There are several professional development opportunities that are available to our members this year. These workshops have been organized by our wonderful PD committee, which includes contract and occasional teachers.
For more information about these workshops, contact Samantha Gowanlock.
- October 9 at 4:30 pm in Seaforth: Building and Enriching Partnerships in Kindergarten
Building and Enriching Partnerships in Kindergarten is an after-school workshop being offered in partnership with ETFO provincial. This interactive workshop features a Kindergarten team as they share their journey from being a newly created team to becoming a supportive and positive partnership. They will focus on how to build, maintain, and enrich partnerships in the Kindergarten classroom and will provide members with approaches to support teamwork and strategies for building trust and supporting communication. This workshop highlights the ETFO resource Building and Enriching Partnerships in Kindergarten, which will be given to each teaching partnership.
*Please fill out one registration form per teaching partnership/team. Each person does not need to register. Each team will receive a copy of the book Building and Enriching Partnerships in Kindergarten
Register Now: https://forms.gle/zog881FsWKdd6iRD8 - November 5 at 5:00 pm in Goderich: Indigenous Treaties with the Huron County Museum
Learn about Indigenous Treaties and their history specific to Huron County, with interactive activities that can be used in your classroom.
Register Now: https://forms.gle/iRzdyDw1UAtuGgUMA - December 3 at 5:00 pm in Stratford: Playwriting and Devising with Stratford Festival
In this workshop, teachers will learn how to approach playwriting and devising as creative processes that empower students to become storytellers and critical thinkers. Participants will explore practical strategies such as improvisation, questioning in and out of role, and critical analysis of stories and characters, with a focus on how these techniques can be adapted for different classroom contexts. Teachers will gain tools to guide students in generating original material, refining ideas, and connecting storytelling to broader social, cultural, and personal contexts. By the end of the session, educators will leave with a deeper understanding of how to facilitate collaborative creation, foster student voice, and integrate playwriting and devising into their drama and cross-curricular teaching practice.
Register Now: https://forms.gle/TvhaDaQGVz2stYZD7 - January 15 at 4:30 pm via Zoom: Teaching Tough Topics
This workshop will focus on children’s literature can deepen understanding of social justice, diversity and equity. All participants will receive a copy of Teaching Tough Topics by Larry Swartz. Teaching Tough Topics shows teachers how to lead students to become caring citizens as they read and respond to quality children’s literature. It focuses on topics that can be challenging or sensitive, yet are significant in order to build understanding of social justice, diversity, and equity. Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, Religious Intolerance, Poverty, and Physical and Mental Challenges are just some of the themes explored. The book is rooted in the belief that by using picture books, novels, poetry, and nonfiction, teachers can enrich learning with compassion and empathy as students make connections to texts, to others, and to the world.
Register Now: https://forms.gle/qSRpcbPHP28AEc7r5 - March 24 at 5:00 pm in Stratford: Shakespeare and Equity with Stratford Festival
This professional development session will equip teachers with strategies to introduce Shakespeare’s works through the lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, making his plays relevant and accessible to today’s students. Educators will consider how Shakespeare’s characters and stories can highlight issues of justice, power, and human rights, themes that resonate strongly even with younger learners who naturally recognize fairness and unfairness. Through interactive activities and performance-based approaches, teachers will learn how to frame Shakespeare’s texts as opportunities for students to question perspectives, challenge stereotypes, and explore their own voices within the material. Participants will leave with practical tools to reimagine Shakespeare in the classroom.
Register Now: https://forms.gle/nckNLPgHrZ5DsT367