During this 90-minute session, teachers 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: Lara Hein

This workshop covers the Hook and Link techniques, which would allow someone to memorize a page of notes in about 5 minutes, as well as how to memorize names.

Presenter: Michael Glenister

This workshop teaches several magical effects that could be used to illustrate classroom concepts, as a black box activity, or to just entertain your students, family, or friends.

Presenter: Michael Glenister

Do you struggle to teach Socials in today’s world in a way that offers hope for a better future? This engaging, hands-on workshop shares classroom-ready resources that examine common patterns of injustice through the lens of Japanese Canadian history. Learn and teach how to identify troubling patterns and confront injustice. Through curated primary sources, teachers and their students will explore causes and consequences, connect with continuity and change, and assess powerful ways to respond to the past and its implications on the present.

Presenter: Andrea Phillpotts

Do you struggle to teach Socials in today’s world in a way that offers hope for a better future? This engaging, hands-on workshop shares classroom-ready resources that examine common patterns of injustice through the lens of Japanese Canadian history. Learn and teach how to identify troubling patterns and confront injustice. Through curated primary sources, teachers and their students will explore causes and consequences, connect with continuity and change, and assess powerful ways to respond to the past and its implications on the present.

Presenter: Andrea Phillpotts

Supported by its new Discovery Zone library of 50+ free activities and resources for exploring Shakespeare, Bard Education has plenty to share. Join Mary Hartman, Director of Education at Bard on the Beach as she shares strategies for student-centred, inquiry-based exploration of Shakespeare, customizable for grades 4-12. In addition to sharing the underlying pedagogy and several highlight activities from the Discovery Zone collection, this session will include foundational activities that empower students to discover how they can use Shakespeare’s words to express who they are. This session will invite active participation in a warm, friendly context.

Presenter: Mary Hartman

Supported by its new Discovery Zone library of 50+ free activities and resources for exploring Shakespeare, Bard Education has plenty to share. Join Mary Hartman, Director of Education at Bard on the Beach as she shares strategies for student-centred, inquiry-based exploration of Shakespeare, customizable for grades 4-12. In addition to sharing the underlying pedagogy and several highlight activities from the Discovery Zone collection, this session will include foundational activities that empower students to discover how they can use Shakespeare’s words to express who they are. This session will invite active participation in a warm, friendly context.

Presenter: Mary Hartman

This presentation will discuss the 59 year-long history detailing analyze the legal, historical, and daily impact of Israeli military occupation of Palestine. We will highlight resources, unit plans, lesson plans, giving teachers the strategies to thoughtfully teach about the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This subject will be placed in the context of curricular competencies, with special focus on perspective taking, ethical judgement, and  cause and consequence.

Presenters: Waleed Kadray and Khaled Shawwash

Artificial intelligence isn't new, but generative AI is rapidly transforming how students learn and create. As educators, we play a crucial role in helping students navigate these tools responsibly through strong digital literacy skills. In this workshop, we will explore how students are already using AI, practical ways educators can utilize AI as a teaching tool, and strategies to encourage critical thinking about technology use. Digital literacy is about so much more than fact-checking-- it's about empowering students to engage with the world thoughtfully and critically. Together, we will explore resources that tackle the challenges and lean into the opportunities presented by digital technology and AI use in education.

Presenter: Jennie King

Artificial intelligence isn't new, but generative AI is rapidly transforming how students learn and create. As educators, we play a crucial role in helping students navigate these tools responsibly through strong digital literacy skills. In this workshop, we will explore how students are already using AI, practical ways educators can utilize AI as a teaching tool, and strategies to encourage critical thinking about technology use. Digital literacy is about so much more than fact-checking-- it's about empowering students to engage with the world thoughtfully and critically. Together, we will explore resources that tackle the challenges and lean into the opportunities presented by digital technology and AI use in education.

Presenter: Jennie King

This workshop will introduce educators to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre’s online teaching
resource Fragments in Focus: The History of the Holocaust and provide practical strategies for engaging students in inquiry-based learning about the Holocaust using primary sources.
Participants will receive ready-to-use lesson plans and
resources covering these topics:

• The Power of Objects: Teaching the Holocaust
with Primary Sources

• Defining the Holocaust for the classroom

• Recognizing and Addressing Common Student Misconceptions

• Pedagogical Principles for Teaching about
the Holocaust

• Using the Fragments in Focus website in the classroom

Presenter: Lise Kirchner

AI has changed the game - so our assessments need to change with it. In this fast‑paced workshop, teachers learn how to design tasks that highlight real student thinking: framing questions, evaluating AI outputs, and adapting work using their own judgment. Using the Human → AI → Human framework, participants will practice smart prompting and co‑create assignments that push deeper learning instead of surface‑level responses. Walk away with ready‑to‑use assessments that embrace AI collaboration while keeping human reasoning front and center.

Presenter: Kent Lui

AI has changed the game - so our assessments need to change with it. In this fast‑paced workshop, teachers learn how to design tasks that highlight real student thinking: framing questions, evaluating AI outputs, and adapting work using their own judgment. Using the Human → AI → Human framework, participants will practice smart prompting and co‑create assignments that push deeper learning instead of surface‑level responses. Walk away with ready‑to‑use assessments that embrace AI collaboration while keeping human reasoning front and center.

Presenter: Kent Lui

Join Out In Schools for informative and engaging workshops on cultivating 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion in the classroom and beyond. This session will focus on building a foundation for inclusive education. We'll introduce some basic terms, clarify big concepts, and explore different ways that you can make your school communities safer for 2SLGBTQIA+ students. This workshop includes watching a short films and facilitated discussions. Questions are encouraged!

Presenter: Danny Lybbert

Join Out In Schools for informative and engaging workshops on cultivating 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion in the classroom and beyond. This workshop is for  educators ready to move beyond the basics. We'll dive deeper into 2SLGBTQIA+ representation.. We'll unpack the concept of queer joy and the value of diverse representation, and introduce a framework for evaluating 2SLGBTQIA+ content. This workshop includes watching a short films and facilitated discussions. Questions are encouraged!

Presenter: Danny Lybbert

Every teacher is a literacy teacher! But they don’t train high school teachers how to do that! 😂 Come join us to unpack the why and how of secondary literacy, from the big ideas to the graphic organizers and activities that will change your practice and build every student’s skills. 

Objectives:
•        I can describe the active view of reading
•        I can build learning around appropriate research supported literacy tools

Presenter: Kyle McKillop

Every teacher is a literacy teacher! But they don’t train high school teachers how to do that! 😂 Come join us to unpack the why and how of secondary literacy, from the big ideas to the graphic organizers and activities that will change your practice and build every student’s skills. 

Objectives:
•        I can describe the active view of reading
•        I can build learning around appropriate research supported literacy tools

Presenter: Kyle McKillop

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

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

Do you struggle to teach Socials in today’s world in a way that offers hope for a better future? This engaging, hands-on workshop shares classroom-ready resources that examine common patterns of injustice through the lens of Japanese Canadian history. Learn and teach how to identify troubling patterns and confront injustice. Through curated primary sources, teachers and their students will explore causes and consequences, connect with continuity and change, and assess powerful ways to respond to the past and its implications on the present.

Presenter: Andrea Phillpotts

Do you struggle to teach Socials in today’s world in a way that offers hope for a better future? This engaging, hands-on workshop shares classroom-ready resources that examine common patterns of injustice through the lens of Japanese Canadian history. Learn and teach how to identify troubling patterns and confront injustice. Through curated primary sources, teachers and their students will explore causes and consequences, connect with continuity and change, and assess powerful ways to respond to the past and its implications on the present.

Presenter: Andrea Phillpotts

This workshop will delve into Mirko Chardin and Katie Novak's work related to Equity by Design which focuses on the intersection of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and advocacy for students for whom the system was not built. We will investigate how to disrupt cycles of inequality so every student has an opportunity to be successful regardless of their racial, cultural, linguistic, or ethnic background, cognitive/physical ability, or sexual orientation and/or gender identity. We will discuss, and reflect on  what Novak and Chardin (2021) posit about using the UDL framework to address equity by examining the ways in which educators have the key (power), and autonomy to make micro-decisions in their classrooms that can have life-changing outcomes for student-success and trajectory whatever that may look like for the individual student.

Presenter: Marilyn Ricketts-Lindsay

While teaching about democracy happens mainly in Social Studies, we believe teaching for democracy can enhance learning across subjects and grades. At the heart of our approach is designing fun, authentic ways to engage students in collective decision-making. Making decisions together, whether on internal classroom policies and on real-world political, scientific, or community issues, is what democracy entails and requires. In this fun and interactive workshop, we’ll set the stage with a little theory, then invite you to try out games and activities we’ve designed to build skills (e.g. leadership, data analysis, and deliberation) and dispositions (e.g. open-mindedness; tolerance for complexity, contingency and nuance) that are good for both democracy and student learning.

Presenters: Dr. Michael MacKenzie and Dr. Paula Waatainen

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

Screens are disrupting classroom learning and leaving teachers uncertain about where to draw the line. This session explores the connection between adolescent mental health decline and smartphones, then guides participants through defining personal boundaries around classroom screen use. Educators will examine attachment-based practices that reduce classroom chaos and define their individual position on screens through targeted reflection and dialogue. Participants will leave with clarity about their non-negotiables, confidence in their authority to set limits, and practical strategies for consistent implementation. The focus is on empowering educators to lead with conviction: understanding the problem, owning their position, and creating manageable classroom standards.

Presenter: Suzanne Simpson

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.

Presenter: Karley Alleyn

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

Food is a powerful entry point for connection, conversation, and belonging. In this presentation, educators will explore how the free What’s Cooking? Education Kit uses food to spark inquiry, honour diverse cultural experiences, and build classroom community. Through hands-on artifacts, guided discussion prompts, and inquiry-based activities, participants will identify strategies to help students explore food traditions from the past and present. The session models activities that invite students to share their own food stories, creating inclusive, respectful, and meaningful learning spaces.

Presenter: Christina Anderson

Bullying Can Be Stopped. Learn 
How!

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. 

Workshop Goal(s): 
Participants, having completed this course, will have the confidence and skills necessarily to end any bullying they personally encounter, teach bullying alleviation skills to other professionals and child/youth, assist parents with bullying situations, and implement an effective anti-bullying strategy  in their school or community venue. 

Workshop learning Objectives: 

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: 

1.        Differentiate between bullying and other inappropriate (anti-social)                                  behaviours.
2.        Understand why children/youth (and many adults) bully.
3.        Identify why a child is repeatedly bullying
4.        Identify why a child /youth is being repeatedly bullied 
5.        Learn via both adult and child/youth scenarios how to deal with bullying from both the bullied child/youth’s and bullying child/youth’s perspective
6.        Demonstrate and be able to apply skills in both prevention and intervention               situations
7.        Understand and be able to teach anti-bulling skills to others, including professionals, parents, and children/youth, in both 1-1 and group settings
8.        Learn the skills/tools necessary to alleviate bullying behaviour in those that frequently bully, both in 1-1 and group settings
9.        Demonstrate and be able to lead a skill based anti-bullying strategy at a school or other community venue   

Workshop Topics/Content: 

.        Why do children/youth/ adults bully?  
.        What is it the bullying child/youth / adult wants?
.        Why is a child/youth you know being bullied?         
Up-stander verses By-standers
.        The 3 most common pieces of advice and why they are not working
.        Changing our thought processes and focus from “winning” to “ending”
.        What to say. What to do. “The Skills”- B.E.S.T.
.        Role plays: Adult and child/youth scenarios  
.        Desensitizing (Dealing with and preventing emotional hurt)
.        Guiding Parents
.        Bullying via Isolation
.        Cyber Bullying
.        Preventing violence in acute situations 
.        Scenarios: Assessing the most applicable intervention and your role  
.        Assisting children/youth prone to bullying, 1-1 and group work
.        Implementation and follow up

Text and Resource Materials: 

A follow up implementation resource guide is provided post workshop electronically to all participants and ongoing follow up by phone or email is available at no cost.

We provide follow up, counselling and individualized interventions as needed. You, parents even students can call us or email us at no cost, and we will be there to help.
You do  not have to let a bullying challenge go unchecked or be mishandled:  
Tel 604 307 9146 or email bully_back_off@yahoo.com

We also work with children/youth identified as frequently bullying, in both group and individual settings. Referrals have come from, school districts, RCMP, Restorative Justice, Youth Probation, MCFD, of course parents, and believe it or not the kids themselves.   We can help them to change their behaviour.    

Other sessions include: Anger and Stress Management for Children and Youth 
                         Love Is Love Isn’t  ( Abusive Relationship Prevention for Youth)
                         MADS ( Managing Aggressive and/or Dangerous Situations) 

Awards and recognition
•        Winner of the Community Safety Crime Prevention

Award – Ministry of the Solicitor General
•        Winner of the Child and Youth Friendly Community Award – BC Society for Children and Youth
•        Winner of multiple individual youth volunteer awards: see web-site for details and letters/thanks from; professionals, and the children themselves. 

Presenter: Steve Andrews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

** 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

**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

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

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

Overview
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.

Workshop Focus
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.

Format
This is an experiential, hands-on workshop. Participants will actively engage in:
- Fine arts activities

- Performance-based exercises (music and drama)

- Creative writing and storytelling

- Group collaboration exercises

The day will also include foundational theory related to behavior, social development, and practical application. Attendees will leave with concrete tools, activity ideas, and brainstorming strategies to incorporate into their own professional or educational practice.

Presenter: Patricia Lynn Dunphy

Come and discover some hands-on activities from the latest resource released by Perimeter Institutes for Theoretical Physics.
In the first activity, students investigate the evidence to support four properties of Earth: it is round (i.e., spherical), it spins on its axis, it orbits the Sun, and its axis is tilted. Students work collaboratively to sort observations and manipulate hands-on models to demonstrate the properties.
In the second activity, students use a combination of paper, physical, and computer representations to explore models of the solar system. By finding patterns in Galileo’s observations of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus, students find evidence for themselves for a Sun-centred model of the solar system.

Presenter: Louay El Halabi

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

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

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

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

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: Jane Felling

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

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.

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary 

Presenter: Sheldon Franken

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!

Location: Goldstone Park Elementary 

Presenter: Sheldon Franken

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Presenter: Gerry Tiede

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

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

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

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

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

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

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