CATCA 2023

Engagement begins with building relationships with and among your students. Doing ‘with’ students instead of doing ‘to’ or ‘for’ also contributes to increased levels of engagement. These are two cornerstones of restorative practice. This session will focus on the ‘why’ and the ‘how’. Participants will leave with practical strategies to strengthen relationships and ‘do with’ students. This session is appropriate for all grade levels.

What do I do if…? This session covers a variety of issues on which school leaders seek advice from Teacher Employment Services (TES). We have narrowed it down to 25 top issues that school leaders address in their work. As time allows, there will also be an opportunity to ask supplemental questions regarding any pressing school leadership issues.

Teachers are some of our most important leaders! Based on her research, Brené developed Dare to Lead™ – an empirically based courage-building program, and adapted it for schools. It’s a game-changer for teachers as leaders at all levels. Covering the four teachable, observable, and measurable courage skills sets, Dare to Lead™ in the Classroom (Daring Classrooms™) covers:1. Rumbling with Vulnerability: The foundational skill of courage-building is the willingness and ability to step into the discomfort of being vulnerable. Without this core skill, the other three are impossible to put into practice. Our ability to be daring educators will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability – leaning into risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure.2. Living Into Our Values: What’s our North Star? What do we stand for? Research participants who demonstrated the most willingness to be vulnerable and brave anchored their behavior to a couple of essential values, not 10 or 15. Our core values give us courage and strength, especially when things are difficult.3. BRAVING Trust: It’s a must-have in our important professional and personal relationships, but trust tends to be a fuzzy concept. Understanding the seven evidence-based elements of BRAVING trust helps us to be specific and exchange feedback in meaningful ways that supports real change and enduring trust. 4. Learning to Rise: To push the reset button and be resilient, we must recognize emotion, look at the facts and truth of what really happened, discover the lessons to be learned, make changes, and go forward with more wisdom than before. Daring educators are self-aware, know how to have hard conversations, hold themselves and others accountable, build trust, lead with empathy and connection, take smart risks that lead to innovation, reset quickly after disappointments and setbacks, and give and receive feedback – especially when it’s tough.Building Brave Spaces for Students. We can’t always ask our students to take off the armor at home, or even on their way to school, because their emotional and physical safety may require self-protection. But what we can do, and what we are ethically called to do, is create a space in our schools and classrooms where all students can walk in and, for that day or hour, take off the crushing weight of their armor, hang it on a rack, and open their heart to truly being seen.We must be guardians of spaces that allow students to breathe, be curious, and to explore the world and be who they are without suffocation. They deserve one place where they can rumble with vulnerability and their hearts can exhale. And what I know from the research is that we should never underestimate the benefit to a child of having a place to belong—even one—where they can take off their armor. It can and often does change the trajectory of their life.

Why does it matter that women’s voices still account for well less than a third of those who hold power, set agendas and exert influence? And what can educators do about it? When a country's public conversations fail to accurately reflect the experiences and priorities of a big portion of the population, everybody suffers. In this keynote presentation, Shari Graydon marries research, humour and stories to illuminate the causes and consequences of the gender gap, and to inspire educators to speak up to make the world we share more equitable.

This session is an Introductory Training in Collaborative Problem Solving®. Participants will learn an empathic and accurate understanding of what causes challenging behaviour and are exposed to an overview of the three key components of the approach. This training is a foundation for professionals interested in learning more about CPS and sharing this approach with others. To learn more about CPS please visit thinkkids.org.

This session will be lead by Matt Sticksl. Matt has been teaching in unique settings with the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) for nine years and is the only CPS Certified Trainer in Western Canada. Matt has completed trainings in CPS to professionals and parents within CBE, AHS and across North America. He is passionate about helping others learn CPS and recently moved to a part-time teaching position as a Resource Teacher so he can have more time to share this approach with parents and professionals in Alberta.

While we can maintain our connections with the past, we must always find ways to pull away from it and move towards a healthier and more hopeful future. In this conversation Dr. McRae will explore what we are learning in the field of education through the global pandemic, a current pulse of the profession of teaching in Alberta, and how teachers and school leaders might draw on these experiences to create more hopeful futures for Alberta schools, our students and communities of learning.

When a child receives a diagnosis, it can have lifelong implications for both the child and the family. In moving forward, creating a relationship between the school team and the family is a valuable and essential process for building a collaborative team to support the student. "When a Child Receives a Diagnosis: building relationships between school and home" presentation will provide educators with a parent's perspective of what happens behind the scenes when a family is presented with a diagnosis of their child and the implications this experience can have within the home. The important role that school teams can have during this time will also be discussed. The presentation will furthermore provide real-life examples of co-creating a communication plan, how to navigate Individualized Program Plans (IPPs) alongside families, and strategies to engage with families during tensions and difficult conversations. It is important to acknowledge that creating relationships with families is a process that unfolds over time. This relational work connects the mind and heart in supporting students with their schooling and education experiences alongside the family as key partners.

Let go of who you think you're supposed to be, and embrace who you are! Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of blame, judgement, and shame. This is a myth...no one is perfect. These thoughts hold people back from enjoying life and can cause significant amounts of distress. Have you ever seen a student cry when getting a 90% or fall apart after coming in 2nd place in a competition? In this session you will learn about the “gifts” of imperfection: courage, connection, and compassion. These are “gifts” because they come when you’re willing to be vulnerable—you develop the courage to accept that you’re imperfect, you connect with other people because they empathize with your vulnerability, and you become compassionate with other people because you realize nobody’s perfect and accept their imperfections. Learn tools for embracing healthy striving, rather than perfectionism, to excel in life.

Financial Wellness 101 is built to give you tools to take control of your financial life. How to start saving. Easy steps on where and when to put your money. Easy budgeting tips. On the flip side, what if things go horribly wrong? What if a member of your family gets sick? Or dies prematurely? What if there's a job action? We look at the biggest financial risks that can happen to you and how to lessen their impact. Teachers can get so busy taking care of the needs of others that they often don’t have time to focus on their own wellness – but it’s crucial. Financial wellness is a big part of that. 40% of Canadians in a recent study who say they’re “financially unwell” are more likely to report stress associated with their money troubles. 88% of those say they’re “often” or “sometimes” worried about their finances, 49% say it distracts them at work. What if there was a way to quickly and painlessly learn some tools – things you can set up in just a few minutes – to help alleviate that stress? The first step is knowing what some of these are – and that’s why this session was developed. For CALM teachers, there’s an added bonus of seeing how financial wellness is presented based on hundreds of presentations to teachers over the past 40 years – you may come away with some ideas of how to communicate this to students too.

Your actions matter. You make a huge impact. Your role in education is similar to a gardener. You plant seeds, water them and often don’t get to see them flourish. Sometimes it takes 15 years before a student reaches out to tell you how much of an impact you had on them. Sam is the 23-year-old example of one of your future students. Sam’s teacher, Michael Loudfoot, changed his life. He believed in Sam when Sam stopped believing in himself. Every day, you have the same opportunity with your students. Through this keynote, Sam shares what Mr. Loudfoot did that made him buy into his lessons and leadership. You and your colleagues will leave this session filled with hope and optimism, remembering exactly why you started teaching.

In this workshop participants will explore concepts and terminology regarding gender and sexual diversity. We will look at best practices for teachers to create a safer and more welcoming school for all students as well as strategies for addressing homophobia and transphobia in their classroom. Teachers will also discuss methods for developing allyship skills within their school as well as the community at large.

This session is for administrators or any who recognize that they, or others around them, are struggling with stress and want to help avoid burnout. Participants using skills taught through SILA Skills will be able to build better relationships and create supportive, validating and respectful environments for themselves and others. SILA Skills can help!

This interactive session seeks to frame "hope" as an action word. Sean presents an empathy-based model (HOPE Wheel) that can be used to establish impactful and supportive relationships with students.

The Hope Wheel presents four directions: respect, understanding, relationships, and responsibility. Where we fall on the Hope Wheel is a reflection of our developing personal identity and perspective. You will learn a practical and very efficient process to assess levels of student development in each of the four directions on the wheel.

The process is grounded in Adlerian psychology (Private Logic) and explores from what perspectives students answer the prompts, "I am... others are... the world is... therefore?" Their answers ultimately define their personal "learning story," the one you need to know to support them in purposeful, empathic ways.

This is an engaging, interactive session. Be prepared to explore your own bias as you learn how to frame resilient relationships that guide students in sharing their values and perspectives openly with you so you can essentially support them in purposeful and effective ways.

Two-time Olympian and skip of Canada’s silver medal-winning curling team at the 2010 Winter Olympics will talk about making decisions, both on the ice and off of it, and how doing so effectively can have an enormous impact on your story and journey. “My theme is about choices, and that you do have control over how your life story unfolds.” Everything you become is based on the choices you make and as you write the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold that pen.

As we support students in the classroom, we often reach road blocks in impacting learning and the inevitable question becomes "So what are we going to do?". The Continuum of Supports ensures that each individual teacher's instructional capacity is shared and clearly articulated across the school. If each teacher has a "toolbox" of strategies, how do we bring all those toolboxes into a collective "toolshed" of strategies, interventions, and accommodations for the school? In this session, Lorna will share the importance and impact of collaboration as well as the process for developing a Continuum of Supports, including practical strategies for initiating and utilizing this work in schools.

Every passion is worth exploration. Every educator is different. Let's help you identify the small, consistent actions you can begin taking to ensure future success and personal well-being. At the age of 14 years old, Sam was mentored by NFL athlete, Niyi Sobo. The concepts and systems he taught, changed the trajectory of Sam’s life. Through that experience, it became clear that goal setting and visioning are important aspects of life. Sometimes, we place students' well-being ahead of our own, dismissing our ambitions, personal wellness, and goals for a later date. Building on the keynote, this session was designed to provide the pause needed to get excited about your personal wellness and help you find your own Small, Consistent Actions. You can expect to leave this session with renewed passion and goals that will ultimately help you fill your cup so you can continue pouring into your students.

Do team meetings lack the clarity and purpose you're looking for as an instructional leader? Does it feel like you're talking about the same students over and over? In this session, Lorna will articulate, with multiple school samples and resources, the value of layering collaborative structures and processes within a school and how the introduction of a very intentional collaborative team meeting can work to respond to the needs of students collaboratively, while increasing the instructional capacity of everyone involved. Come learn what other schools have learned about these purposeful collaborative structures and processes to ensure every student is supported by a team.