CSBA Congress 2015
First of all… nothing I hate more than looking at a picture and realizing I need a haircut. Annoying. Besides that, look at these lovely school trustees sitting and standing beside me. Here we are gathered together at the Canadian School Board Association (CSBA) Congress 2015 in Saskatoon, SK. In the photo, there are 3 BC school trustees (mentioned above) and my friend from Winnipeg whom I met on Twitter and face-to-face at the 2013 CSBA Congress in Vancouver. Here we are gathered together at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival the day before CSBA 2015.
As mentioned in my previous blog entry, Nature School, I came to CSBA this year to watch the SD46 team present the nature school program to school trustees at this conference. Another good reason to come to CSBA is the professional learning. Some highlights for me were the Youth Panel near the end of the conference, the field trip to the Saskatoon Trades & Skills Centre, and the aboriginal student dancers at St.Mary’s Wellness and Education Centre. The bannock was yummy too. Love learning from students. The Youth Panel was exceptional. I also loved learning about community partnerships and how programs can be made possible in education.
The third reason to come to CSBA is connecting with other school trustees from around Canada. Loved connecting up and meeting trustees from BC at this event, but I’ve also met trustees from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick. It’s so interesting to learn how some aspects of our work are similar and yet other aspects so different. Sometimes the best learning comes from those spontaneous conversations with colleagues that make the whole trip worthwhile.
From my professional learning, I will bring much of what I learned back to my board of education along with my Board Chair Betty Baxter. It was great to connect with BCSTA members, the SD46 team, and Canadian school trustees. It’s funny that we are able to connect so much better when we are not in the hustle and bustle of our own hometown. This is the beauty of conferences and professional learning. We all walk away as winners… learning more about education, governance, and each other.