St. Paul's Residence Don Team
2013-2014
Hello!
I hope that you are having a great summer and are getting prepared for the excitement and challenges of being a Residence Don for the 2013-2014 academic year. I am really looking forward to working with you this year. You are a key member of the Residence Don Team and all of us working together will ensure that the students living at St. Paul’s University College have a positive, safe and fun year. “Teamwork means that we share a common ideal and embrace a common goal. Regardless of our differences, we strive shoulder to shoulder, confident in one another's faith, trust and commitment. In the end, teamwork can be summed up in five short words..."we believe in each other".
Your Floor!
Dungeon & Oasis – David Bell (Fall) / Georgia LaMarre (Winter)
Peer Leader – Andrew Wong (Fall/Winter)
La Bastille – Alex Pearce (Fall/Winter)
Peer Leader – Melissa Gerrard (Fall) / Anna Gesse (Winter)
Empire – Adam Wendland (Fall) / Freddy Van Rooyen (Winter)
Peer Leader – Ian Pinnel (Fall/Winter)
Wildside – Taya Devlin (Fall) / Sarah Keating(Winter)
Peer Leader – Azra Fazal (Fall/Winter)
Penthouse – Sonya Oetterich (Fall) / Stephanie Lem (Winter)
Peer Leader – Lexi Salt (Fall/Winter)
Alcatraz – Spencer Leckie (Fall/Winter)
Peer Leader – Elvin Madamba (Fall) / Ian Hamilton (Winter)
Purgatory – Graham Howell (Fall/Winter)
Peer Leader – Megan Shantz (Fall / Winter) and Ben Smith (Fall/Winter)
*** Spring Dons – Owen Sutton and David Bell– your floors for the spring/summer term will be determined at a later date.***
Training
Residence Don’s Training will officially begin Sunday August 25th, but to kick it off we will be golfing and volunteering for the annual St. Paul’s Golf Tournament on Friday August 23rd at Glen Eagle Golf Course in Bolton. You will need to move in on Thursday August 22nd any time between noon and 3:00 p.m. We will be leaving for the Glen Eagle Golf Course and the hotel around 4:00 p.m. so please make sure you are ready to go at that time. We are hosting a conference that week; so unfortunately, you may not be able to move into your assigned room for the term until later on in the week. You will have to move-in your stuff into a temporary room and get the team to help you move your belongings later on. I would suggest that when you are packing to pack your overnight bag, for the golf tournament, separately. That way you will be ready to go, without having to look for things. There is a pool, so please remember your bathing suit. We will have dinner together that evening; hang out at the hotel, swim, and then get some much needed sleep before we head to the golf course in the morning. We will be back from Bolton Friday evening and you will have the weekend to prepare your floor with door tags and decorations and just hang out as a team. there will also be some "homework". Food service will be closed on the weekend, so I will give you some money to go grocery shopping together so that you can make your weekend meals together – we also have a BBQ that you will be able to use. On Sunday August 25th we will kick off training at 5:30 p.m. in the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre. We will also be heading to camp” (YMCA Outdoor Centre) for one night and two days so please bring sleeping bags, pillow, musical instruments, swimming gear, and anything else you would like to do at "camp”. Don’s Training will be a great week for all of us to get to know each other and to learn how we can best serve the needs of our students. "The greatest resource our team will ever have is each other." There will be a variety of information sessions and workshops as well as some time to hang out, relax, and have fun, especially at camp!
First Aid and CPR
Please don’t forget that you are responsible for ensuring that you are trained in First Aid and CPR by the time you arrive for Residence Don’s Training. Please bring me verification of your certification (a photocopy is perfect) so that I can keep it on file.
I Belive in You!
Being a Residence Don is a huge responsibility and while it can be a very wonderful and rewarding experience, at times it can also be challenging. There are times that you will feel that it is not worth it, and that you wish that you never took the job. But I hope that most of the time you will feel excited about being a positive role model and being able to make connections with the students on your floor and in the residence. I want you to know that I WILL NOT BE UPSET or surprised if you walk into my office and tell me that you are having a tough time handling all the demands on your time and are feeling unenthusiastic about being a Don. That’s why I am here! I want to help you with your residents and your resident’s issues. I want to help you if you are having a bad day and need some positive energy. I have been a Residence Don (a little while ago) and I know what it is like when you can’t possibly listen to another person. I am here for you no matter what! It is also very important that you be supportive and understanding of each other. “The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” Please try to help each other out. We have to work together as a team in order to have the best possible year we can. “Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together".