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ON THE ROCKS: Members of Jones team are home-schooling, Olympic-training moms a few weeks ahead of trip to Beijing

ON THE ROCKS: Members of Jones team are home-schooling, Olympic-training moms a few weeks ahead of trip to Beijing
Jennifer Jones makes a delivery during the Cooper Equipment Mixed Doubles Curling Classic on Dec. 10, 2021 at the Brant Curling Club in Brantford, Ont.
Jennifer Jones makes a delivery during the Cooper Equipment Mixed Doubles Curling Classic on Dec. 10, 2021 at the Brant Curling Club in Brantford, Ont. Photo by Brian Thompson /Post,edia Network files

At home, the days are spent home-schooling young children, who have been cooped up inside for the last month.

Outside the house, it’s like picking your way through a minefield, in order to do something as simple as going to the store.

A drive in the car, or a walk around the block, are highlights of the day.

How does that sound for people who are slated to represent Canada in the Olympics in three weeks?

“I’m a home-schooling, Olympic-training mom right now,” Canadian women’s curling skip Jennifer Jones said.

“But it’s good. You’re never gonna complain cause you’re going to the Olympics and how fortunate are we to have that opportunity. But you never thought this would be how you’d train to go to the Olympics. We haven’t played a competitive game since we won the Olympic trials.”

Jones, 47, will get together with teammates Kaitlyn Lawes, Jocelyn Peterman, Dawn McEwen and Lisa Weagle on Saturday in Ontario to start a bubbled training camp ahead of their appearance at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The team is due to fly out of Toronto on Feb. 3 and the women’s curling Olympic competition begins on Feb. 10.

The last month has looked like anything but Olympic training.

“My poor kids,” Jones said of daughters Isabella, 9, and Skyla, 5.

“They haven’t seen anybody since Dec. 17, when they were done school. Even when school is done here, they won’t go back. (Husband Brent Laing) is amazing, so I’ve got that, but we can’t even get anyone to babysit or help with that because we’re not seeing anybody.”

It’s the same situation at the McEwen house in Winnipeg, where Dawn and her husband Mike are dealing with a daughter (Vienna) who is currently being held out of Grade 1, not seeing any friends, getting her schooling from her parents.

“A lot of Olympian moms are doing bigger sacrifices to compete than they have ever been asked to do before,” Mike McEwen said.

Jones and Laing live in Horseshoe Valley, Ont., just north of Barrie. Curling clubs across Ontario are closed because of COVID-19 omicron outbreak, but an exception was made for athletes training for the Olympics. So she’s had to drive an hour each way each day in order to get on the ice at a club that was willing to open just for her and select teammates.

Because most of her teammates live in different provinces, they aren’t able to get together as a group to train until later this week.

Jones is looking at the positives of that situation.

“The one nice thing is it’s pretty focused,” she said. “We’re gonna be immersed in training right before the Olympics because we can’t see anybody else except each other.

“ I feel like we’ve come up with a really good training plan and we’re really happy with it and we’re all pretty excited.”

The Jones team, which represents the St. Vital Curling Club in Winnipeg, will open the Olympic tournament on Feb. 10 with a game against South Korea.

SCOTTIES UP IN AIR

While the Jones team, the Brad Gushue foursome out of Newfoundland and the Rachel Homan/John Morris mixed doubles team are all moving into training bubbles this week ahead of the Olympics, the rest of Canada’s curlers are waiting on pins and needles to see if the national championships can be played in the coming weeks and months.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is slated to start Jan. 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont., though Curling Canada is still working with Ontario Health to see if it can even happen amid current restrictions.

Curling Canada is working to establish a bubble-type setting for the Canadian women’s championship, much like it did for several big events in Calgary last year.

That would suggest there will be no fans at Fort William Gardens, curlers will be confined to their hotel rooms and the competition facility, and there will be rigorous testing for all involved.

Talks are proceeding this week, though the clock is clearly ticking, with the event slated to begin at the end of next week.

MISKEW MOVES UP

With Homan selected to represent Canada in mixed doubles curling at the Olympics, her four-player team has had to shuffle the deck ahead of the Scotties.

Emma Miskew, Homan’s long-time vice-skip, will move up and handle the skipping duties in Thunder Bay, while fifth player Allison Flaxey comes in at second and Sarah Wilkes moves from second to third.

The only player staying in her usual position is lead Joanne Courtney.

After the Scotties, Courtney will move into a different role, providing colour commentary during CBC’s coverage of the Olympics. She’ll be working with 1998 Olympic silver medallist Mike Harris and play-by-play man Bruce Rainnie.

ARSENAULT STILL AT IT

If the Scotties are pulled off, there will be an expanded 18-team field, with three wild card teams and no play-in game.

Mary-Anne Arsenault, 53, didn’t need to wait for the field expansion to get in.

A five-time Canadian champion with the Colleen Jones team out of Halifax, Arsenault has retired to the British Columbia interior, but hasn’t slowed down at all in terms of curling.

Arsenault won the B.C. women’s provincial title over a week ago, skipping a team that already included three world champions.

The foursome, with third Jeanna Schraeder, second Sasha Carter and lead Renee Simons, once played with skip Kelly Scott and won two Canadian titles (2006 and 2007) and a world championship (2007).

“It’s pretty exciting going back with this experienced team,” Arsenault said from her home in Lake Country, B.C.

“When I was first moving out to B.C., the rumour mill started churning and I got a number of e-mails, phone calls, looking for me to be on various teams. This was the only one that really caught my eye.

“I was contemplating hanging up the shoes, but when this opportunity presented itself I thought ‘OK, I’m gonna keep playing.’”

“It feels pretty great to win. You can’t ask for much more. The girls said afterward that they never thought they’d be going back to another Scotties, but here we are.”

This will be Scotties appearance No. 15 for Arsenault, though her first representing a province other than Nova Scotia.

“That’s gonna be weird,” she said.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman

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UNI football: Penning, Brinkman, Cook earn spots on AFCA FCS Coaches AA Team and Athlon FCS AA Team

UNI football: Penning, Brinkman, Cook earn spots on AFCA FCS Coaches AA Team and Athlon FCS AA Team

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Three Panthers earned spots on the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team, and two cracked the list for the Athlon FCS All-America Team.

Trevor Penning and Jared Brinkman were among those who made the Athlon FCS All-America Team, and the duo joined Matthew Cook on the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team. This is the second consecutive season for Brinkman earning the Athlon FCS All-America honor.

This is Penning’s fifth and sixth all-American teams. Penning has been named to HERO Sports’ FCS All-American First Team Offense, the 2021 Associated Press All-America Football Team, the FCS ADA Announces 2021 All-America Team and the Stats Perform FCS All-America Team.

Penning was the only offensive lineman to be named as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the national offensive player of the year in college football’s Division I subdivision. He was the first player to be invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He was part of an offensive line that allowed 36 sacks and a loss of 231 yards on the season and went 25-for-30 on red zone attempts-scores. He helped the team gain 1,686 rushing yards and 2,679 passing yards. Penning is from Clear Lake, Iowa, and majored in movement and exercise science. He is the son of Jeff and Teresa Penning. His brother, Jared, also plays on the UNI football team.

Brinkman is a two-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, having received his second consecutive honor this year. He was also named to the 2021 Associated Press All-America Team, the first team list for HERO Sports’ FCS All-American Team and the Stats Perform FCS Team. Brinkman notched 22 solo sacks and assisted on 51 this season. He has 15 tackles for a loss of 50 yards. He had 14 against South Dakota on Oct. 16. Brinkman forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. Brinkman is a senior majoring in physical education. He is a graduate of Regina High School in Iowa City, Iowa. He is the son of Mike and Carla Brinkman.

Cook is a placekicker out of Cedar Falls, Iowa. He also was named to the second team HERO Sports’ FCS All-American Team and the Stats Perform FCS Team. He was the only FCS player to notch two field goals beyond 50 yards in a single game the week he earned MVFC honors. He ranked first in MVFC and fourth in nation for field goal percentage with 90.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}. He was second in the MFVC and fourth in nation for field goals per game with 1.73. He was perfect on PATS on the season, going 22-22 and averages 58.3 yards on kickoff. Cook is the son of James and Cindy Cook. He is majoring in movement and exercise science.

 

Athlon Sports 2021 FCS Postseason All-America Team

OFFENSE
QB – Eric Barriere (6-1, 210, Sr.) Eastern Washington
QB – Cole Kelley (6-7, 245, Sr.) Southeastern Louisiana
RB – Quay Holmes (6-1, 220, Jr.) ETSU
RB – Pierre Strong Jr. (5-11, 205, Sr.) South Dakota State
WR – Xavier Gipson (5-9, 170, Jr.) Stephen F. Austin
WR – Tyler Hudson (6-2, 195, So.) Central Arkansas
TE – Tucker Kraft (6-5, 255, So.) South Dakota State
OL – P.J. Burkhalter (6-3, 330, Sr.) Nicholls
OL – Trevor Penning (6-7, 321, R-Jr.) Northern Iowa
OL – Cole Strange (6-6, 301, R-Sr.) Chattanooga
OL – Cordell Volson (6-7, 313, Sr.) North Dakota State
OL – Nick Zakelj (6-5, 325, Sr.) Fordham

DEFENSE

DL – Jared Brinkman (6-2, 290, R-Sr.) Northern Iowa

DL – Isaiah Chambers (6-5, 251, Grad) McNeese

DL – James Houston (6-1, 225, Sr.) Jackson State

DL – Isaiah Land (6-4, 215, R-Jr.) Florida A&M

LB – Troy Andersen (6-4, 235, Sr.) Montana State

LB – Patrick O’Connell (6-2, 225, R-Jr.) Montana

LB – Forrest Rhyne (6-1, 235, grad) Villanova

LB – Stone Snyder (6-3, 240, Jr.) VMI

DB – Markquese Bell (6-3, 205, R-Sr.) Florida A&M

DB – Christian Benford (6-1, 205, Sr.) Villanova

DB – Justin Ford (6-2, 190, R-Jr.) Montana

DB – Darius Joiner (6-2, 200, Sr.) Western Illinois

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Ethan Ratke (5-10, 186, R-Sr.) James Madison

P – Brian Buschini (6-0, 219, R-Fr.) Montana

LS – Kyle Davis (6-0, 219, R-Jr.) James Madison

KR – Rashid Shaheed (6-0, 180, Sr.) Weber State

PR – Warren Newman (5-8, 175, Sr.) Jackson State

AP – Montrell Washington (5-10, 170, Sr.) Samford

 

 

 

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Husband and wife team up to bring new physical fitness center to downtown Farmington

Husband and wife team up to bring new physical fitness center to downtown Farmington
Shaun Drone was around 40 years old when he decided it was time to make a change. An engineer and project manager in the automotive industry by day and a DJ whenever time allows, Shaun was also an athlete in college, having graduated from the University of Akron. But as his professional and family life progressed, Shaun admits that he may have let his athletic side slip a little.

A confluence of events not only got him back in shape, but on track to become an entrepreneur, too. Now Shaun and his wife Isabel are preparing the opening of their own F45 Training franchise in downtown Farmington, a new group training and fitness center on track to open in January 2022.

“This was my idea but she’s really the brains and motor pushing the ship,” Shaun Drone says of his wife, Isabel.“One day I saw a photo of myself with a belly sticking out and I said, that’s not the guy that played D1 basketball in college. I wanted to give horseback rides to my kids without my back hurting for two days after, to run around with them in the backyard for more than three minutes without getting winded,” Shaun says.

“I got motivated to get back in shape when I was around 40 years old and now I’m in the best shape of my life.”

It might be hard to believe that Shaun was ever out of shape, given his drive. In addition to his professional life in the automotive industry, where he’s currently a Project Chief at Stellantis, Shaun has run his own DJ business for well over a decade, providing music for events throughout the region. After being hired to DJ fitness classes at a different F45 Training location, the instructor told Shaun to put on a playlist and join the class.

The F45 fitness regimen utilizes both circuit- and HIIT-style workouts in team settings, with instructors, video screens, and energetic music combining to get the most out of a group, and all in relatively short amounts of time. In F45 Training, the “F” stands for functional; the goal is to burn 750 calories per 45-minute session.

It was such a positive experience for Shaun that he began researching franchise opportunities, leading him to building out a storefront in downtown Farmington.

“It’s all about balance, managing stress. We learned how important that was during the height of the pandemic,” Shaun says. “We want to be the foundation of a 360-approach, including mind, body, and spirit.”

Work is currently underway at their building in Farmington. Shaun hopes for a January 2022 opening date but, as he says, he doesn’t have a concrete date for opening because shipping companies don’t have concrete dates for delivery. Like many an industry, the materials and equipment he needs are caught up in the supply chain tie-ups currently gripping the country.

In the meantime, Shaun and his wife Isabel — “This was my idea but she’s really the brains and motor pushing the ship,” he says — are out and about downtown, performing community outreach, drumming up interest in their new venture. There was an initial event earlier this month and Shaun hopes for another around Thanksgiving. The partners in life and business are also reaching out to neighboring businesses, looking to form relationships with other business owners in the health and wellness industries.

It’s a lot to balance — family, work, music, starting a new business — but physical fitness has helped with that, too.

“My children are what motivate me,” Shaun says. “In order to operate optimally mentally, you have to be operating optimally physically.”

Visit F45 Training online for the latest updates on their build-out, forthcoming opening, membership info, and more.

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A Principal’s Award for the Remote Learning Assistant Program Team

A Principal’s Award for the Remote Learning Assistant Program Team
Members of the Remote Learning Assistant Program Team (top, l to r): Maggie Lattuca, Sandrine Hoindo-Donkpegan, Linda Webb and Darlene Hnatchuk. (Bottom, l to r): Amelia Stone, Nancy St-Pierre and Cara Piperni

When the world was hit with the initial surge of COVID-19 back in early 2020, educational institutions around the world scrambled in order not to lose the year. While the McGill community transitioned admirably to complete the 2019-2020 academic year by adopting alternative methods of teaching, it was clear that a lot more support would be necessary to sustain alternative teaching methods over the course of a full year.

Enter the Remote Learning Assistant Program Team.

Assembled in July 2020, the Team was given the mandate to design, implement, and support a program in which some 300 students were hired, trained, and deployed to support instructors with the technical aspects of remote teaching over the course of the 2020-2021 academic year. The project was so successful that the Team has been named winner of the Principal’s Awards for Administrative and Support Staff in the Team category.

The eight-person Team was comprised of the following members from Teaching and Learning Services; Career Planning Service; and the Scholarships & Student Aid Office:

  • Maggie Lattuca (Teaching and Learning Services)
  • Nancy St-Pierre (Teaching and Learning Services)
  • Sandrine Hoindo-Donkpegan (Teaching and Learning Services)
  • Sydnee Goodrich (Teaching and Learning Services)
  • Darlene Hnatchuk (Student Services)
  • Cara Piperni (Student Services)
  • Amelia Slone (Student Services)
  • Linda Webb (Office of Student Life and Learning)

Seamless collaboration

It is impressive, some would say remarkable, that this relatively small team could spearhead such an ambitious and impactful initiative in such a short period of time – and with such resounding success.

“Simply, each member of the team brought their expertise and was driven by the goal to improve the teaching and learning experience in a remote context,” says Maggie Lattuca, Manager – Online Programs Portfolio, Teaching and Learning Services. “The collaboration between units was seamless. Team members put in extra hours to get the initiative in place.”

It was a classic win-win situation, in which instructors received much-needed technical help and students, many of whom were without a job because of COVID-19 lockdowns, were gainfully employed again.

“As a team we applied for and received over a half-million dollars in federal wage subsidies by way of the TECHNATION Career Ready Program,” says Lattuca. “This, combined with McGill’s need-based Work Study Program, significantly reduced the cost of hiring remote learning assistants (RLAs).”

Not only were the student RLAs provided with much-welcomed income, the work experience gave them transferable skills. The program was designed to provide both domestic and international students employment and co-curricular work integrated learning opportunities.

“A Community of Practice group was created for the RLAs and TLS Teaching Technology Consultants within the myCourses platform to allow them to share best practices and resources, pose questions, and ask for guidance,” says Lattuca. “RLAs were also required to complete weekly reflections on their work experience. One of the most common reflections was that they found satisfaction in assisting instructors and students, and appreciated learning about what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ in planning course lectures and materials.”

Resounding buy-in across McGill

As demanding as the initiative was, Lattuca says it was inspiring to see how the McGill community responded.

“The Faculties were on board immediately,” she says. “Everyone saw the value of assisting instructors who had pivot their teaching style, often using technology they had never had opportunity to use.”

“The positive feedback we received from instructors and Faculties was gratifying,” she says. “We learned about the commitment of McGill instructors to provide students with the best possible learning experiences given the constraints of the COVID context. We learned about multiple creative strategies instructors used to create opportunities for student engagement. We learned about the value to students of gaining insights into the process of teaching and learning. And we learned about the power of collaboration when everyone is focused on the same goal – helping instructors and students.”

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Andre Wright joins MGT Consulting’s education solutions team

Andre Wright joins MGT Consulting’s education solutions team

Andre Wright, an knowledgeable administrator and educator, has joined the instruction options follow of MGT Consulting, a Tampa, FL-headquartered general public sector administration consultancy. He joins the firm’s Denver place of work as a senior vice president.

Wright will use his expertise in turning all-around having difficulties colleges to help universities and university districts in Colorado and throughout the region. His consulting function will concentrate on Adams County College District 14, which serves Commerce Metropolis, just north of downtown Denver. The college district has extra than 7,500 K-12 college students.

Wright replaces Harry Bull, the 2017 Superintendent of the Calendar year in Colorado, who is retiring right after overseeing MGT’s do the job with Adams 14 since 2019. More than the very last two yrs, Adams 14 has recognized increased graduation rates, decreased dropout fees, and more prospects for pupils studying English, according to a release from MGT.

Wright delivers more than 20 many years of practical experience in the schooling sector. He used the final seven years at Aurora Community Faculties, the place he was latterly main educational officer and oversaw various university student accomplishment gains, including enhanced graduation fees and Colorado District Efficiency Framework scores.

Andre Wright joins MGT Consulting's education solutions team

Right before that, Wright put in seven yrs at Fulton County Universities, Georgia, the place he was principal of Woodland Center School and then space govt director of the faculty system’s Northeast Studying Community, supporting 22 colleges in the locations of curriculum, operations, HR, among the some others.

Prior to that, he was an assistant principal in the Dekalb County School Method and a middle university language arts teacher. Prior to moving into the education field, Wright labored in monetary expert services, serving as a branch manager and banking officer at BankSouth.

He retains a learn of instruction in instructional administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial College and a bachelor’s diploma in enterprise administration from Covenant Faculty.

“Andre is a visionary chief with a thoughtful tactic to education innovation, engagement, and tradition,” Trey Traviesa, chairman and CEO of MGT Consulting Team, mentioned. “He is specifically the proper individual to build on the progress in Adams 14 and position the district for lengthy-phrase sustainability and ongoing student and loved ones achievement.”

MGT’s training remedies exercise supports K-12 and bigger education and learning purchasers with consulting products and services in large-scale turnaround, operations functionality, strategic arranging & implementation, educational plan assessments & improvement designs, and services learn setting up. The practice’s consultants contain former point out instruction commissioners, district superintendents, university board users, principals, and instructors, as well as organizational transformation professionals.

“I know from my decades of expertise that turning all around universities and district that have struggled for a long time is no quick feat, and there are no silver bullets, but I also know it is probable. Impactful understanding is not just tutorial but is also culturally responsive and rooted in equitable methods to wellness,” Wright mentioned. “I appear forward to working with college students, households, and workers in Adams 14 and further than.”

MGT supports instructional customers and point out and nearby governments with providers in finance (such as charge-of-company assessment and income recovery), organizational overview and advancement, range, equity & inclusion (DEI), and cybersecurity. The company has a lot more than 200 employees across 14 workplaces nationwide.