May 2015 News for Teachers

2015 Beyond the Classroom Conference

The future of education is here!

You are invited June 15 and 16 to celebrate the best of teaching and learning at the 2015 Beyond the Classroom Conference. This engaging conference is intended to support community-based personnel who are inviting teaching and learning into their community and those discipline experts who are working in school based situations.

Highlights include:

Acclaimed author, keynote speaker and inquiry expert Laurel Schmidt will work with us to explore the creation of indelible experiences, making meaningful connections and so much more.
Connect and network with other community-based education personnel
A variety of sessions with multiple perspectives
Mining the gems of our collective practice and more!

Please visit: http://ccom.cbe.ab.ca/misc/whatsnew.html for more information on the conference and how to register.

Apply for the 2015 Leadership Clinic by July 17th!

Do you have a goal to advance energy or environmental education that needs some support and planning time to make it come to fruition? The Leadership Clinic will help you take that idea and create a well-thought out and practical implementation plan by providing professional learning and planning time. All schools, government (local to Provincial) or non-profit teams that have attended past clinics are amazed at what they accomplish in their time together.

We are now accepting applications for the 8th annual Leadership Clinic (November 16 to 19, 2015) - the application deadline is July 17th. All you need for your application is your goal and to identify a team of 3 to 4 people. If you have an idea, Kathy Worobec would love to hear from you and to help you with your application.

For details on how to apply for the leadership clinic, visit :

http://abcee.org/applying-leadership-clinic/

Earth Matters: Last Chance for Early Bird Rate!

Teachers, if you are looking for a great PD opportunity, why not attend the 2015 Earth Matters Conference in beautiful Canmore this October!

We still have a few early bird spots available. For just $225.00, you get full access to all conference keynotes, workshops, our pre-conference summit, and most meals! Come and connect with other educators for an amazing two days of learning.

To discover more about the Earth Matters conference or to register, click here.

Green School Summit - Call For Proposals

Have you, your school or organization developed solutions that truly exemplifies how sustainability can be integrally woven into the infrastructure, culture and curriculum of schools? The Green School Summit would like you to submit a presentation proposal for the September 25th forum - deadline is July 6th.

The Green School Summit is a partnership between the Canada Green Building Council - Alberta Chapter, ACEE, NAIT, SAIT, SEEDS Green Schools and many others.

For more information or to submit a proposal or register.

Upcoming Calgary Workshop- July 14th

Maximizing the impact of your programs in current and new curriculum

When: July 14, 2015

Where: Calgary, location TBA
Time: 9:30 - 4:00 pm

During this full day session, we will tackle the following three areas:

Stories from the field - Hear from your colleagues about how they are changing the way they work with schools and students to increase the impact of their programs and deepen energy and environmental literacy in the process.

Cross-Curricular Competencies, inquiry and project-based learning - What are these current classroom practices, and how should our programs adjust to meet these new imperatives in education? Take a closer look at your programs, and spend some time considering the possibilities.

Curriculum for a Sustainable Future - This document lays out what students should learn about energy and the environment in Alberta. What will it take to move energy and environmental education from the margins to the mainstream in current and new K-12 curriculum?

Upcoming Edmonton Workshop- July 16th

From the Margins to the Mainstream: How we can have a bigger impact!

Join the Edmonton Regional Community of Practice on July 16th from 9:00 to 3:30 (lunch is provided) to explore:

How to move energy and environmental education from the margins to the mainstream in current and new K-12 curriculum?
How being network weavers can help the Edmonton Regional CoP?
How we can work together to better support Edmonton region schools in their energy and environmental initiatives?

All environmental educators in the Edmonton region are welcome - non-profits, teachers, government, etc.

Thanks to the Edmonton Community Foundation for continuing to support this work. For more information, contact Kathy@abcee.org

CAWST Wavemakers Summit- October 21st

Since 2005, Junior and Senior High school students have come together to increase their awareness on Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene (WASH) issues within the framework of global responsibility. Participating youth learn about ways in which they can take meaningful action on local and global water issues. CAWST's annual Wavemakers Summit enables students to deepen their understanding of water issues facing communities in developing countries as well as within the context of their own municipalities. Teams who participate the Wavemakers Summit receive $500 action grants toward the implementation of their projects pending approval following the Summit.

The Wavemakers Summit will take place on October 21st at the University of Calgary, Downtown Campus. If you are unable to make this one day event, our Virtual Wavemakers Summit may be perfect for you!

Click here for more information and preregistration for both the Wavemakers Summit, and the Virtual Wavemakers Summit.

Clover Bar Junior High Wins Joy in Nature Contest

A group of 22 youth from Sherwood Park's Clover Bar Junior High are off on a two-day adventure on June 3rd and 4th as the Joy in Nature 2015 contest winners. The Grade 9 Environmental Leadership group will paddle the Athabasca river with Jasper Raft Tours, learn about conservation and wildlife at Parks Canada's Palisades Stewardship Education Centre, discover the town of Jasper from the Jasper Tramway and spend their evening at HI-Jasper hostel. The Joy in Nature contest is offered in partnership by ACEE, the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, Hostelling International Canada, Jasper Raft Tours, Jasper Tramway and Parks Canada.

Thanks to all of the inspiring entries showcasing youth from all over Alberta engaging in nature in a meaningful and formative way and congratulations to Clover Bar Junior High School.

Check out last year's group thank you!

Quick Links

Can Technology Get Kids to Play Outside?

Tinkergarten aims to use technology to re-connect young children to the outdoors via community-based classes led by instructors who have been recruited and trained online and given access to the company's extensive web-based curriculum.

Out of the Classroom and Into the Woods

Listen to the story of one teacher and her class who spend one entire school day each week (rain or shine) outdoors bringing lessons to life.

For more information visit:
www.abcee.org
Questions or comments? Please contact rosemarie@abcee.org.