Tag: SIMSA

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End-of-term Updates

As we sail past the midway point of the winter term, we wanted to highlight a few initiatives happening and SIM, and what students can look forward to for the rest of the semester!

Past:

  • Waffle Fundraiser. On March 1st, SIM’s monthly Waffle Wednesday was expanded into a Faculty of Management-wide fundraiser for earthquake relief for Turkey and Syria. SIMSA would like to sincerely thank everyone who bought a waffle, popped in to say hello, and donated to this initiative. It was wonderful to see so many faces in the SIM common room, familiar and new. Together we raised $222 for earthquake relief for Turkey and Syria, which was donated to Humanitarian Coalition. Millions of people across both countries are in need of humanitarian assistance, and we encourage you to make a donation if you are able.
  • Book Club: The SIMSA book club met again in February to discuss their book of the month! Look forward to the book pick for March and the meeting date and time.
  • Headshots and the annual SIM class photo. On March 10th students were welcome to have their headshot taken by a professional photographer. We also gathered as a group to photograph our class in 2023! 
  • Thanks to all who signed our collective letter to the Halifax Clerk’s Office and Councillor Sam Austin protesting the proposed budget cuts to Dartmouth Heritage Museum. We are relieved to hear the good news that these cuts will not be occurring and affecting the posterity of this valuable organization.
  • SIM Career Day Part 2 occurred on March 17th! This day featured in-person resume review by our Professional-in-Residence, Cabot Yu and virtual review by a larger group of Information professionals. We will be following up this event with a virtual group networking event on the platform Wander. Stay tuned for more details!
  • Alumni Fundraiser. We wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to all alumni who have donated to SIMSA in the past month. We have raised $155 dollars so far and will be using these funds for student programs and initiatives. Thank you.

Upcoming:

  • SIMSArchive Workshop 3: Description will be taking place on March 24th from 9:30- 11:30am in the SIM meeting room (4025). All are welcome to join us to learn about archival description and continue with next steps in processing SIMSA’s records to prepare them for their move to the Dalhousie Archives.
  • Lunch and Learn: Melissa Rothfus. Join us for pizza and a talk from Melissa Rothfus, Dalhousie’s Scholarly Communications librarian! This Lunch and Learn will be held on March 27th from 12-1pm in the SIM Meeting Room (4025) and over Teams.
  • Point Pleasant Walk: Join SIMSA for a walk in Point Pleasant on April 1st at 2pm! Get in touch with a Non-Academic Chair for more details about meeting points.
  • Triva Night: Our wildly popular trivia nights are returning: join us on Tuesday, March 21st at The Brewery by Quinn’s for trivia! Starts at 7pm.
  • SIMatinee. To wind down the semester we will be hosting a movie screening in the SIM common room on Friday, April 14th from 2:30-5pm! Please join us for the 1957 film ‘Desk Set’ starring Katherine Hepburn. Alongside this film we will be discussing an article written by Dr. Allison-Cassin entitled “Bodies, brains, and machines: An exploration of the relationship between the material and affective states of librarians and information systems”. Popcorn and movie snacks provided!
  • April’s Waffle Wednesday will be occurring on April 5th from 10am-12pm in the common room. This is our last WW of the semester, so come on out for socializing, homemade waffles, and coffee and orange juice!
  • The next book club meeting will be held on April 10th at 5:30pm in the SIM Common Room. The pick of the month is The Bear by Claire Cameron. If you’d like to join, feel free to sign out a book in the common room!
  • SIMSA is hard at work planning the annual SIMphony, our end-of-year celebration where SIM students, faculty, and staff gather in community to celebrate all we’ve accomplished in the past year. This year’s SIMphony will be taking place at East of Grafton! Stay tuned for more details and get excited!

That’s all for now! We hope the term wraps up smoothly for students. As always, never hesitate to reach out to SIMSA with questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns. We are hear to listen and support you. Get in touch with a SIMSA exec or at simsa@dal.ca

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SIMSA EDIA Policy & Digital Land Acknowledgement 

SIMSA would like to direct students’ attention to two new additions to our website. First, on the homepage of the SIMSA website in the “About SIMSA” section, readers will find a Digital Land Acknowledgement, inspired by Data & Society. Additionally, on the “About SIMSA” drop-down tab, SIMSA’s official EDIA Policy can be found between “Positions” and “Social Media Policy”. 

These additions are part of ongoing efforts to embed EDIA policies, language, and considerations in all of SIMSA’s programming, events, and official records to work towards prioritizing equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, anti-racism, and decolonization in our organization.

Please get in touch if you have any suggestions, questions, or wish to discuss these additions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with SIMSA at simsa@dal.ca. 

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Happy Holidays from SIMSA!

SIMSA wishes all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members a very happy and restful holiday. The fall saw many challenges which impacted the normal flow of the semester, including the CUPE strike and Hurricane Fiona. From these events we witnessed peers encouraging one another, faculty and staff working to support students, and the remarkable resilience found in community. SIM welcomed a new cohort of students, and second years continued forging their individual paths into the world of Information Management.

As we look forward to the winter term, many exciting programs and initiatives are being launched and continued at the School of Information Management, including:

  • SIMSA book club (ongoing)
  • SIMSArchive Workshop series (January-March, Workshop 2 Rescheduled to January 18, 10am-12pm!)
  • Information Without Borders Conference (February)
  • SIM Career Day (January 20th and March 10th)
  • Lunch and Learns (ongoing)
  • Social events (ongoing)
  • DJIM & SIMagination (spring launch)
  • SIMphony (April)

As always, check back here and on our social media for details on upcoming programs and events and see you in the new year!

Below are a few photos from December’s Waffle Wednesday (which featured a Hot Chocolate theme) and our Holiday party! Thanks to all who joined us for a festive evening to round out the fall term!

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November 2022 Updates

Updates! Updates! Updates!

October was a busy month at the School of Information Management. This blog post covers just a few of the fun initiatives and events happening around SIM:

  • SIMSA held its fall General Meeting on October 21st. We had a great attendance from our student body and unanimously passed our recently updated constitution! 
  • Voting for the fall elections closed on October 26th and SIMSA is delighted to welcome five new members to its executive team! Congratulations to Robyn Smith (Incoming Academic Chair), Isabel Brechin (Incoming EDIA & Special Projects Chair), Toni Beaton (Incoming Digital Publications Chair), Hailey Wills (Incoming Non-Academic Chair), and Catherine Gracey (Financial Chair). We are looking forward to working with you and the great year ahead.
  • Other fun updates at SIM include the arrival of a new, full-sized fridge. Students are welcome to take advantage of this addition to the common room, and we are grateful for this resource and the support it will lend future events. 
  • Our Non-Academic chair, Janine, has launched a new SIM book club! Keep an eye on our social media and Teams spaces for book lists and meeting times! 
  • November Waffle Wednesday (to be held on Thursday, November 3rd) has been cancelled. Waffles will resume in December with a festive theme!
  • SIMSA is excited to announce a Save the Date for our Holiday party! Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 8th– more details about this event will be announced soon!
  • Finally, the CUPE 3912 strike continues. We recognize that this has generated stress for our students; if you require support in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out to SIMSA at simsa@dal.ca, or a member of our exec team. We are here to support you.

That’s all for now, folks! Keep an eye on the blog and our social media channels for more updates as the semester rolls on- November Reading Week is just around the corner!

Here are a few pictures from SIMSA’s Halloween party, held on October 28th. We had a great time painting pumpkins, eating pizza, and dressing up in costume! Thanks to all who came out!

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Spooky SIMSA

I see you shiver with antici-

SIMSA is excited for the spooktacular month ahead! We kicked off October with a frightful version of Waffle Wednesday. Our Halloween party will be held Friday, October 28th 11am – 1pm at the School of Information Management. Come out for a gourd time, if you dare. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us for pizza, pumpkin-painting, and satisfying their candy cravings! Costumes are encouraged!

The latest edition of Waffle Wednesday featured pumpkin waffles!

For students new to the east coast, or just looking for some spooky activities this month, check out the following list:

We hope this helps you plan some ghoulish fun this month- see you all on the 28th.

-pation!

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The Glorious Return of Waffle Wednesday

Pictured above is SIMSA’s wonderful Co-Chair, Courtney! Courtney is a second year MI student and a Reference Intern at the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library at Dalhousie. When Courtney isn’t helping students and faculty with scoping reviews and working on her own projects, she is devoting her time to putting on SIMSA events, like Waffle Wednesday! 

Students and faculty gathered on September 14th for the first Waffle Wednesday of the school year. This month’s flavour was apple cinnamon! New connections were made and old friendships reunited over homemade waffles and hot coffee. SIMSA is hoping to choose a new time to hold this event so that first years have more time to join us around their Wednesday class- stay tuned for updates! 

Waffle Wednesday is the brainchild of Maddie Hare, SIMSA’s EDIA & Special Projects Chair. It first began in the 2022 winter term and Maddie is hoping to cook up waffles on a consistent basis this school year. Waffle Wednesdays usually features “Food for Thought”, an engagement activity that encourages critical reflection on issues of EDIA in our institutions and in Information Management. A reworked version of “Food for Thought” will be launched in October which hopes to provoke greater participation and consideration from all attendees.

Look forward to October for spooky-themed waffles and “Food for Thought”!