According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2024), cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally with an estimated 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths in 2020.

Facts about cervical cancer:

• The highest rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality are in low- and middle-income countries. This reflects major inequities driven by lack of access to national HPV vaccination, cervical screening and treatment services, and social and economic determinants.
• Cervical cancer is caused by persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Women living with HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to women without HIV.
• Prophylactic vaccination against HPV and screening and treatment of pre-cancer lesions are effective ways to prevent cervical cancer and are very cost-effective.
• Cervical cancer can be cured if diagnosed at an early stage and treated promptly.
• Countries around the world are working to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer in the coming decades, with an agreed set of three targets to be met by 2030. 

If you have not been vaccinated for HPV, please contact the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre to discuss and potentially receive the HPV vaccine.

If you are sexually active and have not had a pap test in the last two years, contact the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre (healthcentre@upei.ca; 902-566-0616) or SHORS PEI (Sexual Health, Options and Reproductive Services, call toll free: 1-844-365-8258).

Looking to get out of the cold and go for a walk/run inside? UPEI staff and faculty have free access to the indoor track at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. To register weekly, log in at recreation.upei.ca or through the new Panther Recreation app with your UPEI email address and password. Click on the wellness icon and then on walking track access. Participants must register to gain access. For all staff and faculty who have already completed this step, you do not have to do it again.  Access to the track will expire on October 3, 2024. Please contact Angela Marchbank, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator, for assistance and/or questions. Access to the track is provided through the Healthy Campus Committee.

Starting this week, we'll be transitioning into February (where did January go??) with a blog post from the BCcampus newsletter. Instructional colleagues from BCcampus share a wide range of open educational resources and virtual training opportunities. Last week's newsletter had a link to this blog post. Check out Digital Pedagogy Toolbox: Promoting Equity and Inclusivity Through Digital Formative Assessment 

Learn the basics of zine-making from Ch'town Zine Fest organizers Jordan Beaulieu and Evan Furness at a workshop from 1:00 to 3:00 pm on February 16. The workshop will outline a brief history of zines, their uses in the classroom, and different approaches to making them, including a hands-on component in which participants will be provided materials and instructions to make their own zines.

Limited seats are available.

Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/VcPDbfvEJU

If you have any questions, contact Kristy at kmckinney@upei.ca.

Sign up for 12 Gentle Yoga classes on Saturdays starting on February 3 and ending on April 20. The classes will take place each Saturday from 10-10:45 am in Studio One, Chi Wan Young Sports Centre. The cost is only $45 for full-time students and $55 for UPEI staff and faculty (less than $5 a class!), and $115 for other participants. This class will start your day and set the tone to help you build strength, increase flexibility, and find focus. During this "all levels" class focusing on alignment, beginners will safely learn the basics while more experienced yogis can take postures to a deeper level. 

How to register for a specialty fitness class:

Go to recreation.upei.ca. UPEI students/faculty/staff: Click on the green UPEI LOGIN button and sign in with your UPEI email address and password. You will need to use your UPEI ID number. Community members can sign in using their email or username in the Community sign-in box.

Once you are signed in, click on the Fitness Programming ICON and then the Specialty Fitness Class icon. Select the class you would like to register for, sign the online waiver, and click on the checkout button, Add your credit card information for payment online, and click on the pay now button. When the proceed to checkout button pops up, click on checkout. You are now registered for the specialty class you selected.

On Wednesday, January 31, ITSS will conduct routine maintenance on the myUPEI portal and related services from 8:00 pm to midnight. During this time, there may be intermittent access to and performance issues with myUPEI, Self-Service, and Colleague.

We encourage students, faculty, and staff who may need documents or links located on myUPEI to plan ahead and bookmark or download the resources they may need during this period.

As a reminder, you can access Moodle directly using https://moodle.upei.ca and Outlook email directly using https://outlook.office.com.

If you have any questions, please contact the ITSS Help Desk at 902-566-0465.

Greetings from the UPEI Debate and Model United Nations Club, 

We are an officially recognized debate/Model United Nations (MUN) club under the UPEI Student Union, with the aim of creating a thought-provoking, innovative, and diverse community of debaters, philosophers, conversationalists, diplomats, writers, and innovators of ideas across various universal and global subjects and issues. 

We are pleased to present UPEI’s second Model United Nations Conference.

Dates: February 2 and 3, 2024

Time: 4:30--9:00 pm on February 2; 9:00 am--7:00 pm on February 3

Venue: Don and Marion McDougall Hall

MUN committee topics:

• UNHRC: Human Rights Violation in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
• UNICEF: The Protection of Children in Yemen
• World Bank: Global Inflation in the Wake of Wars and Crime
• International Press: Photographers, journalists, content creator

Registration links: https://linktr.ee/upeidmc?fbclid=IwAR3LJlFcy5hNwCnbFzx3_R6A37MpjHftKI96NJQ4zCuXCxjzVoY1hjfqGMM. Registration is FREE for all members and $5.00 for other UPEI students.

For inquiries, please contact upeidebate@upeisu.ca. Thank you in advance on behalf of the UPEI Debate/MUN Club!

UPEI annually acknowledges individuals for their outstanding contributions to the success of the University. The awards are valued at $1,000 each and given in recognition of excellence of faculty, librarians, clinical veterinary professionals, clinical nursing instructors, sessional instructors, and staff.

Nominations are open and must be submitted to universityawards@upei.ca by the last Friday in February each year. This year, nominations close on Friday, February 23, 2024. 

For further details about the awards and the nomination process, please visit https://www.upei.ca/president/university-awards-of-excellence

This free eight-week Learn to Run program, which starts the week of January 29, will provide participants the opportunity to train with Danie Marais, a fourth-year kinesiology student who will encourage them throughout their running journey and provide a running program, warm-up and cool-down stretches, and other helpful information. The beginner group is on Wednesdays at 12:10 pm, and the intermediate/advanced group is on Mondays at 4:30 pm. Participants can attend either or both training times regardless if they are beginners, intermediate, or advanced.

The program is for UPEI students, staff, faculty, and retirees only. Participants will submit weekly kilometres for weekly draw prizes. More information will follow once participants have registered.

To register: Log into recreation.upei.ca or through the Panther Recreation App. Log in using your UPEI email address and password by clicking on the UPEI LOGIN button. Then click on the wellness icon where the Learn to Run program is listed. Click on the Learn to Run link and follow the prompts.For questions, please contact Angela Marchbank at amarchbank@upei.ca.

Your generosity with your time and treasure continues to feed our Campus Food Bank. We are grateful! There are some gaps in our volunteer sign-up form (we missed January 31, oops!). Late March has openings, and now April is available. Please use this link to book your time slot and check back often as slots become available as schedules change.  

Sister Sue and Lauren

The UPEI Teaching and Learning Centre is happy to bring in Corinne Chappell, Indigenous Affairs advisor to the VPAR, who will teach a four-week session on beadwork and culture. Discussions cover topics such as the value of beading to Indigenous communities, how to decolonize the classroom, and how to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into your practice. Please note that this will be a safe space to ask any questions you may have. Attendance at the event is open to both novice and experienced beaders. Join us for four Wednesdays--February. 7, 14, and 28, and March 6--at 12:30 pm in the Teaching and Learning Centre, Robertson Library Annex, Room 230. Please RSVP to ensure we have adequate supplies on hand. 

The Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC), University of Prince Edward Island, is now accepting nominations for the Atlantic Award of Excellence in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Care.

Established in 2005, this annual award recognizes veterinarians who have made significant contributions to animal health and welfare in Atlantic Canada. The award will be presented at the 2024 Atlantic Provinces Veterinary Conference, which will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from April 19–21.

Anyone may submit a nomination. Nominees must be practicing or retired veterinarians in the Atlantic provinces to be considered for this award. Nominees do not have to be affiliated with the AVC. Completed nominations must be received by February 19, 2024, at 11:45 pm.

If you are interested in learning more about this award, past award winners, and the terms of reference, or to download a nomination form, please visit: https://www.upei.ca/avc/about/awards-and-honours

Nominations can be emailed to avcspecialevents@upei.ca.

There will be a basic biosafety training session on February 14, 2024, at 9:00 am in AVC 287N. Topics will include basic biosafety principles and how they are applied at the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as biosecurity training. This session is open to everyone, including graduate students.

To attend, you must pre-register by contacting Jacky Buell by the end of the day on February 7, 2024, by email (hse@upei.ca) or by phone (902-566-0901). Please provide your name, department, your supervisor’s name (if applicable), if you are a graduate student, email address, and phone number in your email or voice message.

NOTE: An online basic biosafety training refresher course is available for those who need it. 

Greetings from the UPEI Debate and Model United Nations Club, 

We are an officially recognized debate/Model United Nations (MUN) club under the UPEI Student Union, with the aim of creating a thought-provoking, innovative, and diverse community of debaters, philosophers, conversationalists, diplomats, writers, and innovators of ideas across various universal and global subjects and issues. 

We are pleased to present UPEI’s second Model United Nations Conference.

Dates: February 2 and 3, 2024

Time: 4:30--9:00 pm on February 2; 9:00 am--7:00 pm on February 3

Venue: Don and Marion McDougall Hall

MUN committee topics:

• UNHRC: Human Rights Violation in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
• UNICEF: The Protection of Children in Yemen
• World Bank: Global Inflation in the Wake of Wars and Crime
• International Press: Photographers, journalists, content creator

Registration links: https://linktr.ee/upeidmc?fbclid=IwAR3LJlFcy5hNwCnbFzx3_R6A37MpjHftKI96NJQ4zCuXCxjzVoY1hjfqGMM. Registration is FREE for all members and $5.00 for other UPEI students.

For inquiries, please contact upeidebate@upeisu.ca. Thank you in advance on behalf of the UPEI Debate/MUN Club!

UPEI annually acknowledges individuals for their outstanding contributions to the success of the University. The awards are valued at $1,000 each and given in recognition of excellence of faculty, librarians, clinical veterinary professionals, clinical nursing instructors, sessional instructors, and staff.

Nominations are open and must be submitted to universityawards@upei.ca by the last Friday in February each year. This year, nominations close on Friday, February 23, 2024. 

For further details about the awards and the nomination process, please visit https://www.upei.ca/president/university-awards-of-excellence

This free eight-week Learn to Run program, which starts the week of January 29, will provide participants the opportunity to train with Danie Marais, a fourth-year kinesiology student who will encourage them throughout their running journey and provide a running program, warm-up and cool-down stretches, and other helpful information. The beginner group is on Wednesdays at 12:10 pm, and the intermediate/advanced group is on Mondays at 4:30 pm. Participants can attend either or both training times regardless if they are beginners, intermediate, or advanced.

The program is for UPEI students, staff, faculty, and retirees only. Participants will submit weekly kilometres for weekly draw prizes. More information will follow once participants have registered.

To register: Log into recreation.upei.ca or through the Panther Recreation App. Log in using your UPEI email address and password by clicking on the UPEI LOGIN button. Then click on the wellness icon where the Learn to Run program is listed. Click on the Learn to Run link and follow the prompts.For questions, please contact Angela Marchbank at amarchbank@upei.ca.

In honor of Data Privacy Day on Sunday, January 28, ITSS would like to remind everyone that cybersecurity awareness training is available to all staff and faculty. Please go to University of Prince Edward Island (terranovasite.com) to learn more.

The Scholarships and Awards Office is reminding the campus community that the deadline for the 2nd Semester (Winter) Award Cycle is Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm.

You can access a variety of scholarships and awards on the Scholarship and Award Application portal by clicking the link provided here or in the UPEI Forms section of your MyUPEI account. Review the application instructions and submit your electronic application by February 1 to be considered. Be sure to submit any saved applications you may have started.

Additional awards are also available with a separate application process listed on the 2nd Semester (Winter) Award Cycle webpage. Be sure to click the links, review the award criteria, and submit in time for the deadline listed to be considered.

If you have questions about the application processes, award criteria, or deadlines, please contact scholarships@upei.ca or visit us in Dalton Hall, Room 202. Best of luck to all who apply!

A quick reminder to faculty and graduate students of the Show Up and Write sessions hosted in the UPEI Teaching and Learning Centre (RL230) every Tuesday and Friday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 am. Grab a friend, and bring along any writing project, and join us for an hour of focused writing. You don't need to RSVP. Just show up and write.

The administrative offices of the Faculty of Business will be closed for the day on Friday, January 26. Faculty and staff will be attending an annual retreat.