The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Summer Graduate Courses (One Week Intensives) with International Lectures—August 9–13, 2010

The Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta have entered into a unique partnership to offer two graduate level courses (one week intensive morning or afternoon courses) from August 9–13, 2010. One course will focus on teacher leadership for school improvement and the other is specific to extending professional practice of teachers in the early years of teaching. Faculty members are Drs. Jim Parsons, J-C Couture and Phil McRae with invited guest lectures by Drs. Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Dennis Shirley (United States) and Stephen Murgatroyd (Canada). Participants will co-create practical projects with a potential for improving educational sites and build strategies for engaging the broader school community. The international lectures will allow critical dialogue with major theorists of leadership in education. These courses are filling up quickly, so if you are interested in what will be a fun summer learning experience at the graduate level, please contact Jim Parsons at jim.parsons@ualberta.ca.

What is inkPulse?

 inkPulse is an exciting and dynamic writing day camp for teens hosted by the Writers Guild of Alberta. At inkPulse, we tap into your imagination through creation, collaboration and diversity. Talented Canadian artists join forces to bring you exciting lessons incorporating movement, sound, performance and writing exercises, all designed to inspire text creation. The days are jam-packed. You will work individually, in small groups and with the entire ensemble. Classes are taught by individual instructors, pairs of teachers and the whole teaching team. Camps will be offered this summer in Athabasca, Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Lethbridge. Tuition for the week is $185, which includes supervision, instruction, supplies, a T-shirt and food at the wrap-up event. Participants must provide their own lunch. For information and an application form, visit the Writers Guild of Alberta website (www.writersguild.ab.ca) or contact Derrique DeGagne, inkPulse director (wga.inkPulse@gmail.com) or Tracy, Writers Guild of Alberta (780- 422-8174).

Web 3.0—Are you ready to dive in?

 Technologies are reshaping our classrooms, students and societies at an exponential rate. This keynote presentation by Philip McRae, ATA executive staff officer, opens up a discussion around (hyper) personalization in the emerging semantic web (Web 3.0) and the ways in which citizenship, critical thinking and the field of education may be challenged by the echo-chamber effect over the next decade. The presentation, hosted by the Alberta Association for Media Awareness (AAMA), takes place May 11, 6:30 p.m., at Barnett House, Edmonton. Admission is $5 plus current AAMA membership (memberships are available at the door). For more information, contact Wayne Blair. Telephone: 780-944-9667; e-mail: wblair@planet.eon.net.

Students: Do you know a humane hero?

 A humane hero shows kindness and respect to animals, people and the environment, and encourages others to do the same. The Alberta SPCA is sponsoring a contest to encourage students to demonstrate positive actions toward animals. Students can win up to $500 by making a video, slide show or other recording. Deadline for entries is June 7, 2010. Contest details and can be found on the SPCA website: www.albertaspca.org/contest.

Support international fair trade

 Explore Ten Thousand Villages’ collection of hand-knotted Oriental rugs from Pakistan, May 22–31. Rugs are handcrafted by fairly-paid adult artisans in Pakistan. More than 300 rugs will be available. Ten Thousand Villages will host an introduction to oriental rugs seminar on May 21 at 7 p.m. The ancient art of Oriental rug creation, from setting up the warp to tying fringes, will be demonstrated. Ten Thousand Villages is located at 10432-82 Avenue, Edmonton. For more information about the event or reservations to the seminar, call 780-439-8349.

Celebrate creativity with artist Norene Proctor

 Alberta artist Norene Proctor is a professional silk painter with 24 years of experience. She delivers visual art workshops for PD days and teaches all visual art mediums to students from K–12. Recently, Proctor designed and developed an art gallery with her students at a Calgary junior high school, where she taught 500 students visual art mediums during her one-month artist in residency. For more information, contact Proctor. Telephone: 403-242-6102; e-mail: silks@shaw.ca; or visit her websites: www.artsbinder.com/user/59 and http://members.shaw.ca/silks.

École Chinook Park School’s 50th Anniversary Alumni Gala

École Chinook Park School, in Calgary, is celebrating its 50th ­anniversary. The school, located at 1312-75 Avenue SW, is ­hosting an Alumni Gala on June 2, 8–9 p.m. Everyone is invited to reminisce and see what is happening at the school. Tickets are free, but must be booked before May 25. As a special treat prior to the gala, a limited number of tickets have been reserved for alumni to attend Math’nMagic—a joint production between École ­Chinook Park School and Calgary ­Opera. Tickets are free, but must be booked by May 18 to ensure a seat. Teachers, staff, students and parents are invited to submit memorabilia for the celebration. For information, please contact the school at 403-777-8480.