Beginning Teachers May 2025: Full Schedule

8:00am MDT

Registration and Check in (all participants please register for this session)

Thursday May 29, 2025 8:00am - 8:30am MDT

Room 3a

Thursday May 29, 2025 8:00am - 8:30am MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

All Participants

8:30am MDT

Opening Liturgy

Thursday May 29, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am MDT

Chapel

We invite you to join us in the chapel as we start our professional development day with a brief liturgy. Please note that food and drink are not allowed in the chapel.

Speakers

Sandra Talarico

Manager, Religious Services, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Hello. My name is Sandra Talarico and I serve the Edmonton Catholic School Division as the Manager of Religious Education Services.I love my dog, Chloe, long walks in the river valley, time spent with family, and learning about and growing more in my faith.

Thursday May 29, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am MDT
Chapel

All Participants

9:15am MDT

Opening Keynote: A Guided Journey Through ECSD’s Staffing Process

Thursday May 29, 2025 9:15am - 9:45am MDT

Room 3a

This session will walk you through the staffing process, including how to access and navigate Bulletin 2 and 3, understand position postings, and prepare any necessary documents. We’ll also discuss the key timelines and expectations throughout the staffing cycle. But beyond the logistics, this session is about connection. You’ll learn how ECSD walks with you every step of the way, offering mentorship, faith-based community, and ongoing professional learning. We are committed to ensuring you feel valued, seen, and heard as a beginning teacher.

Speakers

Stephanie Malkin

Crystal Jones

Manager, Staffing, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Sandra Talarico

Manager, Religious Services, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Thursday May 29, 2025 9:15am - 9:45am MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

All Participants

10:00am MDT

September Ready: Creating Neuroaffirming Classrooms

Thursday May 29, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MDT

Staff lounge

Join us for an engaging session where we explore practical strategies to set up neuroaffirming classrooms using the Classroom Reflection Tool. Learn how to create inclusive environments that support all students from day one.

Speakers

Katerina Campbell

Elementary Science Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Katerina is an elementary Science consultant at Edmonton Catholic Schools. She loves all things Science, exploring natural phenomena and will never stop asking “why?” Katerina is a self proclaimed maker and cardboard collector. She is a proud promoter of inquiry based learning... Read More →

Kathleen Guillermo

Lindsay Lott

Inclusive Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Lindsay Lott is an Inclusive Consultant with Edmonton Catholic Schools, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role. With 15 years of classroom experience both abroad and here in Edmonton, Lindsay has developed a deep understanding of diverse educational environments... Read More →

Thursday May 29, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MDT
Staff lounge Located in the basement.

K-12

10:00am MDT

Kickstart Your Social Studies Journey: Navigating the New K–6 Curriculum with New Learn Alberta LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MDT

Room 3a

Session Materials

Explore the new K–3 Social Studies curriculum architecture using New Learn Alberta. In this session, we will walk through key features, highlight essential resources, and introduce pacing guides that are specifically designed to support your planning from day one. This session will provide you with the tools and insights to set the stage for confident, purposeful teaching, ensuring clarity and alignment with the curriculum

Speakers

Samantha Davidson

Elementary Social Studies Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Samantha Davidson is the Elemenraty Social Studies consultant. She loves movies and will use movie quotes and songs whenever possible.

Thursday May 29, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

K-3

10:00am MDT

Year-End Assessment & Reporting - Elementary LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MDT

Room 2a

Session Materials

The last month of school means summer break is close...but so are final report cards! This session will provide tips for wrapping up assessments. It will also walk through the steps that need to be taken in PowerTeacher Pro to finalize your gradebooks. You will also be provided with resources to support this process.

Thursday May 29, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MDT
Room 2a

K-6

11:15am MDT

Sacred September: Kickstarting Your Religion Class LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MDT

Room 2a

Join me for a kick start to your new school year as a junior high teacher! We will explore Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ, Religion journals, assessments, online resources and more. You will leave this session confident in your ability to navigate the curriculum and provide students with the faith-based education they deserve!

Speakers

Susanna Kaup

Secondary Religious Education Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

I have been an educator for 29 years, and I have spent most of that career as a classroom teacher. For the past 6 years, I have been privileged to be the Secondary Religious Education Curriculum Consultant. Throughout this, I have worked diligently to bring more clarity to the importance... Read More →

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MDT
Room 2a

7-9

11:15am MDT

Mastering Individualized Program Plans (IPPs) LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MDT

Staff lounge

Join us for an informative session designed to empower educators with the skills and knowledge to support diverse learners effectively. We will cover understanding the purpose behind IPPs, the importance of transition plans, and insights for developing, implementing, and monitoring IPPs. Learn how personalized plans address the unique needs of students.

Speakers

patricia

Inclusive Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Patricia Aguilar-Dydak is an Inclusive Consultant with Edmonton Catholic Schools. She is passionate about inclusive teaching practices and an advocate for a strength based approach to education. When not supporting student programming, she is a coffee enthusiast that enjoys spending... Read More →

Lori Arksey

Inclusive Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MDT
Staff lounge Located in the basement.

K-12

11:15am MDT

Getting September Ready: Planning Tools for K–6 Success LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MDT

Room 3a

Start your school year with confidence! This session is designed especially for beginning teachers looking to head into summer feeling supported, prepared, and inspired. Come explore the incredible planning resources available for K–6, including clear breakdowns of KUSPs, comprehensive pacing guides, and hundreds of curated lesson plans and classroom-ready resources. Whether you're building your first year plan or looking for ideas to elevate your instruction, this session will help you feel September ready—so you can enjoy your summer knowing you've got this.

Speakers

Trish

Manager of Elementary Curriculum, Edmonton Catholic Schools

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

K-6

12:15pm MDT

Lunch LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm MDT

Room 3a

Thursday May 29, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

All Participants

1:00pm MDT

CTF: Hands-On, Minds-On!

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

Staff lounge

In this session, you'll explore the Career and Technology Foundations (CTF), an engaging curriculum for Grades 5–9 where students uncover their interests and investigate potential career paths. Discover innovative, hands-on approaches to teaching CTF through interactive activities that will inspire your students.

Speakers

Haidee deRoca-Garcia

STEM Consultant, ECSD

Haidee de Roca-Garcia is the STEM Consultant for ECSD. She has taught K-6 for almost 30 years and is passionate about making learning fun and engaging for all learners. She believes curiousity is a superpower and robots are the best! When not learning something new every day, she... Read More →

Daniel Paquin

CTF/CTS Consultant, Learning Services, ECSD

Daniel has taught physics and electro-technologies with ECSD for over 10 years. He now supports CTF and CTS programming across the Division in his role as consultant. Please feel free to contact Daniel through Division email.

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
Staff lounge Located in the basement.

5-9

1:00pm MDT

Backwards Design Meets Copilot: Planning with Purpose (and a Little AI Help) LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

Room 2a

Curious about how to harness the power of Microsoft Copilot to streamline your planning? In this practical session, we’ll explore how Copilot can support your backwards design process—from outcomes to assessment to learning experiences. You’ll get a clear idea of division approved ai tools, when it makes sense to use them, and how to guide Copilot with both conversational and structured prompts. Whether you’re mapping out a unit or brainstorming lesson ideas, you’ll leave with time-saving strategies and real examples that keep pedagogy front and center (and AI in the sidecar). Come ready to learn, laugh, and maybe let Copilot do a bit of the heavy lifting!

Speakers

Joel Kristiansen

Emerging Technology Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Joel is part of the Emerging Technology team at Edmonton Catholic Schools. Joel has worked in ECSD for over a decade, spending most of his time in K-9 schools teaching design, robotics, and collaborating with teachers to integrate makerspaces into their subject area.

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
Room 2a

7-12

1:00pm MDT

Exploring Beyond the Classroom: Outdoor Learning for Student Engagement, Wellness, and Growth LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

Room 3a

Session Materials

Together, we will examine how outdoor learning supports the development of scientific thinking, physical literacy, and social-emotional well-being. Emphasis will be placed on how nature-rich experiences promote student engagement, enhance vocabulary development, and foster a sense of connection to the environment and community. Teachers will leave with concrete lesson ideas, assessment strategies, and confidence to take their teaching outdoors—rain or shine. Whether you have a schoolyard, park, or natural area nearby, this session will inspire you to use the outdoors as an extension of your classroom and a catalyst for meaningful, integrated learning.

Speakers

Natalie Zuberbuhler

Elementary Science Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Natalie Zuberbuhler: Elementary Science Curriculum and Assessment Consultant with Edmonton Catholic Schools lives for Science and supporting her teacher colleagues. Natalie always has great recommendations on books, tips for catching fish, and how to incorporate computer science to... Read More →

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

K-6

2:15pm MDT

Year-End Assessment & Reporting - 7-12 LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT

Room 2a

Session Materials

Speakers

Alyson Gabucci

Curriculum and Assessment Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Alyson Gabucci is an Assessment & Reporting consultant at Edmonton Catholic Schools. She is passionate about eating, mainly salty carbohydrates, working out because of those salty carbohydrates, and you can often find her with her nose in a book either learning more about assessment... Read More →

Kiara Smyth

Curriculum and Assessment Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Kiara is passionate about assessment and getting students engaged in the process of learning! With a high school humanities background, she also loves to talk literature and current events. Outside of work, her favourite activity is traveling the world, but when she's closer to... Read More →

Thursday May 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT
Room 2a

7-12

2:15pm MDT

Unpacking Alberta's NEW JH Curriculum LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT

Staff lounge

Join us to get a better understanding of how Alberta's proposed 7-9 curriculum redefines teaching and learning in all subjects through KUSPS. Participants will gain clarity on the structure and intent of the new framework to support the confidence needed to navigate the changes being made.

Speakers

Darin Trufyn

Curriculum Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Darin, part of the Secondary Math team within Edmonton Catholic Schools is passionate about all things spatial. Throughout his 26 years at ECSD, he's loved supporting students and teachers in the age old question, was mathematics invented or discovered?

Chris Manderscheid

Secondary Social Studies Consultant (7-9), Edmonton Catholic School Division

Chris brings over two decades of Social Studies education experience to his role at ECSD as the Junior High Social Studies consultant. He is passionate about supporting educators in enhancing their instructional and assessment strategies while fostering engaging and collaborative... Read More →

Thursday May 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT
Staff lounge Located in the basement.

7-9

2:15pm MDT

What the KUSP is a KUSP? LIMITED

Thursday May 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT

Room 3a

Join us for a crash course in decoding the new Alberta curriculum. We’ll break down what a KUSP actually is (Knowledge, Understanding, Skills & Procedures), how to read them, and most importantly—how to use them. You’ll walk away with practical tools, real examples, and a clearer sense of how to plan for powerful student learning without getting lost in the language. Whether you're feeling curious, confused, or a little bit of both—this session is for you.

Speakers

Trish

Manager of Elementary Curriculum, Edmonton Catholic Schools

Thursday May 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT
Room 3a Located in St. Anthony's Meeting Centre, on the main level.

K-6

Beginning Teachers May 2025