’s first National Indigenous Scholarship recipients.
From Cholera to COVID: New course melds past with present
A new course in history aims to help students better understand the present-day pandemic by examining major disease outbreaks in the past, and how epidemics change future behaviour. Read more.
Outbreaks of previous centuries offer context around today’s pandemic uncertainty and change.
New faculty help raise Indigenous voices across campus
As classes resume at Western this term, four new Indigenous faculty members bring their expertise to the faculties of education, social science and media and information studies. Read more.
Plans for a safe return to residence
Western is preparing to welcome 5,300 first-year students to nine campus residences over four days – Sept. 3 to 6. Here’s how the university is making safety a priority.
Western’ Housing team is working closely with public health to ensure the health and safety of students in residence. Photo by Western Housing
From vaccination to ventilation: A safe return to in-person learning
The Ontario government has released a new framework for post-secondary institutions with strong vaccination policies, bolstering Western’s plan to move forward with in-person learning this fall. Read more.
Western is ramping up for in-person learning this fall. Photo by Andrew Campbell, Western Communications
Classroom ventilation exceeds standards: report
Ventilation in all classrooms at Western meets – and in most cases exceeds – the high standards of measurement to prevent potential airborne spread of coronavirus, according to a recent analysis of the university’s buildings. This is part of a comprehensive measure Western has taken to ensure health and safety of students, faculty and staff as in-person classes begin this fall. Learn more.
Ventilation performance meets the standard in all Western classrooms, and exceeds the standard in most rooms. Aerial photo by Steve Anderson/Western Communications
Bringing open-source, sustainable tech to the fore
Western is strengthening its expertise in open-source, sustainable technology research this fall by adding in an entrepreneurial twist, and an advocate for grassroots innovation leading the charge. Western News caught up with Joshua Pearce, the new Thompson chair in information technology and innovation, to discuss his new role, his research and his passion for sustainable technologies.
Joshua Pearce brings his passion for solar energy development and creating sustainable, shareable technology to Western. Photo courtesy of Joshua Pearce
Change your world to change the world, says teen activist
Meet Hannah Alper, the 18-year old from Richmond Hill, Ont., who is taking on some big social issues, one small action at a time. She starts her first year at Western’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies.
Blogger Hannah Alper is one of 5,300 first-year students starting at Western this fall. Photo by Hannah Alper
Diving into data science
Making sense of a data-driven world is the aim of a new bootcamp-style program for Western faculty and staff. Read on to learn more.
For the third time since last fall, Western is offering its data science bootcamp program beginning this September. Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels
