News and Initiatives
CS Prof Judi McCuaig Nominee for CPES Associate Dean Academic
Prof. Judi McCuaig is a nominee for CPES Associate Dean (Academic). Other nominees include Prof. Dan Thomas from Chemistry and Prof. Gerarda Darlington from Mathematics and Statistics. The person who is chosen to fill this role will be making decisions about curricula, which courses and minors to keep and drop, etc. which will have a significant impact on students in CS. Members of the University community are encouraged to provide written comments to the selection committee. Comments must be received by Feb. 10 and can be directed by mail or by sending email to Anthony Vannelli, Dean, CPES at vannelli@uoguelph.ca or Esther Codner at ecodner@uoguelph.ca. All comments will be held in strict confidence.
CiSters help Pathfinders achieve their STEM badge
CiSters were thrilled to help Pathfinders achieve their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) badge at the University of Guelph campus on Saturday November 7th. CiSters volunteers assisted in teaching the Pathfinders how to code computer programs using Scratch, a free programming tool (http://scratch.mit.edu) developed by computer scientists at MIT. Using the drag and drop interface provided by Scratch, the girls were able to express their creativity by programming characters appearances and actions.
CiSters would like to thank Alana Cordick and Madeleine Picard for volunteering their time.
If you would like to check out Scratch at home, you can download the exercise handout, provided by the Office of the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, which has links to the Scratch webpage.
CiSters at Go ENG Girl 2009
Go ENG Girl is an annual event for Grade 7-10 girls across Ontario to visit their local university to learn about the wonderful world of engineering: "A Caring Profession", through hands-on activities, informative parents' sessions and engineering student exhibits.
This year, CiSters was very pleased to be invited to Go Eng Girl @ Guelph on Saturday, October 17th. We happily accepted the invitation and brought our booth to the event, along with two computers running Scratch, a free sofwtare package to teach programming to young people (http://mit.scratch.edu). At our table we taught the girls the basics of programming using the drag and drop interface provided by Scratch - the girls were able to express their creativity by programming character sounds and actions. The activity was well received - to the point that we even had to kick a couple participants off at the end of the day! Needless to say, our booth was very popular and we hope to be invited back next year.
CiSters would like to thank Alana Cordick, Alison Trimble and Sofija Savic for helping out this year.
If you would like to check out Scratch at home, you can download the exercise handout, provided by the Office of the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, which has links to the Scratch webpage. For more information on Go Eng Girl, check out the Go Eng Girl website, and the Office of the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering Ontario.
CiSters October Newsletter
Check it out to see what we've been up to!
New members of CiSters and new Webmaster!
Congratulations and a very sincere welcome to our newest members: Chad Cabot - University of Guelph undergraduate student, computer science Jessica Westbrook - University of Guelph undergraduate student, computer science Alana Cordick - University of Guelph Alumini, computer science Judi McQuaig - University of Guelph professor, computer science Madeleine Picard, a current member of CiSters, is the first to take on the representative role of webmaster. Thanks for your support!
CiSters President Melanie Veltman is awarded a Google Global Community Award!
CiSters congratulates our President, Melanie Veltman, on her Google Global Community Award. This award covered travel and registration costs for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, held in Tucson AZ from September 30th to October 4th.
CiSters Member Gwendolyn Duffey is Awarded the Ted Swart Award!
CiSters congratulates 3rd year undergraduate member Gwendolyn on her Ted Swart Award, endowed by the School of Computer Science at the University of Guelph to the student with the highest CS average in their year of study. Gwendolyn's hard work and creative spirit make her a positive role model for her classmates and peers. You go, girl!
CiSters 2009 Grace Hopper Conference Bursaries!
CiSters is thrilled to announce that we have awarded bursaries for the 2009 Grace Hopper Conference! This year's conference, themed "Creating Technology For Social Good", will be held in Tuscon, Arizona, from September 30 - October 3, 2009. Google, Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Symantec, Motorola, HP, Sun, and others will be there. CiSters advertised our bursaries to our listserv members, on our Facebook group, on the SOCIS forums, and on this site. We are happy to announce that our Bursary Committee found both applicants to be meritous, and have awarded a full bursary to 3rd year CiSters Representative Ali Tremblay, and a partial bursary to 3rd CiSters member Wyatt Carss. Congratulations, Ali and Wyatt!
CISters 2009/2010 Executive Elected
CISters held elections on April 7th, 2009. The results are as follows: President Melanie Veltman; VP Finance Lisa Munro; VP Social Alison Trimble; VP Public Relations Stephanie Hurtado; VP Academic Julia Baldwin; 3rd Year Representative Ali Tremblay.
CISters TUPPERWARE fundraising for Grace Hopper Conference Drive 2009
CISters are eagerly anticipating this year's Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, and fundraising efforts are underway. CISters will be selling Tupperware starting in April 2009 - contact us by email if you're interesting in purchasing Tupperware. Consider Tupperware as a gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day, or for birthdays, weddings and showers, and know how happy you and the recipient can be to know that you are supporting a good cause with your gift.
CISters host Diversity Night in conjunction with Roboticon
On the March 21/22 weekend, CISters were proud to represent the department and volunteer at Roboticon. On the Saturday evening, CISters hosted Diversity Night --- a party for Roboticon participants, mentors, and volunteers --- on the second floor of the Reynolds Building. CISters provided a Guitar Hero tournament (with great prizes), t-shirt decorating, and a DeathStar cake and refreshments. CISters are grateful for this opportunity to connect with young people. Photos of the event can be found on our Facebook group CISters.
CISters present at WUSC Symposium on Gender Equality & Education
On February 8th, CISters Alana Cordick and Melanie Veltman presented on the Status of Females in SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) in Canada, as a part of the WUSC (World University Service of Canada) Symposium on Gender Equality & Education. CISters are grateful for this opportunity to raise awareness. More information about the Symposium can be found here.
CISters present to > 200 grade nine students about the joys of computer science!
On January 28th, CISters Melanie Veltman and Julia Baldwin, along with Professor Michael Wirth and professionals from IBM, presented to more than 200 grade nine students at Sir John A. MacDonald Collegiate Institute, on topics including: robotics; usability; career possibilities; and how computer science affects our everyday lives. We are proud to be able to reach so many young students in our first outreach event of the Winter 2009 semester.
CISters present to > 500 high school students about the joys of computer science!
On December 1st, CISters Alana Cordick, Alison Trimble, Melanie Veltman, Julia Baldwin and Deb Stacey presented to more than 500 high school students at Loyola Catholic Secondary School, on topics including: robotics; Second Life; usability; career possibilities; and the importance of diversity in computer science. We are proud to be able to reach so many young students in our first outreach event of the Fall 2008 semester.
CISters is giving away another iPod - GoogleTM SketchUp 3D modelling contest has been announced!
[img_assist|nid=159|title=Check out our Contest page to see how you could win one of these iPods!|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=451]
CISters October Newsletter has been Published
Check it out to see what we've been up to!
CISters have returned from the 2008 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
[img_assist|nid=141|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=468|height=60] CISters members Ali Tremblay, Annie Wraight, Alana Cordick, and Melanie Veltman attended the conference in Keystone, Colorado, along with Deb Stacey, Judi McCuaig, and Julia Baldwin of the CIS department. We networked hard, made some great connections, and gathered valuable resources to continue our plight to raise the profile of Women in Computing. We will be hosting an event to share our experiences and inspiration - stay tuned for details.
Wear your support for CISters!
[img_assist|nid=43|title=CISters tees|desc=Wear your support for CISters with a customizable embroidered t-shirt.|link=none|align=center|width=618|height=260]Are you looking for a fun and fashionable way to show your support for CISters? Do you want to be an active (and attractive!) role model in promoting diversity? Do you want to be admired by your peers and CISters members alike?
For a donation of only $30, you can be the person you want to be, with the help of a CISters custom embroidered t-shirt. To place an order, or for more information, email us at admin@cisters.ca.
CISters is giving away an iPod shuffle!
[img_assist|nid=83|title=iPod Shuffle|desc=Drop by our booth at the CIS barbeque for your chance to win!|link=none|align=center|width=320|height=267]
CISters seeks a GoogleTM Ambassador
CISters is looking for a motivated CISters member to act as a Google Ambassador. All applicants who submit to CISters proof of their submitted application to GoogleTM will receive a free CISters t-shirt! CISters will award successful applicants a GollaTM laptop bag from Future Shop*, and winners will be invited to participate as a 'Featured Member' on our website. More details about the Ambassador program here. Continue to check this page for more CISters details.
[img_assist|nid=81|title=Golla Laptop Bags|desc=Become a Google Ambassador for CISters and win a laptop bag!|link=none|align=center|width=100|height=61]*Subject to availability, may be substituted for an item of equal value at CISters discretion.
The 2008 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, themed "We Build a Better World", is being held in Keystone, Colorado on October 1-4 2008 – which is only two months away! CISters advertised the bursaries to the Graduate listserv and CISters members via email; with flyers posted around the department; and to the SOCIS boards and the CISters Facebook group. CISters accepted applications during the week of July 20-27.
CISters is pleased to announce that we have been able to grant, on the advice of our Awards Committee, a full bursary to Ali Tremblay, and a partial bursary to Alana Cordick, who is presenting a poster at the conference. Congratulations ladies!19-Aug-2008: CISters has awarded Grace Hopper Conference Bursaries!