Photo courtesy the Boys & Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

Alumni and staff from RRC’s Culinary Arts program will take part in next month’s 100-Mile Dinner in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

The fall charity bash, taking place Sept. 8 at the Caboto Centre on Wilkes Avenue, features an impressive lineup of local chefs, including RRC staffers Luc Jean and Jonny Royal, and culinary grads Adam Donnelly (head chef and co-owner of Segovia Tapas Bar & Restaurant) and Mark Teague (head chef at Sydney’s at The Forks).

The chefs will join other culinary stars  — including reps from Peasant Cookery, Deer + Almond, and Bistro 7 and 1/4 — to serve up a mouthwatering meal made of fresh, seasonal and locally-grown ingredients found within 100 miles of Winnipeg.

RRC Hospitality instructor Janet Townsend and current students from that program will also lend their support, providing front-of-house service at the event.

Now in its third year, the 100-Mile Dinner raises funds for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Winnipeg, which provide after-school, athletic, educational and leadership opportunities for more than 4,100 disadvantaged children and youth in Winnipeg.

Individual tickets are $125 each; to order, email marcial@wbgc.mb.ca, or call 204.982.4940.

Red River College is pleased to announce the hiring of Chris MacLennan, Head Coach for the Rebels Women’s Volleyball team.

“Chris will be a great addition to the coaching staff here at RRC, and the athletes who are part of the program will have the opportunity to learn and play for an excellent coach,” says Shane Ray, Manager of Athletics and Recreation Services for Red River College.

A Level 2 NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) coach, MacLennan begins his first year at RRC after having established himself in Ontario with the Maverick Volleyball Club in Ottawa, then moving on to work as an assistant coach at Lakehead University during the 2011-12 campaign.

He also coached with the Shock Volleyball Club in Winnipeg over the past year, and led Team Manitoba at the National Team Challenge Cup in July. His proven success at the club, provincial and post-secondary level will be an asset to the program here at Red River College.

MacLennan says, “I am very excited to begin training this season, and will look to put together an excellent group with some of the returning players in combination with some new talent entering the gym this year. We will look to improve upon the established success of this program — this year and moving forward.”

The Red River Rebels are the varsity sport teams of Red River College, and compete in the Manitoba College Athletic Conference (MCAC). The College fields men’s and women’s teams in basketball, futsal, soccer and volleyball.

Click here for more information about RRC Rebels Athletics.

Red River College is pleased to announce the hiring of Erik Hansen (left) and Dylan Power as Co-Head Coaches of the Rebels Men’s Volleyball team.

“As alumni of the volleyball program, Dylan and Erik bring a passion not only to the sport of volleyball but to the Rebels program,” says Shane Ray, manager of athletics and recreation services for RRC. “We are excited about the next step in the Rebels Volleyball program and the direction it will take under Erik and Dylan’s leadership.”

Power holds his Level 1 NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) and is no stranger to Rebels athletics. Having completed four seasons with the Rebels, he has captured three league titles, and been named the Championship Final Four MVP. He also holds a national gold and silver medal with the Manitoba provincial team and Bison Club volleyball team, respectively. Dylan is currently finishing his fifth year of university, studying Business Technology Teacher Education at RRC and the University of Winnipeg (joint program). Read More →

Red River College is pleased to be participating for the first time in Winnipeg Harvest’s Grow-A-Row Project.

The initiative’s roots date back to 1986, when Winnipeggers Ron and Eunice O’Donovan produced more potatoes in their backyard garden than they could consume. Their vegetables were so well received by Winnipeg Harvest, the O’Donovans encouraged friends and neighbours to donate their surplus produce, too. Since then, Grow-A-Row has yielded millions of pounds of fresh fruit and veggies.

At RRC, the project is being led by Gord McLeod (shown, at left) and his Pavement & Grounds team. In between weed-whacking, mowing and other regular duties, staff and student employees take time from their schedules to tend to the garden and its bounty.

The 30′ x 60′ plot is located between the West Parking Lot and the old Greenhouse.

“Six weeks ago this was just a grassy area,” says McLeod of the space. “We tilled it and added 12 cubic yards of compost from our on-site compost pile to get the soil nice and healthy.”

The team then planted russet potatoes and carrot seeds, and in a matter of weeks, the garden had sprouted. Harvest is expected to take place in late September; during that time, staff and students will be invited to participate in a harvest-picking party.

“This is a great project for many reasons,” says Nancy Alexander, Vice-President of Human Resource Services and Sustainability at RRC. “It supports the College’s values of sustainability and wellness and strengthens our connection to the community. I want to thank Gord and his team for their work on ‘grow-a-row’ and look forward to expanding the project in years to come.”

Students and staff who’ve spent the summer months tending to their own gardens can participate in Grow-A-Row by dropping off fruit and veggies at Winnipeg Harvest from Monday to Saturday.

Where else can 23 students and three instructors from China go for a trolley ride, see penguins and a polar bear, and explore parks, farmers’ markets and historical sites — all while building confidence using the English language? Red River College, of course.

The students are in Winnipeg as part of a new pilot program launched this summer by RRC’s International Education office and Language Training Centre. The aim of the program aim is to give students and instructors an opportunity to be immersed in the English language for two weeks.

“Red River College is so proud to share the culture and history of Winnipeg and Manitoba through an immersive language learning opportunity,” says Dr. Christine Crowe, vice-president of Community Development at Red River College.

“After such an exciting experience this summer, we trust these students will plan to come back to Red River College to study.”

Students and staff from the Shenyang Institute of Engineering (SIE) and Shanghai Medical Instrumentation College (SMIC) arrived in Winnipeg on July 28^th, and will spend their time here working through a packed schedule of events and tours. Each day starts with a series of interactive lessons delivered by staff from the Language Training Centre. Read More →

She beat out some pretty stiff competition to land the Greatest Summer Job in the City.

Kayla Jeanson, a Film Studies student from the University of Manitoba, is excited to be part of Winnipeg’s Exchange District, and to serve as Red River College’s first-ever “Blogger in Residence”.

“I hope to shine a light on the experience of living downtown. I want to showcase the beauty of our Exchange District”, said Jeanson. “I have a strong following on social media so I’m hoping I can engage with them, and thousands of other people throughout the city and province. It’s going to be an amazing experience.”

Jeanson moved in on June 28and will live rent-free in the RRC residence until August 16. As part of her job as the “Blogger in Residence”, Jeanson will be submitting five stories a week and providing content to Twitter, Facebook and any other creative means she wants to use.  Read More →

Red River College continues to expand the scope of its international partnerships, having recently met with a high-level delegation from the African nation of Nigeria.

Delegates toured RRC’s Notre Dame and Exchange District Campuses on Tuesday, June 4. Among the visitors were representatives from the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) — the umbrella organization of employers in the organized private sector of Nigeria — and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), a federal parastatal under the Ministry of Industry that provides direct training, vocational and apprentice training, human resource development information, research and consultancy service to industry and senior government officials from Lagos State.

The group was accompanied by Jimmy Agbayani, Senior Program Officer, International Partnerships for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). During the visit, delegates and RRC officials explored a number of collaborative opportunities in the areas of Hospitality Management, Trades and Technology.

A heartfelt thank-you — and an equally heartfelt congratulations — to everyone who took part in Red River College’s entry in the 2013 Pride Winnipeg Parade on June 2.

Approximately 60 students and staff members, together with friends and family, donned bright red RRC t-shirts while walking the parade route in support of Manitoba’s LGBTT community.

As a result of their enthusiasm (and possibly all the free frisbees they handed out!), Red River College won the “Best Walking Group” award from Pride Parade organizers.

Click here to see a gallery of photos from the event.

Staff from Red River College took part in a pair of day-long workshops this week, to learn more about how Google technologies can support teaching and learning.

The Google Workshop for Educators sessions took place June 4 and 5, and focused on such Google Apps tools as Google+, Google Hangouts, Google Power Searching, Google Docs/Drive, Forms and Presentations, and Bloggers.

About 25 RRC staff took part in the June 5 workshop, which was hosted by Michael Wacker, a Google Certified Teacher and Certified Google Apps Trainer. The June 4 workshop was for external attendees — kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers from across Manitoba.

Participants will be expected to share their knowledge as mentors within their departments and to act as liaisons for training and support with the Centre for Teaching Excellence, Innovation and Research (TEIR).