Awards

SCYC Excellence in Mentorship and Community Service Award

SCYC Excellence in Mentorship and Community Service Award

Congratulations to the Burnside Gorge Community Centre, the 2011 recipient of our Excellence in Mentorship and Community Service Award.

They were the first community-based agency to embrace practicum students from the School of Child & Youth Care. In the mid 90’s the practicum coordinators would call the executive director, then Dean Fortin, to see if they could continue to send applications his way. He always said yes, and not just to one, but usually two or three.

Each program was given their turn to supervise and mentor a student and Dean acted as the overall case manager. Suzanne Cole has picked up where Dean has left off, and many child and youth care students have continued to learn good practice through the tutelage of the staff.

The agency was not without challenges in those early days, as they were located in a rundown hodge-podge of buildings in an industrial area of Victoria. The staff worked with the most marginalized, oppressed and high risk members of this community, but they did it with grace, humour and a perseverance that was good modeling for our students.

After much lobbying and advocating for the residents of Burnside-Gorge, the Centre moved into a brand new building in 2007. This is the only recreational community centre in the city to receive a Gold LEED certificate for its sustainable design, construction and operation.

This demonstrates the commitment that this organization has to not only providing good social and community services, but to also to be environmentally sound in their overall operations. They have also done extensive work on the Cecelia Creek waterway with an annual clean-up event since the 1990s in addition to the annual Gorge Waterway clean-up.

It is with great appreciation that we give the Burnside-Gorge Community Centre Association our first Excellence in Mentorship and Community Service Award (plaque).

We have also created The Burnside Gorge Community Center Award to be given to an undergraduate student in need of financial resources for books and educational supplies. This award will carry the name of the centre and will be administered by the school.

Exemplary Practicum Supervisor Award (awarded every second year)

Exemplary Practicum Supervisor Award (awarded every second year)

Ms. Mitchel du Plessis, ’98 alumna from the School of Child and Youth Care, has been awarded with the school’s Exemplary Practicum Supervisor Award.

Ms. Du Plessis is a youth and family counsellor based at Lansdowne Middle School and current president of the South Vancouver Island Youth & Family Counsellors Association.

A valued mentor for child and youth care practicum students over the years, she shares her experience, knowledge and guidance with a generosity of spirit and wisdom that has fostered the development of strong child and youth care practitioners.

The presentation of the award took place during the school’s alumni event on February 5, 2011 and was accompanied by many warm tributes from fellow graduates and colleagues, instructors and coordinators.

Professional development

If you're interested in exploring continuing education opportunities or finding a professional community of practice for yourself or for your staff, the following links may be useful:

• Alumni conference
• Take an undergraduate course via Thompson Rivers University (TRU) or as a visiting student (space permitting). Learn more about courses.
• Consider the School of Child and Youth Care's undergraduate or graduate programs.
• The Federation of Community Social Services of BC
• Child & Youth Care Education Consortium of British Columbia
• CYC-Net
• Council of Canadian Child and Youth Care Associations

Job postings

Job postings

• Freedom Quest Regional Youth Services - Short Term Housing Program - Ongoing posting
• Whistler Children's Centre - Teachers & Teaching Assistants - Year Round, Seasonal, & Part Time Positions Available
• XYOLHEMEYLH Child and Family Services - Child Protection Social Workers - Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission and Agassiz
• Tlingit Family Learning Centre - Early Childhood Educator - FT
• Preschool Instructors - Tokyo, Japan
• Volunteers Needed For Langford Group Home
• Rogers Child Care Centre - Support Worker
• Private Support Worker - PT - Starting June 20, 2011 (or to be determined)
• Victoria Native Friendship Centre - Aboriginal Early Intervention Team Consultant

Posting a position

If you're interested in having a position with your agency posted on our website, please send an email to Greenc@uvic.ca providing:

• Position title
• Closing date
• Location
• Contact information
• Link to or attach posting
• Your agency's website (if applicable)

Please put the phrase "job posting" in the subject line. Jobs will be posted until the closing date.

Practicum experiences

Jenny Thomson always wanted to work with youth and families in some capacity. When researching for a college paper, she was drawn to the work of Sibylle Artz. Jenny discovered that CYC’s program values were aligned with her own, and that the school offered diverse opportunities in a range of areas relating to child and youth care practice.

As part of her program, Jenny completed two practica - the first with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, Youth and Family Addiction Services, and the second at the Ministry of Children and Families in child protection as part of an under-13 protection team.

Jenny says, "One of the most important things gained from my practica was the opportunity to practice from a critical perspective, apply theory to practice."

As a result of her practicum work Jenny found employment after graduation and now has a solid foundation to continue her work in the child and youth care profession.