Assessment is the tool for equity in education. In this session you will begin to explore your assessment identity, while learning about some key problems with assessment and how you can apply the solutions on Monday! We will also focus on the proficiency scale and how to make it work for you in your classroom. This workshop is brought to you by the Surrey Primary Teachers' Assocation.

Presenter: Karley Alleyn

Room: B122

In this workshop, we will walk through several aspects of financial benefits that do not show up on our paystub directly as money in our pocket.

Topics include:
- Reading our paystub
- Leaves and pension buyback
- Strike math - losses and impacts (on salary and pension)
- Benefits of PB+15 and Masters
- Benefits and payment of Benefits costs
- Sick leave and Salary Indemnity Plan

Presenter: Kevin Amboe

Room: E204

This is an interactive and fun workshop. (Yes, despite the topic!) It is intended for; administrators, teachers and other professionals working with children/youth. It will allow participants to learn the methods and skills necessary to put an end to bullying. 

Included in this program are ways in which participants; can personally end any bullying they encounter, teach anti-bullying skills to other professionals, the children/youth they work with (and their parents), encourage students to be ‘up-standers’ not just ‘by-standers’ and provide emotional support to their peers. In addition participants will learn strategies to work with those prone to bullying. 

Presenter: Steve Andrews

Room: B201

To create a supportive space where teacher‑librarians can exchange practical strategies, showcase successful lessons, highlight impactful books, and build a shared toolkit for the year ahead.

Presenter: Mandip Bains KD McArthur

Room: Library

Join Education Specialist Amy Bawtinheimer to explore ways to grow your student’s curiosity towards learning through growing and learning about food! This workshop will introduce you to the BCAITC growing programs and free resources available to educators, with time during the session to explore some hands-on learning activities connected to growing, experimenting, and engaging with agriculture in your school community. Bring your questions and enthusiasm for learning! All participants will receive materials for their classroom use.

Presenter: Amy Bawtinheimer

Room: E207

Join Education Specialist Amy Bawtinheimer to explore ways to grow your student’s curiosity towards learning through growing and learning about food! This workshop will introduce you to the BCAITC growing programs and free resources available to educators, with time during the session to explore some hands-on learning activities connected to growing, experimenting, and engaging with agriculture in your school community. Bring your questions and enthusiasm for learning! All participants will receive materials for their classroom use.

Presenter: Amy Bawtinheimer

Room: E207

This workshop introduces school counsellors to practical emotion-focused strategies for supporting students experiencing emotional distress, intensity, or dysregulation in school settings. Drawing on principles from Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) and emotion coaching, participants will learn how to help students work through difficult emotions rather than avoid or suppress them. The session explores how counsellors can use emotion coaching directly with students while applying a parent-informed framework that supports emotional development, even when parents are not actively involved. Participants will gain practical tools to strengthen emotional awareness, validate student experiences, and support regulation, resilience, and engagement across diverse student needs in both elementary and secondary school populations.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary

Presenter: Alison Bell

Room: Goldstone Library

Love books? We do too! The Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC (CWILL) believe in the power of a story to inspire and grow young readers and writers. During our presentation, award winning authors and illustrators will highlight new and upcoming book releases across the genres. We will chat about the increasingly diverse and socially conscious ways that BC children’s publishing is growing and how we can support you in the classroom. Want to motivate your students in their writing? Shhhh! We will share our top secret writer tips to get even your most reluctant writer curious about writing. Our time together will conclude with a little BC book trivia fun and prizes!

Presenter: Nikki Bergstresser, VP of CWILL

Room: E301

Love books? We do too! The Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC (CWILL) believe in the power of a story to inspire and grow young readers and writers. During our presentation, award winning authors and illustrators will highlight new and upcoming book releases across the genres. We will chat about the increasingly diverse and socially conscious ways that BC children’s publishing is growing and how we can support you in the classroom. Want to motivate your students in their writing? Shhhh! We will share our top secret writer tips to get even your most reluctant writer curious about writing. Our time together will conclude with a little BC book trivia fun and prizes!

Presenter: Nikki Bergstresser, VP of CWILL

Room: E301

In this workshop for elementary school teachers, participants will explore practical techniques to teach financial literacy in the classroom. The workshop is highly interactive and includes hands-on activities that allow educators to experience the value of financial education firsthand. By participating, teachers will leave with ready-to-use strategies and activities to help students understand money management and make informed decisions in life.

Presenter: Caleb Harder

Room: E202

In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to use Knoword, a free interactive learning tool, to create engaging, customizable vocabulary exercises. Together, we'll play a vocabulary game, explore pre-made packs (custom games), create a new pack, and test out Knoword's progress tracking features.

Participants will walk away from the workshop with their own custom vocabulary exercise, ready to use in class, along with the tools and know-how to track student progress and create printable worksheets.

Presenter: Trevor Blades

Room: E402

In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to use Knoword, a free interactive learning tool, to create engaging, customizable vocabulary exercises. Together, we'll play a vocabulary game, explore pre-made packs (custom games), create a new pack, and test out Knoword's progress tracking features.

Participants will walk away from the workshop with their own custom vocabulary exercise, ready to use in class, along with the tools and know-how to track student progress and create printable worksheets.

Presenter: Trevor Blades

Room: E402

Students with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profiles often experience everyday classroom expectations as threats to autonomy, safety, or control. Traditional behaviour approaches can unintentionally increase anxiety, which in turn increases avoidance, resistance, or severe behaviour. This workshop focuses on proactive and preventative behaviour strategies grounded in promoting safety, dignity, and personal autonomy.

Presenter: Ryan Brandlmayr

Room: C117

Did you know how we teach and talk to children about food and nutrition can have a significant and lasting impact on their mental health and eating behaviours? This presentation will look at some past approaches for teaching and talking about food and nutrition and why we are shifting to a strength based, trauma informed, equity centered and culturally inclusive approach. We will explore the “Teach Food First” toolkit, which is designed to equip educators with tools and resources to support a food exploration approach to learning about food, nutrition and Canada’s Food Guide.  You will walk away from this presentation with best practice approaches that help children learn about food, have positive relationships with both food and bodies.

Presenter: Carole Chang

Room: C217

This workshop provides participants an introductory look at the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) protocol, and examines how caregivers and families are involved in a comprehensive DBT-A Program.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary

Presenter: Ed Chen M.Ed, RCC-ACS, CCC

Room: Goldstone C214

This workshop provides participants an introductory look at a DBT program designed as a school- based curriculum and examines how educational staff and students are involved in a DBT STEPS-A program.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary

Presenter: Ed Chen M.Ed, RCC-ACS, CCC

Room: Goldstone C214

Do you want to support your students in strengthening their ability to consider the needs of others to develop meaningful solutions to real-world problems? In this Let’s Talk Science session, you will explore how building empathy can support the development of student problem-solving skills through the design thinking process. You will apply a classroom-ready learning strategy to empathize with a real-world problem using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Presenter: Tanya Clift

Room: E102

STEM is everywhere in modern life and is transforming how we live, where we live, and how we earn a living. In a world that is increasingly driven by innovation and technology, the demand for people who can fill STEM-related jobs will only continue to increase. Join us to discuss the importance of STEM when students are considering their possible future career options. Discover the ways technology disrupts and changes the workplace and how to prepare students to solve current and future problems like climate change.

Presenter: Tanya Clift

Room: E102

Are you seeing challenging behavior, aggression, or anxiety in your classroom? This practical, hands-on workshop will offer effective strategies to help students move through big feelings in safe and healthy ways. 

Drawing on the work of Hannah Beach and Tamara Neufeld Strijack from the Neufeld Institute, you’ll learn activities that: 

Help students safely release pent-up physical energy 

Support students in recognizing, reflecting on, and expressing their feelings 

Strengthen caring relationships and build a sense of community in your classroom 

You’ll leave with ready-to-use ideas that you can implement right away to create a joyful, more connected learning environment. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Presenters: Sarah Dekerf and Jennifer Boudrea

Room: E304

** The workshop will be in French** 

Reading fluency is a key component of reading success, yet it is often misunderstood or reduced to reading faster. This workshop explores fluency as the integration of three essential components: accuracy, rate, and prosody. Participants will examine why assessing fluency is crucial for understanding students’ reading development and difficulties.

Grounded in the Simple View of Reading, the session highlights the role of fluency as a bridge between decoding and comprehension. Emphasis is placed on the idea that fluency is not merely a matter of speed, but of efficient, meaningful reading.

Participants will be introduced to evidence-based instructional activities proven to support the development of reading fluency. The workshop will also address instructional decision-making when a student does not demonstrate adequate fluency, including the use of audiobooks, assistive technology, and classroom adaptations, particularly from grades 4–5 onward.

This session is designed to provide practical tools and a deeper theoretical understanding to better support diverse learners in reading.

Presenter: Lucile Denys

Room: C206

**The workshop will be in French.**
 

French spelling is often perceived as irregular and difficult, yet many words follow logical and consistent patterns. This interactive workshop will guide teachers through the key orthographic regularities that can transform how learners approach spelling. Participants will engage in hands-on activities, concrete examples, and collaborative discussions to uncover the logic hidden within the French writing system.

Rather than focusing on exceptions, we will highlight patterns that empower students and reduce frustration in the classroom. Attendees will leave with practical strategies, ready-to-use exercises, and a renewed confidence in teaching French spelling as a system rooted in clarity and logic.

Presenter: Lucile Denys

Room: C206

As educators, we are the architects of our students' imaginations, but who builds the space for ours? This workshop is an invitation to step out of the 'teacher' role and into the 'creator' role. Through the lens of Expressive Arts Therapy, we will explore how simple, play-based practices—using loose parts, tactile play, and reflective writing—can act as a powerful antidote to burnout and a direct path to stress relief. Come rediscover why the opportunity to imagine is just as critical for us as it is for our students.

Presenter: Navnit Dosanjh

Room: E302

As educators, we are the architects of our students' imaginations, but who builds the space for ours? This workshop is an invitation to step out of the 'teacher' role and into the 'creator' role. Through the lens of Expressive Arts Therapy, we will explore how simple, play-based practices—using loose parts, tactile play, and reflective writing—can act as a powerful antidote to burnout and a direct path to stress relief. Come rediscover why the opportunity to imagine is just as critical for us as it is for our students.

Presenter: Navnit Dosanjh

Room: E302

This interactive workshop explores social skill development through expressive arts therapy, incorporating visual arts, music, drama, movement, and creative writing under one integrated framework. Participants will engage in hands-on experiences designed to strengthen core social competencies in an engaging and supportive environment.

We will begin by defining social skills and examining the motivations behind behavior. From there, we will identify the common threads that underpin healthy social development, including:
- Focus and sustained attention
- Concentration
- Self-regulation
- Cooperative play and collaboration

Participants will explore how these foundational elements connect across artistic modalities and how expressive arts can support social growth.

Presenter: Patricia Lynn Dunphy

Room: E201

Voulez-vous enseigner les verbes et la grammaire d’une manière unique, amusante et efficace? Aider et motiver vos élèves en jouant des jeux? Apprendre comment organiser et participer

à un tournoi? Utiliser la musique rap pour renforcer l’apprentissage des verbes? Intégrer l’étude des verbes avec des autres matières? Alors venez à cet atelier dynamique. Les jeux et les

activités du Verbathonsont basés sur le principe que les possibilités sont INFINIES: INclusif/ Favorise la responsabilité/ INteractif/ Intégration/ Esprit d’ équipe/ Social et amusant. Niveaux

cibles: 2e-9e Immersion/Francophone, 6e-12e FLS.

Presenter: Emmanuel Escueta

Room: C205

Come prepared to play my favorite dice games that definitely engage your students with meaningful practice activities.  Games are easy to differentiate to meet the needs of all learners and are great for whole class or small groups. Concepts covered include: counting on and back, doubles, make 10, 20, commutative and associative properties, mental math strategies for 2 digit addition and subtraction, and more.  Handout will include gameboards and concept skill checklists for assessment.  Come prepared to SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL!

Presenter: Jane Felling

Room: B210

Come prepared to play games and learn strategies that help teach the following concepts:  composing and decomposing 10's, 100's and 1 ooo's, comparing numbers, developing the foundation for rounding and expanding numbers, using number lines for patterns, mental estimation of sums and differences.  Games integrate the use of cards, dice, place value dice and number lines and are easy to differentiate to meet the needs of all students.  Handout will contain gameboards and concept skill checklists for assessment.

Presenter: Jane Felling

Room: B210

Come prepared to play these strategy based games that incorporate the use of easily found playing cards, and you don't even have to play with a full deck!  Games will focus on the following concepts: all operations including multi-digit work, order of operations and place value including decimals.  The games are easy to differentiate and can be used  whole class or in small groups.  They are perfect for a family math night or with math game buddy classrooms.  Gameboards, concept skill checklists for assessment and ideas for planning a family math games night will be shared.

Presenter: John Felling

Room: B211

Come prepared to play games that integrate the use of regular and muti-sided dice that help engage your students and help build meaningful practice for the following concepts: multiplication fact fluency, multi-digit operations - +, -, x and division, mixed operations and order of operations.  Games are easy to differentiate, allow for math talks and can be used whole class or in small groups.  Gameboards, concept skill checklists for assessment will be provided.  COME PREPARED TO SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL in this fast paced workshop.

Presenter: John Felling

Room: B211

In this fun and interactive session, we will explore unique strategies to make learning about sustainability real, relevant, local, action-oriented  and fun!  

Explore personal and local connections to water, waste, wastewater, air quality and climate change. Delve into a variety of place-based resources to promote CARE and support environmentally responsible shifts in your school community. Take away ideas, strategies, tools and inspiration to engage students in experiential learning about the most important topic on earth!

Presenter: Bruce Ford

Room: A202

Coping Strategies through the DBT ACCEPTS Model and Its Role in SEL and Mental Wellness 

Workshop Description:
This workshop equips educators with practical tools and strategies for supporting student and teacher well-being using the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) ACCEPTS Model. Designed for teachers and school staff, this session will delve into the ACCEPTS Model—a set of seven coping skills (Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing Away, Thoughts, and Sensations)—and explore how these skills can be integrated into social-emotional learning (SEL) frameworks to enhance emotional regulation and resilience in the classroom.

Presenter: Sheldon Franken

Room: E101

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) guides our processes in addressing mental health, pro-social relationships, positive behaviours, and growth mindset. This workshop explores hands-on games and activities that address both the broad and specific foundations of social emotional learning. The tools will be based on both the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the Circle of Courage (grounded from indigenous perspectives) models. We will also be using the Funnel Model of Debriefing to aid in increasing our students’ capacity to gain a deeper connection between the tools and their various social emotional learning constructs.
You will leave the workshop with tools and resources that you can implement in your schools, institutions, groups, and practices immediately. Come ready to play! 

Presenter: Sheldon Franken

Room: E101

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has significant implications for student safety and mental health. This workshop focuses on helping counselors develop skills and confidence to respond effectively to NSSI. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of NSSI, including functions, relationship to suicidality, and risk factors. 

Participants will learn strategies for responding that reduce shame, maintain connection, and support change. The content emphasizes concrete skills such as emotion regulation, distress tolerance, motivational interviewing, and harm reduction, and addresses safety planning, environmental supports, and common practices to avoid. Counselors leave with tools to support students and navigate school systems with confidence and care.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary 

Presenter: Connor Gallik

Room: Goldstone C213

Entering a new school can feel like landing on an island - exciting, full of potential, and yet, at times, isolating. Educators sometimes find themselves navigating unspoken norms, cultural dynamics, and staff relationships without a map. 
This workshop explores education as an island, using a memorable metaphor to examine school culture, belonging, and the unique challenges faced by educators who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. Through reflective activities, collaborative mapping, and practical planning tools, participants will identify ways their school community can move from isolated islands to connected archipelagos.

Participants will leave with:

- A deeper understanding of how school culture affects teacher belonging

- Insight into the additional barriers faced by racialized educators in new environments

- Practical tools to welcome, support, and empower new staff

- Strategies to strengthen equity-centered school culture

- A draft “New Staff Welcome Plan” they can bring back to their site

This session supports Surrey’s commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism and is grounded in real experiences of navigating new school communities.

Presenter: Terry-Ann Gunter

Room: B207

As a teacher, you offer daily nurture and care to your students. But how skilled are you at nurturing yourself? We cannot pour from an empty cup, so it’s essential that we prioritize our own self-care in order to replenish our energy so we don’t burn out. In this gentle session, come learn why it’s not selfish to nurture yourself first. You’ll leave with practical strategies for improved rhythm, rest, sustainable creative practices, and a stronger sense of your core identity so you can become more resilient.

Presenter: Julianne Harvey

Room: B206

Teachers give a lot of themselves, so preserving energy is an important skill. With increased demands on our time and resources, decisions must be made to manage stress and avoid burning out. In this session, we’ll examine why it can be so hard to say no. We’ll cover handling the disappointment of others, strategies for setting and maintaining stronger relationship boundaries, and creating more space to enjoy life instead of feeling “crazy busy.” Prioritize your own mental health by learning how to say no with kindness and without guilt so your students can see how it’s done.

Presenter: Julianne Harvey

Room: B206

This workshop will look at the ways in which trauma shows up in our classroom and how it can affect student learning and the classroom environment. We will explore strategies to help our students, from refugee and trauma backgrounds, adjust to school in Canada and experience success every day in the classroom. Participants will learn ways to communicate with students, beyond simple translation tools and gain practical in-class instruction tips. We will explore strategies to support struggling ELL learners and help move them forward in their learning journey. An outline of the Bridge class day will be shared and suggestions given on how the same strategy could be used in smaller blocks of time, depending on the different roles and situations teachers find themselves in.

Presenter: Kris Hull

Room: E305

Teachers establish routines for entering the classroom, distributing manipulatives, etc. But what if routines were designed not just around classroom management but around learning itself? Instructional routines are specific and repeatable designs for learning. Their predictable structure lets students—and teachers!—pay less attention to “What am I supposed to be doing?” and more attention to mathematical thinking. In this workshop, teachers of Grades 1-7 will experience and discuss a variety routines, each of which can be implemented across different grades and mathematical content, that engage students in Core and Curricular Competencies—the doing of mathematics!—and surface the Big Ideas in BC’s curriculum.

Presenter: Chris Hunter

Room: B123

Discover how Live It Earth, a story-rich, Netflix‑style digital learning platform with engaging companion materials, can enhance and transform teaching and learning. This session invites educators to explore multimedia stories, inquiry-based activities, and cross‑curricular resources available in both English and French. Participants will learn how Live It Earth aligns with BC curriculum competencies, meaningfully incorporates Indigenous perspectives, and supports diverse learners through adaptable, ready‑to‑use content. The session also offers practical strategies for integrating these resources into everyday lessons and long-term planning. Best of all, Live It Earth is available free to all Surrey teachers through the district’s Focused Education account.

Presenter: Mike Irvine

Room: C211

Carve a beautiful Brazilian soapstone heart shaped pendant. Just in time for valentines!

In just three easy steps, you’ll be able to wear this treasured keepsake. 1) carve the heart shape. (No sharp tools are used) 2) sand out all the scratches with sandpaper 3) apply the polish and watch the magic reveal itself! Now it’s ready to put on and enjoy.

Presenter: Erin Larsen

Room: E205

Carve a beautiful Brazilian soapstone heart shaped pendant. Just in time for valentines!

In just three easy steps, you’ll be able to wear this treasured keepsake. 1) carve the heart shape. (No sharp tools are used) 2) sand out all the scratches with sandpaper 3) apply the polish and watch the magic reveal itself! Now it’s ready to put on and enjoy.

Presenter: Erin Larsen

Room: E205

Are you looking for ideas for how to help your grade one students develop their reading, writing, and oral language skills? This workshop will cover ideas using science-based reading instruction with strategies for teaching comprehension, phonics skills, and writing. The second half of the workshop will teach you how to run a story workshop in your classroom to boost oral language and story writing skills.

*Please note it will be a SCENT-FREE WORKSHOP DUE TO INSTRUCTOR'S ALLERGIES!*

Presenter: Debbie Loveseth

Room: C104

Stories shape how children see and care for the world. This hands-on workshop explores how picture books can inspire environmental connection and action without overwhelming young learners.We'll examine curated books for K-3 students that build curiosity and agency around caring for the Earth. For each story, participants will experience simple outdoor activities—sensory explorations, nature art, and inquiry investigations—that extend learning from page to place.Participants leave with an annotated book list, ready-to-use outdoor activities, and strategies for facilitating meaningful conversations about stewardship. No forest or nature expertise required—just good stories and willingness to step outside.

Presenter: Lauren MacLean

Room: E314

Join us for Mind as a Garden, an interactive workshop exploring the Sikh practice of Simran, a focused remembrance that helps quiet the mind and bring us back to the present moment. Through hands-on activities, reflection, and discussion, participants will learn how to recognize unhelpful thought patterns, plant supportive ones, and leave with simple strategies to care for their mental wellbeing.

Presenter: Janice Matharu

Join us for Mind as a Garden, an interactive workshop exploring the Sikh practice of Simran, a focused remembrance that helps quiet the mind and bring us back to the present moment. Through hands-on activities, reflection, and discussion, participants will learn how to recognize unhelpful thought patterns, plant supportive ones, and leave with simple strategies to care for their mental wellbeing.

Presenter: Janice Matharu

Lean how to start and maintain your own worm composting bin for home or school! Includes a workshop on startup, science of worm composting, troubleshooting, and opportunity to purchase worms to start your own bin!

Presenter: Neill McCallum

Weaving Wellness into the Classroom: Recognizing and Responding to the Story of Anxiety is a professional learning session for all district staff that explores how student anxiety shows up across ages, roles and school spaces. Using real-world narratives and practical strategies, participants learn to look beyond behaviour and recognize anxiety as a protective response. The session provides realistic, in-the-moment tools to support emotional regulation, strengthen connection and foster safety and wellbeing for students. Emphasis is placed on regulation before reasoning, behaviour as communication and how small daily interactions can support student mental health.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary

Presenter: Michelle Meier

The Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site launched a multi-lesson kit for Social Studies classes in Fall 2025! Come view the Table Top Roleplaying-style kit and participate in a lesson.

It is 1918, four years after the devastating rockslide at Hell’s Gate that blocked millions of Fraser River salmon from reaching their spawning grounds. Salmon stocks have plummeted, and the low stocks are threatening the future of the fishing industry. A commission of stakeholders has been called to determine how to help the species recover from this disaster. Students will role play and work together to solve the problem. The 1914 Hell's Gate rockslide and its consequences provide a historic example of the complexities of natural resource management that is still relevant today. This program makes connections between all six Historical Thinking Principles; historical causes of today’s environmental concerns; and the shared history of BC, including topics of social justice, science, and Indigenous issues. The program takes a historical event and dramatizes it for relevant contemporary conversations that can be held in the classroom.

Presenter: Rachel Meloche

Printing Like a Pro! is an effective and easy to use program designed to support printing development of primary grade students. It is an extensive printing program, easily accessed through the internet, free of charge and ready to be implemented. Fine motor strategies as well as the printing program will be thoroughly presented, including materials available for individual/small or large classroom use.

Presenter: Ivonne Montgomery

This workshop will emphasize strategies for teaching emotional resilience and regulation in the classroom. Teachers will discover creative ways to introduce a positive mindset, using engaging activities to help students understand and manage their emotions through the principles of a growth mindset. 

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to present the differences between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset in a way that resonates with kids. They will also learn techniques to help students view mistakes and failures as valuable learning experiences while acknowledging and addressing negative thoughts constructively. 

Additionally, we will engage in scenario analysis, allowing participants to explore real-life classroom situations and apply effective strategies for fostering emotional resilience in students.

Presenter: Rashda Munawar

Room: C204

Learning involves patience and time, and all of our students learn at different rates and in different ways.  Strategies to help our gifted learners belong, grow, and thrive in our school communities can also be implemented with all of our students. In this workshop, we will provide you with strategies for teaching in a differentiated way that does not require creating separate lesson plans for individual students.  Open ceiling activities that are used with our gifted learners allow them to enrich and extend their learning and offer entry points along the way for our more typical learners, as well as those that struggle.

Presenters: Heidi Nielsen and Alison Hamilton

Are you an early career teacher, or new to Surrey? Are you feeling run off your feet by the end of each day? You're not alone, and it doesn't have to be this way! In this workshop, we will explore tried-and-true systems and routines for managing the chaos in your classroom. We will touch on procedures, scheduling, classroom management and assessment strategies.

Presenters: Joanna Noakes and Jacqueline Reyes

Dr. John Oliffe will present on the topics pertaining to men's health to help create awareness around men's general health and challenges, and provide resources of support including allyship in the workplace. The objective is to enhance participants' understanding of the significance of men's health and the effects of mental health on both personal and professional levels. The discussion will cover the following topics: masculinities and young men, men's mental health and illness, how to be advocates in the workplace, and overall men's health. The workshop will comprise a 60-minute presentation, followed by a 30-minute audience question and answer session.

Presenter: John Oliffe

Queer Affirmative Practice is less of a unified theory and more of a lens through which you can view your practice better support both 2SLGBTQIA+ students and all students. In this workshop, you will engage in conversations about allyship and action, learn about the importance of considering intersectionality in our schools, explore language as a form of practice, deconstruct the ways we apply binaries to the world around us, and engage with multi-disciplinary theories of practice through discussion about strategies and case studies. This workshop is intended to expand and "queer" how you view your own identity, your educational practice, and your toolbelt for supporting our wonderfully diverse student population.

Presenters: Olivia Paddack

Unlock your students' full potential! This dynamic workshop explores the connection between movement, physical literacy, and academic success. Discover practical, evidence-based strategies to seamlessly integrate physical activity into your daily classroom routines - boosting focus, reducing anxiety, and improving learning outcomes. We'll delve into what physical literacy truly means and equip you with the tools to foster its development in your students, creating a more engaged, resilient, and thriving learning environment. Leave with tangible ideas and the inspiration to make movement a cornerstone of your teaching practice! 

Part 1: The Blueprint 

Part 1 lays the foundation by unpacking what physical literacy means and why it matters in a school environment. Participants explore the five key characteristics of meaningful physical activity and learn how to apply them in their own classes.

Presenters: TBD

In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to use Canva to create teacher resources and also explore ways that your students can use it to create content.

Please bring a laptop or tablet.

Presenter: Gareth Poon

In this hands-on workshop, you'll have a chance to explore the whole podcasting workflow from beginning to end using district-approved apps and platforms.

Please bring a laptop.

Presenter: Gareth Poon

What would you do with an unexpected $100—and how would you make it count for your community?

In this interactive, beginner-friendly session, participants will learn how to use spreadsheets by stepping into a real-world scenario: planning how to donate $100 to a local charity such as a food bank or organization supporting families. Through this hands-on activity, you will gain foundational spreadsheet skills while exploring budgeting.

Presenter: Kristina Preston

Bring your laptop to this cross-curricular workshop for teachers with minimal or no experience creating and teaching graphic design. You will learn how to use and teach layout and typography to create visual assets like posters, presentations, social media assets, and more. Digital literacy topics like copyright and fair use will also be discussed. Project ideas and resources will be shared. 

Presenter: Kristina Preston

Mindfulness can have many benefits in our lives, including reduced stress and anxiety, enhanced relationships, and increased calmness, self-compassion and joy. In this workshop, through education, experiential exercises and discussion we will explore mindfulness and related mental health tools for growing our presence, happiness, and effectiveness in life and the classroom. Emphasis will be placed on cultivating teachers' own mindfulness and well-being, and different practices will be introduced and practiced. Participants will leave with practical tools to help them navigate the stresses of teaching and life, and to feel more accepting of themselves and joyful. Resources will be provided, to assist with incorporating the learning in life and the classroom.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary 

Presenter: Melody Schalm

Bridging Generations: Communication and Mentorship in Today’s Workplace, addresses a growing and persistent challenge across modern organizations: how leaders and teams can communicate effectively, support one another, and build trust in multi-generational work environments.
As workforce demographics continue to shift, many professionals are experiencing communication gaps, differing expectations, and misunderstandings that impact collaboration, engagement, and overall team performance. This session offers a practical framework to help participants understand generational perspectives, adapt their communication style, and apply mentorship strategies that strengthen relationships and improve workplace culture.

Presenter: Jim Shopland

Room: E401

What happens when students’ hands are busy? Often, their minds settle, their focus improves, and the classroom becomes a little calmer.

This hands-on workshop explores how simple crafts can support regulation, engagement, and independence in intermediate classrooms. Participants will experience a variety of low-cost, classroom-friendly activities including zentangle drawing, button making, mini zines, yarn crafts such as weaving and crochet, and simple cross-stitch.

These activities can become powerful tools for students who finish work early, need help regulating their energy, or benefit from screen-free creative outlets. Many learners, especially neurodivergent students or those in high-energy classrooms, thrive when they have meaningful ways to keep their hands busy.

Teachers will leave with ready-to-use mini lessons, ideas for introducing crafts so students can work independently, and practical strategies for integrating hands-on creativity into everyday classroom routines.

Participants are encouraged to bring a few favourite pens, markers, or pencil crayons to use during the workshop.

Come craft, experiment, and discover how small creative practices can make a big difference for student focus, regulation, and classroom climate.

Presenters: Roslyn Sundset and Sarah Coffin

Greg will demo hands-on, interactive, low-tech lessons that use the history of Japanese Canadians to connect to issues facing the world today, with highly engaging learning activities that connect with today’s students. Teachers will access engaging lessons developed for the Landscapes of Injustice history project focused on the internment and dispossession of Japanese Canadians. The workshop will leave teachers inspired, knowledgeable, and equipped to teach this rich history.

Presenter: Greg Miyanaga

Greg will demo hands-on, interactive, low-tech lessons that use the history of Japanese Canadians to connect to issues facing the world today, with highly engaging learning activities that connect with today’s students. Teachers will access engaging lessons developed for the Landscapes of Injustice history project focused on the internment and dispossession of Japanese Canadians. The workshop will leave teachers inspired, knowledgeable, and equipped to teach this rich history.

Presenter: Greg Miyanaga

This session is designed for teachers who are new to using decodable texts and want to build confidence incorporating them into reading instruction. Together, we’ll explore how children learning to read benefit from applying phonics knowledge in engaging decodable books and resources.

We will look closely at what makes decodable texts unique, along with simple and effective phonics routines that help connect instruction to students’ decoding practice. Participants will learn how to determine when students are ready to move beyond decodables, explore recommended series, and gather ideas for stretching and organizing existing school resources. We will also examine practical ways to integrate decodable books within a systematic phonics program such as UFLI Foundations.

Presenters: Courtney Jones and Ginny Tambre

This session is designed for teachers who are new to using decodable texts and want to build confidence incorporating them into reading instruction. Together, we’ll explore how children learning to read benefit from applying phonics knowledge in engaging decodable books and resources.

We will look closely at what makes decodable texts unique, along with simple and effective phonics routines that help connect instruction to students’ decoding practice. Participants will learn how to determine when students are ready to move beyond decodables, explore recommended series, and gather ideas for stretching and organizing existing school resources. We will also examine practical ways to integrate decodable books within a systematic phonics program such as UFLI Foundations.

Presenters: Courtney Jones and Ginny Tambre

Are you a new or mid-career member? Learn how the decisions you make throughout your career can affect your pension when you retire.

This 75-minute webinar course can help you learn about:

- Buying service for approved leaves
- Purchasing service for a time when you worked for your current employer but didn't make pension contributions
- Transferring service from other plans
- How the decisions you make in your career can affect your pension
- The effect of life events on your pension
- Using our online tools to plan for your future

Presenter: TBD

This workshop will help you understand the sources of retirement income and help you optimize your pension and health insurance decisions.

Presenter: Gerry Tiede

The decision you make about your pension as retirement approaches are important and planning for retirement now can make your transition easier.  This 75-minute webinar can help you learn about:
-        How your pension is calculated
-        Eligibility for an unreduced pension
-        Choosing your best pension option
-        The retirement application process
-        Returning to work after you have started collecting a pension

Presenter: TBD

Teacher librarians will explore how Canva can support the many roles of the school library. In this workshop, I will share practical ways I use Canva for instructional materials, collaborative projects with classroom teachers, and student learning activities. We will also look at how Canva can be used as an advocacy tool to promote library programs, create engaging displays, and communicate with the school community. Participants will leave with ideas for designing presentations, lesson resources, social media posts, and visual content that highlights the impact of the library and supports teaching and learning. Please bring a laptop to the workshop so we can create together.

Presenter: Stephanie Turner

This workshop will explore practical ways teacher librarians can prevent and repair common types of book damage to extend the life of their collections. Participants will learn simple strategies for protecting books during processing and circulation, along with basic techniques for repairing torn pages, loose bindings, and minor damage. We will also discuss how to decide when a book is worth repairing and when replacement is the better option. The session will provide practical, low-cost approaches that help maintain a healthy, durable, and well-used library collection.

Presenter: Stephanie Turner

This interactive workshop engages educators in a hands-on engineering exploration framed by Two-Eyed Seeing, an approach that brings together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. Using a culturally situated design case as a vehicle for inquiry, participants will construct a structural model and examine how engineering decisions are shaped by contextual and relational dimensions such as territory, sustainability, and community interdependence. Through hands-on design and guided reflection, the session models how engineering can be taught as relational, culturally grounded, and environmentally responsive practice. Educators will leave with a practical framework for bringing contextual and relational design thinking into STEM classrooms.

Presenters: Sebastian Saldarriaga and Veronika Franzova

Math is more than just lectures and drills—it can be a competitive game, a head-scratching puzzle, or even an art form! In this interactive workshop, you’ll experience hands-on, classroom-ready activities from the student perspective and explore how they build engagement, collaboration, and a positive math mindset. You’ll leave with adaptable lesson plans and practical ideas to take your math teaching to the next level.

Presenters: Veronika Franzov and Sebastian Saldarriaga

Dominant forms of masculinity harm boys by training them to follow unspoken but often strict guidelines on what it means to be a boy and a man. These involve a limited range of permissible emotional expression, rewards for violence, and punishments for not adhering to gender norms. Some of these tendencies have been amplified in recent years online by the so-called “Manosphere.” In this interactive workshop, we will explore how boys are being impacted by this messaging, how this influences behaviors in classrooms, and how we can support boys in decolonizing masculinity by teaching critical thinking skills, and supporting more flexible forms of masculinity. How can we support more authentic, prosocial, and uplifting expressions of self, in support of healthier schools and communities? Let’s explore these themes together.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary 

Presenter: Brian Dean Williams

We will examine how crafts can help students regulate their emotions. Participants will walk away with at least one finished piece of art and ideas and resources for a unit.

Presenter: Mehlin Yoo

Teachers require their voice to do their job yet are rarely provided education on how to use and take care of their voice. Voice disorders have a significant impact emotionally and financially for teachers as well as impact on student learning. As occupational voice users, teachers reported a higher incidence of work-related voice problems and lack of regular voice care. Participants will play Jeopardy to learn about vocal health, truths and falsehoods about voice care, tools for regular voice care, how to identify voice changes, and how to receive support for voice recovery. Vocal health handouts will be provided.

Presenter: Sherri Zelazny, MA RSLP CCC-SLP

Burnout doesn’t start in red. It builds in yellow—the place where capable educators override fatigue, push through stress, and normalize constant activation. This experiential workshop introduces practical nervous system skills that help teachers shift out of chronic yellow and expand their capacity for clarity, resilience, and presence. Participants will identify their stress patterns, learn how identity and performance habits fuel dysregulation, and practice simple regulation strategies that fit into real classroom life. This is professional development for the human behind the role. Expect insight, embodied tools, and a new lens on sustainable leadership in education.

Presenter: Christianne Zurowski

Did you know how we teach and talk to children about food and nutrition can have a significant and lasting impact on their mental health and eating behaviours? This presentation will look at some past approaches for teaching and talking about food and nutrition and why we are shifting to a strength based, trauma informed, equity centered and culturally inclusive approach. We will explore the “Teach Food First” toolkit, which is designed to equip educators with tools and resources to support a food exploration approach to learning about food, nutrition and Canada’s Food Guide.  You will walk away from this presentation with best practice approaches that help children learn about food, have positive relationships with both food and bodies.

Presenter: Carole Chang

** The workshop will be in French** 
Reading fluency is a key component of reading success, yet it is often misunderstood or reduced to reading faster. This workshop explores fluency as the integration of three essential components: accuracy, rate, and prosody. Participants will examine why assessing fluency is crucial for understanding students’ reading development and difficulties.

Presenter: Lucile Denys
 

**The workshop will be in French.**
French spelling is often perceived as irregular and difficult, yet many words follow logical and consistent patterns. This interactive workshop will guide teachers through the key orthographic regularities that can transform how learners approach spelling. Participants will engage in hands-on activities, concrete examples, and collaborative discussions to uncover the logic hidden within the French writing system.

Presenter: Lucile Denys

Stories shape how children see and care for the world. This hands-on workshop explores how picture books can inspire environmental connection and action without overwhelming young learners.We'll examine curated books for K-3 students that build curiosity and agency around caring for the Earth. For each story, participants will experience simple outdoor activities—sensory explorations, nature art, and inquiry investigations—that extend learning from page to place.Participants leave with an annotated book list, ready-to-use outdoor activities, and strategies for facilitating meaningful conversations about stewardship. No forest or nature expertise required—just good stories and willingness to step outside.

Presentor: Lauren MacLean

Play is universal, but the ways we play have changed over time and vary across cultures. In this workshop, teachers will explore activities from the Play Time! Education Kit developed by the New Westminster Museum and discover how toys and games can support inquiry, cultural understanding, and classroom community. Through structured play, artifact exploration, and guided discussion, participants will experience activities designed for Grades 1-3 and leave with practical strategies for integrating play-based learning into social studies and language arts.

Presenter: Christina Anderson

Play is universal, but the ways we play have changed over time and vary across cultures. In this workshop, teachers will explore activities from the Play Time! Education Kit developed by the New Westminster Museum and discover how toys and games can support inquiry, cultural understanding, and classroom community. Through structured play, artifact exploration, and guided discussion, participants will experience activities designed for Grades 1-3 and leave with practical strategies for integrating play-based learning into social studies and language arts.

Presenter: Christina Anderson

Step into your students’ shoes and explore immigration stories through hands-on object investigation. In this interactive workshop, you’ll experience our How We Lived program. Using historical documents and artifacts such as a typewriter, radio, or washboard, you’ll piece together the stories of immigrants and uncover the different challenges settlers faced as they built new lives. We’ll also share practical strategies for planning a successful field trip and provide ideas for extending object-based inquiry and critical thinking back into your classroom.

Presentor: Johanna Trapier

Sometimes the standards of conduct between students and teachers are ambiguous. Teachers place themselves in jeopardy when boundaries are crossed. This BCTF workshop helps school staffs and TTOCs identify the boundaries and provides them with support and resources. Reference will be made to the BCTF Code of Ethics. 

Presentor: Jennifer Pinlac

Assessment is the tool for equity in education. In this session you will begin to explore your assessment identity, while learning about some key problems with assessment and how you can apply the solutions on Monday! We will also focus on the proficiency scale and how to make it work for you in your classroom. This workshop is brought to you by the Surrey Primary Teachers' Assocation.

Presenter: Karley Alleyn

Room: B122

Join us for an expressive arts workshop led by Gallery educator Mariana Frochtengarten. After a quick intro. to Surrey Art Gallery's School Programs with their education team,  learn strategies for teaching with an expressive arts approach in connection with personal investigation and creative inquiry. Materials and handouts provided.

Introduce creative drama into your classroom with lots of fun activities.  Creative Drama is a safe tool for all children.  It's only risk is creativity, cooperation, and sharing of ideas.  Used as a warm up, break in the curriculum, part of the curriculum by enriching social studies, language studies, math, reading comprehension, reward, group work, working out problems, self confidence.   We will be doing improvisation, story telling, problem solving, serious and silly physical and verbal activities. 

This workshop promises fun and loads of ideas.  It has been popular at the conference for many years.  Best for grades 2 - 5; but all grades and teachers are welcome and will gain ideas.

Presenter: Susan Pendleton

This workshop reimagines mathematics as a tool for connection, engagement, and cognitive growth. Through hands-on experiences like cribbage, educators will explore how collaborative, inquiry-based learning can deepen mathematical thinking while fostering social connection and well-being. Participants will have an opportunity to learn, explore, and play the game, while leaving with practical strategies to bring engaging, social math experiences into their classrooms.

Presenters: Heather Gelowitz & Neva Whintors

Using your curriculum to create a theatre piece.  Or, use theatre to enhance your curriculum!
Through science, socials, language and writing arts, or math you will be presented with plans and ideas to take back to your classes.
(Theatre is prepared and rehearsed and planned out for performance. Drama is un-prepared and no audience is included.)
Presenter: Susan Pendleton

This is a BCTF workshop lead by STA second VP, Violette. 
Collaborative work can be fraught with challenges: time is wasted, goodwill is lost, and environments that should be productive become unsafe. However, when groups change the way they talk, they change the way they work together. This workshop will examine how we can all improve our communication skills by paying attention to our conversations, and in turn help us enhance our work with colleagues, students, and parents.

Presenter: Violette Bailargeon

Lean how to start and maintain your own worm composting bin for home or school! Includes a workshop on startup, science of worm composting, troubleshooting, and opportunity to purchase worms to start your own bin!

Presenter: Neill McCallum

Basketball, soccer, swimming, baseball and beyond...this workshop is filled with sport-based movements to inspire even the most hesitant 'non-dancer' athletes in your classes to get them moving, as they practice fundamental movement skills and claim their 'Bubble of Awesome'. Discover easy and fun music-driven combos that showcase how dance moves can come from anywhere when you drop the 'rules' of dance and get playful with physical literacy.

Presenters: Tanya Parker

Basketball, soccer, swimming, baseball and beyond...this workshop is filled with sport-based movements to inspire even the most hesitant 'non-dancer' athletes in your classes to get them moving, as they practice fundamental movement skills and claim their 'Bubble of Awesome'. Discover easy and fun music-driven combos that showcase how dance moves can come from anywhere when you drop the 'rules' of dance and get playful with physical literacy.

Presenters: Tanya Parker

Students with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profiles often experience everyday classroom expectations as threats to autonomy, safety, or control. Traditional behaviour approaches can unintentionally increase anxiety, which in turn increases avoidance, resistance, or severe behaviour. This workshop focuses on proactive and preventative behaviour strategies grounded in promoting safety, dignity, and personal autonomy.

Presenter: Ryan Brandlmayr

Room: C117

This is an interactive and fun workshop. (Yes, despite the topic!) It is intended for; administrators, teachers and other professionals working with children/youth. It will allow participants to learn the methods and skills necessary to put an end to bullying. 

Included in this program are ways in which participants; can personally end any bullying they encounter, teach anti-bullying skills to other professionals, the children/youth they work with (and their parents), encourage students to be ‘up-standers’ not just ‘by-standers’ and provide emotional support to their peers. In addition participants will learn strategies to work with those prone to bullying. 

Presenter: Steve Andrews

Room: B201

Voulez-vous enseigner les verbes et la grammaire d’une manière unique, amusante et efficace? Aider et motiver vos élèves en jouant des jeux? Apprendre comment organiser et participer

à un tournoi? Utiliser la musique rap pour renforcer l’apprentissage des verbes? Intégrer l’étude des verbes avec des autres matières? Alors venez à cet atelier dynamique. Les jeux et les

activités du Verbathonsont basés sur le principe que les possibilités sont INFINIES: INclusif/ Favorise la responsabilité/ INteractif/ Intégration/ Esprit d’ équipe/ Social et amusant. Niveaux

cibles: 2e-9e Immersion/Francophone, 6e-12e FLS.

Presenter: Emmanuel Escueta

Room: C205

This workshop will emphasize strategies for teaching emotional resilience and regulation in the classroom. Teachers will discover creative ways to introduce a positive mindset, using engaging activities to help students understand and manage their emotions through the principles of a growth mindset. 

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to present the differences between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset in a way that resonates with kids. They will also learn techniques to help students view mistakes and failures as valuable learning experiences while acknowledging and addressing negative thoughts constructively. 

Additionally, we will engage in scenario analysis, allowing participants to explore real-life classroom situations and apply effective strategies for fostering emotional resilience in students.

Presenter: Rashda Munawar

Room: C204

I Am Because We Are is an online learning resource for Grade 6-9 students and their teachers, based on BC curriculum and informed by Ubuntu philosophy and principles. The resource invites learners to explore the richness, resilience, and complexity of the Black Canadian experience, past and present. Support your students in going ‘beyond’ Black History month by diving into the often-overlooked stories of Black Canadians. Through multimedia and thoughtful questions, discover how Black communities have helped shape the Canada we know today. This session will provide everything you need to get started including an overview of the resource content, student lessons, and comprehensive teachers’ guide.

Please bring a connected device for a "hands-on" experience

Presenter Maureen Ciarniello

Room: E317

The Digital Classroom is a collection of 17 core online content resources that are available to schools (with no login or passwords required). This session will look at the resources available and their licensed / intended grade levels.  In addition, learn how to use advanced search features to adjust/find different reading levels, have it read aloud, learn through video, search by limiting Lexile levels, or translate the information sources to various languages. (Preview resources here: https://focusedresources.ca/en/digital-classroom-access)

Please bring a connected device for a "hands-on" experience

Presenter Mike Silverton

Room: E317

This workshop introduces school counsellors to practical strategies for supporting gifted and ADHD students who experience emotional intensity alongside executive functioning challenges. Drawing on research in neurodiversity, emotional development, and emotion coaching approaches, participants will explore how emotions, overwhelm, and learning demands often interact for these students. Counsellors will learn practical strategies to help students identify and process strong emotions while supporting motivation, persistence, and regulation through an emotion-focused lens. The session also explores how counsellors can apply a parent-informed support framework within the school context. Participants will leave with practical approaches for supporting neurodivergent learners across elementary and high school settings.

Presenter: Alison Bell,  PhD, RCC
Location: Goldstone Park Elementary
Room: Library 

Working in education is meaningful, purpose-driven work—but it is also emotionally demanding. The mental load, competing priorities, and pressure to meet the needs of diverse learners can quietly lead to stress, overwhelm, and burnout. In this interactive 90-minute workshop, Laurie Shopland equips teachers with practical, research-informed strategies to better understand and navigate their emotional experiences.

Rather than adding more to already full plates, this session focuses on helping participants recognize what creates emotions, build confidence in their ability to handle them, and develop simple tools that foster resilience. Educators will explore common patterns such as resisting, reacting to, or avoiding emotions—and learn how shifting toward awareness and allowing can reduce stress and increase steadiness. Participants will leave feeling equipped with realistic, sustainable practices they can apply immediately, strengthening their emotional well-being both in the classroom and beyond.

Presenter Laurie Shopland
Location: Sullivan Heights Secondary
Room: E416

Working in education is meaningful, purpose-driven work—but it is also emotionally demanding. The mental load, competing priorities, and pressure to meet the needs of diverse learners can quietly lead to stress, overwhelm, and burnout. In this interactive 90-minute workshop, Laurie Shopland equips teachers with practical, research-informed strategies to better understand and navigate their emotional experiences.

Rather than adding more to already full plates, this session focuses on helping participants recognize what creates emotions, build confidence in their ability to handle them, and develop simple tools that foster resilience. Educators will explore common patterns such as resisting, reacting to, or avoiding emotions—and learn how shifting toward awareness and allowing can reduce stress and increase steadiness. Participants will leave feeling equipped with realistic, sustainable practices they can apply immediately, strengthening their emotional well-being both in the classroom and beyond.

Presenter Laurie Shopland
Location: Sullivan Heights Secondary
Room: E416

In this workshop, we plan to focus on dyeing with things we throw away or compost as kitchen waste.  We selected this topic because this is something teachers could replicate in their classrooms.  We may include flowers too.

Presenters: Nadine McSpadden and Zoe McDonell

James Taylor, a Traditional Knowledge Keeper from Curve Lake First Nation, offers a powerful and engaging learning experience grounded in story, song, and lived experience. Using an Ojibwe teaching bundle, he shares the history of Turtle Island in a way that is both meaningful and memorable.

Through storytelling and music, James creates space for reflection, connection, and deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives. Having walked across Canada to honour residential school victims, he brings a deep sense of purpose to this work.

Presenter: James Taylor

Room: Main Green 237

Chef Sarah Mierau offers an impactful workshop on Bannock making rooted in Indigenous food knowledge, sustainability, and community. Through her cooking, she aims to reconnect people with the land, the seasons, and the history behind every dish she creates.
"We believe food is more than just nourishment — it’s medicine, storytelling, and a connection to culture' — Chef Sarah Meconse Mierau.

Presenter: Chef Sarah Meconse Mierau

Chef Sarah Mierau offers an impactful workshop on Bannock making rooted in Indigenous food knowledge, sustainability, and community. Through her cooking, she aims to reconnect people with the land, the seasons, and the history behind every dish she creates.
"We believe food is more than just nourishment — it’s medicine, storytelling, and a connection to culture' — Chef Sarah Meconse Mierau.

Presenter: Chef Sarah Meconse Mierau

Participants will learn how to weave a traditional cedar basket from Indigenous Knowledge keeper, Rita Kompst and Zoe McDonell.

James Taylor, a Traditional Knowledge Keeper from Curve Lake First Nation, offers a powerful and engaging learning experience grounded in story, song, and lived experience. Using an Ojibwe teaching bundle, he shares the history of Turtle Island in a way that is both meaningful and memorable.

Through storytelling and music, James creates space for reflection, connection, and deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives. Having walked across Canada to honour residential school victims, he brings a deep sense of purpose to this work.

Presenter: James Taylor

Room: Main Green 237

Join us in the spring Garden for a day of nature-based teacher professional development at VanDusen Botanical Gardens. This full-day program will consist of a morning and afternoon workshop, with two engaging themes to help develop your gardening and botany skills, deepen your knowledge of local ecology, and inspire you to step outside and explore with your students in the great outdoors. 
Nature-Based Activities for Taking Your Students Outside - VBGA Educators will lead a tour through the springtime Garden, exploring nature-based games & activities aimed at helping your student’s make a deeper connection through engaged observation of, and interaction with, the natural world. This workshop will engage participants in fun and accessible outdoor activities with curricular connections, including plant life cycles and basic botany, the amazing role that flowers and pollinators play in shaping our environment, as well as ecosystem and cultural interrelations to plants. 

Native Plants of Coastal BC - VanDusen education staff will introduce the basics of plant identification with a focus on featured iconic native species found in southern coastal BC, with many of these species found in your school neighborhoods and communities, in local parks and surrounding green spaces. From ferns to towering cedars, learn about their unique characteristics and gain a better understanding of their ecological roles and importance to coastal Indigenous Peoples, alongside our own connection to place.  This session will provide participants a chance to gain and practice plant identification skills, have fun with STEM activities and games you can take back to the classroom, and explore ideas for incorporating storytelling about local plant species with your students in outdoor, place-based learning.

Location: VanDusen Botanical Gardens 

Spend a day learning outdoors with Surrey Parks staff and guest educators from the Vancouver Avian Research Centre (VARC). This hands-on workshop features easy-to-use, cross-curricular activities inspired by the sights, sounds and smells of the Surrey Nature Centre and Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. 

We’ll begin at the Nature Centre before heading outside for two interactive breakout sessions. Explore bird-themed activities and lesson plans with VARC that spark curiosity and connect directly to classroom learning. You’ll also discover the importance of shade trees and how they support healthy ecosystems through engaging, student-friendly activities led by the Surrey Parks team.  

Enjoy a catered lunch while connecting with fellow educators. In the afternoon, we’ll explore phenology, the seasonal changes in plants and animals, and simple ways to help students notice, track, and wonder about nature over time.  

You’ll leave with ready-to-use resources, practical lesson ideas, and fresh inspiration to foster environmental stewardship and a love of the urban forest in your students.

Location: Surrey Nature Centre in Green Timbers Urban Forest Park

The first of its kind in Canada, the Chinese Canadian Museum is located in Vancouver Chinatown. It opened to the public on July 1, 2023 and honours Chinese Canadian history, contributions, and living heritage. Guided by its mission statement “Connecting to the Chinese Canadian story – addressing inclusion for all”, the Chinese Canadian Museum aspires to provide an invigorating and transformative experience for present and future generations through its exhibitions and programming throughout B.C. and Canada.
Educational programs at the Chinese Canadian Museum are designed to complement the B.C. provincial curriculum for K-12, as well as for post-secondary learning. Each program is led by a trained museum educator and includes a printed worksheet or activity booklet for each student to supplement hands-on learning.

Location: Chinese Candian Museum, 51 E Pender, Vancouver

The first of its kind in Canada, the Chinese Canadian Museum is located in Vancouver Chinatown. It opened to the public on July 1, 2023 and honours Chinese Canadian history, contributions, and living heritage. Guided by its mission statement “Connecting to the Chinese Canadian story – addressing inclusion for all”, the Chinese Canadian Museum aspires to provide an invigorating and transformative experience for present and future generations through its exhibitions and programming throughout B.C. and Canada.
Educational programs at the Chinese Canadian Museum are designed to complement the B.C. provincial curriculum for K-12, as well as for post-secondary learning. Each program is led by a trained museum educator and includes a printed worksheet or activity booklet for each student to supplement hands-on learning.

Location: Chinese Candian Museum, 51 E Pender, Vancouver

Join Beekeeper Cassie at Honeybee Centre for an engaging look at bees, beekeeping, and the vital role pollinators play in our food systems and ecosystems. After a lively, hands-on presentation, explore our science station, try on a beekeeper suit, and taste local honey! This interactive workshop is designed to spark curiosity, provide practical ideas for the classroom, and inspire action to support pollinators and a healthier planet.

Location: Honeybee Centre, 7480 176 St, Surrey

The Labour History Education Project in cooperation with the BC Labour Heritage Centre and the BCSSTA has developed a diverse collection of resource materials and teaching suggestions for exploring the significant and defining moments of BC’s history. Utilizing the varied selection of primary and secondary resources in the project’s collection and also drawing on extensive community resources; this workshop will explore the conflicting narratives that have framed the legacies of both individuals and events shaping our provincial history. Discover new resources and teaching ideas to re-examine the contributions of diverse people and groups that built this province. Resources are freely available to all users and many teaching ideas have been translated into French for immersion classrooms. Perspectives of economic development, ethnicity, gender and social class will be explored in this session. Please bring a device that has internet capability to access the workshop files.   The workshop will continue with a walking tour of downtown Vancouver and will feature selected sites from the BC Labour Heritage Centre's walking tour series complimenting the teaching resource materials found at https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/. Suggestions will be discussed as to how this activity can be developed into a classroom activity or field experience. This tour will involve the navigating of some stairs and elevated streets. Good walking shoes and weather suitable clothing suggested.

Location: SFU Harbour Centre

Feathered friends can awaken our curiosity and wonder. Birds are a great way to get children outside and engaged in place-based learning in nature. You don't need to be an expert naturalist to use the outdoor classroom effectively!  This workshop includes experiential strategies, practical teaching tools, and group management tips.  We will explore cross-curricular activities that heighten sensory awareness, focus learning, and use critical inquiry skills to engage students with nature and the world around them.

Location: Surrey Bend Regional Park. 17775 104th Ave, Surrey
Meet by the park kiosk near the parking lot

Feathered friends can awaken our curiosity and wonder. Birds are a great way to get children outside and engaged in place-based learning in nature. You don't need to be an expert naturalist to use the outdoor classroom effectively!  This workshop includes experiential strategies, practical teaching tools, and group management tips.  We will explore cross-curricular activities that heighten sensory awareness, focus learning, and use critical inquiry skills to engage students with nature and the world around them.

Location: Surrey Bend Regional Park. 17775 104th Ave, Surrey
Meet by the park kiosk near the parking lot

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum's collection (https://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/teachers/) contains a wide variety of specimens and information, which can be catered to learners of all ages. On your excursion, you'll meet other teachers, have lots of time for Q&A, and get hands-on with our museum team.

On this 60-minute tour, you will learn about some of our favourite stories and specimens, and be inspired to infuse a museum visit, resources, and/or inspiration in your classroom and field trip plans!

We encourage you to come stay after your tour so you can explore particular areas of the museum that are of most interest to you and your classroom. 

Your registration includes a 60-minute tour with our team, and free admission for the rest of the day.

Location: Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC  2212 Main Mall, Vancouver

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum's collection (https://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/teachers/) contains a wide variety of specimens and information, which can be catered to learners of all ages. On your excursion, you'll meet other teachers, have lots of time for Q&A, and get hands-on with our museum team.

On this 60-minute tour, you will learn about some of our favourite stories and specimens, and be inspired to infuse a museum visit, resources, and/or inspiration in your classroom and field trip plans!

We encourage you to come before and/or stay after your tour so you can explore particular areas of the museum that are of most interest to you and your classroom. 

Your registration includes a 60-minute tour with our team, and free admission for the rest of the day.

Location: Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC  2212 Main Mall, Vancouver

Mountain Gems offers a wide range of Silversmithing and Lapidary Workshops that cater to all skill levels.

This workshop is intended for teachers at the high school level teaching ADST. Attendees will be creating  jewelry and are able to choose as a group between rings or ear rings. The learning focus will be understanding the basics of silversmithing and jewelry making. 

Location: Mountain Gems, 4611 Hastings St, Burnaby

Join us for a customized Professional Development experience designed for Surrey secondary educators with an interest in Jewelry Design.
 

This workshop will provide hands-on, discipline-specific learning led by our industry-experienced instructors in our state-of-the-art studios and labs. Participants will explore current techniques, creative processes, and practical classroom applications they can immediately bring back to their students. Whether you teach Jewelry, ADST, Visual Arts, Media Arts, or Animation, this session is designed to inspire new ideas, strengthen technical skills, and foster meaningful connections with fellow educators.

Location: Lasalle College, 2808 Bradfield Court, Vancouver 

This workshop introduces elements of the visual art program at Simon Fraser University (SFU), including a brief overview of student work and program approaches. Led by Raymond Boisjoly, Associate Professor of Visual Art in the School for the Contemporary Arts (SCA), the session will focus on dyeing plant-based fibres using the ice dyeing method. Participants will learn the fundamentals of this process through hands-on experimentation. Each participant will create a small dyed textile sample while also contributing to a larger collaborative piece, emphasizing both individual exploration and collective making.

Location: SFU School for the Contemporary Arts in Downtown Vancouver (149 W. Hastings Street and 611 Alexander studios).

We will meet at A Rocha BC Centre and start in our historic yellow barn for a workshop followed by a lunch break. The workshop will help you gain a better understanding of how to incorporate environmental education into most subjects by considering the concept of Place. We will begin by looking at COSMOS (City of Surrey Mapping Online System) and Google Maps to locate your school on the map and identify key environmental connections. After lunch, we will teach environmental experiential activities in the forest and wetlands at A Rocha to widen your knowledge of local flora and fauna identification, as well as give you ideas for hands-on activities you can do with your students.

Please note to bring your own lunch and to dress warmly for the outdoors!

Location: A Rocha BC Centre,  1620 192 St, Surrey

This experiential day at Deas Island Regional Park and the Vancouver Landfill and Zero Waste Centre will inspire teachers to make learning about nature and sustainability personal, meaningful, local, action-oriented, and fun! 
Participants will:
o    Experience and explore Deas Island Regional Park as a rich outdoor learning environment 
o    Get to know (and take away) strategies and resources to connect students to nature and the systems we depend upon every day - at home, school, and in the community  
o    Tour the nearby Vancouver Landfill & Zero Waste Centre and discover how waste is managed (and reduced) onsite and across our region 

Location: Deas Island Regional Park, Inverholme School House 4515 Central Blvd 6090 Deas Island Rd, Delta 

A Professional Development workshop offered by the Gallery’s Education Specialist will provide teachers with a well-rounded tour that focuses on many ways to increase the use of art in their classrooms through cross curricular connections. The Professional Development workshop will explore the gallery’s exhibitions which includes a permanent exhibition of Bill Reid’s work as well featuring New and Emerging artists from the Northwest Coast of BC and neighboring connected nations relevant to exhibitions.  The workshop directs participants to reflect on time, place, identity, and the connections we as humans make to art in this space. Participants will create a reflective artwork composed of visual art and design inspired by one of the exhibitions local featured artists and facilitated by the Education specialist. 

Location: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, 639 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Guides will lead the groups through forest trails, making stops along the way to provide added knowledge and stories of the landmarks and ecology, towards the Hiwus Feasthouse. A First Nations Presentation will be led by William “L'hek l'hak el’k” Nahanee. William “L'hek l'hak el’k” Nahanee is a proud member of the Squamish Nation, who shares his customs, regalia and culture through storytelling and traditional First Nations song and dance as First Nations Cultural Educator in the Longhouse named the Hiwus Feasthouse.  An overview of Grouse Mountain's Educational offerings will be presented in the Theatre in the Sky, the mountaintop high-definition cinema. The presentation will specify which programs are available at different times of the year and which are best suited for different grades and age ranges.  

Wildlife Rangers will provide in-depth knowledge on the Grizzley Bears that live at the top of the Mountain, as well as our resident Owls. A Private Owl Encounter will allow both groups an up-close experience with an owl while learning about the species.  With the guide, the groups will have priority access to the Skyride up and down the mountain. The guides will privately escort the two groups up and back down the Mountain.

Lunch is not provided. Teachers are encouraged to bring their own lunch, as per diem allowances are not available on convention day.

Location: Grouse Mountain, meet at Base Guest Services

Teachers are invited to spend a day in Stanley Park exploring Indigenous perspectives of land, culture, and ecology through guided walking experiences with Talaysay Cultural Ambassadors. Talking Trees, is an Indigenous plant walk focused on traditional ecological knowledge and the cultural significance of forest plants such as western red cedar. This experience offers an opportunity to deepen understanding of Coast Salish relationships with land and water through story, place-based learning, and cultural knowledge.

Location: Stanley Park

Teachers are invited to spend a day in Stanley Park exploring Indigenous perspectives of land, culture, and ecology through guided walking experiences with Talaysay Cultural Ambassadors. Spoken Treasures: Talking Totems explores the stories, history, and cultural meaning behind Stanley Park’s totem poles and the importance of oral storytelling. This experience offers an opportunity to deepen understanding of Coast Salish relationships with land and water through story, place-based learning, and cultural knowledge.

Location: Stanley Park

Teachers are invited to spend a day in Stanley Park exploring Indigenous perspectives of land, culture, and ecology through guided walking experiences with Talaysay Cultural Ambassadors. Salish Sea & Me, is a shoreline walk sharing teachings about the Salish Sea and Indigenous approaches to ocean stewardship. This experience offers an opportunity to deepen understanding of Coast Salish relationships with land and water through story, place-based learning, and cultural knowledge.

Location: Stanley Park

Presented in conjuction with the Status of Women Committee
In the morning, Dr. Balbir and Annie will lead a a NVR workshop.
In the afternoon, there will be a Balanced Energy Wellness Drumming & Qi Gong session led by Rhonda Bruce. This session will include a welcoming and engaging drum circle in a safe and supportive environment. Qi Gong is a gentle, moving meditation that can be practiced seated or standing. It is easy to follow and can be done almost anywhere. Rhonda Bruce is an Energy Healing Practitioner trained in the Global Energy Method and is also a Reiki Master.

Snacks and lunch will be provided for participants.

Location: Beecher Place, 12160 Beecher Street

Join us for a customized Professional Development experience designed for Surrey secondary educators with an interest in Animation. This workshop will provide hands-on, discipline-specific learning led by our industry-experienced instructors in our state-of-the-art studios and labs. Participants will explore current techniques, creative processes, and practical classroom applications they can immediately bring back to their students. Whether you teach Jewelry, ADST, Visual Arts, Media Arts, or Animation, this session is designed to inspire new ideas, strengthen technical skills, and foster meaningful connections with fellow educators.

Location: Lasalle College 2808 Bradfield Court, Vancouver

The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park Tour: Discover the jaw-dropping beauty – and sinister stories – of Stanley Park. Behind those majestic forests, picturesque gardens, and stunning beaches lies a history of forced evictions, buried treasure, shocking crime scenes, and the macabre tale of Deadman’s Island.

Location: Stanley Park

The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park Tour: Discover the jaw-dropping beauty – and sinister stories – of Stanley Park. Behind those majestic forests, picturesque gardens, and stunning beaches lies a history of forced evictions, buried treasure, shocking crime scenes, and the macabre tale of Deadman’s Island.

Location: Stanley Park

This workshop will be an excursion to our newest Surrey Libraries branch – Clayton. We will do a tour of the space before heading to the Computer Learning Centre (CLC) to talk about research. Teachers will learn how to use the library catalogue to it’s fullest potential before branching out to take a look at the many other resources and databases available through the library. Finally, we will discuss how Surrey Libraries partners with schools to teach these tools and techniques to their students when they visit our library branches for class tours.
This excursion would be most ideal for upper middle school and secondary educators as well as Teacher-Librarians.

Location: Clayton - Surrey Library, 7155 187A Street, Surrey

Through a combination of presentations and showroom tours in a safe and welcoming space, we will introduce you to our Nation through Métis art, history, and language in an intimate and meaningful way. Let us tell you stories and show you our enduring and evolving traditions. You’ll engage with artifacts and contemporary pieces with styles and stories that stretch from the prairies to the pacific and take away invaluable tools to continue the learning process for yourself and others. This is a perfect chance for your team to engage in meaningful reconciliation and discover the contributions of Métis people and the unique and enduring beauty of Métis culture.

Location: Amelia Douglas Institute for Métis Culture and Language: Suite #380 – 13401 108 Ave, Surrey

Through a combination of presentations and showroom tours in a safe and welcoming space, we will introduce you to our Nation through Métis art, history, and language in an intimate and meaningful way. Let us tell you stories and show you our enduring and evolving traditions. You’ll engage with artifacts and contemporary pieces with styles and stories that stretch from the prairies to the pacific and take away invaluable tools to continue the learning process for yourself and others. This is a perfect chance for your team to engage in meaningful reconciliation and discover the contributions of Métis people and the unique and enduring beauty of Métis culture.

Location: Amelia Douglas Institute for Métis Culture and Language: Suite #380 – 13401 108 Ave, Surrey

Spend a day exploring and engaging in practices and activities around the environmental impact of the clothing we wear. We will engage in activities around natural fabric dying, explore visible mending, stitch techniques, and approaches to bring new life to garments to increase their longevity. Discussions are planned to touch on work being done in the space of textile development in Canada, and practices elsewhere to promote community, industry, and engagement with textiles. Content from activities and discussions may be brought into your own classrooms and learning spaces to explore potential futures for fashion.

Teachers are encouraged to bring their own lunch. Per diems cannot be submitted for Convention. 

Location: ground floor at Wilson School of Design, 5600 Kwantlen St., Richmond

Step outside the classroom and into Vancouver’s Chinatown for a place-based professional development experience designed for educators. This workshop introduces teachers to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and the surrounding neighbourhood as rich learning spaces for Social Studies, Arts Education, and cross-curricular inquiry. Participants will take part in a guided Garden tour, a short traditional craft activity, and a walking tour of Chinatown that highlights history, culture, migration, community, and the built environment.

This session is designed to help teachers think about how local sites can support hands-on, curriculum-connected learning. Educators will leave with ideas for bringing place-based education, storytelling, observation, and cultural exploration into their own teaching practice. This workshop is especially valuable for teachers looking for meaningful ways to connect students with local history, identity, and community through experiential learning.

Location: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver