Work. Family. Life.

Please visit our new site!

Recently Jane Boyd has developed a new site where she is blogging from.  You can visit it at:

www.boydjane.ca

Why I chose not to fly across Canada this week for a Tweetup

If you know me at all; then you will know that I have a love affair that has been going on with Prince Edward Island for about ten years now.  Over the years I have visited PEI, lived there, been part of a small business that operated in Summerside and have generally come to consider myself a Part Time Islander By Choice.  There is little doubt that PEI is my second home.  So when @peihouses and @aprilennis (in above picture) began to coordinate the PEI Tweetup events, it only seemed to make sense that I would hop on a plane from Vancouver to be there.  I enjoyed having the chance to connect with so many of the people that I know or consider to be friends on the Island and felt it was a worthwhile investment in building face to face relationships.

Fast forward to today, to this PEI Tweetup, and you'll find that I won't be there in person tonight.  Why?  Well, that is because life is full of hard choices; especially when you are the owner of a small business.  Having recently made the decision to shift the focus of much of my work and to truly dive into tasks that are necessary, I realized that I would be smarter to invest my time and energy directly in my new business goals and the related planning.  I actually calculated the number of hours that I would lose by flying, sitting in airports and then recovering from the whole travel whirlwind and came to understand that the smart move would be to say "No" for this time.  Not an easy decision due to my strong connection to the Island and to my colleagues and friends who are there.  No, not easy - but smart for me and my business.  So for tonight, I will be content to follow the #PEITweetup hashtag and feel good thatwww.aprilandjane.ca helped to sponsor the PEI Twitter Awards for 2011.  I will also feel content knowing that I made the right decision for me and my business.

Are you the owner of a small business?  What hard decisions have you faced when trying to manage your business?

RB Kids Child Care Blog

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Child Care has a wonderful blog full of information, pictures and resources related to their workplace child care program.  You can find it HERE.

Guiding yourself to where you want to be....#SOBCon & friends can get you there

Earlier today Chris Brogan wrote a post about Not Having The Time To Blog.  It was a good post - one that rang very true for me.  Look back at my posts - or lack thereof. Really, look back...there has not been much here in 2011.

For a really long time now, I have been telling myself that I don't have the time to do a lot of things.  I don't have time to blog because I am no longer sure of my focus, I don't have the time to write because I am not sure where to start, I am not eating the way I want to because I am busy with work and family obligations, I don't spend enough time with my kids or my husband - because I need to focus on yet one more project.  And fitness...while let's not even go there...at least not in this post.  Wow...just look at that list.  Does any of it ring true for you?  Why is it that so much time can go by while we some how manage to make excuses that seem truly legitimate?  

In January, I wrote this post because I was thinking and processing a lot related to the future of both my blog and my work.  Back then, I thought I was right around the corner from knowing exactly what was next for me in relation to my blogging.  Well, guess what...once again...life got in the way!  Truth be told; I didn't make the time that I needed to finish and action my thinking process.  By the time the summer rolled by, I knew that I needed to take a far more active role in ensuring that I would actually make the time for the things that matter the most in my online world.  So this past September, I headed off to SOBCon Northwest; where my mind was significantly blown and awesomely inspired. Just over a month has passed since SOBCon and I can honestly say that I am still reaping the rewards of being in the room with so many amazing people. Since that time, I have worked really hard to find a way to make the time that I know I need to plan, create and truly begin to make the shifts that I know are needed for the future on my blog and online business.

If finding the time to do what inspires you is something that you are struggling with, then I suggest you at least do this much.  Take a moment to look around at others who inspire you. (Here are just a few that are doing it for me these days: Greg Hartle, AJ & Melissa Leon, Chris Brogan, Jeff Pulver, The NonConformist Family and of course SOBCon's co-founders Liz Strauss and Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie.) Look for examples of the very things that interest you the most. Think about what you see. Really think. Consider, evaluate and start to ask questions - both of them and of yourself. Engage...first in small ways and then in even bigger ways. At the same time, start to let go of the things that don't inspire you as much as they used to.  After a while, you will begin to recognize that you actually can make the time for what matters the most and that it feels amazing when you do.

Right now...today..I tell you this:

 

• I am in a very new place in my mind and it is an excellent thing. Over the next while, I will be transforming this blog and many of the projects that I am working on to be much more reflective of where I truly want to be focusing my energies and passion.

 

• Yes, YOU CAN make the time you need to do the things that matter the very most to you.

 

So, what will you do to make time for the things that inspire you?

Taking the time to stop and look....

We are all so busy.  The days fly by.  Busy often defines who we are and what we do. Our success is sometimes based on how much we manage to fit into the day.  Is this really what success is all about? Let these children remind you how important it is to STOP and LOOK - every day.

When is the last time you really did this?

 

A must watch video about the Montessori difference!

Posted via email from Work. Family. Life.

Google+....Ya gotta be really into social media to get in...

The most recent attempt to kill Facebook was launched last week with Google’s brand-new online social network called, Google +. Currently, it’s a closed environment that can only be accessed if you’re invited, and by the looks of the online chatter, Google is allowing people with significant Social Media experience in first to see how it stands up, performs and gets chatted about prior to opening the flood gates for all to use. 

From: New Google + doesn't add up to a Facebook killer

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Google+doesn+Facebook+killer/5048772/story.html#ixzz1RCgpkGrp

Posted via email from Work. Family. Life.

Very important case to be heard on special needs in BC's public schools

 

Supreme Court of Canada to rule on special needs in B.C.'s public schools

 

 

 

The country's highest court has agreed to hear a human rights case challenging the way B.C. public schools treat special-needs students.

The case was launched more than a dozen years ago by Rick Moore, who alleged that the North Vancouver school district discriminated against his dyslexic son when it failed to teach him to read. Jeff was eight years old, in Grade 3 and struggling to learn.

Aware of his severe disability, his teachers referred him to the district's diagnostic centre so he could get special attention, but the district closed the centre for budgetary reasons before Jeff could be enrolled.

His father, desperate to get help, pulled his boy out of his neighbourhood school and took him to an independent school with hefty tuition that caters to children with learning disabilities.

Jeff, now 24, learned to read, graduated from high school, attended postsecondary school and is employed full-time as a plumber.

In 1997, Rick Moore filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, claiming the North Vancouver school district and the B.C. Education Ministry discriminated against his son by not accommodating his disability. The tribunal held public hearings and decided in his favour with a 2005 decision that was considered groundbreaking.

But the ruling was appealed and quashed by the B.C. Supreme Court, which found that Jeff had received service equal to or better than that accorded other learning-disabled children. The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld that ruling last year in a 2-1 decision, but the dissenting views of Justice Anne Rowles gave Moore hope and his lawyer, Frances Kelly, a chance to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The court's decision Thursday to hear the case put Moore over the moon. "It's fantastic," he said in an interview. "It's such a big deal to me that we are going to finally settle this once and for all."

Moore said his concern was never just about his son because Jeff got the help he needed. "He was one of the lucky ones," he said. "Jeff understands that his ability to succeed is because he got to the right school."

Moore said he was driven to take the case as far as he could because he couldn't accept that the educational services provided to his son should be judged according to what is offered to other learningdisabled students, insisting that public schools should be expected to help all children succeed. Learning-disabled children have IQs similar to typical students.

That view was backed by Justice Rowles, who wrote in her dissenting opinion: "Reading is part of the core curriculum and is essential to learning. The accommodation sought by Jeffrey and other SLD (severely learning disabled) students is not an extra, ancillary service; instead it is the way by which meaningful access to the service can be achieved."

North Vancouver school officials wouldn't comment on the Moore case while it's before the courts, but Julie Parker, director of instruction, said a lot has changed in schools since 1997. All students are now screened for learning disabilities in kindergarten and interventions are provided for the 15 per cent in need of extra help. "I think North Vancouver is one of the leaders [in special education]," she said in an interview.

The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to consider the Moore case early next year.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Supreme+Court+Canada+rule+special+needs+public+schools/5034510/story.html#ixzz1QvFTq8OC

 

Posted via email from Work. Family. Life.

Very important case to be heard on special needs in BC's public schools

Supreme Court of Canada to rule on special needs in B.C.'s public schools

From: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Supreme+Court+Canada+rule+special+needs+public+schools/5034510/story.html#ixzz1QvFXRD41

 

The country's highest court has agreed to hear a human rights case challenging the way B.C. public schools treat special-needs students.

The case was launched more than a dozen years ago by Rick Moore, who alleged that the North Vancouver school district discriminated against his dyslexic son when it failed to teach him to read. Jeff was eight years old, in Grade 3 and struggling to learn.

Aware of his severe disability, his teachers referred him to the district's diagnostic centre so he could get special attention, but the district closed the centre for budgetary reasons before Jeff could be enrolled.

His father, desperate to get help, pulled his boy out of his neighbourhood school and took him to an independent school with hefty tuition that caters to children with learning disabilities.

Jeff, now 24, learned to read, graduated from high school, attended postsecondary school and is employed full-time as a plumber.

In 1997, Rick Moore filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, claiming the North Vancouver school district and the B.C. Education Ministry discriminated against his son by not accommodating his disability. The tribunal held public hearings and decided in his favour with a 2005 decision that was considered groundbreaking.

But the ruling was appealed and quashed by the B.C. Supreme Court, which found that Jeff had received service equal to or better than that accorded other learning-disabled children. The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld that ruling last year in a 2-1 decision, but the dissenting views of Justice Anne Rowles gave Moore hope and his lawyer, Frances Kelly, a chance to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The court's decision Thursday to hear the case put Moore over the moon. "It's fantastic," he said in an interview. "It's such a big deal to me that we are going to finally settle this once and for all."

Moore said his concern was never just about his son because Jeff got the help he needed. "He was one of the lucky ones," he said. "Jeff understands that his ability to succeed is because he got to the right school."

Moore said he was driven to take the case as far as he could because he couldn't accept that the educational services provided to his son should be judged according to what is offered to other learningdisabled students, insisting that public schools should be expected to help all children succeed. Learning-disabled children have IQs similar to typical students.

That view was backed by Justice Rowles, who wrote in her dissenting opinion: "Reading is part of the core curriculum and is essential to learning. The accommodation sought by Jeffrey and other SLD (severely learning disabled) students is not an extra, ancillary service; instead it is the way by which meaningful access to the service can be achieved."

North Vancouver school officials wouldn't comment on the Moore case while it's before the courts, but Julie Parker, director of instruction, said a lot has changed in schools since 1997. All students are now screened for learning disabilities in kindergarten and interventions are provided for the 15 per cent in need of extra help. "I think North Vancouver is one of the leaders [in special education]," she said in an interview.

The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to consider the Moore case early next year.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Supreme+Court+Canada+rule+special+needs+public+schools/5034510/story.html#ixzz1QvFTq8OC

Posted via email from Work. Family. Life.

On-site child care a plus for growing firm

Jane Boyd with a few little friends at the Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Child Care Program which opened in September 2009. 

Recent story from Burnaby Now below:

It's a rare perk that many employees hope for but few find.

On-site child care is occasionally offered by universities, colleges and federal government agencies, but it isn't common in the private sector.

But Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has taken on the problem of sparse child-care options at its headquarters in Burnaby. The company relocated to Burnaby in 2009 and included plans for a child-care centre for employees' children in the design of its facilities.

"We researched what other companies offer employees," Vic Pospiech, vice-president of human resources, says.

Child-care was one of the top items on the wish list of employees, he adds.

"One of the things that came to light was the acute shortage of child-care in Burnaby," Pospiech says.

When designing the new facilities, representatives of Ritchie Bros. met with city officials. Mayor Derek Corrigan was very supportive of the plan to include child-care, he adds.

The centre has space for 45 full-time children, but there are about 60 kids in all that use it throughout the year - some part-time or just during the summer, according to Pospiech.

The company also offers many other amenities to employees, including the Kelowna Café.

The company hasn't offered anything like the café in the past, Pospiech says, but because of the location of the building, felt it was important to provide a subsidized place for employees to get good food.

"We've always bent over backwards to try to provide amenities to our employees," he adds.

Other perks include a beer garden on Friday afternoons (with juice and pop for non-drinkers), video games for employee breaks, and a social committee that organizes children's Christmas parties, provides muffins on Fridays and plans themed lunches for holidays and events, Pospiech says. There is also a workout area with treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, a stair climber, a rowing machine, and universal and free weights.

The headquarters in the Big Bend neighbourhood is a LEED Gold-certified facility, the first in Burnaby, with more than 300 employees.

via www.burnabynow.com

Proposed new bylaw would cover child care costs for local politicians

A New Westminster city counsellor is putting forth a plan that would give local politicians a break on the cost of babysitting.

Jaimie McEvoy is proposing that members who are required to attend special events on behalf of city be able to claim up to $40 a day for childcare.

He thinks that the cost of childcare for young families may be one of the reasons so few mothers and fathers of young children run for city council, and he wants to change that.

"How do you encourage people with families, people with young children, to participate? So there are barriers to that," he said.

A staff report says the financial impact of the child-care reiumbursement would be less than $500 per year.

The idea has been used before. A similar resolution was passed in Delta in 1995, but the city's mayor says it has rarely been used.

People CTV News spoke with on Monday had mixed reactions to the proposal.

"It seems like a valid expense," one woman said.

"Anything that's good for children I'll go for," another woman said.

"Nobody else is allowed to expense their babysitter," one man said.

McEvoy says he's had some harsh backlash, but he still supports to the idea.

Late Monday afternoon council decided to remove the motion from its meeting agenda but the public may still be able to say who will be able to pay the babysitter at tonight's council meeting.

Story Link

Know where your food comes from....

This is a neat project that is happening in the United States.  Worth checking out The Perennial Plate:

 

The Perennial Plate Episode 52: Real Food Road Trip from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

 

Is this the future or is it today?

 

One in five Canadians late for work once a week: survey

Um . . . the dog ate my BlackBerry? . . . Would you believe a prostitute stole my car keys?

Those are just two of the odder excuses Canadians used last year to explain their late arrival at work, according to a new survey that suggests nearly one in five employees showed up tardy at least once a week.

Nineteen per cent of workers surveyed admitted they were late at least once a week in 2010, according to numbers released Wednesday by CareerBuilder.ca.

The previous year, the number had been 17 per cent, although the difference falls within the margin of error for the survey.

Another 11 per cent of respondents said they had been late more than twice a week.

Lack of sleep and traffic topped the list of excuses workers gave their managers, the survey said.

Fifteen per cent of tardy respondents blamed public transportation and 12 per cent said the weather had slowed them down.

Other common excuses including getting kids out the door, Internet use or their spouse.

Some employees got more creative.

Hiring managers reported hearing these outrageous reasons for delays: The dog ate my BlackBerry. A prostitute stole my car keys. I forgot it was a workday. I ran over myself with the company truck.

And one employee claimed a bear stopped his car, broke his window and tried to grab the occupants.

"While workers will sometimes be late due to circumstances out of their control, they need to be aware of their companies' tardiness policies," Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of human resources for CareerBuilder, a job-hunting website, said in a statement.

"Regardless of the reason, workers who are running late should always be honest with their manager."

The response to tardiness varied among managers, but 30 per cent of respondents said they have fired an employee for being late.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive among 227 Canadian employers and 550 Canadian full-time employees in the private sector between Nov. 15 and Dec. 2, 2010.

Some of the results were taken from a subset of the overall survey, leading to margins of error of plus or minus 6.5 and 4.18 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

via www.theguardian.pe.ca

New School Lunch Rules Dump Lunchroom French Fries

Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010—a major component of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign—the federal government is required to raise the nutritional standards in free- and reduced-price school meals for the first time in 15 years.

So what's changing? The new school lunch rules would:

• Require milk to be low-fat or skim. Flavored milks must be nonfat.
• Mandate more fruits and veggies
• Set calorie limits for meals (for the first time ever)
• Require that breakfasts include a grain and a protein (instead of one or the other)
• Ban trans fats
• Lower the amount of sodium in school meals over the next decade—with an eventual goal of cutting sodium levels by half
• Eventually require most grains served in schools to be whole grains

via www.takepart.com