Welcome back to school, everyone. We’re excited about all of the possibility that this new school year offers and hope you are too!
While it may seem like a long way off (and it kind of is…), we are planning ahead for the Network Symposium in May 2017. Save May 12 – 13, 2017 in your calendar for what is already shaping up to be a great event. Take a look at this awesome video, filmed and produced by 3 videography students from the Argyle Secondary School from the 2016 Network Symposium. Not only does it give you a sense of what happens at a typical Symposium, but it also provides some great thinking from our Network both in BC and around the globe.
Two key resources to revisit early in the school year, in addition to the full text for the Spirals of Inquiry, include the Guide to the Phases of the Spiral of Inquiry and the Four Key Questions that Matter. These serve as good tools for one of your first staff meetings. You may also want to check out the Resources section of our website. Here, you’ll find links to texts, articles, and other tools to support inquiry and deep thinking over the school year. For instance, many school teams have found the Aboriginal Understandings Learning Progression Rubric – developed by Laura Tait – to be an invaluable tool in their teaching and learning practice.
Stay tuned for more developments as we add an international section to the website, including case studies from around the globe with others involved with the Spirals of Inquiry. Both the Whole Education Network in the UK and groups of schools in Australia are intimately involved in Network activities.
There is still time to apply for the 2nd cohort of the UBC Transformative Educational Leadership Program (TELP) which begins in October. This post-graduate program, led by Judy and Linda, was a huge success in its first year and aims to bring together individuals from across the K – 12 system interested in transforming themselves and their communities by exploring and engaging in dialogue and debate about major challenges and opportunities facing school districts. But don’t delay if you want to be involved this year – applications are due on September 11th.
For those schools and teams specifically addressing school health, check out this new physical activity documentary featuring Josh Ogilvie – a CIEL and VIU graduate from Burnaby School District, as well as Dr. John Ratey from Harvard. Deep thinking to start off the school year!
We’re once again grateful and impressed at the caliber of work that network school teams are leading. Case studies that were submitted over the summer are almost ready to put up on the website. We’ll post a link here when these are accessible. We are also preparing templates for submitting your 2016 - 2017 Inquiry Focus - more to come!
We’re grateful to the Ministry of Education, the Irving K Barber Learning Centre at UBC and the Annual Foundation for their funding and support of the Networks. Book sales from Spirals of Inquiry also continue to support the exceptional work of network schools.
Looking forward to another great year of learning, teaching and inquiring together!
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