September 12, 2024

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

Beyond the Win | Supporting Truth and Reconciliation in the Classroom | More info
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is committed to amplifying the truths and experiences of Indigenous Order of Sport Recipients and Hall of Famers, and illuminating the invaluable lessons learned through sport. By celebrating the truths, stories and achievements of these remarkable individuals, we strive to create a lasting legacy of inspiration and understanding.
Click the link above to access 10 free educational activities developed to support discussions of Truth and Reconciliation in your classroom, aligning with subjects such as Physical Education, English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and Health Education.

Truth and Reconciliation Week 2024 – September 23 to 27 | More info
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is offering a wide variety of excellent programming for teachers and classes to honour, recognize and celebrate Truth and Reconciliation Week from September 23 to 27, 2024.  This free, online educational programming offers all Canadians the opportunity to learn about the history and ongoing legacy of Canada’s residential school system from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis residential school Survivors and develop a profound understanding of the experiences of residential and their enduring spirit. To learn more about all of the types of programming available to teachers and classes, please click on the link above.

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

NEW! CURIO Webinar | On-Demand Learning Feature
Join Laraine and Veronica to discover Canada’s premier educational platform tailored for both teachers and students. Explore how Curio carefully curates its programs and develops teacher guides to support key content. Learn about our extensive Indigenous collection designed specifically for education.

More Than Just Speech to Text and AAC: Technology for Digital Equity, Engagement, and Opportunity with Vicki Kidd | On-Demand Learning Feature
Learn how to enhance your use of technology to plan and program for ALL students. This session looks at the technology competencies from BC’s Digital Literacy Framework and introduces two models for designing, implementing, and evaluating learning experiences. It is through creative and mindful integration of technology into our practice that we can support, equip, and inspire today’s and tomorrow’s students.

NEW! Co-teaching: A Professional Learning Dinner Series | October 9, 2024 – April 8, 2025 I Register
Itinerant teachers, invite a content or classroom teacher to join you, or come on your own, and be a part of this dinner series focused on co-teaching. Learn how to develop professional co-teaching relationships, strategies for teaching in tandem, planning and assessing in a partnership, and more. Each session provides time to work together or work on your professional growth plan. Must register prior to first session.

Connecting the Pieces: The Early Years Conference | October 25, 2024 I Register
Connecting the Pieces: Pre-K and Kindergarten Conference is our annual conference dedicated to professional development for kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators.
Our workshop line-up includes local and internationally recognized experts selected to share their innovative and practical ideas for working with young learners. Featured Speaker Raffi!

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Matt Glover Series – How to Become a Better Writing Teacher | More info
POPEY (Provincial Outreach Program for the Early Years) is offering a four-part series hosted by Matt Glover on how to help teachers with teaching writing to students. This is a virtual learning series that runs from 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm and is free to all staff to attend. For all the dates and overviews of what topics each session will cover as well as the link to register, please see the flyer at the link above.

Literacy Equity for Every Student: Building Bridges to Brighter Futures | Sept 27, 2024
Join Our Fall Zoom Summit on September 27th, 2024. The workshop includes five teacher demonstrations of Heggerty’s Building Bridges literacy program. The researcher presentation is about “Why Heggerty programs and literacy research are such a match!”
Click here to view the detailed Summit Program Schedule
Click here to register for the summit online

Educating Students with Down Syndrome Conference | Oct 25, 2024 | More info
The Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society is hosting a conference Embracing Success: Educating Students with Down Syndrome on Friday, October 25th, 2024. This conference explores strategies for supporting students with Down syndrome and other disabilities. There’s a virtual option for attendees who aren’t able to travel to Victoria.

BCHSBBA Super Clinic | Oct 25, 2024 | More info
The BC High School Boys Basketball Association will once again be offering their Coaching Super Clinic at St. Thomas More on the Provincial Pro-D Day, Friday October 25.  Join other coaches from around the province for a day of learning the game, whether it’s x and o’s, team culture it doesn’t matter. This is the biggest and best clinic in BC!

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF/STUDENTS/CLASSES

How to Engage with First Nations Workshop | Sept 20, 2024 | Register
BC Sports Hall of Fame Annual Summit is offering their Community Development Workshop on Friday September 20 from 2:30PM – 4:30PM. This year they are honoured to have Sarah Candido lead a session. She is the Indigenous & External Relations Manager for the City of Kamloops. There are virtual options available.

Fall 2024 High School Economics Field Trips | Fraser Institute | Register
These free one-day field trips are a great way to get students to engage with the economic concepts they learn in class through hands on activities, while also encouraging students to consider how economic concepts are reflected in their own thinking and daily interactions and answer the question “why do economies function as they do?”.

Sample Topics and Questions Covered:

•  Economic Systems & Opportunity Cost
  What are the trade-offs for each of the economic systems (e.g. Traditional, Market and Mixed)?

•  Incentives & Marginal Decision-making
  Why do people choose to litter more in public parks than in private parks?  How do governments allocate money?

Gairdner High School Symposium | Oct 21, 2024 | More info
The Gairdner High School Symposium is a half-day event held each fall that gives secondary students and teachers the opportunity to interact with Gairdner award-winning scientists and BC Children’s Hospital researchers.
This event is scheduled for Monday, October 21, 2024. Grade 10-12 students can participate in-person or virtually in real-time. The registration form will be posted for 14 days from Monday, September 9, 2024 at 9:30 am to Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 11:59 pm. Students can submit the registration form any time during this week. For more information, please see the link above and the registration guidelines here.

2024 BC Provincial Junior Chess Championship | Nov 16-17, 2024 | More info
The official BC Chess Federation junior chess tournament – 2024 BC Provincial Junior Chess Championship – will happen at the Bonsor Recreation Complex in Burnaby from November 16th – 17th, 2024. This is an excellent opportunity for juniors to meet over a chessboard, enhance their chess skills and make new friends in the spacious tournament hall. This chess event is organized by the Chess2Inspire Association (non-profit) on behalf of the BC Chess Federation.

School Music Funding Programs | Deadline Dec 3, 2024 | More info
MusiCounts is now accepting applications for their School Music Funding Programs! Through these grant programs, educators can apply to receive up to $20,000 in whatever musical instruments and equipment they need to sustain an existing program, or start something new. Their school music funding programs are split into two different granting programs:

• The MusiCounts Band Aid Program provides support for standard music education programs, including concert band, Orff, guitar and ukulele ensembles, etc.
• The MusiCounts Slaight Family Foundation Innovation Fund is a new grant program that specifically supports music programs that are contemporary, technology-forward, or culturally-specific.

If you’re interested in applying, here’s how to get started:

1. Familiarize yourself with the Band Aid Program and/or the Innovation Fund.
2. Complete the Intake Form; this takes 5 minutes, and will help the MusiCounts team assess which grant stream is right for you.
3. You will receive an invitation by email with your full, tailored application to complete on the MusiCounts grant portal within 2 business days of submitting your Intake Form.

2024/2025 Museum of Vancouver School Programs | K-7 Teachers | In-Person or Online
As a learning resource for our community, the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) offers a range of enriching educational experiences connected to the BC provincial curriculum. Students of all needs and ages have a chance to engage through hands-on programming and inquiry-based learning. All of their programs are also available in French. For those requiring/interested in the French brochures, pleas contact jbeokovic@MUSEUMOFVANCOUVER.CA.

SkillsCanada Opportunities for Students | Podcast
Meet Brooklyn Pelletier, 2023 Provincial Gold Hairstyling Medalist, National Competitor and 2024 Skills for Success Youth Assembly Representative for BC. Join in as they talk about her journey through hairstyling, stereotypes within the trades and technologies and the ever-growing opportunities that are available!

Poets in Class Return & Poetry Is Elementary Launches | More info
We’re excited to announce the return of our popular Poet In Class program. Over the past 6 years, PIV/LVP has placed 196 different poets in over 2500 classrooms, allowing over 75,000 students to connect with and learn directly from poets! Thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for supporting this amazing program! The Poet In Class application system is now open! Log in with your teacher account or create a teacher account to request a visit. Spots are limited so you’ll want to book as soon as possible!

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL READINGS AND RESOURCES

“Assess That” Podcast | Podcast
The “Assess That” podcast is a fabulous podcast for classroom teachers all built around the topic of assessment.  Hosted by assessment experts, Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso, the podcast addresses everything to do with assessment, feedback, grading and learning. In the first episode, Tom & Nat discuss the five reasons assessment must still be an essential part of every educator’s professional learning plan but also provide some great tips around how teachers can use assessment more effectively and efficiently in their classroom along the way.

LEARNING RESOURCES

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Project leading to the I.D.E.A. Summit | Teacher info
As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, we are excited to reintroduce the Entrepreneur and Innovation Project with some important updates. After gathering valuable feedback from the field and carefully reviewing insights, we have made a few minor adjustments to improve the project and ensure its success both at the school level and at the IDEA Summit.
Key changes:

1. Financial Spending Constraints: Based on feedback, we’ve made a small increase to the spending limit. This new $30 spending limit will provide greater flexibility while still maintaining a focus on efficient resource management.
2. Clarity on Recycling and Repurposing: We’ve also enhanced the guidelines regarding the recycling and repurposing aspects of the project. The aim is to encourage more innovative approaches to sustainability and better define how these can be integrated into your projects.

These updates are designed to streamline the process and provide clearer guidelines without disrupting the core objectives of the project. We believe these refinements will help you achieve even greater results while supporting the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that drives this project.

At the above link please see a teacher information sheet with ordering information from the student and teacher booklets as well key district contacts for the project. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to those contacts with any questions or if you need further clarification about the project and the updates.

CURIO from CBC | Curio Starter Pack
CURIO is a free resource available to all staff in the Langley School District simply by creating an account with your District email address.  CURIO is filled with easy to use videos, movies, podcasts and other resources for teachers to use with their classes along with ready made teacher guides and classroom guides for use along with the resources.  Please watch the recording of the webinar above under Professional Learning to learn more. Please find below access to the Curio Starter Pack. It includes logos, tutorials and information for both teachers and administration on how to make the most of the platform.

Elephanatics | Free Educational Resources | More info
This non-profit organization in Vancouver called Elephanatics, is an elephant conservation organization whose mission is to help the long-term survival of African elephants by raising and disseminating information about their ecology and conservation.
The education section of the website has been updated to make it more user friendly for all educators. They are offering FREE opportunities for teachers to bring a Kenyan ranger or researcher into their classroom via zoom for a one-hour presentation in conjunction with Mara Elephant Project in Kenya. What better way to learn about wildlife and the importance of protecting these animals than through a conservationist!

The Memory Project | Historica Canada | Video
The new video “The Forgotten Navy: The Merchant Navy in the Second World War” highlights the experiences of Canada’s Merchant Navy through first-hand accounts from Chief Steward Percival Smith and Captain Earle Wagner. Unofficially known as the “Fourth Arm of the Services”, the Merchant Navy helped support the war effort in Europe. Merchant seamen risked their lives crossing the Atlantic with limited air support to ensure weapons, food, and soldiers made it to England and beyond. Through the stories of these two Merchant Navy veterans, the Memory Project brings a new video sharing the dangers faced in the Black Pit of the Atlantic Ocean and the decades-long fight to receive proper recognition.

TECH TIPS

SPACES Resources and Supports | More info

New SpacesEDU Continuum of Expectations for K-6 | Download Your Copy
Get ready to help your students develop essential skills in reflection and peer assessment. This structured framework outlines specific expectations at each grade level and guides students toward greater independence and proficiency in using digital tools, engaging in thoughtful self-reflection, and providing constructive feedback to peers.

In Case you Missed It…SpacesEDU Back-to-School Summit | Access On-Demand
This August, the second virtual back-to-school summit took place with special guest speakers from across North America. And while the live event is over, we couldn’t keep this amazing content hidden. Access the sessions on-demand to:

• Uncover strategies for tech-enhanced assessment and storytelling
• Discover innovative ways to empower primary educators
• Delve into competency-based assessment and student-centered portfolio development

Live SpacesEDU Interactive Webinars for Real-Time Learning | Register Now
Are you just getting started with SpacesEDU? Ready to take the next step toward using it for assessment? Looking to explore the latest release?
If you said yes to any of the above, register for an upcoming webinar. You’ll engage directly with SpacesEDU experts and get answers to your specific questions, plus our flexible webinar scheduling means it’s easy to choose one that fits into your busy schedule.