April 21st, 2016

This is a reminder of our scheduled Professional Development (PD) Day this Friday – Friday, April 22, 2016. There will be no school for WRDSB students.

Elementary staff will spend the day attending a half-day seminar on mental health and well-being. The other half of the day will be spent at their school, on self-directed professional development, with a focus on student achievement and well-being.

Secondary teachers and occasional teachers will take part in keynote speaker presentations, focussed on mental health and well-being. Guest speakers will cover topics such as suicide awareness and prevention, transgender issues in education, the use of humour to build trust and happiness in classrooms, the mental health transition to post-secondary education, and the management of workplace stress.

In the afternoon, teachers will choose from one of 32 subject-specific workshops, some which are teacher-led and some which are workshops hosted by post-secondary institutions including WLU, U of W and Conestoga College. Several Subject- Association groups will be touring businesses and institutions in the community that teachers will use for reach-ahead opportunities and field trips for students and/or where experts in their field will be hosting skills workshops for participants.

Other WRDSB employee groups will also be participating in different PD sessions throughout the region.