VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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Vancouver
College of
Massage
Therapy
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
IN THIS ISSUE
It’s been a year already!
What a year!
Do you know why a car’s windshield
is so large and the rear view mirror
is so small? Because our past is
important but not as important as
our future!
When this school opened in June of
2006 …eight years ago … it was
called Utopia Academy and was
owned by a group that also owned
and operated the Spa Utopia
Locations with which I am sure
everyone is familiar.
In July 2013, Levi and Lorel
Giesbrecht-part of the founding
group-made the decision to take
ownership and name the Vancouver
Campus Vancouver College of
Massage Therapy of Utopia
Academy (VCMT of UA) as sole
owners.
Academic Achievements
Check out what students really rocked their last term!
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We are now thriving as a College as
Levi and Lorel have taken their vision
to the next level. We are all invited
along for the ride and as I said … the
past is important, but not near as
important as the future …
New Beginnings
We would love to extend a heartfelt
welcome to new Full-Time and PartTime starts! It is always wonderful to
have new faces in the hallways. We
look forward to celebrating your
successes with you, and working
through your hardships.
Check out what’s happening around
the VCMT campus in our Newsletter!
Are you a staff member or student
$1000 Refer-a-Friend Reward
that has something to say in our next Want to know how to earn a $1000 gift from VCMT?
issue? Send your ideas, pictures, or
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write-ups to rleduc@vcmt.ca to have
your work featured.
VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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Academic
Achievements
A congratulations is most definitely in order
for the students who completed their courses
with a 90%+ average.
Level 100 – Synergy
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Andrea Sinhuber
Colin McDonald
Felicity Heaslip
Hahle Dunn
Janelle Smithson
Katherine Batho
Nicole Coatta
Roger Yip
Level 200 – Palp Friction
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Alison Nowak
Chloe Burlo
Doreen (Dee) Ross
Laresa Czervenatis
Sharla Sauder
Thomas Williams
Stan Fedorchenko
Danica Lebel
Level 300 – Thoracic Park
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Kaela Large
Jennifer Webber
Level 400 – Super Nova Sparkle Ponies
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Allison Seidel
Chung-Thanh Luc
Han (Nancy) Ngo
Jaime Paquette
Katrina Milette
Reianna Fortier
Yung Chung (Dan)Tien
Mariam Walizada
Level 600 PT – Lacuna
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Ian Dalziel
Jaclynn Cottrell
Heather Pietersma
Level 200 PT – Palpation Nation
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Drahomira (Dada) Palesova
Rebekka Brandli
Nicole Yuen
Miyuki Numata
Mila Clarke
Level 500 – Ohana
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Adele Wong
Lisa McReynolds
Hello to New Staff and
Congratulations to Current Staff!
Congratulations to Christine Baseden on
Baby Girl Isley Jackson and to Karen Ostig on
baby boy Finn Norman James Ostig!!!
This Year has already brought some
exciting changes to the VCMT team!
Raeanne Leduc, is the new face in
the Admissions office. She is in
charge of our Marketing and Student
Services (a.k.a., blogger, social
media girl). Britney Kirton is the
new face in the clinic. She is our new
Program Administrator/Clinic
Reception.
We also have some brand new staff
members joining us! Please give a
warm welcome to the following
individuals when you eventually
meet them in upcoming weeks:
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Raeanne LeDuc
Britney Kirton
Stephania Johnson
Mark Golin
Tim Hunt
Jessica Hutson
Carolyn Roper
Jaimie Ackerman
Di Adams
Richard Hawes
Desiree Taylor
David Hubenig
Kaleb Falk
Kimen Petersen
Welcome back Carol Wong, Jody
Tennent and John Dang
VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM!
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Joey Lattanzio
One of our Instructors is
doing amazing things!
Sears National Kids
Cancer Ride.
Keep on Top of Social Media
Be sure to check out Twitter (@lifeatvcmt), Instagram
(lifeatvcmt) and search us on Facebook!
Campus Swag Coming Soon
Stay tuned!!! A great “design” contest will be happening
soon. Where are all my artists?
Joey Lattanzio cycled across the
country as mechanic, RMT and
rider for the Sears National Kids
Cancer Ride. 7000 km to bring
awareness to communities and
support children living with and
beyond cancer.
Way to Go!!!
Great Cause!
$430 raised for VCMT to
donate to a student!
VCMT instructor Michael Wiebe
and former student Ed Wong
Edmund T Wong RMT, Pacific Spirit Massage
in Vancouver and Michael Wiebe RMT,
Fuscaldo Total Health in New Westminster
Hmmmmmm…….
Joey drying off after the water fight at Sports
Day….Who’s fault was this???
These amazing RMTs provided massage
treatments at the Vancouver Pride Festival in
August for donations and were able to raise
$435.00 for a Scholarship fund that was given
to a student to use towards tutoring.
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VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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VCMT Heart
Award
Completing the Massage Therapy
program at VCMT takes an immense
amount of hard work, time, selfcare, and perseverance. We had the
great honor of congratulating the
most recent graduating class:
Ohana.
That being said, VCMT would also
like to recognize a fantastic student
from Ohana who went above and
beyond. The VCMT Heart Award is
awarded to individuals who
consistently maintain a positive
attitude and professional demeanour
throughout their time here.
Congratulations, Dinyar Mistry!
You have shown great care and
compassion for all of your clients and
have been a team player that helps
staff and classmates alike. Thank
you for being so caring and
compassionate!
Case Study Winners
1ST PLACE – BROOKE RULE
The Effects of joint mobilizations on treating chronic instability following an inversion sprain: A case study
2ND PLACE – MICHELLE RANGE
Swedish massage performed to the abdomen of a subject with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
3RD PLACE – RYZANNE LAROCO
Effects of massage therapy on functional scoliosis, thoracic range of motion and shoulder pain: a case study
VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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NEW FACES AROUND CAMPUS!
Congratulations to one of our
instructors Barb Tyers!!! She
recently participated in the Grand
Fondo, Whistler. Some of our
students were able to treat many
athletes at the recovery tent!!
Great job everyone!!!
New 100’s PT “Carpal Diem”
Please welcome our new PT 100's to VCMT.
They have chosen Carpal Diem as their class
name. Seize the Day with these guys! When
you see these friendly students in the
hallways and lunchroom, please say hi and
share your insights with them. Thank you
everyone!
Remember when you were in
your first few days?
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Smile and say hello…
New 100’s FT “LOKAHI”
Please welcome our new FT 100's to
VCMT. They have chosen the Hawaiian word
Lokahi (pronounced Lo-Ka-Hee) as their class
name. Lokahi has roots in balance, harmony,
mind, body and soul. What an awesome
name! Welcome these new students to
campus when you see them in the
hallways. Share some funny stories and
secrets to success in studying.
Your wisdom and knowledge are
much appreciated. Recall your first
days of Level 100 and the uneasy
feelings of anxiety stirring in your
stomach from everything anew and
making new friends. ProviteraMcGlynn (2001) states “Most
students come to the first class
feeling some level of anxiety, and
studies show that two of their
greatest concerns are whether they
will like the teacher and how well
they will get along with their fellow
students. The first days of the
academic term set the tone for the
remaining weeks of the semester, so
VCMT instructors make every effort
to foster a sense of community right
from the very start”. Social
icebreakers warm up the class
(http://604talesofteaching.wordpres
s.com/2014/09/16/socialicebreakers-warm-up-the-class/).
Reference: Provitera-McGlynn, A.
(2001). Successful beginnings for
college teaching:
Engaging your
students from the first day. Madison,
WI: Atwood.
Language in the Hallways &
Clinic
While the atmosphere at VCMT is
casual, warm and friendly, we need
to be aware of how we speak and
present ourselves in the public eye.
Even when you are not on shift in the
clinic, it is important to control your
volume, the topic and the language
you are using. Remember that you
are in the presence of future clients!
Thanks Tia Ramos for writing about our new
students and for providing great words of
wisdom!!!
VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Did you know about
#blogmonday? Every Monday
From the Desk of Sugar Rae.
Rae writes blogs and places it on
our website www.vcmt.ca Check
out PAGE 7 for the latest blog
Halloween Party!!!
Start planning your “class” Halloween costumes….
Remember to dress “appropriate”, as you still have to
follow the dress code and be presentable in clinic.
It’s important to eat healthy,
especially as a student!
Is Low Carb Good? Can we get
too much or too little glucose?
Glucose has three main uses:
Summit Outreach Donation
Student, Francis Tsai, has generously donated two
massage chairs to The Summit, an inclusive Recreation
and Education Centre for people with special needs
1. It combines with proteins to
form necessary structural
molecules, like hyaleron for
example, which gives our
skin suppleness.
2. It is an alternative fuel that
cells burn instead of fat.
3. It is a precursor for killing
compounds made by
immune cells (ROS- reactive
oxygen species)’
This means it’s essential, but if
we get too much, we accumulate
fat and we cause toxic damage
to cells by an over active
immune system. Optimal levels
are between about 100 to 160
grams daily. From THE PERFECT
HEALTH DIET by Dr. Paul
Jaminet and Dr. Shou-Ching
Jaminet.
Written by Kurt Luzny
Chief Sweat Motivator / Fitness Artist
604 327 5453
55 East Cordova Street, Gastown
VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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If the world didn't suck,
we would all fall off.
How many times have you heard the expression ‘well that really sucks’ referring to something
bad that has just happened? Those words have taken on universal meaning referring to
negative events that act as a sort of cosmic quicksand or mire that yanks you out of your
comfort zone without a moment’s hesitation.
As a very small girl I was fascinated by gravity. Why could flies crawl across the ceiling when my
feet always stayed firmly planted on the ground? As I grew older my fascination became
focused on finding practical solutions to more realistic problems. As my quest for solutions
grew, so did the realization that there were many issues that simply confounded me. Then one
day I heard a friends teenage son mutter to himself, “well that really sucks”, while staring under
the hood of his stalled old clunker.
It was then I made a strange connection between gravity and things that go wrong. In the same
manner that we can make the force of gravity work for us, I decided to try to do the same thing
with some of the negative curves that life threw me. I realized that personal growth arises from
struggling with and adapting to difficult life events. Many times in life, I have witnessed
firsthand growth of character following major problems. I soon realized that by using the ‘that
sucks’ event as a vehicle to find coping possibilities, I increased my chances for a positive, rather
than a negative outcome to my situation.
In other words I began to allow my trials, my tribulations and my failures to become
opportunities for growth. Each of us is different. Each of us has our own ‘flourish or founder’
reaction to a stressful event. However, not all stressed individuals experience post-traumatic
growth.
Not everyone finds it easy to discover the diamond hidden inside the lump of coal. Unlike the
little girl, gleefully rummaging through the box of manure she received for Christmas exclaiming
‘I just know there is a pony in here somewhere’, some of us are not naturally optimistic. Just
remember that it is perfectly acceptable to assert your ‘average-ness’ and it is perfectly
acceptable to be unable to grow from every ‘life sucks’ experience.
I hope that my thoughts relating to the principles of gravity help you to strive to find the ‘pony in
there somewhere’ the next time you are dealt a losing hand.
I repeat my flippant observation ... ‘If the world didn't suck, we would all fall off`.
... until next time ... ... We are family ... We are community ... We are life ...
From the Desk of Sugar Rae
VANCOUVER COLLEGE OF MASSAGE THERAPY
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Bring a Friend to VCMT
Do you know a friend, family member, or acquaintance who may be interested in
becoming an RMT? Why not bring them with you to VCMT for a day to see what it
would be like to join the massage therapy program!
You can contact Jacqueline Harris at jacq.harris@vcmt.ca for more details and to
put us into contact with your friend!
Want to Earn $1000 for Referring a Friend?
You read right. Staff, students and alumni now have the
opportunity to earn $1000 when they bring a successful referral
candidate to us. Email rleduc@vcmt.ca for more details.
We often hear from our new students that they were referred to
our school from our students and alumni. We would like to thank
you for all of your kind words and recommendations by
implementing this new Referral Reward Program!
We believe that word of mouth is a powerful tool in promoting our program and in finding
individuals who will contribute positively to the College and to the RMT profession. When you
refer a successful candidate to the VCMT Massage Therapy Program, you will receive a $1000
reward for your wonderful efforts.
A successful candidate is one who becomes approved, registers, and continues in the program
for a specified amount of time.
For more details, please contact Jacqueline Harris at jacq.harris@vcmt.ca or Raeanne LeDuc at
rleduc@vcmt.ca
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