SEATCA 2025 - Southeastern Alberta Teachers' Convention: Full Schedule

9:00am MST

From Principal to Author: Making Good Decisions for your Mental Health

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

F2004

The story of a former school administrator who made a decision for his mental health to leave the principalship and go back to the classroom, a decision that opened doors he couldn't have every imagined!

Speakers

Ben Galeski

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
F2004 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Health & Wellness

Audience Admin/Leadership, All Divisions

9:00am MST

Pop Quiz Hotshot...Dealing with Emergent Situations in Schools

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

S102

This interactive session is designed for both prospective school administrators and current administrators. Participants will explore real-life situations that have occurred in schools in order to collaboratively discuss how they would handle the situations if they were the administrator-in-charge.

Speakers

Tyler Powell

Tyler has been a teacher for the past 24 years and an in-school administrator for the past ten years. The schools he has worked in include rural K-12 and K-9, as well as urban junior high and high school. He is currently the principal of Tilley School and Hockey Academy in the Grasslands... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
S102 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Leadership

Audience Admin/Leadership

9:00am MST

Making new.LearnAlberta.ca work for you

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

F2005

Did you know you can do so much more than just view curriculum on new.LearnAlberta.ca? This session will explore how you can make new.LearnAlberta.ca work for you. You’ll be guided through new.LearnAlberta.ca where you can view new curriculum implementation supports and find available resources for students, parents and for teachers. Please bring a device to explore new.LearnAlberta.ca.

Speakers

Karla Holt

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
F2005 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Pedagogy & Educational Research

Audience Div 1, Div 2, Admin/Leadership

9:00am MST

Teaching Upstream: Delivering social emotional learning education and skills to children

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

F2002

This session will explore the use of Children's Literature as a vehicle to accomplish PEW outcomes around mental health, skills, and attitudes. In a collaboration with the BEEJ project, the Niwa family, and Medicine Hat College, 4th year education students look to build a stronger, more resilient community through enhanced mental health education. Teachers will be able to look at grade specific unit and lesson plans created by Education students that pair the CASEL framework across five areas of social and emotional competence with physical education and wellness KUSP's in the Alberta curriculum. Education students will also share their anecdotal findings around the execution and implementation of the lesson plans they created. The hope for this session is to empower teachers with ideas, tools, and lessons to help build a resilient child, classroom, and community around mental health education.

Speakers

Jason McLester

Currently Jason teaches in the Arts, Science, and Education Department, as well as for the Collaborative Elementary Education Degree offered at Medicine Hat College through Mount Royal University. He is also a Practicum Supervisor for third and fourth year Education placements. His... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
F2002 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Professional issues

Audience Div 1, Div 2, Div 3, Admin/Leadership

9:00am MST

Interconnectedness of Life: A Cree Perspective.

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am MST

F2006

To understand how the Cree culture and Cree people look at and value our world.

Speakers

Darrell Willier

Darrell is from Sucker Creek First Nation of north-west Alberta. He is currently employed with Medicine Hat Public School Division as the First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Coordinator, since 2018. After graduation, Darrell began his career in 1990.

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:30am MST
F2006 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Indigenous Education

Audience Div 2, Div 3, Div 4, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Canada Out of the Closet - Stories to Help You Support Queer Students

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

S146

Travis Boser is an educator, actor, and podcaster. In 2021 he started Canada Out of the Closet, a podcast focused on giving people a space to both share and hear the coming out stories of 2SLGBTQ+ Canadians. These stories have helped people in the closet to find their way out, while also allowing a glimpse into the queer experience for those who have not experienced it themselves. In this session, Boser intertwines his own story into those shared on the show to help other educators discover how they can become authentic allies for the students in their buildings.

Speakers

Travis Boser

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
S146 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

DEHR

Audience Div 2, Div 3, Div 4, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Stop Wasting My Time!! Strategies for Effectively Facilitating Team Meetings

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

E175

Are you frustrated with productivity and impact when meeting in teams? Our time is precious so how do we ensure time spent together is maximized, whether engaging in PLC's, collaborative team meetings, staff meetings or any other meetings at your school? In this session, Kurtis will share specific structures and processes essential when engaging in collaboration, with multiple samples and resources shared. He will also present strategies for facilitators responsible for leading team meetings. Plan on leaving the session with some resources and strategies to impact your next meeting!

Speakers

Kurtis Hewson

Lead Learner/Co-Founder, Jigsaw Learning

Kurtis Hewson has been an award-winning teacher, vice-principal, and principal, as well as taught at the post-secondary level. With over a decade of experience as an administrator, Kurtis has championed the call for collaborative structures in schools to ensure success for all students... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
E175 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Leadership

Audience Admin/Leadership

1:00pm MST

Fluency in the Secondary Classroom

Thursday February 20, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST

B371

Join us to uncover the essential role of fluency, specifically prosody and phrasing, in developing secondary students’ reading abilities. Fluency is one academic key in developing older students’ reading and comprehension skills, and comprehension skills, and is often overlooked. This session will examine how to structure and plan for fluency practice through both ELA texts and within the content areas. We will talk about deep and wide reading and ways to structure fluency practice through the lens of differentiation to meet your classroom's wide range of needs. You will leave with strategies, tools, and practices to embed with your secondary students immediately.

Speakers

Miriam Ramzy/Michelle Bence

Thursday February 20, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
B371 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Literacy

Audience Div 3, Div 4, Admin/Leadership

9:00am MST

Unleash the Leader Within

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

S140

You have what it takes to be an incredible leader and this session will help you identify the difference between someone with a title versus someone who makes a difference in their organization.
Whether you are new to your leadership journey or looking for strategies to creating a vibrant leadership foundation, this is for you. We will explore strategies to reduce overwhelm and increase efficiency.

Speakers

Crystal Atkinson

Crystal Atkinson is passionate about helping others foster their inner leader! She is an Association Instructor for the ATA and an Instructional Coach for Grasslands Public Schools. Crystal is also a certified coach, trainer and speaker through Maxwell Leadership Team. Prior to this... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
S140 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Leadership

Audience Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Preventing Difficult Behaviours

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

S106

Preventing difficult behaviour: 10 Big Things (K-12 Focus) A brief summary of experiences and practices that I wish I had learned earlier, particularly focused on managing challenging behaviour. This is a more fun/sharing oriented session that encourages colleagues to reflect on their practice, to change the things that are critical and changeable, and to accept some dimensions that are ever-present in the business.

Speakers

Dana Kohlman

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
S106 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Fostering Effective Relationships

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Supporting Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Strategies for Success in the Classroom

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

E175

In this session, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and its impact on student learning and behaviour. Through evidence-based practices, Kaitlyn from the WRaP 2.0 program will provide foundational knowledge on FASD, explore effective classroom strategies, and discuss methods for navigating transitions for students affected by FASD. Educators will learn practical tools to create inclusive, supportive environments that meet the unique needs of these students, enhancing both engagement and academic success. The session will offer insights relevant to individual educators, small groups, and school-wide practices.

Speakers

Kaitlyn Rebmann

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
E175 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Health & Wellness

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Who Said It Has To Be Perfect: Managing Perfectionism in Your Teaching Practice

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

S107

Are you finding yourself grappling with making aspects of your teaching practice perfect? Struggling with burn out, never feeling like you are finished, and living in a constant state of stress? Join us as we take a deep breath, drop our shoulders, and explore ways to re-write perfectionistic tendencies in our classrooms. We will delve into practical strategies for managing perfectionism, fostering a growth mindset, and embracing our "enoughness" in our teaching careers. You will leave with actionable tools to help you cultivate a more flexible, sustainable, and enjoyable teaching career.

Speakers

Suzanne Bergeron

Suzanne is a wife, mom of four, and teacher of many. Passionate about finding balance between mental health, a joyful homelife, and successful teaching career she is constantly seeking to learn and grow. Suzanne is deeply dedicated to play and including nature in the daily routines... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
S107 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Health & Wellness

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Predictable Personalities and How to Navigate Them!

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

S140

Have you ever wondered why some staff are motivated one way while others aren't? Have you left a conversation wondering what went wrong? Personalities are everywhere! Some people draw us in and others make us want to run away! In this session, we will learn about different personality types so that we can improve how we connect with others.

Optional: If you would like to receive a comprehensive personality profile with your unique style, motivators, fears and leadership qualities, email Crystal and she will send you the survey. This must be completed prior to convention in order to receive this on time. Cost: $40 (convention special)
crystalcoachingconsulting@outlook.com

Speakers

Crystal Atkinson

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
S140 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Leadership

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

Counting Time

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

F2002

Adapting a process for collecting data on hours of work, both instructional and assignable, defining assignable time, and monitoring time assignments.

Speakers

Andrea McLeod - ATA

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
F2002 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Professional issues

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership

10:30am MST

AI-Powered Teaching: Leveraging ChatGPT for seamless Planning, Instruction, and Assessment in combined classes.

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST

F2004

In this session, we will explore how to harness the power of AI, specifically ChatGPT, to enhance the teaching and learning experience in combined classes. Participants will discover practical strategies for using AI to streamline lesson planning, deliver engaging instruction, and conduct effective assessments. We will use ChatGPT to help make conceptual connections between both grade levels. Bringing your own device will be beneficial for this session.

Speakers

Cassie Young

Optimal Learning Coach, MHPSD#76

Cassie is a passionate and dedicated educational coach, wife, and new mom. Her dynamic approach to her Optimal Learning Coach role with Medicine Hat Public school division reflects her commitment to making learning engaging and meaningful for students, particularly through cross-curricular... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am MST
F2004 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Technology

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership

1:00pm MST

Extended/ Long Term Disability: It's All About the Medical

Friday February 21, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST

F2002

Understanding extended disability and long-term disability benefits can be challenging. The session provides an overview of this benefit and its eligibility, a review of best practices on applying for the benefit and outlines supports the Association offers to members during the application and, potentially, the appeal process.

Speakers

Andrea McLeod - ATA

Friday February 21, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
F2002 299 College Dr SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Professional issues

Audience All Divisions, Admin/Leadership