PDTCA 2025: Full Schedule

The PDTCA Board hopes you have an amazing Convention 2025!
Emergency Procedures Calgary Telus Convention Centre
Emergency Procedures Hyatt
Human Rights Statement
Land Acknowledgement

CALGARY TELUS CONVENTION CENTRE (CTCC) and HYATT - address

Pre-Registration will OPEN February 1, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. and CLOSE February 16, 2025 AT 8:00 p.m.

For Pre-Registered sessions please use the pre-registration link on the pre-registration page at pdtca.org. Adding the session to your Sched schedule does not mean you are pre-registered.

Reason to Create a Profile in Sched
You do not need to create a profile and log in to see sessions in Sched. However, if you want to add yourself to a session to create a schedule or evaluate a session you must be logged in.

Convention at a Glance Link will be available here in Mid-February
Off-Site Addresses are included.

Professional Responsibility
“On the two school days of your assigned teachers’ convention, you have a legal and professional responsibility to attend convention. If you are not able to make it safely to your assigned convention, however, your collective agreement may include impassable roads or inclement weather clauses that you can access. If your collective agreement does not include language specific to road conditions or weather, you may make use of the personal leave clauses of your agreement in most cases. Please be aware that using any of these types of leave may require you to pay substitute costs, forego a portion of your salary and benefits, or report to your school or another work location in your district. Refer to your collective agreement for more information. Should you require any additional information or if you need assistance interpreting your collective agreement, please contact Teacher Employment Services at 1-800-232-7208 or 780-447-9400.”
This information is also found on the Frequently Asked Questions page on the www.ataconventions.ca website. If you have any further questions regarding this, please contact Daniel.Maas@ata.ab.ca.

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09:00 MST

Word Study and vocabulary - Building Thinking Classroom style

Friday February 21, 2025 09:00 - 10:00 MST

Imperial 8 - HYATT

Discover innovative ways to integrate Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) strategies into your word study and vocabulary instruction in LA, Science and Social Studies. This hands-on session focuses on using word study like "Words Their Way" and other effective vocabulary study techniques to enhance content understanding.
What to Expect:

Word Study in Action: Explore BTC activities that make word study engaging and meaningful.
Vocabulary Deep Dive: Learn strategies to enrich vocabulary learning in Science and Social Studies.
Content Integration: Experience practical applications of BTC methods to boost student comprehension in content areas.

Speakers

Joshua LaFleur

Learning Specialist, Rocky View Schools

Joshua is a learning specialist coaching teachers around literacy instruction, language acquisition, and supporting English as an Additional Language learners. He regularly facilitates professional learning and is a doctoral candidate focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion in... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 09:00 - 10:00 MST
Imperial 8 - HYATT Hyatt

Language Arts (TQS 3), Div2 (Gr 4-6)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content Intermediate content
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

10:20 MST

Building Thinking Classrooms in Language Arts and Literacy

Friday February 21, 2025 10:20 - 11:20 MST

Imperial 8 - HYATT

Immerse yourself in an interactive session tailored for teachers looking to enhance their Language Arts and Literacy instruction with Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) methodologies. Experience hands-on activities focusing on morphology, sentence writing, and story writing.
What to Expect:

Morphology Magic: Engage in BTC activities that deepen understanding of word structure and meaning.
Sentence Crafting: Learn innovative strategies for teaching sentence construction and variation.
Story Writing: Discover how to inspire creative and structured storytelling in your students.

Speakers

Joshua LaFleur

Learning Specialist, Rocky View Schools

Friday February 21, 2025 10:20 - 11:20 MST
Imperial 8 - HYATT Hyatt

Language Arts (TQS 3), Div2 (Gr 4-6)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content Intermediate content
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

11:40 MST

Unlocking Musical Magic: Join the Calgary Orff Chapter for Creative Division Two Adventures

Friday February 21, 2025 11:40 - 12:40 MST

Imperial 8 - HYATT

Come join the Calgary Orff Chapter as we dive into fun and engaging activities that will foster student creativity in your music lessons! In this session, geared toward Division Two, participants will have the opportunity to explore music and movement through games, language and play. The Calgary Orff Chapter is a local non-profit, volunteer run organization dedicated to providing high quality professional development opportunities for music teachers.

Speakers

Becki Leipert

Teacher, Calgary Board of Education

Becki Leipert is a music specialist with CBE. She has taught elementary music for many years to elementary students within Calgary private and public schools. Becki received her Bachelor of Music (in Music Education) and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Saskatchewan... Read More →

Andrea Bohan

Teacher

Andrea Bohan has been a Music Specialist for the last 15 years. She has a Bachelor of Music and Education from the University of Lethbridge. This is where she was first introduced to the Orff Schulwerk method and her love of teaching Elementary Music began. Since then Andrea has attended... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 11:40 - 12:40 MST
Imperial 8 - HYATT Hyatt

Music & Band (TQS 3), Div2 (Gr 4-6)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content Intermediate content
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

13:00 MST

Writing with Picture Book Mentor Texts - Building Thinking Classroom Style

Friday February 21, 2025 13:00 - 14:00 MST

Imperial 8 - HYATT

Join us for an engaging, hands-on session that explores how to use Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) strategies to teach writing through picture books. Learn to leverage mentor texts to enhance your students' writing skills and creativity.

What to Expect:

Mentor Texts Magic: Discover how picture books can serve as powerful mentor texts for writing instruction.
BTC Writing Strategies: Engage in BTC activities that make writing lessons dynamic and effective.
Creative Application: Plan and create writing lessons that use picture books to inspire and guide student writing.

Speakers

Joshua LaFleur

Learning Specialist, Rocky View Schools

Friday February 21, 2025 13:00 - 14:00 MST
Imperial 8 - HYATT Hyatt

Language Arts (TQS 3), Div2 (Gr 4-6)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content Intermediate content
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

14:20 MST

Game On: Elevate Your Music Classes with Calgary Orff Chapter's Top Picks!

Friday February 21, 2025 14:20 - 15:20 MST

Imperial 8 - HYATT

Come join the Calgary Orff Chapter as we share our favourite music games. This session will showcase highly engaging, student approved, concept focused games that you can start using in your next music class! Becki and Brett will also show ways games can be adapted to accommodate students’ diverse needs. The Calgary Orff Chapter is a local non-profit, volunteer run organization dedicated to providing high quality professional development opportunities for music teachers.

Speakers

Becki Leipert

Teacher, Calgary Board of Education

Brett Kowalchuk

Friday February 21, 2025 14:20 - 15:20 MST
Imperial 8 - HYATT Hyatt

Music & Band (TQS 3), ECE (Pre K-K), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No