The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Alberta Labour federation is turning 100

“Project 2012: 100 Years of Labour” is an initiative to make Alberta’s labour history a vital part of the Alberta Federation of Labour’s 100th anniversary. This year’s anniversary events will feature a provincewide musical history tour by Maria Dunn, history displays in local museums and libraries, parades, commemorative sculptures and a labour history conference. The Project 2012 website (www.labourhistory.ca) features upcoming events and resources. A special initiative of this year’s anniversary is the invitation to Grade 7 students to work on labour history projects for this year’s Heritage Fair. For information, visit www.labourhistory.ca.

Photo exhibit salutes 100 years of organized labour

From the encouraging words of a teacher to the reassuring skill of a firefighter, Alberta’s history is written in the stories and faces of its working men and women. Faces of Labour, an archival photo exhibit at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, honours 100 years of organized labour in Alberta. The exhibit runs February 4–June 24. For more information, visit www.royalalbertamuseum.ca, or call 780-453-9100 (dial 310-0000 for toll-free access within Alberta).

Scholarships available for travel to WWII site

Scholarships to help students participate in tours commemorating historic Canadian Second World War triumph are available from Canada Company, a not-for-profit organization that builds relationships between the business community and Canada’s military. Canada Company is donating $5,000 toward scholarships for Explorica’s Operation Husky 2013 to Sicily, in July and August 2013. Explorica offers educational travel and student tours. The Allied invasion of Sicily, known as “Operation Husky,” was the first successful Second World War invasion of the European mainland. Operation Husky 2013 pays tribute to Canadians who fought and died during the campaign. Of the more than 25,000 Canadian soldiers who fought in Operation Husky, 562 lost their lives. For information about the tour and student scholarships, contact Allison Shepstone, Explorica Canada. E-mail: ashepstone@explorica.ca; telephone: 1-888-378-8845, #266.

Resource helps navigate kids’ behaviour

The ABCs of Mental Health, a free web-based resource, helps parents and teachers with children demonstrating unusual or worrisome emotions and behaviour. The resource answers questions and provides advice about children’s behaviour. Toronto’s Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, a children’s mental health treatment, research and teaching centre, developed the resource. It features sections on dealing with children who are worried, sad, self-harmful, angry or defiant, as well as kids with poor social relations, unusual behaviours, eating problems, attention problems or problems with substance abuse. The ABCs of Mental Health is available at www.hincksdellcrest.org/abc.

Scholarship to help anti-bullying students

Canada’s National Anti-Bullying Charity is now accepting applications for the organizations scholarship program. The program is open to students in their final year of high school who have worked to end bullying in their schools and communities to aid them with postsecondary education. The deadline for applications is March 1. For more information, contact Bullying Canada. Applications are available from www.bullyingcanada.ca or by telephone:
1-877-352-4497.

Work and life in the balance

An ATA study on work–life balance will provide an unprecedented look into the factors that shape teachers’ and workers’ conditions of practice and the influences of their home life on their well-being. The ATA is partnering in this study with researches Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins. The final report will provide an evaluation of the health of Canadian workers and the companies that employ them. Data will be used to advocate for changes in policies and practices to address workload, technology, employee well-being and work–life balance. Links to the survey are posted on the ATA’s website (www.teachers.ab.ca) and Calgary Public Teachers Local’s website (http://local38.teachers.ab.ca). The researchers’ initial findings will be presented at two public lectures in April.

Calling all science and technology teachers

The ASM Materials Camp for Teachers is a five-day workshop combining innovative classroom instructions and laboratory experiences. The free workshop is designed to help science and technology teachers engage their students by using simple, low-cost/no-cost experiments that can be integrated into existing school plans. All workshop materials, accommodation and meals are free. Workshops will be offered June 18–22, at SAIT, in Calgary, or
July 2–6, Ashbury College, in Ottawa, Ontario. Visit www.asmfoundation.org for details and to register.

Attention former DND teachers

Environmental education resources database launched

Stories and photos wanted

The ATA News is always on the lookout for interesting articles, photos and cartoons. Articles should not exceed 500 words and should be ­accompanied by a short byline, stating where you work and what you teach. Photos of teachers or students participating in interesting activities are welcome, as are cartoons. Don’t forget to include photo captions. Please note: Receipt of material does not guarantee its publication. Send your submissions to Managing Editor, the ATA News, 11010–142 Street, Edmonton, Alberta
T5N 2R1 or submit electronically to raymond.gariepy@ata.ab.ca.