Contents:
1. Health & Dental Insurance: Blackout Period & Refund Cheques
2. Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Ad Hoc Committee Meeting: Wed Oct 9, 1-3pm
3. International Students Caucus (ISC) Social Event for Nuit Blanche: Sat Oct 5, 7-11pm
4. UTGSU Handbooks/Agendas
5. Harvest Noon Canning Series: Tues Oct 8th & 15, 6-9pm
6. Permanent Residency (PR) Information Sessions
7. Life Management Series: Stress Management for Student Parents: Thur Oct 10, 12-1:30pm
8. Science for Peace Lectures: Oct 10 & 17, 7-9pm
9. Myplanet Digital Info Session: Thurs Oct 10, 4:30-6pm
10. Special Reduced Rates for Students at HealthAchieve: Nov. 4-6
11. Management Consulting: the Career and the Transition: Thurs Oct 17, 6-7:30pm

1. Health & Dental Insurance: Blackout Period & Refund Cheques

If you are a first-year student, a student returning from a leave of absence or part-time studies, or a student who opted out of the Plan last year, please note that there is a blackout period from September to November. Although your coverage begins September 1, the insurance provider will not have your information until the middle of November. Until this time, your account with Green Shield will not be activated; claims (electronic or written) cannot be processed/reimbursed and you will not be able to register for an online Green Shield account. If you make purchases or receive treatments covered under the Plan during this period, please keep all of your receipts for submission with a completed claim form.

If you opted out during the opt out period, you will receive a full refund, however, it is divided into two installments. The first installment cheque will be mailed to you in November. The second installment will be mailed to you in March after Studentcare will receive the list of students registered for the Winter. You DO NOT need to opt out again in January.

Information about the UTGSU Health and Dental Plan can also be found online at www.ihaveaplan.ca or at www.utgsu.ca/health.

2. Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Ad Hoc Committee Meeting: Wed Oct 9, 1-3pm

At the UTGSU Annual General Meeting last December, our membership approved a motion to call on the University of Toronto to refrain from investing in companies that are complicit in violations of international law, including companies which benefit from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. In order to move forward with this motion, a BDS Ad Hoc Committee has been established and our first meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 9th from 1-3 pm at the UTGSU Executive office (16 Bancroft Ave.). Please join this committee if you are interested in carrying forward the mandate of this motion. For more information or if you are interested in joining the committee but cannot attend this meeting, please email Susanne Waldorf, Civics and Environment Commissioner, at civics@utgsu.ca.

3. International Students Caucus (ISC) Social Event for Nuit Blanche: Sat Oct 5, 7-11pm

Are you an international graduate student? Are you interested in socializing with other graduate students and seeing some cool art, too?  Please join us for our first ISC social event of the year!  This event will be taking place on October 5th from 7-11 PM.  We will be touring around the city’s downtown core as part of “Nuit Blanche” (an all-night contemporary art event: www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca). We will meet at OCAD University at 7 PM (100 McCaul Street) and will then walk around the various exhibits for a few hours (until about 11 PM).  This is an excellent opportunity to meet other students, check out some amazing artwork, and see the city!  If you would like to join us, please RSVP to yanshan.cao@mail.utoronto.ca!

4. UTGSU Handbooks/Agendas

There are still a few UTGSU hanbooks/agendas left. Drop by at the UTGSU offices (16 Bancroft Ave, basement) and pick one up!

5. Harvest Noon Canning Series: Tues Oct 8th & 15, 6-9pm

What time is it? Canning time! Soon it will be winter and all the amazing local produce will be gone…unless we can it now! Harvest Noon is hosting a canning workshop series and our next workshops are Tomato Sauce on October 8th and Fruit Chutney on October 15th. We’ll go over safe canning procedures, talk about equipment, and actually make stuff. Bring a glass mason jar with a lid to take home samples. Cost $10 for Harvest Noon/UTGSU members with PWYC spaces available. Please sign up for each workshop separately: Tomato Sauce – http://bit.ly/18pDxPD // Fruit Chutney –  http://bit.ly/1bFTSEI

Tuesday October 8th and 15th, from 6-9pm, at Harvest Noon Cafe (upstairs at UTGSU, 16 Bancroft Ave). Facebook event: http://on.fb.me/1gbb2up.

6. Permanent Residency (PR) Information Sessions

Are you an international student interested in applying for permanent residency in Canada? Staff members from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC: www.cic.gc.ca) and Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI: www.ontarioimmigration.ca) will be on all three campuses for information sessions.

Please see the Permanent Residency Information Session posting (http://bit.ly/GD3qTg) for detailed information regarding times, registration and how to prepare for the session.

7. Life Management Series: Stress Management for Student Parents: Thur Oct 10, 12-1:30pm

An interactive session where students will have an opportunity to learn about common parenting stressors, explore various stress management tools they can use in everyday life, and discuss the impact these changes might have on their family. Uncover your communication style, sharpen your organizational skills, improve your time management techniques, and gain new awareness of how to get your needs met.

Thursday, October 10, from 12 to 1:30pm, 214 College room 103. All University of Toronto students and postdoctoral fellows are welcome. Vegetarian lunch available. Registration required at www.familycare.utoronto.ca/events.

8. Science for Peace Lectures: Oct 10 & 17, 7-9pm

Join us for a free public lecture by Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon, Professor Emerita of Political Science at University of Western Ontario on Neither Conflict nor “Use it or Lose it”: Canada’s Arctic Extended Continental Shelf. Thursday October 10th, from 7 to 9pm, in room 179 at University College (15 King’s College Circle). More information at: www.scienceforpeace.ca.

Join us for a free public lecture by Dr. Dennis Magill on Building A Dream: Advocacy and Affordable Housing. Thursday October 17th, from 7 to 9pm, in room 179 at University College (15 King’s College Circle). More information at: www.scienceforpeace.ca.

9. Myplanet Digital Info Session: Thurs Oct 10, 4:30-6pm

UofTAIS (Association for Information Systems) will be hosting an info session with Myplanet Digital (www.myplanetdigital.com), a user experience design and development agency, is offering a paid Fellowship program for students interested in Interaction Design (IxD), Content Strategy, Product Development, web/mobile development, starting in January 2014. Learn more about the fellowship program and other opportunities with Myplanet Digital.

Thursday, October 10, from 4:30 to 6pm, at 140 St. George Street Room 507. For more information contact us at ais.ischool@utoronto.ca.

10. Special Reduced Rates for Students at HealthAchieve: Nov. 4-6

HealthAchieve is one of the largest and most prestigious health care events in North America and is the perfect opportunity for future leaders to learn, share and network with some of the best and brightest health care and business leaders.

November 4, 5 & 6. Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Student Rate (Full-time university and college): $40. This entitles students to attend all three days of the event and access all educational sessions (except ticketed events) and HealthAchieve’s award-winning exhibit floor.

Register online (www.microspec.com/reg/OHA2013) and select “Full-Time Student” to receive this promotion. Please note, valid student identification is required to receive your name badge onsite. www.healthachieve.com.