Last year I was chosen as one of the teacher advisors to accompany a group of Sun West students to the Canadian Student Leadership Conference in Toronto and Waterloo. Myself and fellow advisor, Erin, were in charge of 7 wonderful students from across the division. We had never met and we did not know any of the students. Most people would find this a little nerve wracking but we soon became our own little Team Sun West family. We started meeting at the airport in the very early hours of Saturday. We organized the kids, met parents and gave any last minute updates to the students. Luckily, Erin and I complemented each others' skill sets and we became fast friends. She was a great listener of any announcements and I became the "visual surroundings expert." The first three days were busy with touring Toronto during Pre-Conference. Erin and I got to know the students quickly and we were amazed by their maturity and enthusiasm. It was an extremely rewarding experience to lead them through the conference. We arrived in Waterloo and attended the opening ceremonies. Each province created their own cheer and marched around the the football field. That night we saw our students off with their billets and got some much needed rest! Stu Sander opened the conference and pumped up the crowd. The next day George Couros talked to advisors about the importance of technology and digital citizenship. We also had a session on mindfulness and gratitude. This reminded me take in every moment and be thankful for all the small things in life especially when we are going through something difficult. One of our evenings ended with a German Cultural night. There was good food and awesome dancing. It was very cool to see the strong connection to culture in the Waterloo area. The next day Stu Sander opened the conference and pumped up the crowd. The next day George Couros talked to advisors about the importance of technology and digital citizenship. We also had a session on mindfulness and gratitude. This reminded me take in every moment and be thankful for all the small things in life especially when we are going through something difficult. One of our evenings ended with a German Cultural night. There was good food and awesome dancing. It was very cool to see the strong connection to culture in the Waterloo area. Another highlight was the Live TedTalk event in Kitchener. Many of the talks were related to education. One quote stood out to me, "You Matter". It made me thing of my students and question how do I make each and every one of them feel like they matter. The last Keynote speaker impacted me the most. Ryan Sheckler said that a good leader celebrates others. Leaders need to take and inspire action rather than just talking about that action. I felt this was a philosophy that I could really bring back to my school and my profession. He talked about how small acts can lead to larger movements. The simple act of handing out socks to the homeless inspire him to create Skate For Change. And now groups of skaters get together and hand out socks, toques, mitts and food to the homeless. The world needs people who take action not just those that think about taking action. The last day ended with the banquet. Everyone dressed their best. Farewells were said to new friends and the conference ended in a dance for the students. What amazed me the most about the conference was the constant energy from the leaders and kids. It was such an uplifting motivational atmosphere. Attending CSLC is and will be one of my favourite teaching memories for quite some time.
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Walkthroughs from your principal can be nerve racking but in the end they are usually quite helpful and informative. I received this piece of feedback from my principal in October when I introduced the 'new' format for my personalized grade 10 math course. I had started off the year using an online textbook with videos and notes; however, the online textbook did not fit well with my students and I quickly realized I would have to go back to the drawing board to get them back on track. Having feedback from my principal was encouraging and helped re-enforce that I was taking the right actions. |
About the AuthorVanessa L. Warnock Archives
May 2018
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