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

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!