Hello Students & Advisors,

Please review this email for some important reminders and updates.

Included in this email:
  • Bonus Team Challenge Points - Photos Wanted *Deadline Added*
  • Optional Week
  • Start-Up Capital, Fixed Costs & Business Plan
  • Use of JA Logo
  • Company Program Awards

Deadline Reminders:
  • Product/Service Approval Form - *Due Today*
  • Executive Team - *Due Today*
  • Mid-year Attendance/Student List - *Due February 5*
  • Business Plan and Fixed Costs #1 - *Due February 12*

Previous Updates:
  • Networking Workshop Recording
  • Shopify Update
  • Banking Letter Request
  • Upcoming CP Visits
  • Microsoft Teams - Breakouts Now Available!


NEW UPDATES
*Bonus Team Challenge Points* - Photos Wanted

We would like to collect some photos and updates from teams to share on our social media.

This can include photos/screenshots of any of the following:
  • your team during your virtual meeting
  • any collaborative work you've done (screenshot of your Mural)
  • any posts/videos your team has created

Please upload your photo and also include a short description (1-2 sentences is fine) on what the photo is about here. Please ensure you include your program name in the file name.

Each photo submission will be awarded a bonus 10 team challenge points. Maximum 3 submissions per team can be awarded.

For more information on the Team Challenge, including to download the tracker, please see here.

DEADLINE: To collect these bonus points, please submit your photos by Friday, February 5th.
Optional Week - January 25 to 29

Next week (January 25th to 29th) is scheduled as an optional week. Teams have the option to use this as a working session if they want. However, attendance would not be mandatory to provide students an opportunity to take the time for their exams.
Start-up Capital, Fixed Costs and Business Plan

If your team has their product/service approval, it's time to focus on start-up capital and business planning. Here are the links for your quick reference.


Business Plan and Fixed Costs #1 Due: February 12, 2021

Other Department Resources can be found under Phase 3, Week 5 on the JA Canada Resource Portal here. This includes templates for Marketing Plan, Sales Training, etc.

Use of JA Logo

When using the JA Central Ontario Logo on your website, packaging, etc., please use the logos provided below.

REMINDERS:
  • Please make sure you are using the CORRECT JA logo on all of your materials - do not use the logos you find on Google. Use the "JA Central Ontario" logo only.
  • You must also ensure that your name is listed as: "Name of Company, a JA Central Ontario Company"


Company Program Awards Update

Here is a list of the awards that will be offered this year. We will be sharing more details about these awards in the coming weeks. Application forms will be shared in March.

Individual Awards
• President of the Year
• Leadership in Finance  
• Leadership in Marketing 
• Leadership in Sales 
• Leadership in Production & Technology
• Leadership in Human Resources
• JA Journey Award
• Changemaker Award
• Jane Eisbrenner Scholarship
*All individual awards must be nominated by the Advising Team. One nomination per category per team is allowed. For the departmental awards, it does not have to be the VP who is nominated.

Group Awards
• Company of the Year (3 categories: Retail, Technology, Social Enterprise)
• Gary and Joanne Reamey Family Award (CSR Award)
• Best Brand Award
• Team Challenge Award
*Teams can nominate themselves (with Advisor reference) to any or all of the awards.

Process
Step 1: Advisor will nominate the students. Students will complete the application forms and submit.
Step 2: Applications are reviewed by preliminary judges. Finalists are selected.
Step 3: Finalists will attend Virtual Student Interview Night
Step 4. Winners will be announced at ventureON.


DEADLINES
Product/Service Approval Form
Due Today!

REMINDER:
  • You cannot move forward with your product/service until you receive final approval from JA - that includes making any purchases related to your product/service.
  • If you have requested to use Shopify, please see note below on Shopify and allow time for JA to set up the initial site after you receive approval.

(PLEASE ENSURE YOU NAME YOUR FILE THE NAME OF YOUR PROGRAM/SPONSOR)
Executive Team Submission
Due Today!

Please submit your list of executive team members: here.

*This can be completed by any member of the team - please delegate this task to someone who can access the link. This will help us keep all 43 teams organized in one place.
Mid-Year Attendance/Student List
Due: Friday, February 5

LEAD ADVISORS & VP OF HR: Please upload a copy of your most updated student attendance list here. Please ensure you indicate any students who are no longer part of the program.
Business Plan/Fixed Cost #1 Due
Due: Friday, February 12

Please upload your business plan here.
Please follow instructions to submit your fixed costs here.

PREVIOUS UPDATES
Networking Workshop Recording

Thanks to all the students who attended the Networking Workshop sponsored by Rogers and led by LinkedIn this week. We hope you found it informative!

If you are interested, you can review the recording for the first part (Rock Your Profile) here.

Here are some additional resources shared by LinkedIn:
Shopify

To view our last update and details on what JA Canada is providing, please see our weekly email sent December 11 here.

For teams who will be using Shopify, here are the next steps:
  1. Submit your Product/Service Approval Form and indicate you will be using Shopify where indicated on the form.
  2. JA will review your form.
  3. Once your product/service has been approved, JA will set up the initial account/shop and will provide you with a link to sign in and start building your shop. You must use the link provided in order to take advantage of the free offer by JA Canada.
  4. You can review Shopify training materials provided by JA Canada through the JA Canada Resource Portal - they are located under Phase 2 materials.
  5. We will also be sharing a recording of a quick walk through on how to set up the shop.
  6. Once you receive your link, you can start building your shop! You will be asked to use the default theme/layout but will have the ability to customize with your your own graphics, colour scheme and typography.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* Please do not start a Shopify account until you hear from us and receive the link. Any accounts that are created without the unique link provided by JA will not be applied to the free offer from JA Canada.
Banking Letter Request

To learn more about banking, please review the banking FAQ here.

Once your team is ready to move forward with opening a bank account, please email companyprogram@jacentralontario.org with the following information:

  1. Name of your JA Company
  2. Name(s) of your 1 - 2 Signing Officers (Advisors)

Where possible, we would encourage two Advisors to have signing authority, however, for this virtual year, we are making an exception and allowing for one Advisor to set up the bank account if two Advisors are not able to coordinate to open the bank account.

For your internal process, regardless of how many Advisors are on the bank account, please ensure that you have two Advisors (including the signatory) and your VP of Finance or member of Finance Department responsible for reviewing/signing along with the Advisors. This will provide the students an opportunity to learn about accountability and financial controls within a business.
Upcoming CP Visits

Each year between February and March, we schedule Company Program visits with each of our after-school Company Programs. The visit is an opportunity for JA staff to meet the students, provide some JA updates including upcoming events and CP awards and answer any questions your team may have.

Your team can choose to prepare a short presentation of their company - it is not mandatory but highly encouraged as it is a great opportunity for your team to practice your pitch!

I will be in touch over the next month to confirm the dates and times with your Lead Advisors. Visits will last between 20 to 30 minutes.
Microsoft Teams - Breakouts Now Available

ADVISORS: If you use Microsoft Teams as your meeting platforms, breakout rooms should now be accessible. You may want to contact your IT department to learn more about how to utilize the function. You can also find some additional information here.

If your team is still not able to run breakout sessions regardless of your meeting platform of choice, please let me know as I may have some workarounds you can try.
Upcoming Dates

To view the full CP Calendar including upcoming deadlines, click here.

Friday, January 22 (NEW DEADLINE!)
Product/Service Approval Form Due
Your approval form can be submitted anytime leading up to January 22. Please allow 1-3 business days for a response.

January 25 to 29
Exam Break
Teams can decide to meet during this week but attendance will be optional.

February 5
Mid-Year Attendance List Due

February 12
Business Plan & Fixed Cost #1 Due
Should you have questions or concerns regarding any of the above information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at companyprogram@jacentralontario.org

Thank you!

Lucia & Lesley
The Company Program Team
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