REMINDER...if you DID NOT pre-register for parking prior to February 15th, please remember to check in at the PARKING KIOSK tomorrow at the doors near security when you arrive in the morning! Thank you!
LUNCH SPECIALS at the MHC! Plan ahead for some good food and a sit down visit with friends!
THURSDAY
CRAVE BUFFET ($15.00) - Chicken Penne Alfredo, Caesar Salad & Garlic Toast, Vegetarian option - Mediterranean Penne CAFETERIA CORNER ($10.00) - BBQ Beef on a bun with Potato Wedges, medium fountain pop
FRIDAY CRAVE BUFFET ($15.00) - Pulled Pork on a bun with Cole Slaw Vegetarian option - Veggie Wrap CAFETERIA CORNER ($10.00) - Soft Tacos with Tater Tots, medium fountain pop
Of course the cafeteria will be open with a full menu! REMEMBER...MHC is CASHLESS!
Please NOTE: Pre-registration for Convention Parking is now CLOSED! If you need to register your vehicle for convention parking, please stop into the Courtyard room to use a parking Kiosk.
Please click on the link below to view ATA President Jason Schillings member address.
To create an account so you can make a personal schedule, click on the Login or Signup link at the top of the screen. To find out how to make your account private, manage your profile, and get the most out of SCHED, please click on the Information link below.
Message from ATA Conventions regarding inclement weather and safe travels...
“On the two school days of your assigned teachers’ convention, you have a legal and professional responsibility to attend Convention. If you are not able to make it safely to your assigned convention, however, your collective agreement may include impassable roads or inclement weather clauses that you can access. If your collective agreement does not include language specific to road conditions or weather, you may make use of the personal leave clauses of your agreement in most cases. Please be aware that using any of these types of leave may require you to pay substitute costs, forego a portion of your salary and benefits, or report to your school or another work location in your district. Refer to your collective agreement for more information. Should you require any additional information or if you need assistance interpreting your collective agreement, please contact Teacher Employment Services at 1-800-232-7208 or 780-447-9400.”
In the AERA’s Youth Teams in Education Research program, a team of four high school students from Alberta will report on a study examining (a) how newcomer students’ lived experiences can inform best education practices and (b) how the mandated COVID-19 social isolation affected the mental health/ well-being of newcomer students during resettlement. These two interrelated issues have sparked an increased research demand to recognize and address newcomer families’ unique barriers and challenges (Zaidi et al., 2019), and the roles advocacy and activism play in their quest for acceptance and viability in their new homeland. The study was guided by the perspective that these challenges related to race, culture, language, or religion that newcomer adolescents experience can sometimes be overcome by confronting them (Anderson et al., 2019). In addition, the study was informed by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which intensified any pre-existing racial or cultural injustices, and further exacerbated the inequalities already being experienced by racialized students in their educational and social lives (James, 2021). An educational research team with 22 visible minority students (50 percent from 1.5 Generation Canadians of African or Southeast Asian descent and 50 percent from newcomers) participated in four bi-weekly focus groups. Using Pimenta’s (2005) “Collaborative Action Research” approach, the discussions included student participants reflecting on how their personal narratives can pave the way for future students and how they can use this opportunity to be a leader in their school and community. The data revealed a variety of challenges, pressures, and inequalities that newcomer students face including (a) the lack of recognition and awareness about religion (e.g., holiday observances and prayer times), (b) self and family pressure to perform, (c) racism, (d) fear of backlash for cultural/ religious events, and (e) lack of involvement/ connection to the school. In addition, data uncovered about the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated an exacerbated level of resultant stress and racist encounters, further complicating their lives. Based on this data, and the themes identified from a survey (given to all the newcomer and 1.5 generation students), students were invited to join a working group of their choice where they created multimodal responses to the highlighted issues. These included a social media campaign and province-wide advocacy initiatives to further inform and highlight challenges and barriers. Drawing on the findings, an Advisory Board was created, including five volunteer participants from the focus groups. Here, they identified urgent issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion and suggested proactive measures. The research offers a critical contribution to the field, based on Rodriguez’s (2022) model that enables a better understanding of three distinct, but related levels: the micro (classroom, school), the meso (community), and the macro (provincial and/or national level practices and policies). This multilevel analysis gives us the opportunity to hear and react to students’ stories of racialization, stress, and isolation, and how these affect their mental and physical well-being. 2 Additionally, it informs how best educational practices still need to be addressed for newcomer students and pre-/inservice educators.
