ACE Conference 2024: Full Schedule

ACE - Colony Educator Conference - “Making Connections”

arrow_back View All Dates

8:00am MDT

Breakfast

Saturday October 26, 2024 8:00am - 9:00am MDT

Calgary Christian School Secondary Campus

Saturday October 26, 2024 8:00am - 9:00am MDT
Calgary Christian School Secondary Campus 5029 26 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3E 0R5

Breaks

9:00am MDT

Welcome & Keynote Introduction

Saturday October 26, 2024 9:00am - 9:15am MDT

Gymnasium

Saturday October 26, 2024 9:00am - 9:15am MDT
Gymnasium

Plenary Session

9:15am MDT

A Natural Relationship

Saturday October 26, 2024 9:15am - 10:30am MDT

Gymnasium

To highlight what has been termed the “Nature Deficit Disorder,” Brian intends to take you on a journey exploring the importance of the natural experience, the effects on health and psychological well-being, and the basic need to stay connected with the very substance that makes us human. Brian will take you on a visual journey to some very special places to illustrate his discussion on the importance of ‘unplugging’ and getting outside. Using his informative and often humorous method of live-narrated video, he promises to share some very special natural moments, guaranteed to drive home the message that a greener planet is not only nice but necessary for our very survival.

Speakers

Brian Keating

Brian’s previous job at the Calgary Zoo was to raise money and then to spend it on environmental projects around the world. Presently, he’s the Zoo’s Honorary Conservation Advisor to their outreach efforts, a former Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the U of C... Read More →

Saturday October 26, 2024 9:15am - 10:30am MDT
Gymnasium

Plenary Session

10:30am MDT

Break

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:30am - 10:45am MDT

Calgary Christian School Secondary Campus

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:30am - 10:45am MDT
Calgary Christian School Secondary Campus 5029 26 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3E 0R5

Breaks

10:45am MDT

Activating Thinking Routines in a Multi-grade Classroom

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT

Room 4

Do you ever wish you could read the minds of your students? If so, then this is an opportunity for you! This session will explore and model the use of thinking routines and strategies that can inspire and reveal students' understanding of concepts and ideas. We will draw upon the work of brilliant educators from Harvard Education, the Critical Thinking Consortium and our fellow Canadian teachers to:
1. explore how thinking routines can activate and engage students in multigrade classes,
2. reveal the depth of your students' understanding, and
3. implement routines that become familiar to students so you can just focus on the learning.
Join me for an active session that models the use of these tools and gives you access to excellent resources for your use in the future.

Speakers

Cheryl Babin

Cheryl Babin is a Designer of Professional Learning with the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia based in Calgary. With experience in public, international and independent schools, Cheryl has held many roles including classroom and lead teacher, experiential learning... Read More →

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT
Room 4

Breakout & Collaborative Sessions

10:45am MDT

Building Literacy Skills in K-3 Students (EA Session)

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT

Room 2

This session will explore practical strategies and tools to support literacy development in K-3 students within a colony setting. This hands-on interactive workshop will guide participants through the components of early literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension). Support staff will walk away with resources and an information pack that will help you build your literacy rich classroom!

Key Takeaways:
Practical strategies for teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
Hands-on experience with literacy activities that can be directly applied in colony classrooms.
Access to a variety of literacy resources to enhance small group instruction.
Opportunities for reflection and peer discussion to build confidence in literacy support roles.

Speakers

Tess Brilling

My passion for literacy began at an early age when I struggled with reading and writing, often feeling like I didn't have a teacher who could explain things in a way I understood. I earned my English degree from Mount Royal University in Calgary and have since taught in early elementary... Read More →

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT
Room 2

Breakout & Collaborative Sessions

10:45am MDT

Small and Large Math Group Activities

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT

Room 5

This will be a presentation on the different things I do in my classroom that include all the students in my Kinder to Grade 4 classroom. My students begin the day doing various independent math activities which we carry into the Morning Carpet / Calendar Time where we discuss some of them as a whole group. Math also gets meshed with other subject areas at times throughout the year. I will also be presenting some different games that I do in my classroom and how I scaffold them for older students.
Key Takeaways – some easy ideas to incorporate into the classroom and ways to include a variety of student levels

Speakers

Nancy Schwager

I have been a teacher for over 25 years. This school year marks the beginning of my seventh year teaching at the Morinville Colony in the Kinder to Grade 4 classroom. Alberta is the third province that I have called home as my spouse spent almost 25 years in the Canadian Military... Read More →

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT
Room 5

Breakout & Collaborative Sessions

10:45am MDT

Teaching using Accountability Binders and Rotations

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT

Room 3

The session is geared to inspire colony teachers, seasoned and new alike. For those wanting a new experience and seeing one way of approaching multigrade
teaching, this also is for you. If you are a German teacher, this may give some insight on the process of what teachers go through when they join your colony. Because nothing is perfected, I will be asking you for suggestions and ideas that may make this system more epic. Key takeaways:
-the experience of becoming comfortable as a colony teacher
-an “inprogress” binder system that shows teachers how to teach multiple grade levels while
respecting the AB curriculum and yet still reaching colony goals
-a feeling of collaboration, participants get to share suggestions and ideas for possible
improvement.

Speakers

Monique Tardif-Blakley

Well, if you like energy, out-of-the-box thinking, adventures, and new experiences in teaching, cats, and chocolate, you’ve come to the right place. I am a 1993 undergraduate with distinction from the Faculté St. Jean at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Yup, a French Immersion... Read More →

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT
Room 3

Breakout & Collaborative Sessions

10:45am MDT

The Power of Your Personal Narrative

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT

Room 1

What’s the the subject your students know better than anyone else? It’s an easy answer. Themselves! In this workshop, Sigmund Brouwer gives you templates and guidelines that will lead your students step-by-step to writing a personal narrative that everyone will love to read.

Speakers

Sigmund Brouwer

Over the last three decades, Sigmund has delivered the Story Ninja Presentation to more than a million students at schools across North America. As the bestselling author of dozens of titles, with over 4 million books in print in multiple languages, Sigmund Brouwer writes for both... Read More →

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT
Room 1 Calgary Christian School Secondary Campus

Breakout & Collaborative Sessions

10:45am MDT

Child Well-Being/Grammar (German)

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT

Gymnasium

Speakers

Hardy Entz

Starbrite

Nathan Entz

Rock Lake

Saturday October 26, 2024 10:45am - 11:45am MDT
Gymnasium

German Breakout Session, German Session

11:45am MDT

Lunch, Wrap-Up & Door Prizes

Saturday October 26, 2024 11:45am - 1:00pm MDT

Gymnasium

Saturday October 26, 2024 11:45am - 1:00pm MDT
Gymnasium

Registration & Meals