BCTF North Central Zone Conference EDUCATIONAL SPRING FLING
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14th ANNUAL SPRING FLING
B.C. K-12 EDUCATION CONFERENCE

April 20th, 2018
Prince George Secondary School
Prince George, BC, Canada


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REGISTRATION

​SPRING FLING AT A GLANCE

​April 20th, 2018 Schedule: 
8:00 Refreshments, Presenter Check-in, Educational Marketplace Opens
8:40 Plenary Session in Vanier Hall (please no food or drink):
  • Introductions from Joanne Hapke, PGDTA president
  • Welcome from elder
  • Video message from Hon. Rob Fleming, BC Minister of Education
  • Keynote speaker: Dr. Dustin Louie, UNBC Aboriginal Scholar in Residence
​10:00 Nutrition Break
10:30 Session I
12:00 Lunch (on your own)
1:30 Session II
3:00 Sessions End
4:00 Educational Marketplace closes
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​​​​WHY: There's something for everyone and everyone is welcome.  Beyond providing one-off professional development workshops, we have built a program that emphasizes connections between educators, and connections to the ongoing inquiry that occurs in classrooms and schools. Benchmarks, not destinations.

WHO: The Spring Fling is for educators in SD57 (Prince George), SD28 (Quesnel), SD91 (Nechako Lakes), SD27 (Caribou-Chilcotin) plus other educational professionals, advocates, specialists, and community members from Prince George and beyond. This conference takes place on the traditional territory of the Lheidl T'enneh First Nation. This conference is the result of the cooperative efforts from the PD Chairs and their committees from the following BCTF "North Central Zone" locals: Prince George (57), Quesnel (28), Nechako (56), and Burns Lake (55), with advice from Caribou-Chilcotin (27). Thanks also to contributions from CUPE local 3742 and the local chapter of BCPVPA -- the Prince George Principals' and Vice-Principals' Association. Special thanks to Joseph Jeffrey for help with technology and planning.

WHERE/WHEN: Friday April 20th, 2018 8am-4pm at Prince George Secondary School (PGSS) -- map

WHAT: discussion and presentation on diverse topics, themes, and issues packed into one day, with plenty of time for networking and professional conversation in between. We encourage use of the hashtag #edfling during the conference to communicate professional learning and celebrate the work of educators. You can also add your district #sd57, #sd91, or #sd28 as well as #bctf or #bced in order to invite wider dialogue. More on the value of Twitter for professional development here and here.

Conference Registration: opens February 2018 -- see the WORKSHOPS and REGISTRATION links above to preview sessions and sign up. We are using a new registration system this year -- please report any anomalies to the conference coordinator.

​Conference Fees: 
  • BCTF members (including TTOCs) in sponsoring districts (SD27, SD28, SD57, SD91 locals 55 & 56): free ($50 fee covered by your PD Funds) 
  • Administrators, support employees, student teachers, PAC & DPAC members, trustees in sponsoring districts: free
  • Others (including BCTF members in non-sponsoring districts: $50 (for the whole day) -- online payment upon registration, or you can bring cash or cheque payable to "School District 57 PGDTA PD Fund" please.

Educational Marketplace: our publisher and vendor display area runs on Friday Apr 20th from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.  Check VENDORS for more information.

Conference Inquiries: email Conference Coordinator [email protected] or phone 250-562-7214 (afternoons)
​We're looking forward to seeing you at the Conference

All the best from
Glen Thielmann, Pro-D Chair, Prince George BCTF local 57 PGDTA

as well as the PGDTA Pro-D Committee -- Judy Brennan, Trina Chivilo, Erin England, Joseph Jeffrey, Noelle Pepin, Jennifer Pighin, and Melanie Switzer

and sponsoring Pro-D Chairs Dawn Rodger (SD28), Lisa Mason (SD91 local 55) Shawn Lank (SD91 local 56), Ryan Hanley (SD27 Caribou-Chilcotin)

Notes on Spring Fling 2016

Big thanks are due to all the people who helped make the 12th Annual Educational Spring Fling conference a success.  I really hope I didn't miss anyone on this list:
  • 1000+ registrants -- teachers and others -- who met the day with enthusiasm and purpose.  Thank-you.
  • Local and imported presenters & facilitators who put together great sessions, including our keynote Sarah Garr.  We had more presenters from Nechako, Burns Lake, and Quesnel teachers this year and this worked out very well.
  • Mike Carson and his Free the Children students for set-up, take-down, inquiries, and trouble-shooting.
  • Joseph Jeffrey, Trina Chivilo, Nathan Frost, Chris Smith, Anik Provencher -- members of our Pro-D Committee, for help in planning, problem-solving, and time especially on Apr 21 and 22. Joseph also set up the searchable database on the edfling.ca website -- a great experiment that we will expand next year.  Other members of our PD Committee (Jennifer Pighin, Melanie Switzer, Kathy Rice, Maja Tusek) were involved in the planning.
  • PD Chairs from sponsoring/neighbouring BCTF locals (27 Shirley Giroux, 28 Dawn Rodger, 55 Lisa Mason, 56 Shawn Lank)
  • Dave Probst and his cafeteria team for the great refreshments at 8 and 10, packed lunch for the excursion, and "scrumptious" presenter/vendor lunch.
  • Diverse and helpful vendors and table hosts in the Educational Marketplace. 
  • Office (and custodial) staff at PGSS, in particular business manager Cynthia Mangan, for all kinds of help before and during the conference. Steve Lloyd for technology help.
  • Richard Giroday for MCing the keynote, Joanne Hapke and Nancy Pilon for support -- the PGDTA staff fielded many calls and emails for the conference.
  • Edith Frederick for her greeting and traditional welcome to the Lheidli Tenneh territory.
  • Doug Waller (and his sidekick... name escapes me) for theatre tech in Vanier Hall.
  • Shandee Whitehead and Kelly Johansen for setting up the student dancers before the keynote.  The dance group "Together We Move."
  • Kim Rutherford, Vince Truant, and Phil Rice for helping with room assignments.
  • PGSS teachers for giving up their classes for a day, and being calm about putting their rooms back together a bit afterwards.
  • Thanks to sponsoring organizations this year: CUPE local 3742, PGPVPA (Principal/VP), CUEBC (Computer Teacher PSA), BCAMT (Math Teacher PSA), myPITA (Gr.4-8 Teacher PSA), Canada's History Society, the Pacific Slope Educational Consortium, and the BC Labour Heritage Centre.
We invite feedback on the conference -- format, content, organization, participant experience, etc.  If you have a minute, please take our two-question survey here: http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/glen-thielmann/spring-fling-2016/

Best regards,
Glen Thielmann, conference coordinator