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Neville MacKay - Thursday Evening Keynote
Neville MacKay - Thursday Evening Keynote
That Bloomin’ Neville…
Neville MacKay is a highly talented retailer and floral designer who is well known throughout the Floral Industry and beyond for his creative flare, quality workmanship and entertaining personality. He's affectionately referred to as "That Bloomin' Neville!" (among other things!)
Neville appears as an expert and entertainer on many national and local TV and radio shows across Canada, and is sought-after Internationally as an expert presenter. Neville also owns and operates a cutting-edge floral and retail gift shop in Halifax, My Mother’s Bloomers, with his partner of 25 years.
Besides running the shop, Neville also hosts tours to the UK, and has taken the stage across Canada and beyond as emcee, auctioneer, host and Keynote Speaker, artfully telling his story along with the magic of making those in his presence feel inspired, connected and entertained. His philanthropy work has led to him receiving many awards, including a commendation from the Nova Scotia Lt. Governor. He's designed floral arrangements for celebrities and Heads of State, including Rod Stewart, Glen Close, Sirs Elton John and Paul McCartney and members of the British Royal Family. Neville writes and his work has been featured in many publications Internationally, (and he has also written a book!) and is an accredited Floral Judge World Flower Council.
To check out all things “Neville” on Social Media, the easiest is to google him! (there’s a lot!)
Mostly, Neville LOVES flowers, and loves to share their power and beauty with everyone he can.
KEEPING YOUR HEAD SCREWED ON EVEN WHEN YOU'RE SPINNING OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS!
We ALL have more on the go now more so than ever before, and living in the "NOW, not LATER!" world is challenging at the best of times!
Sometimes, don't you just want to run, hide in the bushes, or simply make a grab at someone's throat?
Well, you're not alone. Neville has been there, done that, and (Literally!) written the book! Having been on the front lines of the Retail Industry for over 30 years has given Neville a lot of knowledge about the world, and he'll share with you some stories, as well as tips and tricks he uses to create a balance that stops him from going over the edge.
Sit back and hold on...Neville is going to take you on a wild ride!
Dr. Andy Hargreaves & Dr. Jess Whitley - Friday Opening Keynote
Dr. Andy Hargreaves & Dr. Jess Whitley - Friday Opening Keynote
Andy Hargreaves is Director of Chenine (Change, Engagement and Innovation in Education) at the University of Ottawa in Canada (www.chenine.ca ), and Research Professor at Boston College, USA. He is former President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (2017-2019), former Adviser in Education to the Premier of Ontario (2015-2018) and current adviser to the First Minister of Scotland. He has published more than 30 books and has 8 Outstanding Writing Awards. In 2015, Boston College gave him its Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award. Andy is an elected member of the US National Academy of Education. Andy is co-founder and President of the ARC Education Collaboratory that brings together Ministers, senior civil servants, and professional leaders from 7 global systems, including Nova Scotia, to advance broad excellence, equity, inclusion, democracy, and human rights in education. (www.atrico.org). Among his most recent books are Five Paths of Student Engagement (Solution Tree, June 2021) and Well-being in Schools (ASCD December 2021) – both with Dennis Shirley – along with Collaborative Professionalism (Corwin, 2018), with Michael O’Connor.
Andy’s current projects are concerned with play-based learning for high-needs students beyond the early years, funded by the LEGO Foundation, and (with Jess Whitley), evaluating the implementation of Nova Scotia’s inclusion policy.
Jess Whitley’s research and teaching focuses on inclusive education practice and policy, teacher preparation for inclusive education and the wellbeing of children and youth with mental health issues. She is currently a Professor of Inclusive Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. She is a member of CHENINE (Change, Engagement and Innovation in Education) at the University of Ottawa and is a member of the Royal Society of Canada Working Group on COVID-19 and Schools. She is currently leading a three-year SSHRC-funded partnership grant focused on attendance, engagement and mental health in collaboration with school boards and over a dozen community agencies. Jess is also conducting a three-year evaluation of the implementation of the Inclusive Education Policy in Nova Scotia with Dr. Andy Hargreaves. Since joining the University of Ottawa in 2008, Dr. Whitley has received more than $1M in funding grants and government contracts and has published over 40 articles and book chapters. During the pandemic, she has been featured in public and online media on CBC Radio, AMI Radio, and in The Conversation, and The Globe and Mail, on how COVID-19 has been affecting students with special needs and their families.
Title: Making Inclusion Happen: Leading Your School, Your System & Yourself
Chenine (Centre for Change, Engagement & Innovation in Education)
University of Ottawa
Effective inclusion depends on three things: the vision to bring it about, the skills and resources to make it possible, and the leadership to make it happen.
What should the leadership vision for inclusion be? How can classrooms and the curriculum be responsive to all students’ diverse cultures, styles and needs? How can leaders bring alive the idea that what is essential for some young people’s learning and well-being is usually good for other young people too? What time, support, training, and collaboration can leaders provide to enable effective inclusion to happen? And how do leaders create a school that is as inclusive of the adults as it is of the students – in relation to different identities, teaching and other roles, and ways of being and working?
Effective school leaders today must also know how to be system leaders too. How can you and your staff learn from, support and be stretched by your networks and relationships with other schools? Do you and your staff feel part of a bigger picture of inclusion and change? What are the characteristics of network leadership? How can you learn them?
Last, it’s difficult to lead others if you cannot lead yourself. Where has inclusion and exclusion appeared in your own life? Are you minoritized? Were you ever poor, shy, learning disabled, or bullied? What effect has it had on you? How can and should that enable you to reach out to others who struggle to feel and be included? How can you share some of that with others in a way that makes you a personal part of a positive narrative of change, without this turning into self-pity, self-glorification, or self-indulgence?
Drawing on three years of working with the implementation of Nova Scotia’s Inclusion policy, albeit in the midst of a pandemic, we will bring together our knowledge of the province, of inclusion, and of leadership and change, to help participants deepen their understanding of inclusive leadership for the future.
Jane Meader - Friday a.m. Concurrent Speaker
Jane Meader - Friday a.m. Concurrent Speaker
Jane is Elder in Residence at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish.
Jane will be speaking about Mi'kmaq/Treaty Education.
Adela N'jie - Friday a.m. Concurrent Speaker
Adela N'jie - Friday a.m. Concurrent Speaker
Adela Njie oeuvre dans le domaine d'education depuis 1993. Elle a occupé plusieurs postes à divers niveaux: notamment élémentaire, secondaire, et autres postes en éducation inclusive.
Neuroleadership
Survol de la session: L'étude du cerveau, notamment dans le domaine des neurosciences sociales, cognitives et affectives, commence à fournir des idées sous-jacentes sur le cerveau qui peuvent être appliquées dans lmonde réel (Lieberman, 2007). Les neurosciences sociales explorent les fondements biologiques des relations que les humains entretiennent entre eux et avec eux-mêmes. Parmi les sujets abordés,: la pleine conscience, la régulation émotionnelle, les attitudes, les stéréotypes, empathie, défis sociaux, statut, équité, collaboration, etc.
Jared Purdy - Friday a.m. Concurrent Speaker
Jared Purdy - Friday a.m. Concurrent Speaker
Jared is currently the Regional Executive Director of the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education. Prior to this appointment, Jared was the Coordinator of Programs and Assessment (P-12), as well as the Director of Programs and Student Services for the past 2 years.
Jared brings more than 15 years of experience working within Nova Scotia’s public school system. He has been a classroom teacher, a teaching vice principal, as well as serving 8 years as the principal of Yarmouth Central School. During that time, he also spent 2 years serving as the Executive Lead of the Nova Scotia Principals’ Forum at the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
Jared lives in Yarmouth Nova Scotia with his wife Ashley and 2 daughters, Lilah, 9 and Callie, 8.
Staying Connected - Regional Data Walls
Through ongoing monitoring and collaboration, TCRCE senior leadership stays closely connected to schools through a Regional Data Wall. The data wall focuses on evaluating the quality and quantity of regional support being given to schools and to inform next steps as a regional team. This presentation will provide an overview of both the data wall and how it guides our work.
Berit Gordon - Friday a.m. Concurrent Session
Berit Gordon - Friday a.m. Concurrent Session
Berit Gordon is a best-selling author of books for teachers, as well as a coach and supporter to schools across the country. Before consulting, Berit taught in NYC public schools and in the Dominican Republic. She is a graduate and former instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Her book, The Joyful Teacher, is a collection of tried-and-true strategies that empower teachers and help them create an even greater impact in their classroom. Her other book, No More Fake Reading, offers solutions for boosting stamina, joy, and skills among adolescent readers.
Whether running workshops, leading coaching sessions or working in classrooms, Berit strives to empower teachers so they can empower students. Her workshops are known to be engaging, fast-paced, and highly practical. When she’s not traveling to schools, she lives with her family in Maplewood, New Jersey.
You can contact her at beritgordon47@gmail.com, or through her website at beritgordon.com.
Say Yes to Growth, No to Burnout: Strategies to Help Teachers Feel and Be Successful
How do we get to more joy and less struggle in a profession where people put in such tremendous effort and do such essential work? When teachers can access strategies that help them stay happy and healthy in a demanding job, they are set up for ongoing professional growth and success.
Our students deserve thriving adults in their lives. Through an overall approach that involves teacher choice, as well as innovative and user-friendly strategies for teachers, this workshop will show the way to help your teachers avoid burnout, spur professional growth, and unearth more joy.
*Leaders will benefit from having a copy of The Joyful Teacher, a book of teaching strategies across content areas. Each strategy includes indicators, visual examples, ways to collaborate with others and grade-level adaptations.
Rejean Willis - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Rejean Willis - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Rajean Willis is a proud Indigenous African Nova Scotian woman from Truro, NS, with roots from East Preston, Africville, Shelburne and North Preston. She has been a practicing social worker for a decade in community outreach and community clinical settings, and has a small private practice offering both paid and pro-bono counselling as well as a variety of consulting services. Rajean is a researcher, writer and PhD Candidate with research interests in exploring the intersection of trauma, racism and holistic healing and wellness for all Black people. As a ‘storycatcher’ and storyteller, Rajean is an independent talk show host and content creator with her most recent series funded by Halifax Libraries entitled, “Our Stories, Our Experiences” which invites conversation about race-based trauma, grief and loss, holistic healing and community development. She is an advocate for creating space for people’s stories to be shared and heard.
Rajean’s community and consulting work is extensive with experience in community and program development, research, writing, mentorship, facilitation and therapeutic intervention. She has a TEDxMSVU Women talk entitled, “Tuning into Your Inner Resilience”.
Rajean is an invested and loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend, among many other important pieces of her holistic identity.
You can find out more about what Rajean is up to at www.rajeanwillis.com or @rajeanwillis on Instagram and Twitter.
Exploring the complexities of cultural trauma and the African Nova Scotian student.
This workshop will explore the phenomenon of cultural trauma and how it relates to the African Nova Scotian experience. We will walk through some of the complexities of cultural trauma that the African Nova Scotian community, family, and student might face. We will discuss anti-Black racism from a historical and present-day perspective as well as cultural responses to racism and community crisis that may present within the formal schooling environment.
Laura Leslie - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Laura Leslie - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Dr. Laura Leslie is a classroom teacher in the HRCE and a part-time instructor in the School of Education at Acadia University. She’s been a public school teacher for over 15 years and holds a masters degree in psychotherapy with a PhD in educational studies. Dr. Leslie’s areas of research are in trauma-informed pedagogy, crisis response and grief, and social justice education. She lives in Timberlea, Nova Scotia with her husband and two children.
Trauma-Informed Teaching and Schools
The term "Trauma-Informed" is becoming a more commonly used term in educational settings, but what does it mean to be "trauma-informed" for today's educators? This session will include a brief overview of a contemporary conceptualization of trauma, and how it relates to today's classrooms and schools. Dr. Leslie will also overview some strategies for administrators for supporting staff in becoming trauma-informed. This general introduction to trauma-informed pedagogy will emphasize the importance of this lens being necessary for more equitable schooling for all.
Mary Chisholm - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Mary Chisholm - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
French Second Language Provincial Table Chair & Members of Provincial French Second Language Team
This presentation will be facilitated by members of our Provincial French Second Language Lead table, including administrators and consultants who support FSL programs in regions across Nova Scotia. This table is chaired by Mary Chisholm, Director of FSL programs for EECD, who is tasked with the promotion and development of FSL programs provincially. Mary has 28 years of experience in French Second Language instruction in BC, NL and NS, with experience in French Immersion teaching, school administration and the coordination of FSL programs for the SSRCE. She recognizes the need for a dedicated and explicit approach to providing a bilingual and bicultural school environment to staff, students and the community.
Administrating a dual track school – Tools for supporting French Immersion within a bilingual community
Administrators play a crucial role in promoting and sustaining French Immersion learning in dual-track schools. Attracting and retaining teachers for French Immersion programs is an essential part of the equation.
What can we do to attract French teachers to our schools? How can we keep them?
Creating a bilingual school atmosphere that is an inviting and inclusive space for teachers, learners and families is a definitive way to foster a French Immersion program’s success.
What can this look like? Sound like? Feel like?
This session will share tools to draw from as you enhance and support bilingual learning in your dual track school.
This presentation will be facilitated by members of our Provincial French Second Language Lead table, and will include administrators and consultants who support FSL programs in regions across Nova Scotia.
Karim Amedjkouh - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Karim Amedjkouh - Friday p.m. Concurrent Session
Karim Amedjkouh est le coordonnateur de la diversité culturelle et des droits de la personne au sein du Conseil Scolaire acadien provincial.
Des compétences interculturelles pour une éducation antiraciste
Les écoles, à l’image de nos sociétés, sont de plus en plus hétérogènes et diverses sur le plan ethnoculturel et linguistique mais aussi au niveau de l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre. Par conséquent, nos pratiques pédagogiques changent et tentent de répondre davantage aux besoins de tous les élèves afin d’assurer leur bien-être socio-affectif et leur réussite académique. Cela nous a amené à réfléchir et à mettre en place de nouvelles politiques et de nouvelles pratiques pédagogiques susceptibles d’inclure tous les apprenants, sans distinction.
L’atelier (Des compétences interculturelles pour une éducation antiraciste) nous permettra de réfléchir sur les questions suivantes :
1. C’est quoi les compétences interculturelles?
2. Dans quelle mesure les compétences interculturelles permettront-elles un leadership sensible aux besoins des élèves?
3. En quoi les compétences interculturelles sont-elles un outil incontournable pour promouvoir le vivre ensemble et lutter
contre le racisme
Glenn Thompson - Friday Closing Keynote
Glenn Thompson - Friday Closing Keynote
Glenn Thompson is the Student Equity Consultant with Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education. Prior to this he was a School Climate and Relational Approach Consultant and a former high school English teacher. Glenn has been responsible for coordinating the implementation of a relational approach within CCRCE working with bus drivers, teachers, administrators, senior management and community. Glenn believes strongly in a restorative approach. His current role allows him to work closely with system leaders and administrators as they attempt to address systemic barriers that exist within our education system. Glenn is committed to student equity and supporting students from historically marginalized communities.
Who Will Be Affected and How? The Inclusive Education Policy through a Relational Lens
A policy is only as effective as the approach used in the implementation. How do we ensure that the vision of Nova Scotia’s Inclusive Education Policy actually materializes in our schools? Glenn will look at what it means to use a relational approach to create trust, give voice, build relationships and better understand the systemic barriers facing historically marginalized people. As we strive to implement the Inclusive Education Policy and create safe and caring schools we need to be cognizant of our privilege and the approach we take as educational leaders.
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