Wednesday 21 Mar 2018

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Spring News - Better Together, SEN and Leadership Training

Spring is in the air…

Bit by bit the days grow longer and the light changes. Spring brings with it renewed energy and enthusiasm. Yet even in these last days of winter, there has been a burst of inspiring events that push us to reflect deeply on our purpose and our practice.

On March 6th, Claire Lee of La Châtaigneraie Primary led a truly stimulating Better Together workshop on the use of prompts for “Low threshold, high ceiling tasks in mathematics,” reminding us of how essential it is to challenge our occasionally unconscious assumptions of what a given child is capable of attaining. Claire’s pedagogical methods allow for natural differentiation while promoting student agency and collaboration. A number of colleagues joined us from schools near and far and I am certain that each one of them came away from the workshop wishing he or she could be one of Claire’s students.

From March 12-15th, we were privileged to have Bambi Betts of the Principals’ Training Center with us once again. Bambi is one of the most skilled educators and workshop leaders one could hope to encounter and her ability to steer a group of fifty teachers through the rough waters of appraisal processes and curriculum design is incredibly motivating. As always, Bambi reminds us that all that we do should be guided by a concern for creating and sustaining the best possible conditions for student learning.  

The theme of a child-centered, inclusive education continued into Ecolint’s 9th annual Special Education Needs Conference held at LGB’s Centre des arts on Saturday, March 17th.

With amazing energy, Dr. Patrick Schwarz guided us through an enriching day-long workshop entitled “From Disability to Possibility: The Power of the Inclusive Classroom,” sharing with us his passion and professional mission to make diversity work. If you haven’t read it yet, take a look at Pedro’s Whale!

Bonne vacances de Pâques à tous et à toutes!