Thames Valley District School Board
Summary: Friday October 6th, 2023
Educational Assistants
Educational Assistants will be participating in a variety of professional learning opportunities, including Behaviour Management Systems certification/recertification, Proactive Behaviour Management training, Emergent Literacy training, Mental Health and Well-Being training, and Multi-Disciplinary training with Speech-Language Pathologists and Social Workers. These opportunities will be specific to individual and site needs.
Ministry of Education Mandatory Topic: Literacy
| Kindergarten Teachers and Early Childhood Educators – Full Day |
| This professional learning day will focus on supporting and building educator capacity in the area of effective early reading instruction in Kindergarten. For half the day, educator teams will explore a variety of literacy resources and materials (e.g., Effective Early Reading Instruction, A teacher’s guide – Ministry of Education; phonological and phonemic awareness lessons; Sound Walls lessons) and review practical and effective strategies to support student learning with a focus on early reading and evidence-based systematic and explicit reading instruction. The other half of the day, educator teams will participate in an in-person district professional learning session offered by the TVDSB Early Years Portfolio and Speech and Language Services. In this session, educators will have an opportunity to learn more about the Language continua from the revised Language curriculum, oral language development, and other resources to support effective early reading instruction in Kindergarten. |
| Elementary Teachers – Full Day |
| This professional learning day will focus on supporting and building educator capacity in the area of effective early reading instruction and the implementation of the revised Language, Grade 1-8 curriculum. School teams will explore grade level curriculum expectations and supporting documents/materials (e.g., understanding the context; key changes; assessment and evaluation; and new continua for the revised Language curriculum) and review practical and effective strategies to support student learning with a focus on early reading and evidence-based systematic and explicit reading instruction. Grades 1 to 3 educators will work together in grade-levels or as a division to explore TVDSB and Ministry of Education resources (e.g., professional learning modules; videos; and online resources) to support the implementation of the revised Language curriculum. Grade 4-8 educators will participate in a virtual live session, “Teaching Language Foundations for Reading and Writing” offered by the TVDSB Literacy Portfolio to support changes in literacy instruction. This in-person professional learning will be facilitated by the school administration. |
| Secondary Teachers – Full Day |
| This professional learning day will focus on supporting and building educator capacity in the area of effective literacy instruction to improve literacy outcomes for students. Specifically, school teams will explore how to embed and improve disciplinary literacy strategies across the Secondary curriculum. Subject departments will engage in learning to support rich literacy instruction within their curriculum area (e.g., targeted vocabulary instruction; supporting students to read and understand complex text; and combining writing instruction with reading in the subject area) and how to access TVDSB and Ministry of Education resources to support effective literacy practices across the curriculum. This in-person professional learning will be facilitated by the school administration. |
Professional Activity Day Summary
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, all Thames Valley District School Board school-based staff will engage in the following professional learning activities:
|
Time | Topic | Format |
|---|---|---|
|
Morning |
Ministry of Education Mandatory Topic: Student Mental Health and Well-being
Establishing the Essential Conditions for Learning |
This Ministry of Education mandated professional learning topic will be led as an interactive presentation by School Administration in person as a focus on supporting student mental health and well-being. The materials are developed by the TVDSB Mental Health and Well-Being portfolio based on School Mental Health Ontario resources. |
| Afternoon | Ministry of Education and Thames Valley District School Board Mandated Topic: Student Safety and Violent Incident Prevention
Supporting Students with Prevalent Medical Conditions/ Violence Awareness and Student Safety Training |
This Ministry of Education and Thames Valley DSB mandated professional learning will address topics to support staff in understanding how to support students with prevalent medical conditions, responding to student incidents (e.g., concussion) and strategies to support healthy and safe school environments. These learning opportunities are delivered in video format for staff to view in person. The materials are developed by the TVDSB’s Special Education and Health and Safety Department aligned with Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labour requirements. |
The mandated Professional Learning topics provided to all staff in 162 TVDSB schools across the district on September 5, 2023, demonstrates Thames Valley's commitment to ensuring establishing and maintaining relationships, supporting student achievement and well-being and celebrating diversity and inclusion for the 2023-2024 school year.
Should you have any questions about the professional learning, please contact your School Principal.
Contact Us