In the Loop – November 10, 2023

November 9, 2023

KEY RESOURCES IN LANGLEY

MENTORSHIP

We are looking for Mentors | Contact: gthornburn@sd35.bc.ca
The mentorship program is looking for mentors! A mentor is a teacher with more than 5 years of classroom experience who understands the needs and challenges of the early career teacher, a reflective practitioner who analyzes his own teaching, someone who is involved in ongoing personal and professional development, and a collaborative educator with strong interpersonal skills willing to provide professional guidance to a colleague.
We have a number of early career teachers looking for a mentor.  We need mentors at all grade levels and especially primary (K-5) and middle school (6-8).
Please contact Gwen Thornburn, District Teacher for Teacher Mentorship Programs, gthornburn@sd35.bc.ca.

HONOURING TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

Truth and Reconciliation Toolkit | More info
The Assembly of First Nations has put together an outstanding Education Toolkit that offers 22 learning modules on topics such as residential schools, cultural competency, and more. Downloadable user guides and unit plans for each module are available on the Assembly of First Nations website. There are many great resources and unit plans available for educators for both use in their classroom as well as for your own personal learning.  Please note, given the nature of some of the topics covered, it is extremely important that educators are reviewing the lessons, units and materials carefully before implementing in your classroom with students.

DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
To see our full calendar of offerings, visit www.thinklangley.com

Odyssey 2024 – February 16, 2024 – Call for presenters | Workshop Submission Form
The Langley School District’s Odyssey Conference will be held in-person on Friday February 16, 2024.  The day will open with an Indigenous-focused presentation and keynote at the Langley Events Centre followed by breakout sessions at RE Mountain and Peter Ewart. We are in the process of building the program for the breakout sessions and are seeking Langley staff who would be interested and willing to offer breakout sessions on any topics relevant to both teaching and support staff. While there will be an emphasis on breakout sessions focused on Indigenous learning and pedagogy in keeping with our Odyssey theme, this is not a requirement for breakout sessions as we are also hoping to offer many different learning sessions that meet the need of staff across the district. If you would be interested in submitting a proposal to present at this year’s Odyssey Conference, please use the link above.

Engaging Soft Start Activities: Starting your Day Off Right | On-Demand Learning Feature
We’ll be looking at different ways students can transition from home to school and ease their way into a day of learning with intentional and engaging soft start activities. We’ll dig deeper into specific soft start activities that can be used right away. Please sit with colleagues that you can collaborate and share ideas with (grade groups would work well). There will be three slides with questions where you will be asked to take 5-10 minutes and have a conversation or share ideas with one another.

The Path to Reconciliation: Embedding Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility into Our Schools with Len Pierre | On-Demand Learning Feature
The Path to Reconciliation: Embedding Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility into Our Schools. Join Len Pierre as we embark on this year’s Ensouling Our Schools Series. In this session, Len talks to us about what Colonial Socialization means, and how it has created anti-Indigenous sentiments that go right to the heart of “Canadian Values.” How do we recognise our biases, and how to address the anti-Indigenous learning we were indoctrinated into as Canadians? How do we create school systems and classrooms that are safe places for our Indigenous Learners?

NEW! Secondary Teachers (8-12) Using Spaces as a Tool to Support Students for Core Competency Reflections | Nov 15 I Register
This session is for Secondary 8-12 teachers who want a better understanding about how to support their students to use Spaces for Core Competency Reflection. Participants will be shown a demo student account and will be walked through the steps of how students can upload content and store evidence of learning and thinking.

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Building Capacity for Outdoor Learning | November 14, 2023 | More info | Register
The Outdoor Learning Store has one final session in their fall series of free, virtual workshops.  Building Capacity for Outdoor Learning will introduce classroom teachers (K to 7) to the ‘BE OUT’ digital tool. BE OUT is a new tool for elementary (K-7) school teachers and includes exemplars of outdoor learning from a diversity of teachers organized in a digital format.

CAfLN Conversation: How is AfL (Assessment for Learning) living in your classroom? | November 22, 2023 | Register
CAfLN (Canadian Assessment for Learning Network) is a non-profit learning network that connects educators dedicated to establishing and sustaining high quality Assessment for Learning at all levels of education. For a yearly membership fee, educators have access to all of the assessment resources that CAfLN provides as well as free access to a number of different professional learning opportunities including their annual CAfLN Conversation series. The next session in this series is coming up on Wednesday November 22 and focuses on a conversation about how AfL is living in your classroom. This is a members-only event and registration is free. Please register to receive the Zoom link.

Centering Indigenous Pedagogies in Math Education Webinar Series | More info | Register
The Edith Lando Virtual Learning Centre through UBC is offering a four part webinar series for teachers where leading scholars and educators explore strategies for centering Indigenous pedagogies in mathematics education. Sessions will focus on classroom teachers sharing examples, ideas, and questions on various Indigenous pedagogies such as Indigenous Storywork, teaching mathematics with/from place and land, and culturally responsive mathematics education and assessment practices. The series is free to educators and while the first session was held this past Tuesday November 7 you can still access the recoding by signing up now.  Future sessions are January 23, February 27 and April 9, and even if you are unable to attend the after school sessions, registered participants will receive the recording.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF/STUDENTS/CLASSES

WorkSafeBC Launches 2024 Student Safety Video Contest | Open to Grade 8 – 12 Students | More info
The theme of this year’s contest, Staying focused at work, asks students to create a short video on how distractions on the job can result in accidents. It asks youth to think about what they need to stay focused at work and what their employers can do to help. There are two categories for entries: grade 8-10 and grade 11-12. There are four $2,500 cash prizes to be shared by the students and their teacher/organization sponsors. Students are invited to submit their entries any time between now and the April 4, 2024 deadline.

LEARNING RESOURCES

Free Climate Action French Program | Planet Protector Academy | Ideal for Grades 3-6 | More info | Poster
Restez Cool is a free climate action French program for Grades 3 to 6 that is now available for teachers in B.C. during the 2023-24 school year. Check out these videos: Inscrivez-vous ici ou visionnez la vidéo de 2 minutes!

Teaching Resource | Planet Protector Academy | More info
Thanks to the Township of Langley, the FREE Planet Protector Academy infuses kindness, joy, fun and comedy to equip students to build the world they want to live in!

  • Meet BC standards for grades 3-6 in Science & Tech, Arts Education, Language, Social Studies, and Career Education – bonus: align with Sustainable Development Goals!
  • Incorporate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into classroom learning

Learn more/sign up for programs on zero waste, climate action and water conservation

Want to know more? Check out the 2-min video: Zero Heroes, Keep Cool and H2Whoa!

Instructional Services | #Think35

4875 222 Street, Langley
BC, V3A 3Z7
Phone: 6045347891
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