UPEI men's hockey head coach Forbes MacPherson is pleased to announce that Jamie Blanchard will join the coaching staff as an assistant coach. Blanchard joins MacPherson, Kenny MacDougall, and former players Josh Patterson and Devan Praught behind the bench.

'Jamie brings a wealth of experience and professionalism to our program,' said MacPherson. 'He played five years of UPEI Panther hockey, and has maintained his connection to the program over the years. His support will help us go to the next level, especially with his expertise in goaltending.'

Blanchard is well-known in the hockey community having played minor hockey on various teams including: QMJHL Verdun Jr. Canadiens, Granby Bisons, UPEI Panthers, and the Maritime Senior Champions where he was awarded ‘Most Valuable Player' and ‘Top Goalie' honours.

'I am excited and proud to have the opportunity to join the UPEI men's hockey coaching staff,' said Blanchard. 'This is where I developed as a player and a coach in the 90s.'

Blanchard is no stranger to Panther Sport, having played UPEI hockey from 1988-2003, winning the AUAA banner in 1990-91. He was dubbed ‘Most Dedicated Panther' in 1993. Blanchard is also a well- respected goalie coach, having coached the UPEI men's hockey team from 1998-2002, and the UPEI women's hockey team since 2010. He was coach of the Charlottetown Abbies from 1997-2002 and the PEI Rocket from 2003-2012.

The UPEI men's hockey team begins their regular season on Friday, October 12, when they host rival Université de Moncton at 7:00 pm. Seasons seats are now on sale by visiting gopanthersgo.ca.

UPEI, along with the PEI Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the PEI Department of Health and Wellness, today released the results of the 2010-11 School Health Action Planning and Evaluation System (SHAPES-PEI) survey. SHAPES-PEI gathers information from students in grades 5 through 12 about healthy eating, physical activity, mental fitness, and tobacco use. This is the second release of data since SHAPES-PEI began in 2008.

'The impetus for SHAPES-PEI came years ago,' said Dr. Donna Murnaghan, principal investigator of SHAPES-PEI and associate professor of nursing at UPEI. 'We were being faced with startling statistics for obesity and physical activity levels in Island adults. We realized we were looking at the wrong end of the chain. We needed to start by examining the lifestyles and health of our youth.'

SHAPES-PEI provides a snapshot of the health behaviours of PEI students. Sterling Carruthers, school health specialist for the PEI Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, said it's important to not just look at physical activity and eating habits, but also mental fitness.

'Think of mental fitness as a tool to measure how a student feels about herself or himself,' said Carruthers. 'How is mental fitness related to health behaviours? We want to understand what makes students feel good about themselves, and how that contributes to healthy lifestyle choices.'

The UPEI Student Union Shinerama campaign is in full force, so far having raised $29,100 for cystic fibrosis (CF) research during New Student Orientation week activities. Activities are also planned for the coming months in hopes of matching or beating their fundraising goal of $30,000.

Mark Scott, UPEI Shinerama coordinator, said Shine Day went extremely well, with even the weather cooperating-this year was said to be the first nice Shine Day in four years. 'There were enthusiastic and spirited first-year students as well as leaders,' said Scott. 'Overall, the day was amazing, and I would like to thank everyone involved including our first-years, leaders, and sponsors.'

Shinerama is Canada's largest post-secondary fundraiser with over 60 university and college campuses taking part each year. UPEI joined more than 35,000 students across the country to raise awareness and funds for CF treatment and research. UPEI has been taking part in the national fundraiser since 1977 and is known for its successful Shinerama campaigns. In 2007, the University was awarded ‘best overall campaign' in Canada.

Stay tuned for UPEI Shinerama events taking place on campus. To find out how you can donate, contact Mark Scott, UPEI Shinerama Coordinator at (902) 626-8955 or mascott@upei.ca, or visit here!

Each week, we'll be asking students to submit a photo around a particular theme, and a guest judge (faculty or staff member) will select their favourite photo. The winning photographer will take home a prize. FUN!

You can submit your photo on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or by email. Just be sure to tag your image with #upeiphoto to have it entered in the contest!

Check out winning photos from Week 1 and Week 2. Check out this week's theme "Me and UPEI." Good luck to all entrants!

There are poets who capture the literary spotlight and wider public appreciation with poems that tap into compelling concerns of the day. And there are poets who book after book, with elegant artistry and eloquent sensibilities, steadily earn the admiration of peers and readers. Then there are such poets as Maureen Hynes and Ruth Roach Pierson who have done both. Hynes and Pierson will read from their new work on Monday, September 24, at 7:30 pm in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Ruth Roach Pierson published her first book of poems, Where No Window Was, after retiring from 31 years of teaching as a historian and feminist scholar at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and later at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. Her best-known scholarly publication is They're Still Women After All: The Second World War and Canadian Womanhood.

Pierson's second poetry book, Aide-Mémoire, a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, delves into the dangers and delights of growing older. There is the increasing unreliability of memory, but also the continuing pleasure and surprise to be found in nature and the arts, as well as the people, objects, and events from the past, aides-mémoire, binding us to the experience of 'now.'

Her new collection, Contrary, articulates the oppositional emotions connected with the loss of a loved one. While humour and fond remembrance permeate these poems, Contrary is also an unflinching portrayal of the emotional maelstrom that overtook the poet as she faced the dying and death of her only brother.

Maureen Hynes' new book, Marrow, Willow, is a joyful, personal look at the 'human project of mortality.' She tells us how she came into her own as a poet many years after abandoning earlier attempts. In a magazine interview, she speaks of the 'amazingly difficult challenge of discovering what you want to say,' and the 'equally joyous and felt-in-the-body pleasure of what language can do.'

Hynes' first book, Rough Skin, won the League of Canadian Poets' best first book award. Her other books are Letters from China and Harm's Way. Her work appears in Best Canadian Poetry 2010. She is on the board of MayWorks, Toronto's annual Festival of Working People and the Arts, and is poetry editor for Our Times magazine.

Their reading is sponsored by the UPEI English Department, with generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts. A reception and book signing will follow. Admission is free and all are welcome.

UPEI alumnus Jeff MacKenzie received top honours from Lancaster University earlier this month. The recent UPEI business graduate was awarded 'The Lancaster MBA Student of the Year,' 'The Most Useful Contributor to Class Discussions,' and 'The Most Respected Class Member for their Future Leadership Potential in Business.'

The University of Prince Edward Island signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) this week to formalize an agreement between UPEI's Faculty of Education and Advanced Knowledge Database (AKD) International Inc in China. The agreement will provide opportunities for education students to teach abroad in a K-12 school in China during a six-week practicum.

The agreement was signed by Miles Turnbull, UPEI's Dean of Education; Christian Lacroix, Interim Vice-President Academic; and Andy Truong, Executive Director, AKD International Inc.

'Today, we are very pleased to meet and work with representatives from AKD International in China,' said Lacroix. 'This MOU is an excellent opportunity for UPEI in many ways. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship.'

Turnbull agreed with Lacroix. 'The agreement will provide an excellent opportunity for education students who choose to complete a six-week practicum experience in a K-12 school operated by AKD International in China,' he said. 'International education and the opportunity to learn and teach in another country are key features of our teacher education program at UPEI. This opportunity in China will help us to expand horizons for future teachers who will graduate from UPEI.'

'Having the University of Prince Edward Island Faculty of Education interns on our campus in China will strengthen our pursuit for twenty-first century learning for our students,' said Truong. 'These quality UPEI interns will enhance their horizons for endless opportunity back in Canada or around the world. Classroom dynamics and geographics are ever changing and international experience will put these interns at an advantage.'

AKD is a parent company that operates 10 schools in China in the K-12 groups. It includes Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada, Anhui Concord College of Sino-Canada, and Concord College Sino-Canada in Shenzhen. AKD also collaborates with the University of New Brunswick, University of Alberta, and Crandall University.

On Friday, September 28, The UPEI Recital Series presents 'A Treasure of Trios' featuring members of the Island Camerata Players: Morgan Saulnier, flute; Natalie Williams Calhoun, cello; and Frances Gray, piano. The performance will take place in UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall at 7:30 pm. The trio will perform again on Sunday, September 30 at the Trinity United Church in Summerside, beginning at 3 pm.

The repertoire for this combination of three instruments includes an early work by a 13-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven which challenges the virtuosity of the players in its dazzling figurations and tour de force variations taken up by each instrument in turn. The second work entitled 'Aquarelles' by French composer Gaubert depicts three watercolours, the first suggesting a clear morning with ever-rippling arpeggios on the piano, perhaps reflecting sunlight on water, the second more tenderly evoking an evening in autumn, and the third conjuring up a serenade with a distinct Spanish flavor. The final work before intermission is a cheerful trio by the Czech composer, Martinu, who wrote this in the United States shortly after fleeing Europe during the Second World War. The slow movement, in contrast to the other ones, is more reflective with perhaps a hint of nostalgia for his homeland.

The second half of the program opens with a transcription of the beautiful and beloved impressionistic symphonic poem 'Afternoon of a Faun' by Claude Debussy. The concert comes to a close with a brilliant trio by early Romantic German composer, Carl Maria von Weber, who is perhaps best known for his influential operas.

This program gives the audience a rare opportunity to hear music composed or arranged for this particular ensemble. Saulnier is a versatile flutist who teaches the flute majors at UPEI and runs her own busy music studio. Calhoun is a respected teacher of strings and adjudicates for the Royal Conservatory of Toronto in addition to her role as administrator of the PEI Symphony. Gray has had a long association with UPEI as professor of piano and music theory. All three musicians perform in the PEI Symphony Orchestra. The players have been well-received on a number of occasions as a group and now come together for another great evening of chamber music.

Tickets are available at the door beginning at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. The Dr. Steel Recital Hall is wheel-chair accessible. For more information, please call (902) 566-0507. Tickets will be available at the door at 2:30 pm for Sunday's concert at Trinity United Church in Summerside.

Friday: