YFC Employment- Sept 2009

The Fairfield Community Association is seeking qualified candidates for 2 Youth and Family Counsellor positions: Shoreline Middle School (.55 FTE) and George Jay Elementary (1 FTE- Family Liaison worker). The successful candidates will have experience working with families and children or youth, be able to work as a team member within the school system, be knowledgeable about community resources, able to do outreach, and have a CYC, SW Degree or related degree. State preferred setting in cover letter.

Links to Job Descriptions:

Shoreline Middle School Job Description  (Youth & Family Counsellor)
Central Middle School Job Description (Youth & Family Counsellor)

For more information also see www.fairfieldcommunity.ca

Please submit your cover letter and resume by email with the subject line reading: Employment. You may drop your resume off in person at The Fairfield Community Place between the hours of 10:00-3:00 Monday-Friday.

Fairfield Community Association,
Attn: Joan Kotarski
1330 Fairfield Road
Victoria, BC, V8S 5J1
Tel: 250-382-4604
Fax: 250-382-4613
or email place@fairfieldcommunity.ca

Artemis Place, a small and powerful girls’ alternative program, is seeking a youth counsellor to begin August 24, 32 hrs/wk. The ideal candidate will have a CYC/SW/Counselling degree or related training, demonstrated skills in individual counselling and life skills group facilitation, and 3 years experience with at-risk adolescents. Please reply by June 22 to vsea@telus.net or fax (250) 388-9153.

Please see the job description and frequently asked questions about our program.

Thanks, and please pass this on to anyone you think might be a good match for a counselling position in this amazing program!

Lisa Ellis
Executive Director,
Artemis Options Society
Artemis Place: Integrated Life Skills and Academics for Girls
Options Child and Family Centre
Phone: (250) 598-5183
Fax: (250) 388-9153
http://www.artemisplace.org

As we continue to support students and their families through these last twenty nine days of school (whose counting anyway?), several things come to mind:

One...keep breathing!
Two...our next meeting will be held May 20 th at SJ Willis
Three...REPORTS- Our year end reports are due to our agencies by June 19th at the latest. For those of us who are not waiting on final exam marks, we can hand over our reports in earlier.
Four... our final meeting- where do we want to meet to celebrate our end of year?

See you in the halls!




Mitchel Plessis
Youth and Family Counsellor
Lansdowne Middle School
250 598-3336 ext 233

Congratulations to our newly appointed President: Mitchel du Plessis


At our Annual General meeting held in November, Mitchel was elected as President of our Association. Mitchel is a passionate advocate of vulnerable children and families and works colloboratively to improve the quality of their lives. Her thoughful, respectful manner and professional integrity will be of tremendous value to our Association. As I move to my new role as Past President, I would like to thank our membership for their support, especially to those who have volunteered on various committees.

Sincerely,

Lisa Roy

Welcome back to the YFCs returning to their familiar schools. We have an opportunity to enrich our membership through YFCs that are new to previously funded positions as well as the courageous YFCs that are developing connections with school communities that have not previously worked with YFCs as part of their student services team.

As many of you are aware, we are in the process of completing the final year of our contractual arrangement with the District. Within our membership, we may want to make recommendations regarding the conditions of our employment that could be incorporated into a proposal.

On November 19th, 2006, our Annual General Meeting will be taking place at SJ Willis School. At this meeting, a new executive will be elected including the positions of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and Member at Large. If you would like to nominate someone (including yourself) please contact Anne Field at afield@sd61.bc.ca/250-388-5456. Please pay your membership fee of $30.00 to Kathie Cross at Central Middle School prior to the Annual General Meeting.

Anne Field and Kathie Cross are available to provide training with regards to the required Interim Report and Year End Report. I have heard some wonderful suggestions regarding a lending library resource for YFCs and organizing another professional workshop. Perhaps these initiatives could be explored further in specific working groups. Looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming meetings.

Sincerely,

President S.V.I. School-Based Youth & Family Counselling Association

The end of the 2007-2008 school year is fast approaching. Our final statistical information will be collected and will capture the nature of the support and counseling services we provide to children/youth and their families.

Our schools have had the opportunity to meet some of the new incoming students and Youth and Family Counsellors are participating in meetings to ensure that ‘vulnerable’ students continue to receive support in their new school settings.

For the 2008-2009 school year, there appears to be both increases and decreases in the number of hours allocated for YFC services within the district. One of the presenting challenges surrounding community link funding involves the formula used by the Ministry of Education in identifying ‘vulnerable’ students. Some members of our Association have expressed a willingness to explore developing a framework that effectively reveals the diverse needs of students and their families.

During the 2008-2009 school year, we will be completing the third year of our contractual arrangement between the district and our service providers. Initiatives that promote and strengthen the community’s understanding of Youth and Family Counsellors’ roles and responsibilities are particularly valuable during this time.

I hope that you and your loved ones enjoy a wonderful summer!!



Sincerely,

Lisa Roy
President
S.V.I. School-Based Youth and Family Counselling Association

It is hard to believe that we are are already in the second month of the new year. We seem to move quickly, sometimes frantically, through the school year and fortunately each of these days provides us with unpredictable challenges in our work with children and their families.

Hopefully, our most recently revised excel template simplified the process of collecting statistical information and consolidating it into the Interim report. If you have any suggestions for improving this format, please email me.

At our January’s Association meeting, Lisa Hanson provided a wealth of information regarding the advocacy, support and networking services of the F.O.R.C.E. for children, youth and family experiencing mental health issues.

Over the next couple of months, we can look forward to working with members from the district regarding the ‘Challenge Day’ Initiative. Also, members of our various working committees will be reconvening to continue enhancing our documentation and accountability measures, professional development and direct services to children, youth and their families.

Sincerely,