PDTCA 2020

• Pre-Registration is required.
• This OFF Site program is offered at Our Lady of the Snows Academy in Canmore. Delegates are responsible for their own, round-trip transportation.

Leading teachers in Health and Physical Education in the Palliser District are joining forces with Ever Active Schools and the Health and Physical Education Council (HPEC) to host a Health and Phys Ed Institute at PDTCA in beautiful Canmore. Make sure to pre-register to hold your spot in this full day of active and practical sessions for all grade levels.

Thursday, February 20th will be highlighted by a feature presentation from two-time Paralympic snowboarding athlete John Leslie. John is a cancer survivor who credits his high school Phys Ed teacher with introducing him to snowboarding, living to be active and becoming an ambassador for kids of all ages to find their active passions. The day will also offer your choice of four concurrent sessions.


Schedule of Sessions | Thursday, February 20th


9:00am - 9:45am Active Living Sessions

• Alberta Medical Association Youth Run Club - Morning Run and Coaches Clinic
• Turn it Up Tabata with Sabrina Grecu
• Yoga Level 1 with Kendra Silk
• Qigong with Katie Mackenzie

10:00am - 10:45am Morning Keynote with John Leslie

• From Physical Education to Paralympic Snowboarding, and back again

11:00am - 12:00 noon Break-out Sessions

• Games & Activities to Optimize Self Regulation with Ever Active Schools
• Field Hockey Fun in Physical Education (Grades 5 - 12) with Jenny Johnson (space for 40 participants, first-come, first-served)
• Dance: Building Steps to Confidence with Sabrina Grecu
• How Students Self-Assess their Physical Literacy with Ryan Washburn (space for 20 participants, first-come, first-served)
• When the Gym is Jammed: Outdoor Games with Rebecca Roantree

12:00 noon - 12:45pm Lunch Break (not provided)


12:45pm - 1:45pm Break-out Sessions

• Smorgasbord of Low Organized Games with your HPEC Regional Representative, Anne Murphy
• Tchoukball (en francais) with Francois Rolland
• Tae Kwon Do in Education: Mental and Physical Balance with Jodie Clease
• Managing an injured athlete and the importance of rehabilitation following (ACL) reconstruction with Dr. Laurie Hiemstra
• Ski, Skate and Slide: Teaching Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing through Games and Environments with Ever Active Schools (10 sets of snowshoes available to borrow for non-skiers, please bring your own cross country skis if you wish to ski - please dress appropriately to participate)

2:00pm - 3:00pm Break-out Sessions

• Mountain Ninjas (Gymnastics and Combatives) with Rebecca Roantree and Kendra Silk (space for 40 participants, first-come, first-served)
• Rugby Basics for the High School PE Teacher with Ian Higginbottom
• Energize your Classroom through Daily Physical Activity with Ever Active Schools
• Feeling caught in the middle? The Sandwich Generation in School Environments: Conversations for School Wellness Leaders with Megan Hunter
• “TRI” Harder in PE! - How to Implement a Triathlon into your PE Program with Darren Anderson

The HPE Institute will be hosted at Our Lady of the Snows Academy in Canmore - Contact Scott Bailey at Ever Active Schools (scott@everactive.org) for more information or with any questions about pre-registration.

This collaborative session will first look to inquire and discuss the current downfalls of professional development that health and physical educators experience within their profession. Secondly, this session will focus on the methods needed to restructure professional development in order to make professional development more effective and meaningful for health and physical education specialists with the hope of fostering more effective teaching practices to ultimately create more healthy and active students.

Develop your capacity and comfort in teaching about sexuality and relationships in your class. In this session, participants will prepare to teach about sexuality and relationships in their schools and will identify ways Alberta Health Services can support the sexuality component of the Alberta Education Programs of Studies. We will include discussion of why, when and how to teach human sexuality as well as an exploration of sexuality, bias, working with parents and community, and managing challenging questions. Strategies, tools and resources will be shared to highlight the importance of current, accurate and comprehensive information in sexuality education.

One of the greatest threats to student growth and development in athletics is the undermining of a coach's effort to build a positive educational environment using sport as the vehicle. This workshop looks at the common reasons parents become unhappy with their children's sport opportunities, and explores various ways to open and strengthen lines of communication to develop a partnership with parents and mitigate their concerns. Attendees will take away ideas for parent engagement, as well as tools and resources to assist in the communication process with parents. Attendees will also discuss a series of challenging scenarios to develop their own sense of best practices for situations that may arise.

STI, birth control, safer sex – you might remember learning about these topics through *yawn* slide shows, lectures or, depending on your age, film strips with messaging that made sex seem scary. The intention was based on the false premise that youth would be scared out of having sex if they just “knew the consequences”. Hopefully you didn’t learn the hard way that scare tactics just don’t work when teaching youth about safer sex. Develop your capacity and comfort to teach about safer sex in effective ways. In this session, participants will prepare to teach about safer sex by increasing their knowledge about STI, contraception and safer sex and by exploring values, teaching strategies, tools and resources. Also highlighted is the importance of mythbusting and using current, accurate and comprehensive information.

School spirit and culture is borne out of the growth and recognition of excellence of all different kinds. This workshops takes a look at many ways that excellence can be both encouraged and celebrated both regularly and through special events such as awards. We also dive into the idea of building excitement around school events that can help maintain student motivation and interest throughout the year, as well as energizing emerging leaders within the student-body. Finally, we look at ways to ensure our school recognizes any extraordinary efforts from students so that accomplishment within the school is rewarded across academics, athletics, leadership, and other extra-curricular activities.

Access to active play in nature is essential to the healthy growth and development of today's children. Risk is often viewed as a negative word by many including parents and teachers. But in play, risk doesn't mean courting danger. It means the types of play children see as thrilling and exciting, and where children can recognize and evaluate challenges according to their own ability. This session will discuss the benefits of active 'risky' play and share literature on how the body benefits from being in the outdoors. This session will appeal to teachers of all grades and all subjects and provide research based data as well as practical ideas to promote more purposeful movement with physical education programming as well as after school and during school programming.

Everyone has the right to sexuality education, but sometimes the language used in sexuality education classes excludes people who identify as sexual or gender minorities. Build your confidence and comfort teach about sexuality in an inclusive, clear and accurate way. In this session, participants will develop skills to use SOGIE inclusive language when talking about anatomy, physiology, puberty, relationships, reproduction and sex and will increase their knowledge about creating safer spaces in their sexuality classrooms.

Are you ready for a race around the world of nutrition? This workshop promises fun and engaging activities that emphasize practical nutrition knowledge and skills to use with your students. Learn how to make healthier recipes, shop on a budget, pack healthy snacks, plan for healthy meals and more!

• Pre-Registration is required.
• This OFF Site program is offered at Our Lady of the Snows Academy in Canmore. Delegates are responsible for their own, round-trip transportation.

Leading teachers in Health and Physical Education in the Palliser District are joining forces with Ever Active Schools and the Health and Physical Education Council (HPEC) to host a Health and Phys Ed Institute at PDTCA in beautiful Canmore. Make sure to pre-register to hold your spot in this full day of active and practical sessions for all grade levels.

Friday, February 21st will be highlighted by a feature presentation from Crystal Phillips, an alumni of the Canadian National Speed Skating team, and Executive Director of the Branch Out Neurological Foundation. The Branch Out Foundation’s mission to fill the gaps in the medical and research systems across Canada to ensure nutrition and other alternative therapies are supported and respected at the same level as more conventional therapies. Crystal has worked with executives and professional athletes from the LA Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins, and was named one of 18 Canadian change makers by CBC Canada to celebrate Canada’s 150th.

Schedule of Sessions | Friday, February 21st


9:00am - 9:45am Active Living Sessions

• Alberta Medical Association Youth Run Club fun run and coaches clinic with Ever Active Schools
• Wake up Body! Partner Fitness with Sabrina Grecu
• Yoga Level 2 with Kendra Silk
• Quigong with Kati Mackenzie

10:00am - 10:45am Keynote Session with Crystal Phillips


11:00am - 12:00 noon Break-out Sessions

• Jeux coopératifs with Francois Rolland
• Volleyball Foundations - Teaching the Fundamentals to Create Outstanding Volleyball Players with Darren Anderson
• Dance: Best practices for Warm ups and Cool downs with Dr. Sarah J. Kenny (space for 40 participants, first-come, first served)
• Feeling caught in the middle? The Sandwich Generation in School Environments: Conversations for School Wellness Leaders with Megan Hunter

12:00 noon - 12:45pm Lunch Break (not provided)

1:00pm - 2:00pm Break-out Sessions

• Are you looking for some games to spice up your basketball unit? with Anne Murphy
• Introduction to Futsal with Jen Orchard
• The New Standard for Warming Up: Supporting quality PE through movement skill development, fitness, and injury prevention with the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre
• Outdoor Multicultural Games for Div 1-3 with Kendra Silk

The HPE Institute will be hosted at Our Lady of the Snows Academy in Canmore. Contact Scott Bailey at Ever Active Schools (scott@everactive.org) for more information or with any questions about pre-registration.

“Do I need supplements to be healthy?” “Should I do a detox?” “Is keto the best diet for weight loss?”
What is the truth about how to eat well and live well? In this age of (mis)information, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate nutrition fact from fiction. This engaging talk will show you how to debunk common nutrition myths, and provide you with practical, evidenced-based recommendations on how to live a healthy lifestyle—relevant for both you and your students!

This session includes the review of school-based tobacco and vaping prevention programs from Alberta Health Services._x000D_
Participants will learn:_x000D_
- New trends in and prevalence of tobacco and vaping use for school aged youth;_x000D_
- Components of an effective prevention program;_x000D_
- How to implement The Academy for Tobacco Prevention, including the card game Shadows of the Academy;_x000D_
- Recent evaluation results for The Academy for Tobacco Prevention;_x000D_
- Best Practices and action template for tobacco and like-substance related school based initiatives, including e-cigarettes and vaping_x000D_
- A summary of available resources for students, teachers, parents, and administrators to prevent and reduce nicotine use by young people._x000D_