Community Education and Training courses

This course is a must for kitchen staff and dining room attendants and worthwhile for anyone who handles food. You will learn about:

  • illnesses
  • personal hygiene and health
  • serving food
  • food protection and preparation
  • receiving and storing food safely
  • ware washing and storage methods

Students must attend all class hours.

Textbook and certificate are included in the cost of tuition. Certificate issued by Vancouver Coastal Health.

Course code: QFOO 001 S23R70
Instructor: Michael Nguyen

1 session
Saturday, March 4 | 9 am–4 pm

Fee: $99 + $30 lab fee
Pre-registration required by Friday, February 17, 2023

Register for FoodSafe Level 1

This course is designed to prepare you for the on-highway air brake endorsement (Code 15). It is also required if you want to drive an RV, small truck or bus with air brakes. The primary purpose of the course is to build, demonstrate and test a modern air brake system, giving students an interactive experience and clear understanding of how the system works with the audio and visual aid of a fully functional air brake board. You will learn the benefits and safety measures air brakes provide for heavy vehicles. This course includes eight (8) hours of theory, four (4) hours of practical training and a pre-trip vehicle inspection.

Prerequisite: A valid BC driver's license (minimum "N").

If you want to pre-read, you should pick up the "Driving Commercial Vehicles" Manual from any ICBC or local driver's license office and skim chapters 8 and 9.

Please note: Successful participants must pass a written exam, taken at the driver's licensing office, and qualify on the practical Air Brake Pre-Trip exam, conducted on-site on the last day of the course. The ICBC exam must be written within 90 days of course completion, resulting in Air-Brake Endorsement on your current class of license. The ICBC exam fee is not included in the price of the course.

Course code: QAIR 002 I23R70
Instructor: 1st Class Driving School

2 sessions
Friday, April 14 | 6–10 pm
Saturday, April 15 | 8 am–4 pm

Fee: $490 + GST

Register for ICBC Certified Air Brakes course

The Yoga for Healthy Movement program welcomes people of all ages and experience levels. Each class will be a gentle practice, with a focus on deep relaxation, body awareness and movement paired with the breath to support our natural range of motion. We look forward to seeing you on the mat!

NOTE: Please bring a water bottle, a small blanket or towel and a yoga mat. If you don't have a yoga mat one can be provided. Try to arrive five minutes early to give yourself enough time to set up.

Course code: PYOG 001 S23R70
Instructor: Jessica Ellen

12 sessions
Tuesdays | January 31–April 18 | 10–11 am

Fee: $115 + GST
Seats are limited

Register for Yoga for Healthy Movement

It is possible to have a more peaceful world to live in than we have today. Peace to the world requires more action now!

Racism is a real problem that has impacted, and continues to impact, real victims around the world. It needs real people who will take real actions to get real results. We all need peace. Peace is dynamic not static, which means that we may move with peace wherever we go while peace also remains where we were. Therefore, we need to be reminded about peace every day by honouring diversity.

This course has been created after scrupulous observation of wars and other conflicts and troubles in the world, in which discrimination (including racial discrimination) is found to be a backbone. If prevention is better than cure, then the best treatment of a disease is to successfully manage the cause, not the symptoms.

During this course, you'll learn to understand, by interacting, that racial discrimination is real. All peoples have been victims of and committed racism. All races and colours matter, and nothing is more beautiful than diversity. At the end, participants will be able, as they may want to, to become activists for peace.

Your instructor, Dieudonné Mugeni, has lived in Powell River since 2019. He is a registered Medical Doctor in Congo (DRC) and is in the process of getting his medical credentials recognized by the Medical Council of Canada. Passionate about education, Dieudonné has 3 years of teaching experience at the High School of Medical Techniques (equivalent to post-secondary nursing schools) in Congo, and at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Center in Windhoek as a French tutor. Currently, he is tutoring at the French Club of Powell River (Club Bon Accueil), and since 2019 he has been an Education Assistant and an uncertified Teacher on Call (French language support) for School District 47. Dieudonné, who was born and raised in a conflict zone where war was endemic, is also an author and an activist for peace. As a guest speaker at the Powell River Recreation Complex Arena, he offered gentle insights into the discussion of a possible name change for Powell River.

Course code: HDIV 001 S23R70
Instructor: Dieudonné Mugeni

6 sessions
Mondays | January 30–March 13 | 5:30–7:30 pm (no class Mon, Feb 20)

Fee: $175 + GST

Register for Honouring Diversity

Acrylic paint is a versatile medium with a wide variety of applications. This course is for those who wish to develop or improve their understanding of acrylic techniques in representational or expressive styles. After discussing a variety of materials and their many uses, we will progress to painting exercises leading you on to your own paintings. Examples of the instructor's art and the work of other painters will be discussed. This is a hands-on, technique-driven exploration of the painting process by a teacher who can explain and demonstrate tight, controlled rendering as well as a broader, more painterly, approach. All subject matters are welcome but painters of the landscape will find this class particularly invaluable. Some painting experience is an asset.

Please bring samples of your work or influences.

Note: Materials list will be available at registration.

Course code: ACRY 003 S23R70
Instructor: Rick Cepella

8 sessions
Wednesdays | February 8–March  29 | 5–8 pm

Fee: $270 + GST
Seats are limited

Register for Tools and Techniques of Acrylic Painting

This course will give you the tools to downsize your belongings for more space, less stress and more leisure time. The longer you have lived in your home, the more belongings you will have accumulated.

Transitioning to a new life chapter doesn't have to be overwhelming or difficult. With a little planning and professional coaching, downsizing can be a liberating and rewarding experience.

In this course you'll learn:

  • where and how to start without feeling anxious
  • step-by-step strategies to downsize and easily maintain your home and office
  • creative and inexpensive ways to increase the value of your home
  • local resources to help you sell unwanted items

Course code: DWNS 001
Instructor: Ranka Burzan

1 session
Tuesday, February 7 | 1–3 pm
or
Tuesday, April 4 | 5–7 pm

Fee: $45 + GST

Register for Don’t Agonize, Downsize!

Procrastination is probably the most unproductive habit known to humankind. It stifles your personal growth, drains your bank account, robs your children of a better life, and limits your choices. Would you like to learn how to prevent this unhealthy habit that is keeping you stuck and frustrated?

In this workshop you will learn:

  • how to stop sabotaging yourself
  • three powerful life-changing tips to prevent procrastination
  • what fears are preventing you from moving forward
  • why you have failed in the past

Your instructor, Ranka Burzan, is a former procrastinator who despite unbelievable challenges changed her life. Ranka helps her clients transform their homes, offices, classrooms and, most importantly, lives. As founder and owner of Solutions Organizing Simple, she has become an inspiring speaker and one of the most sought-after organizers in British Columbia. Fuelled by her passion to help people change their lives, Ranka recognizes that a cluttered and disorganized home is closely related to procrastination.

Ranka has published two books and hundreds of national and international articles on organizing, downsizing, and living a simple and productive life. Her workshops are interactive, humorous, and well-attended. She writes inspirational articles for the Powell River Peak. She has appeared on local television stations as a professional organizer and someone who has succeeded despite obstacles. Her thought-provoking questions will make you think, stop the blame game, and give you the skills and tools to move forward in life.

Course code: PRCR 001
Instructor: Ranka Burzan

1 session
Tuesday, February 14 | 5–7 pm
or
Tuesday, April 18 | 1–3 pm

Fee: $45 + GST

Register for What’s the Price of Your Procrastination?

This isn't your regular writing course. Forget everything you were taught in English class and learn a new way of writing.

In this eight-week course we follow Natalie Goldberg's writing practice tradition: We sit. We write. We read. We listen. Together. Natalie Goldberg is a writer, teacher, Zen practitioner and author of the groundbreaking book Writing Down the Bones (and many more).

No writing experience necessary. Everyone is welcome. All you need to bring is a notebook and a pen.

In this course:

  • We sit: Short 2-4 minute sits are woven into every class.
  • We write: We work within the structure of topics and timed writings.
  • We read: Everyone is invited to read what they wrote. You may choose to pass.
  • We listen without judgement, comments or feedback.
  • We study the mind – our own and other writers' – by listening to poems and excerpts from different books, which may invoke, inspire or give you a different angle or approach to a topic.
  • And, you will learn the simple rules of writing practice.

Writing practice breaks through monkey mind (also known as the inner critic or the editor) that tries to stop us from telling our stories. It also helps you break through writer's block!

Anyone can write; it's a practice. Just like running, soccer, learning guitar, you practice. You just pick up the pen and write. No good. No bad. Just writing!
Recommended reading: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, a must have for any writer or would-be writer! (To support your local community you can order it from Pocket Books, which is located in the Ecossentials building.)

Your instructor, Jackie L Hutchings, has loved writing since she was a wee one back in her homeland, England. She enjoys writing poetry, memoir and, of course, whatever pours out of her during writing practice!

"I have studied with Natalie Goldberg for over five years. Writing practice is my home, a refuge in these tumultuous times. I feel alive when I write. Through writing practice I have come to know myself well. I am excited to share this powerful practice with you." ~ Jackie

Course code: FWRI 001 S23R70
Instructor: Jackie Hutchings

8 sessions
Thursdays | February 2–April 6 | 5–6:30 pm (no class March 16 & 23)

Fee: $175 + GST

Register for Foundations of Writing Practice