INBOX
UP FRONT A NEW TAKE ON PD OECTA’s Professional Development department has launched two innovative new opportunities for members: Mini Courses and Office Hours.
Mini Courses are short courses that pack a big punch. They are month-long, online courses, requiring about 25 hours of time, with a manageable workload you complete on a schedule that works best for your busy life. They are led by fully qualified instructors and offered on a variety of topics. Office Hours provides an opportunity for teachers to connect online with experienced teacher-leaders on a particular topic. Members can ask questions about practice and pedagogy, get advice, share teaching tips, and network with other teachers. Visit catholicteachers.ca, in the For Your Classroom section, to get more information about these initiatives and find the next available registration opportunities. THE TEACHABLE PROJECT National AccessAbility Week is May 26 to June 1. To help you recognize and celebrate this week, The Teachable Project has ready-to-use lesson plans, resources, and professional development tools. The site is designed to help Ontario educators build their awareness of accessibility issues, and to equip them with the information and materials they need to educate and inspire students.
INSPIRE AND ENGAGE STUDENT ACTIVISTS Amnesty Canada provides two free initiatives for classrooms. Both offer excellent opportunities to authentically engage youth in reading and writing, and to address curricular expectations in social studies, Canadian and world issues, language, and English courses.
For students aged nine-and-up: The Lifesaver provides a onepage story and call to action each month. It informs and engages youth about human rights abuses around the world. Materials use straightforward wording and omit graphic details. Actions ask writers to send one message to a government official and one to the featured individual at-risk. Ask for a sample: urgentaction@amnesty.ca. For Grades 9 to 12: Amnesty International Book Club connects books by diverse Canadian authors to real-world human rights issues. Acclaimed guest readers select and host a range of current novels and expository texts. They contribute their thoughts and discussion questions, along with background information on the issue in the book. Readers are encouraged to take action on a topic related to the book’s content. Visit amnestybookclub.ca/about to learn more.
Visit theteachableproject.org for more information. REGISTER FOR A SUMMER AQ COURSE Registration for summer AQ courses is now open! Summer courses will run from July 2 to 25. Visit the For Your Career section at catholicteachers.ca for a full list of course offerings and links to register. Registration closes June 1. SHARE YOUR #EDTECH Educational Computing Organization of Ontario (ECOO) has partnered with TeachOntario to connect teachers on the subject of #edtech. Have some great resources to share with other teachers? Looking for cool lessons you can use? Then you will want to check out this new collaboration called ECOO SIGs (Special Interest Groups). Visit ecoo.org/sigs and pick which SIG you are interested in – elementary or secondary. Then explore. Note that if you are not already a member of TeachOntario you will be required to register, but that is easy and free! MAY 2019 | CATHOLIC TEACHER 5