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Engaging Young Girls and Women in Leadership
Experiences is a national mentorship program for girls (aged 12–17) and young women (aged 18–25) that provides participants with the leadership skills and confidence to consider elected office. Explore the mentorship opportunities available on the Experiences website: www.equalvoice.ca/experiences.
Ignite Change Now
A new teaching resource for Alberta high school social studies gives students opportunities to explore active citizenship and to take action. The resource Ignite Change Now—Youth Action Toolkit is free to teachers through the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. The resource features a 10-lesson unit plan, a video and a toolkit for planning and implementing activities. The resource helps teachers and students move from ideas about citizenship to real engagement in such activities as volunteering, fund-raising, promoting issues and influencing positive change. For more information about this resource or programs offered by the Centre, contact the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, 7723-85 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6C 3B4. Telephone: 780-453-2638; fax: 780-454-1519; e-mail: info@jhcentre.org; Facebook: John Humphrey Centre; website: www.johnhumphreycentre.org.
Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Published
Since the end of the Second World War, more than 30,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors have immigrated to Canada. Who they are and where they came from, what they experienced and how they built new lives is an important part of Canadian heritage. The Azrieli Foundation, in Toronto, has published a series of Holocaust survivor memoirs. The memoir series is guided by the conviction that each survivor of the Holocaust has a remarkable story to tell, and that such stories play an important role in education about tolerance and diversity. All books published as part of the memoir series are available for download in PDF format free of charge at www.azrielifoundation.org/memoirs. In addition to the online editions, printed volumes of the memoirs are available free of charge to libraries, schools and Holocaust-education programs. To order books, visit the website above.
Looking For Environmental Ideas?
The Alberta Emerald Foundation has more than 1,900 examples of environmental excellence in Alberta. These examples are available on the Foundation’s online, searchable database. Teachers can search for projects by area, region or year. The information found in the database may help teachers in planning environmental projects. The Alberta Emerald Foundation is located at 205, 3132 Parsons Road NW, Edmonton, Alberta T6N 1L6. Telephone: 780-413-9629; fax: 780-439-2369; e-mail: emmy@emeraldfoundation.ca; website: www.emeraldfoundation.ca.
ATA Workshops Now Just $100
Association workshop fees have been reduced to $100 per workshop. For information, visit the Alberta Teachers’ Association website (www.teachers.ab.ca). Under the heading Professional Development, click on Workshops, Courses and Presentations to obtain information. Book a workshop by calling Debra Augustyn at Barnett House, in Edmonton. Telephone: 780-447-9485 (in Edmonton and area) or call toll-free in Alberta at 1-800-232-7208. Please book workshops six weeks in advance.
Activate Your Specialist Council Membership Online
Active members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association are entitled to a complimentary membership in the specialist council of their choice. Teachers must activate their membership each year. To activate your membership, log in to TNET by clicking on the login link in the blue bar at the top of the Association’s web page (www.teachers.ab.ca), then follow the Specialist Council Membership link under Your ATA Tools.
Healthy Minds Mean Bright Futures
The ATA and the Canadian Mental Health Association have published Compassionate Classrooms, a reference booklet for teachers about the mental health needs of students. The most important factor for success in dealing with mental health issues is support, and teachers are an important part of students’ support system. The booklet provides information on common mental health issues, tools to identify students in need and resources to help teachers make referrals to mental health professionals. Visit the ATA website (www.teachers.ab.ca) to download a copy of Compassionate Classrooms or order a paper copy from Distribution, Barnett House, in Edmonton (call toll free at 1‑800‑232‑7208).
Teachers Put “Real Learning First”
Alberta teachers are committed professionals who view educational accountability as an important opportunity to improve learning opportunities for students. Teachers use multiple sources of information to provide for the ongoing assessment, evaluation and reporting of student progress. Visit www.reallearningfirst.ca to learn more about assessment and accountability and to join the discussion on standardized testing in Alberta. As the voice of Alberta’s teaching profession, the Association is committed to protecting the integrity of public education by advancing an approach to accountability—including student assessment, evaluation and reporting—that puts real learning first.
Make Your School Safe And Caring
The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (SACSC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviours so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment. Achieving this mission requires the involvement not only of parents, teachers, and children but of all the important adults in children’s lives. The Alberta Teachers’ Association participates in the society through its Healthy Interactions program. More information about SACSC and the programs it offers is available on the SASCS website (www.sacsc.ca).
