For the seventh year in a row, the Rainy River District School Board is offering a “Summer Institute” over two days in August to provide professional development for teachers from across the region.
This year’s institute, entitled “Weaving a Tapestry for Learning—Integrating Literacy and the Arts,” will feature local and international presenters in various workshops.
Willa Kunkel, a drama teacher at Fort Frances High School, will offer a workshop to help teachers apply dramatic arts strategies to teaching.
Participants also will be introduced to “The Treasure Chest”—a fully developed dramatic arts and dance curriculum developed by the Toronto District School Board for elementary-level students.
Karen Peltomaki, a teacher at Robert Moore School here, will present a workshop on effective strategies for teaching music and language in the classroom at the primary and junior levels.
And Wayne Barron, former art consultant for the local public school board, will show how to incorporate principles of design into an art program, with an emphasis on lesson plans and practical ideas.
This year’s keynote speaker is Colleen Politano, co-author of “Brain-Based Learning With Class,” who offers workshops across Canada and the U.S. on literacy, brain-based learning, multi-age classrooms, and developing partnerships with parents.
Other presenters at this year’s Summer Institute include Janie Murphy, who will discuss literacy and learning, Jim Gillies and Sherry Aldrich, who will provide an interactive workshop that focuses on creative self-expression, Joan Halonen, who teaches through music and drama, and Aileen Yakiwchuk and Tim Flynn, who will share their later literacy program.
The institute will run Aug. 18-19 at Fort High. The registration deadline is June 25, with the fee being $25.
More than 80 participants from across Northwestern Ontario attended last year.
(Fort Frances Daily Bulletin)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
