2016 Winter Session Term 1 is almost here!

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The following email was sent to all LFS 2016 Winter Session Term 1 TA’s on August 15:

Introduction

Hi folks:

Just a few minutes ago, I looked at my calendar and couldn’t believe it – it’s already August 15th………. AUGUST 15th!!!  That means, before you know it, the start of 2016 Winter Session will be upon us.  I celebrated a pretty big milestone this year in April – I began working for UBC in 1991 so it was my 25th anniversary.  After all that time, I STILL love this time of year:  you can feel the excitement and anticipation of all the new students just starting out, mixed in with the hopes of graduate students that “this will be the year” they finish their thesis!!  I think we’re in for an awesome academic year in LFS and I’m very thankful to each and every one of you for being a part of it.

Now onto business……………..

We have just about finished processing all of the Term 1 TA appointments.  For those of you who haven’t worked for UBC before, you will have likely received an email regarding your Campus Wide Login (CWL) and your Employee ID.  If you haven’t received your email yet, don’t worry – you should get it by the end of this week.  As soon as you receive the email, please contact me and I’ll email your employee ID and CWL Sign Up PIN.    https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/ta-access-to-fsc-and-connect/

For new UBC employees, please don’t forget to sign up for direct deposit.  Instructions and payment information can be found here:  https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/payment-info/

Orientation

The LFS TA Training Coordinators have been busy with updating the LFS TA Orientation Handbook, and organizing the TA Orientation.  As soon as they are able to finalize the date/time/location, I will email you and post on the blog.

At the orientation, you will become familiar with:

  • Resources on campus that can be used to build your teaching skills
  • Key people and policies relevant to the TA role
  • The expectations of you as a TA and what you can expect in your position
  • How to best manage or respond to potential challenging classroom situation
  • Your rights and responsibilities, as a member of the TA union

Training

Once again, CTLT is offering a number of sessions for all TAs and TA Training coordinators at UBC in August.
The registration for these sessions is now open.

Please refer to the following links on the TA Portal:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/2016/08/10/mentoring-for-senior-tas/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/2016/08/10/setting-the-climate-creating-supportive-learning-environments/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/2016/08/10/giving-a-guest-lecturepresentation/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/2016/08/10/guiding-class-discussions/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/2016/08/10/workshop-facilitation-workshop/

Contacts:

On the TA Portal, you’ll find Contact Information for our amazing LFS TA Training Coordinators:  Carrie James and Fernanda Mujica, our equally exceptional LFS Student Union Rep:  Adrienne Levay, along with contact info for payroll and the CUPE 2278 office.   https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/contact-information/

Based on experience, I have found I’m more successful with convening important information to TA’s if/when I send multiple emails rather than trying to cram a kazillion things into one so please be advised that I will be sending a few messages to you over the next couple of weeks.  Please note that I also post these emails on the TA Portal so I encourage you to drop by the TA blog occasionally to make sure you are up to date on any events or news.  In addition, the TA Portal is a good place to start when you have questions on almost everything TA related – pay information, performance evaluations, contacts, etc. etc.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsta/

Please remember if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to drop me a note and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.

Shelley