Efforts to promote wellness this exam season will introduce students to sleep hygiene and relaxation tips as well as the newly-launched My Student Support Program (MySSP).

Students will receive headphones to help them block out distracting noises and get some quality rest, starting at a launch event in the CAW Student Centre from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Staff of the Student Counselling Centre, doctors and nurses from Student Health Services, Campus Police officers, and executives from the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance will hand out the care packages on the last day of classes. In addition, numerous campus partners including faculty, staff, departments, student services, and student societies are all taking part in delivering the exam relief throughout the campaign.

Ashley Vodarek, mental health and wellness co-ordinator, notes that sleep finished second only to academic performance among the top concerns expressed by UWindsor students in a Spring 2019 survey.

“The data revealed 38 per cent of students at UWindsor stress about not getting enough sleep and 72 per cent of students want more information on how to get better sleep,” she says. “Especially during exam session, it is common to sacrifice sleep in order to spend more time studying, but losing sleep actually works against you.”

She says the campaign will promote the performance and health benefits of sleep, as well as the 24/7 text or talk counselling service MySSP.

“As we all know, sometimes it’s those ruminating thoughts or concerns that are keeping us awake during the night, and now students have someone they can talk to about it anytime,” says Vodarek.

Besides today’s event, the “Get Ahead Headphones” will be available in study areas Dec. 6, 9, 13, and 16, and at a special Quiet Room Oasis in the Leddy Library from 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 11.

To see the campaign information including sleep tips and the campus-wide delivery schedule, visit the website: www.uwindsor.ca/wellness/examrelief.

Participating in Fit Together, an exercise program adapted for adults with an intellectual disability, built her physical strength and her social skills, says Brigitte Gagnon.

“The Fit Together program has given me confidence and made me feel healthier,” she said Tuesday in the St. Denis Centre, as administrators, volunteers, and participants gathered to celebrate the conclusion of a three-year, $164,900 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

A partnership between the Department of Kinesiology’s Adapted Physical Exercise Research Group (APEX) and Community Living Essex County, the program involved participants working one-on-one with volunteer trainers to complete two 90-minute workouts per week for 13 weeks, at the University’s fitness facilities.

Karen Bolger, executive director of Community Living Essex County, said the program opened doors and broke down barriers for the participants.

“They increased their level of physical activity and understanding of the importance of an active lifestyle,” she said.

Kinesiology professors Sean Horton, Nadia Azar, and Chad Sutherland supervise grad student co-ordinators of the project, as well as some 150 UWindsor students who have served as volunteer trainers.

“Altogether, they have contributed 6,000 hours of volunteer time,” Dr. Horton said. “They have made an important difference in someone’s life.”

Rachel Smits, a second-year kinesiology major, called the opportunity to work with the participants “really inspiring” and said it will inform her career choices: “The things I have learned through this experience is something I could never learn in a classroom.”

Although the Trillium grant has now concluded, the APEX team plans to continue the Fit Together program, and is “actively seeking” new funding, said Horton.

The School of Creative Arts is offering DailyNews readers a chance to win two tickets to its Festival of Christmas choral concert, Dec. 7 or 8.

The UWindsor Chamber Choir and University Singers will perform seasonal favourites under the direction of Bruce Kotowich, in the Heritage Auditorium, Assumption Hall.

Both Saturday and Sunday performances are at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $20, with a student rate of $10. Purchase tickets in advance online; at the door payment will be accepted in cash only.

To enter the contest, just send your answers to the following questions about carols on the weekend program. The winner, selected at random from all correct responses received by 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, will receive two tickets to a performance.

1. Which phrase completes the opening line of Ding Dong Merrily on High?
   a) and a cup of good cheer
   b) in heav’n the bells are ringing
   c) let steeple bells be swungen
   d) your eve’time, ye singers
    
2. In the song Silver Bells, what are dressed in holiday style?
   a) city sidewalks, busy sidewalks
   b) children laughing, people passing
   c) strings of street lights, even stoplights
   d) a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well
    
3. Ave Maria is the Latin form of which traditional Roman Catholic prayer?
   a) the Apostles’ Creed
   b) the Doxology
   c) Hail Mary
   d) Our Father
    

Contest is open to all readers of the DailyNews. Send an e-mail with your responses to uofwnews@uwindsor.ca. One entry per contestant, please. Note: the decision of the judge in determining the most correct response is inviolable.

On Dec. 5, students from secondary education will pitch their micro-business ideas on campus. Just like the Dragon’s Den television show, the student entrepreneurs will stand in front of a panel of judges to deliver their presentations to potential investors.

The event, YouthX, is an opportunity for the students to experience the business world and sell their business idea for a chance to receive awards and the winning team will receive $500.

The students were able to grow their business through the help of a 10-week mentorship program run by Enactus Windsor.

Youthrive focuses on three main pillars: financial literacy, environmental sustainability, and entrepreneurship. The program shows students how to create their own business by teaching them the importance of budgeting, saving, and reinvesting profits in a practical manner.

YouthX is at the Odette School of Business, starting at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for parents and outside supporters are $10, for supporting students they’re $5. Dinner will also be provided.

—Dana Roe

The CAW Student Centre will serve up its annual pre-exam free breakfast to students at 11 a.m. today — Wednesday, Dec. 4.

“Students look forward to this event,” says Sandra Riccio-Muglia, the centre’s director of events and programming. “It’s a breakfast with a festive social and we have fun additions this year.”

Events will include free cookie decorating with Lancer Recreation at 11 a.m., hot chocolate and cookies with Santa from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a giveaway of free chocolate Advent calendars by the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance. Elite Piano Studios will provide live music.

Drama students will show some of what they have learned in free performances for the campus community this week.

Third-year acting students present a “works in progress” performance of a new devised piece of theatre on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 5 and 6. In deconstructing Euripides's classic Greek tragedy The Bacchae, they will explore questions about the contemporary world at 3 p.m. both days in the Acting Studio, Jackman Dramatic Art Centre.

Students in a second-year improve class will perform a one-hour show in the Jackman’s Studio Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 5. Doors open at 6:45 p.m., and the players warn there will be ’80s dance music, rubber chickens, and comedy.

A struggling writer living in a totalitarian dictatorship takes care of his disabled brother and toils away as an abbatoir worker. One day he’s hauled in for questioning by the police because stories he has written bear a suspicious resemblance to a series of horrific murders.

What follows is a mystery and a puzzle that explores the bonds of family, the debts owed to the forces that shape us, and the moral responsibility of storytellers. Also: it’s a comedy.

Learning specialist Michael K. Potter of the Centre for Teaching and Learning directs The Pillowman for the Post Productions theatre company. He says a creative decision make the unusual play exceptionally powerful.

“During the play you hear seven of Katurian’s stories,” he says. “Two of them are supposed to be acted out on stage, which presented some logistical difficulties. So we wondered whether we could project them as films during the play instead, and that led us to the decision to turn all seven of those stories into short films which are projected for the audience and integrated into the live theatre experience.”

He says the whole undertaking was an awful lot of work — but rewarding for audiences.

“You get these incredible performances right there in front of you. And you also get two live-action short films by Mitchell Branget and five animated short films by Kieran Potter that give you a glimpse into the world inside Katurian’s head, the worlds of his imagination – which are a lot different from the reality of his life in some ways.”

Potter touts the UWindsor connections of this show. Besides his involvement, he notes that the filmmakers are both students, acting grad Eric Branget stars as Katurian, and drama instructor Simon du Toit plays one of the police officers.

Performances continue Dec. 5 to 7 at 8 p.m. in the Shadowbox Theatre, unit 103B, 1501 Howard Ave. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $25 at postproductionswindsor.ca, or at the door.

There is still space available for a tasting menu event slated by Catering Services for the University Club on Friday, Dec. 6.

Running noon to 2 p.m., the menu will feature:

• Charcuterie Board of cured meats, assorted cheeses, raw honey, $8 per person
• Grilled Shrimp four pieces with warm fennel and radicchio slaw, chili oil, $8
• Fried Brussels Sprouts with pistachios, Andouille sausage, $6
• Caprese Salad with burrata, kumato, baby arugula, black truffle balsamic dressing, $7
• Oysters Rockefeller with baby spinach, panko, Pernod, chervil, beurre blanc, $3.50 apiece
• Merlot-Stained Ravioli five pieces with short ribs, $9
• Roasted Beet Salad with goat cheese and dill crema, toasted walnuts, $6
• Local beer and wine available for purchase

Seating and quantities of food are limited; call Catering Services for reservations, 519-253-3000, ext. 3276 or 3277.

A virtual platform launched by the Supply Chain Advancement Network in Health (SCAN Health) will allow business students around the world to compete and demonstrate to a global audience their skill, knowledge, and ideas to advance health sector supply chain innovation.

The third SCAN Health Virtual Business Case Competition will run through March 1, with the top three teams announced March 13. The case is based on a real-world challenge and designed with one of the largest, leading health systems in the U.S.

Participating students will take the role of a consulting team advising this leading health system on the development of a cybersecurity strategy that is inclusive of the supply chain. Competitors are encouraged to form cross-disciplinary teams including students from business and health sciences faculties.

The first place team will receive $4,000, second place $2,500, and third place $1,000, and all three will be profiled across the SCAN Health global network.

As a virtual business case competition, this is a free opportunity for student teams to explore a real-world healthcare supply chain challenge. There is no cost for travel or registration.

Registration is now open and Round 1 submissions are due by Feb. 2. Details and registration are available on the competition website.