This school year ASFM had the opportunity to host the Tri-Association Conference in house. This event was attended by 800+ educators and presenters. It was an incredible opportunity to learn from current educational leaders like Tom Gusky, Annie Acevedo, Myron Dueck and more.

The main focus of the conference was empathy and many of the presentations and key notes were dedicated to that theme. I got the opportunity to attend several sessions by colleagues who are doing direct work related to empathy in their classrooms. Besides being inspired, I also learned techniques and have new ideas on how to keep moving forward to becoming a better educator every day.

I had the opportunity to attend a conference by Lea Waters presented at ASFM. My biggest take away from her talk was to always look for positive strengths in my students and my own children as well.

This is the fifth year I have had the opportunity to attend the Live Curious, Go Beyond conferences. This event has grown from being almost an in-house event to an international movement.

This year I am excited to say that I am part of the presenters with a session called "The Visual Art Journal". I am thankful I get to share my knowledge as well as learn from my colleagues.

Every year the TI Department send out and email inviting teachers to become part of the Digital Teachers group. This is the first year I apply and I got accepted to be part of the team.

The reason why I decided to join is because I look forward to having conversations with other colleagues to learn about new ways to implement technology in my class and also to have an allotted time for Professional Learning Community.

Manifest takes place during one day throughout the different buildings of Columbia. Several streets are closed so that students can have an area for a stage and have street vendor type spaces so they can sell their art as well. In every of the buildings you can see numerous displays ranging from photography, fashion design, visual art, cinema, music, etc.

The vibe you get from walking amongst all of the students is of happiness and a strong sense of pride to have culminated they college years.

Having had the opportunity to attend has given me a better insight at what kind of students attend Columbia. This is helpful when having conversations with HS students who are unsure of where to apply and if it will be a good fit for them or not.

I was very lucky to be invited and be an active part of the event as well.

Dr. Eslava talked about the need to bring students with different abilities and disabilities to schools. the integration of every type of learner is the best way for everyone to learn from each other.

He spoke of everyone having a certain type of disability, from wearing glasses to having Down Syndrome and how connecting with each other enriches us and makes us grow.

I attended these workshops:

Overcoming Social Hardships at School

Fernando López Elizondo was my student during his middle school years. He presented a TedX Talk he did in May of 2017 and then he proceeded to talk about his experience at ASFM. ASFM has been his school since he was in Nursery and he has overcome many challenges, one of the biggest one was communication. It was eye opening to listen to his perspective of is experience at ASFM.

Myths and Realities about Bullying: Gabriela Campoy, MS Asst. Principal; Jane Wong, MS Counselor; Virginia Rodriguez, Elementary Counselor.

These three presenters made a clear distinction between: teasing, being mean, being rude and bullying. In this current era, these behaviors have overlapped each other and small displays of them have been referred to as bullying. It is important to clarify the details of any situation where a person was wronged and find out what happened so that it can be dealt with accordingly.

Organization and Planning in Secondary School

James King, HS Learning Specialist. James talked about the works he does with students when they ask to go see him. He is aware of the educational challenges of the students and then makes the necessary accommodations for each one so that they can be successful independently.

The biggest take away I had from this event was knowing that ASFM is very serious about becoming an Inclusive school. Many educators, staff members and parents are invested in helping create the change and I am very thankful for this opportunity.

On May of 2017, I and three other ASFM teachers, attended the Project Zero Professional Development in Pittsburgh, PA.

I was able to attend workshops that ranged from making connections with students to having a workshop inside a museum. One of the things that made this conference different from others is that the venues changed every day. The conferences and workshops started in Quaker Valley Middle School in Sewickley, PA and then moved to Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History and the University of Pittsburgh’s famous Cathedral of Learning classroom building.

Since then, I have used these observation tools with my department. I have done informal drop-ins as well as a full formal observation process, depending on what is needed.

The biggest take away from the observations for me are the conversations my colleagues and I have afterwards. I get to see other educators teaching styles and I get to learn new approaches I can the take back to my practice.

I am thankful my department allows me to come into their spaces and learn from them.

In August of 2013 I will begin teaching an AP class called Studio Art 2D Design. In order to learn more about the class and its requirements I am attending a Summer Workshop in Chicago at the Columbia College Chicago.

The presenters name is Barbara Sunday and she is known in the AP community as someone who is up to date on the latest AP news regarding the class.

During the workshop I got to meet an array of AP teachers from around the world. Having the opportunity to interact and learn with and from them left me feeling ready for the new challenge ahead.

This year Tri-Association Conference is taking place in Monterrey, Mexico.

This is a three day event that supports their mission:

The American Schools Association of Central America, Colombia, Caribbean and Mexico works together with more than sixty schools in order to:

*Explore ways to achieve better understanding through international education;

*Improve the quality of teaching and learning in member schools;

*Provide an avenue for communication and cooperation among member institutions and,

*Facilitate cooperation with national, state, local, and non-governmental state, local, and non-governmental agencies in the field of international education.

What I find most enriching from these professional development opportunities is the diversity of sessions that are being offered at conference. There is something for everyone to take back to your classroom and encourage student learning.