Connecting Communities: Disabilities, Justice and Living Well Conference in Saskatoon

Grosvenor Park United Church in Saskatoon, in partnership with several funding bodies, is hosting a three-day public conference, from January 27-29, on disabilities, justice and living well.

For those living with disabilities and those who wish to learn about the experience of diverse people living with disabilities, this weekend event is an opportunity to deeply explore how disabilities affect our understandings of personhood, and how ableism diminishes it. You’re invited to an arts event on Friday, panel discussions on Saturday, and a special Worship Service on Sunday. Over 20 presenters in all.

Mask-wearing encouraged. Lunch is provided.

Connecting Communities is a project of Grosvenor Park United Church (GPUC) in partnership with several funding bodies. This is a public conference where all are welcome.

Advanced Registration by Jan. 10 – $50

Final Registration by Jan. 17 – $75; students/underemployed $25;

Livestreaming Only – $0

All participants must be registered through Eventbrite. Register here.

HOW TO Request Accommodations for Exams in December 2022

If you require accommodations for any SASKATOON-BASED exams in DECEMBER 2022, please request those now.

11:59pm on November 19 is the deadline to request accommodations for any exams on December 3 or later, including all midterms and finals.

November 19 is a Saturday! Please do not wait until November 19 to submit your requests. No one will be at AES to help if you have questions or the system isn’t working.

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We know this post is long! Accommodate + this hybrid learning environment is complex.

Please skim through this post and read the sections that are relevant to you.

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USE ACCOMMODATE TO REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS FOR FINAL EXAMS

  • Log into Accommodate by navigating to this URL https://paws5.usask.ca/#aes.
  • Make sure you’ve requested your Letters to Professors (LTPs). The system will not allow you to request exam accommodations unless you’ve requested your LTPS. Your AES advisor needs to approve your LTP request, which can take a few days. Do not wait until November 19 to request your LTPs.
  • Work through Accommodate to enter your requests. If you need help, please view the how-to guide at this URLhttps://canvas.usask.ca/enroll/AFB4WF

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SUBMIT A REQUEST WHENEVER YOU NEED ACCOMMODATIONS FOR A SASKATOON-BASED CLASS, INCLUDING REMOTE EXAMS

Always submit a request for accommodations through the Accommodate system, with only two exceptions for finals:

  • If the class is not based at the Saskatoon campus, contact the student services staff at the home campus to discuss your accommodation needs.
  • If your program and/or college has advised you to follow different procedures to access accommodations, follow their instructions not ours.

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PLEASE UNCHECK IRRELEVANT ACCOMMODATIONS

Accommodate requires that you UNCHECK any accommodations you DON’T need. Please take the few seconds required to review the accommodations that you are entitled to and uncheck those not applicable to the exam you are requesting. Some examples:

  • The accommodations of “text-to-voice software” and “reader” are essentially the same. Please choose the ONE accommodation you want and uncheck the other one.
  • You’re unlikely to need a 5-function calculator for an English exam. Please uncheck it.

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REMOTE vs IN-PERSON ONLINE

Remote exams are those that can be written anywhere.

In-person online exams are written on campus, using your own device.

In-person on paper exams are written on campus, with a paper-based exam.

You are required to write the exam in the same format as the rest of the class.

There are two places in Accommodate where you are asked the format of your exam. Please find out the format if you don’t already know it, and indicate the same format in both places.

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CHANGING EXAM TIMES

  • If you have an accommodation such as “morning exams only” or “afternoon exams only” it’s up to you to negotiate a time change with your instructor(s) before the AES deadlines. AES will not arbitrarily change an exam time without knowing that you have discussed the change with your instructor and picked a date/time that the instructor is okay with.
  • AES only supports date and/or time changes for accommodation-related reasons. We will not support a time/date change for personal reasons such as work or family obligations.

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WHAT TO TYPE IN THE NOTEBOX

Your notes help us to book you into an appropriate space. If there is anything that might impact where you write the exam, please note that here.

We need to know things like: open-book exams, open-note exams where laptops are allowed, and lab exams where specialized equipment/specimens or software is required.

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EVENING EXAMS

We are not involved in setting the times/timers for remote exams. If you have a remote evening exam, it’s crucial to talk to your instructor about your start time.

We start most in-person evening exams early (usually 5pm) so that all students and staff can leave campus at a reasonable hour.

Accommodate needs every exam to end by 9:30pm, since that’s as late as AES is staffed.

In the past, you would just submit your requests for evening exams and we would adjust the times so that you finished by 9:30.

But now, in order to submit your request, you need to figure out/calculate the start times for your 7:00pm exams, and indicate that new time as the start time on your request.

For finals, you can assume that the class gets the full 3 hours allowed, unless you know differently.

The table below has the most common scenarios for students with time-and-a-half, but if you are having trouble calculating your start time, please email aesexams@usask.ca to ask for help.

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ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS

If you need to change an exam date or time for religious reasons, please use the appropriate tab in Accommodate to request those.

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CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR EXAM LOCATION?

We try our very best to have all exam locations indicated about a week prior to the exam date. But sometimes our workload is heavy and we can’t meet that expectation. If your exam is less than 24 hours away and you still don’t see a location indicated, email aesexams@usask.ca to ask. If your exam is more than 24 hours away, please just be patient.

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DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?

Ask us! It’s easiest (and, honestly, usually faster too!) to reach us by emailing this address: aesexams@usask.ca

SCI Informational Gathering, October 18

SCI Sask is a provincial community-based organization that delivers services across the province. The mission of SCI Sask is to assist individuals living with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities to achieve independence, self-reliance and full community participation.

We are pleased to host and invite you to an
INFORMATIONAL GATHERING
TUESDAY October 18 2022
1:00PM to 3:00PM
Health Sciences Building
ROOM #1130
UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon SK S7N 5E5

– Presentation and Open Discussion of Services, Accessibility and Community Inclusion
– Refreshments Provided
– Please RSVP by October 14 2022 to nigelfernandez@scisask.ca

Connect with SCI Sask:
Website: www.scisask.ca
Email: sciinfo@scisask.ca
Toll-Free: 1.888.282.0186

Informational Gathering UofS October 2022

Medical School Application Fee Wavier Program

Get $150 application fee and the $75 interview fee waived for the upcoming 2022-2023 application cycle to the UofS College of Medicine!

This pilot program was developed by the Price of a Dream Team along with the AFMC, and participating universities. For more information, feel free to visit https://www.afmc.ca/en/learners/fee-assistance-programs or https://www.priceofadream.com/

Steps

  1. Follow our social media accounts to get the most recent updates regarding the program.
    1. Twitter – Price of a Dream (@Pod_MD)
    2. Instagram – Price of a Dream Team (priceofadream_md)
  2. Attend our webinar for details surrounding the program and the application process. More details to come via social media.
  3. Apply using the following link by August 23rd, 2022

https://www.cognitoforms.com/AFMC3/SaskatchewanFeeWaiverProgram

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at mdpriceofadream@gmail.com

Listen to ‘Dis: “The Collaborative Poetry Project 2.0” with Danielle Richardson

On Thursday August 18th, 2022 from 6pm until 8pm CST Saskatchewan time, Listen to Dis’ Community Arts Organization will be hosting as part of our Visiting Artist Series an online poetry workshop.

“The Collaborative Poetry Project 2.0” with Danielle Richardson.

Join Danielle Richardson for another FREE ONLINE collaborative writing workshop where we will work together to create something new. Using different writing/creating techniques, we will explore poetry: The craft of describing emotions. Bring an open mind and any tools you find helpful when playing with words (written or spoken).

Want to prepare ahead of time? Bring 1 or 2 lines of poetry to contribute to our collective poem. This workshop’s poem prompt is: “Lessons for my younger self”. (No preparation is required to participate).

**ASL Interpretation Provided by the Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SDHHS).**

Thank you to our funders, Community Initiatives Fund, The City of Saskatoon, and Sask Lotteries. Without you, there is no us!

To register:

https://forms.gle/eKaZFFUGQbJLev4V7

or email shelby.lowe@listentodis.com.

Zoom links will be sent out in the morning on the day of the workshop.

*Listen to Dis Community Arts Organization Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that equips and enables people with disabilities to create and participate in art, for the betterment of their health, for recreation, and for the development of themselves as emerging and professional artists.

Listen to Dis’ – July Visiting Artist Series: Beyond Butterflies – Increasing Confidence and Creating Performance Poetry

This July 21st, 2022 from 6pm until 8pm CST Saskatchewan time, Listen to Dis’ Community Arts Organization will be hosting as part of our Visiting Artist Series an online confidence building and poetry workshop.

The poster image for this workshop.

“Beyond Butterflies – Increasing Confidence and Creating Performance Poetry with Danica Lorer.”
 An interactive FREE online workshop with tips and tricks for improving confidence and reducing anxious thoughts approaching live and online audiences followed by an opportunity to practice creating performance poems in a variety of ways. There will be plenty of practical ideas with time to discover, work, play, and share.
**ASL Interpretation Provided by the Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SDHHS).**
Thank you to our fundersCommunity Initiatives FundThe City of Saskatoon, and Sask Lotteries. Without you, there is no us!
To register:
Zoom links will be sent out in the morning on the day of the workshop.
*Listen to Dis Community Arts Organization Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that equips and enables people with disabilities to create and participate in art, for the betterment of their health, for recreation, and for the development of themselves as emerging and professional artists.

May 31 Listen to Dis’ Online Event: There Is No Justice Without Access

Listen to Dis’ and Saskatchewan Arts Alliance invite you to Pajama Party Politics: There is no justice without access

Disability is often perceived through the lens of those observing and exploiting disabled people. The art sector is no exception. The barriers to exist and the injustice within our arts spaces are insidious in Saskatchewan.

TOMORROW, Listen to Dis’ (LTD’) and the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance (SAA) invite you to take part in an online cultural conversation on May 31 from 10am to 12pm CST Sask time about why it’s important we all, as artists and cultural workers, both independently and as part of organizations, do the work to catch up and keep up with the current understanding of access and accommodation with and for the Deaf and disabled communities.

The event will feature three local crip cultural leaders (Traci Foster, John Loeppky, and Carla Harris) who have taken their broken heart and made art as a way of belonging and also feature Guest Artist interruptions (Lindsay Scott, Fatima Nafisa, and Vuyo Ginindza).

Everyone is welcome and we invite you to come as you are – just as you are – whether in pajamas on the couch, or comfy in your office.

To find out more or to register: https://form.jotform.com/221284370562251 or register via email: info@artsalliance.sk.ca.

(ASL Interpretation Available from Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services.)

Writing Exams With AES in the Spring and Summer Terms

If you will need exam accommodations in any classes this Spring and/or Summer, please read this blog post!

Submit an Exam Request Whenever You Need Accommodations

Whenever you need accommodations throughout the summer months, submit a request through the AES Exam Service channel in PAWS. There are only three exceptions:

  • If you have a midterm in a lab, talk to your lab instructor before you submit your request. Lab instructors normally provide accommodations directly for midterms.
  • If the class is not based at the Saskatoon campus, contact the student services staff at the home campus to discuss your accommodation needs.
  • If you were approved to write a deferred final exam in June, the online form will not work for you. If you didn’t already get an email from us with a form to fill out and return, send us an email at aesexams@usask.ca.

Spring/Summer Deadlines Are in Effect Until August 31

Non-final exams = 1 full week (7 days) prior to the exam date

Final exams = 2 full weeks (14 days) prior to the exam date

These are your deadlines for Q1, Q2, and T1 final exams:

Finding Out Your Final Exam Dates/Times 

During the Spring and Summer terms, the University posts its final exam schedule very close to the AES deadlines. You MUST know the date and time of your exam before you can request accommodations.  Please closely watch your PAWS account to see when the final exam schedule is posted and then move quickly to get your requests in to AES on time.

If the final exam schedule is posted and your exam is not listed in the AES system, please just use the non-final link. Sometimes our IT team is slow to upload the University’s schedule to our AES system. If you know the date and time of your final exam, you can just manually enter it into the non-final exam form.

Is Your Exam Remote, In Person, or Online In Person?

In order to book the correct exam accommodations for you, we need to know where you are writing the exam. Please help us figure that out by putting a note in the notebox that tells us if your class is writing the  exam:

  • Remotely (can be written anywhere)
  • In person (invigilated on campus)
  • Online in person (the entire class is allowed to use their laptops at an on-campus location)

Got Questions?

We can help you at this email address: aesexams@usask.ca. The AES phone lines are not regularly monitored.

Listen to Dis’ Workshop ~ Puppetry for Storytelling ~ May 19/22

This May 19th, 2022 from 6pm until 8pm CST Saskatchewan time, Listen to Dis’ Community Arts Organization will be hosting as part of our Visiting Artist Series an online puppetry workshop.

“Puppetry for Storytelling” with Crispi Lord.

How can puppetry serve your work? How can your work reach more people through puppetry? Come and learn the basics of puppetry and how to incorporate it into your work as a theatre artist in this FREE digital workshop! Bring the inanimate to life and speak volumes through movement and gesture. Reach deeper into our humanity through the exploration of the inhuman.

**ASL Interpretation Provided by the Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SDHHS).**

Thank you to our funders, Community Initiatives Fund, The City of Saskatoon, and Sask Lotteries.

Without you, there is no us!

To register click on this URL: https://forms.gle/AcEeB3YDcuDxncfy8

Or

email Shelby at this email address: shelby.lowe@listentodis.com.

Zoom links will be sent out in the morning on the day of the workshop.

Crispi Lord Poster*Listen to Dis Community Arts Organization Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that equips and enables people with disabilities to create and participate in art, for the betterment of their health, for recreation, and for the development of themselves as emerging and professional artists.

Crispi Lord Poster

Request accommodations for your April exams NOW!

THE AES EXAM REQUEST FORM FOR APRIL FINALS IS LIVE!

If you require accommodations for any exams in APRIL 2022, please request those now.

11:59pm on MARCH 19 is the deadline to request accommodations for any exams on April 2 or later. This includes all midterms and finals on or after April 2.

March 19 is a Saturday! Please do not wait until March 19 to submit your requests. No one will be at AES to help you if you have questions or the system isn’t working. Please submit your requests ASAP.

Please submit requests for ALL Saskatoon-based finals that you need accommodations for, including remote exams. Please do not arrange accommodations directly with your instructors.

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We know this post is long! This hybrid learning environment is complex. We have more things to tell you – and need more information from you – than usual.

Please skim through the post and read the sections that are relevant to you.

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HOW TO REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS FOR FINAL EXAMS

Log into PAWS –> Go to the AES tab –> Click on the “Exam Service” channel –> Click on the “Final Exam” link –> Fill out the form(s)

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WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FINAL EXAM ISN’T LISTED

If your final exam does not show up when you work through the above steps, it is not in the University’s final exam schedule. This commonly happens with lab finals and any exam outside of the final exam period (such as on the last day of classes). If your final exam does not show up when you use the final exam link, use the non-final exam link instead.

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WHAT TO TYPE IN THE NOTEBOX

Most importantly, please type a short note to let us know if your final exam will be:

  • In person
  • In person but online, using your own laptop
  • Remote, written anywhere you like
  • Any other format, like a take home final, an open-book final, or a paper in lieu of an exam

Your notes help us to book you into an appropriate space.

Please note that our IT team tried to implement a “fix” where the system automatically notes “REMOTE EXAM” in the notebox of any exam that the system identifies as being remote. This note is often wrong! Please just type your own note and ignore the one that says “REMOTE EXAM.” We will delete that one.

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CHANGING EXAM TIMES

  • AES only supports date and/or time changes for accommodation-related reasons. We will not support a time/date change for personal reasons such as work or family obligations.
  • If you need to change the date or time of an exam, you must talk to your instructor BEFORE you submit your request. Once you have this information, include it in the notebox of your exam request. This includes situations where students have accommodations such as “no morning exams.” Keep in mind that your instructor is the one who is managing exam times for remote exams, so it is crucial to have this discussion.

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EVENING EXAMS

  • We start most in-person evening exams early (usually 5pm) so that all students and staff can leave campus at a reasonable hour.
  • We are not involved in setting the times/timers for remote exams. If you have a remote evening exam, it’s crucial to talk to your instructor about your start time.

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SASKATOON-BASED CLASSES ONLY

AES only accommodates or assists with accommodations for classes that are based at the Saskatoon campus.

If the class is not based at the Saskatoon campus, contact the student services staff at the home campus to discuss your accommodation needs.

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ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS

If you need to change an exam date or time for religious reasons, visit this link by March 19: https://students.usask.ca/academics/exams.php#ReschedulingExams

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CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR EXAM STATUS?

Are you concerned because your exams are sitting there with their status saying they are still in progress? There is really nothing to worry about. But, if you’re curious about how/when we change the status of your requests, check our blog at this URL: https://words.usask.ca/dss/2021/10/28/curious-about-the-status-on-your-exam-request/

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DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?

Ask us! It’s easiest (and, honestly, usually faster too!) to reach us by emailing this address: aesexams@usask.ca