certificates

I believe that it is extremely important for educators to continually further their own education through
taking advantage of workshops and training seminars.

Here is a list of workshops and seminars I have attended and for which I have received certificates.

"High Five - Principles of Healthy Child Development" - High Five, City of Cambridge, April 2009
This workshop covered the basics of healthy child development and how adult leaders (in camps,
extracurricular activities, etc) can help children flourish in a positive environment.

"CPR (C)/Standard First Aid" - Emergency Response Team, Wilfrid Laurier University, January 2009

"Tribes Learning Community, 24 Hour Training Program" - Center Source Systems, January 2009
Tribes is an excellent program designed to equip teachers to build inclusion amongst the students in
their classrooms. It also provides valuable theory and teaching strategies to promote co-operative
learning in the classroom, as opposed to simply 'group work'. This training session was a valuable
learning experience that I have already had the opportunity to put into practice. I am looking forward to
using Tribes in my classroom to create a positive and safe learning environment for each student.

"Winning Kids: Plan to Protect" - Winning Kids, January 2009
Plan to Protect is a program designed to educate people working with children about child abuse
awareness and prevention. In addition to covering the signs of all types of abuse, as well as reporting
procedures, Plan to Protect also discusses safeguards to put in place in order to minimize the risk of
either abuse or allegations of abuse. The purpose of this program is to create a safe environment for
both the children and their leaders/teachers. I firmly believe in the value of this training as child abuse is
a very real concern, and every child deserves to be protected from harm.

"Wellness in Action" - Registered Dietitians at Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ontario), November 2008
This workshop covered basic nutritional information with a focus on how to teach nutritional values to
young students. A number of resources (such as the new Food Guide, and a portion control counter)
were discussed with the aim of making teachers aware of both the importance of nutrition and the
resources that are available to help them in their classroom. I believe that it is important for students to
be aware of nutritional issues because of the variety of ways in which poor nutrition can and will affect
their lives. I aim to incorporate nutritional values into my classroom to better equip students for
success.

"First Days of School Observation" - Nipissing University, September 2008
This optional practicum placement was designed to allow student teachers in my program to witness
firsthand what it is like to start up a new school year. I chose to do this placement at a high school and
had the opportunity to visit and observe many different classrooms in a variety of departments. This
was an invaluable experience for me as I was able to see the planning and organization that went in to
making the first week of school a success. I was very impressed with the Grade 9 Orientation program
this school had in place! This practicum provided me with a great learning opportunity that I will
remember when planning my own 'first days of school' each year.

"Kindergarten Theory and Practice" - Nipissing University, February 2008
This Optional BEd course focused on the Kindergarten program, both its content and how to teach
children so young. Because I was in the Junior/Intermediate program, I felt quite overwhelmed at the
thought of teaching anyone younger than nine! However, this course was absolutely filled with very
practical teaching and planning strategies. The theory covered in this course was so exciting because I
was able to see and understand how to take the teaching skills I had already acquired and adjust them
to fit a younger audience! Conversely, there were many skills and teaching strategies covered in this
course that I believe can be effectively used with older children, as well. I am really excited to use what I
learned in this course in my classroom someday!

"Education of Native Canadians" - Nipissing University, November 2007
learning needs of the Native Canadian student. We learned a lot about the history of Native Canadian
education and were able to see how their traditional educational methods (very family based) are quite
different from our educational methods (very school based). We discussed cultural values as well as
biases that are generally present in history and geography programs. We learned both about how to
address these biases in our lessons, and also how to incorporate Native Canadian culture and
traditions into our own classrooms. I believe that the content of this course is not just helpful to keep in
mind when teaching Native Canadian students, but also when teaching children from other ethnic
minorities. In a multicultural society like ours, it is of utmost importance that each child feel respected
and valued not just regardless of their cultural heritage, but because of that heritage, as well.

"College Pathways: Exploring Opportunities for Your Future Students" - School College Work
Initiative, September 2007
This certificate recognizes a day my class spent at Mohawk College - Brantford Campus designed to
help us understand the 'college experience'. Because we all took the 'university route', there is some
concern that teachers might unknowingly convey the message to students that university is the only
viable option. While the experience at Mohawk was really exciting and I enjoyed seeing the variety of
programs available there, I have long been a passionate believer in the value of all education venues. I
firmly believe that each person should pursue whatever educational path is needed to get them to
where they want to be in life, regardless of whether that is university, college, apprenticeship or
straight to work. It is my deepest desire to see each of my students be confident in their decisions for
their futures, and equipped to take those paths.

"MarkBook Class Management Software: with computer skill training and theory application"
- Asylum Software Inc., September 2007
This workshop was very beneficial as it not only provided the basics of how this program works, but also
explained a number of ways the features can be used in the classroom.