November 30, 2023

KEY RESOURCES IN LANGLEY

• Clickable PDF to Key Resources in Langley
• Instructional Services Website: For all your district-vetted resources K-12!  Check it out!
• Aboriginal Resources vetted by the District
• TCS Sites (TCS SS-grade 3, 4-8, Secondary): Key resources are still being placed in these Teams. If you need access to one of these Teams, please email dzurbuchenjonker@sd35.bc.ca
• District Learning Commons is a lending library of classroom and teaching resources available to all school staff in the Langley School District. All of our items are available to view and book online through the Insignia Library system. Find instructions, an area to check out new resources, request new resources and report lost or damages kits here: https://sway.office.com/qbfcZW739otNIwLe?ref=Link
  We deliver and pick up all the items you request through district mail twice per week (check with your admin assistant to see which days your deliveries are on).

HONOURING TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

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.  Please note that breakout sessions do not require a formal presentation.  They could include facilitating a session for a group of educators of a certain course, grade level or subject area which would allow eductaors from a specific area to gather at Odyssey and share ideas and examples of best practice.  If you would be interested in submitting a proposal to present at this year’s Odyssey Conference, please use the link above.

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

Building Background Knowledge | On-Demand Learning Feature
Learn some fun and practical strategies to help students link their past learning and experiences to new concepts. Identify different ways you can select and emphasize key vocabulary in your existing lessons. Leave with activities you can begin using right away!

NEW! Differentiating your Math with Dice | Nov 15 I Register
Come join Jane Felling from Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks for a fun-filled workshop using DICE. This will be a virtual workshop using ZOOM. Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks math games are hands-on, easy to use for whole class learning, small groups, or in differentiated learning centers. Come see how dice can be an effective tool in inspiring real engagement, resulting in long-lasting learning.

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

CS ED Week 2023 | Dec 2-15, 2023
Two weeks of Computer Science Education is being offered this December by LOGICS Academy

• Virtual Day of Coding – Saturday December 2nd, 2023 | Register
  Teachers, kick start your own learning with a full day of Free virtual webinars so you can Get Cozy with Coding before you and your class dive into all of the CS Ed Week programming that we have in store.
• Virtual Coding Series – December 4 – 15, 2023 | Register
  A series of live co-taught lessons from December 2nd to December 15th is being offered, covering various topics. Save your spot by registering once through the provided form. CSEW is completely free, thanks to the generous support of FIRST Canada, MindFuel, and CBC Kids News!

The BC Proficiency Scale: Making Use of it in PHE | More info | Register
PHEinBC is once again offering a webinar series for teachers of PHE around assessment and the new Ministry of Education Reporting Order.  The first session of the year is coming up on Thursday December 7 at 7 pm.  Registration is required – please use the link above to register for this free event.

Education Plus: Two powerful opportunities to build your capacity to support your students’ well-being and mental health | More info
Elevate your SEL curriculum by registering for these upcoming December events focused on supporting students’ well-being through service learning. Discover how to create a sense of belonging, connection and purpose in your classroom.

• December 5, 2023 | Well-being Canada: service learning meets mental health | Register
  Join this 60-minute session exploring the intersection of service learning and mental health support, featuring esteemed guest speaker Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl, a renowned expert in social and emotional learning.
• December 12, 2023 | Well-being Canada: building your students’ well-being toolkit | Register
  This inspiring 30-minute session is designed to equip your students with tools to support their own well-being and their peers’. Featuring student leader Joshua Monteiro whose broad experience in school activities including sports, drama and student politics gives him the unique ability to connect with and motivate students. They’ll learn how to develop a well-being toolkit, recognize mental health challenges in daily life and support the well-being
  and mental health of others

Explorations Program for Aspiring Teacher Leaders | More info
Are you a teacher leader with potential aspirations for future leadership opportunities? The BC Principals and Vice Principals Association is offering a four-part learning series starting in January 2024 for aspiring teacher leaders to engage in collaborative conversation and learning with teacher colleagues, current Vice-Principals and Principals and to dig deeper into the many different strands of educational leadership. See the flyer for more information and to register.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF/STUDENTS/CLASSES

City of Burnaby School Canoe Program 2024 | More info
The City of Burnaby, Outdoor Recreation department, is accepting applications for their spring School Canoe Program. The program is geared towards grade 5 to 12 classes, with a max of 30 participants per session. The requests will be taken in first come, first serve. Apply here. For any questions, please contact Jamie Barber at 604-294-7224 or Jamie.barber@burnaby.ca.

Celebrating Diversity Equity and Inclusion: Respecting the Game: The Story of Jackie Barrett | Dec 6, 2023 | More info
In honour of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (CSHoF) has proudly partnered with Special Olympics Canada and Special Olympics Canada Winter Games Calgary 2024 Legacy Fund to create a curriculum-aligned national education program that connects youth to the legacy, impact, and lessons of Jackie Barrett, the first Special Olympics athlete inducted into CSHoF – at no cost to schools.
Respecting the Game: The Story of Jackie Barrett is a groundbreaking, asynchronous educational program geared towards youth from kindergarten through grade 12. Scheduled to be unveiled via a premiere launch event on December 6 at 11:00 a.m. MT, this comprehensive program celebrates the richness of diversity, fosters equity, and champions inclusion through the remarkable journey of an exceptional role model – inspiring youth to dream big by seeing themselves in a true sport icon.

LEARNING RESOURCES

Coast Metro Numeracy Pro-D Session with Mariam Small – Number Sense/Subtraction | Video
In this video, Canadian Numeracy expert Mariam Small provides teachers with multiple engaging and interesting strategies and ideas for teaching subtraction to students.

Assessment Blog Post: “It’s Report Card Time and a Student’s Project is Missing. Now What?” | More info
In this blog post, Tim Cavey, discusses what teachers could and should do when it comes to report card season and students are missing assignments. In addition to getting teachers to think about the reasons “why” students may have not handed in assignments, Tim also provides a number of different options for teachers to respond rather than assigning a zero.

Poetry in Voice – Resources for educators
Poetry in Voice is a great resource for educators who want to inspire their students with poetry and encourage them to read and write more poems!  Check out their latest new releases below:

1.Mixtapes. Check out the wonderful new additions to our anthology via these Canadian poets’ Mixtapes:

• Cicely Belle Blain’s Big City Feelings
• David Ly’s Wildness in Poetry
• Raoul Fernandes Spell Casting through Ritual
• Joanne Epp’s The Stories our Mothers Don’t Tell Us
• Kirsteen McLeod’s Fathers

2. Indigenous Voices Program (IVP) mixtapes, poems, and dive-ins. Ashley Qilavaq-Savard has also created an incredible new mixtape,  “Living Language and Culture,” filled with Indigenous writing and featuring  Inuk voices. As well, we’re looking forward to Joshua Whitehead’s fantastic mixtape, “What Beautiful Metaphors We’ve Become”.

Also, stay tuned for news and announcements about our Indigenous Voices Program (IVP), celebrating the voices of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit poets!  And check out our Indigenous poets and their poems using the tag ‘Indigenous’ on our website!

3. Podcasts.  Listen to our podcast episode where poet Charlie Petch and student Maria Espindola talk together about the poem “How to tell if a poem is trans or not” as well as queerness, finding your people, slam competitions, and recitations.

4. Recitations. There are some outstanding new recitation videos to watch from the 2023 National Finals. Check out Maia Cassie’s recitation of “the ghosts of women once girls” by Aja Monet, Maria Espindola’s performance of “Paper People” by Harry Baker, or Aaronsaul Negre’s interpretation of  “Illegalese: Floodgate Dub” by Wayde Compton. We can’t wait to see what your students choose to recite this year!