Family Studies Teachers Association
Knowing Your Roots
Provincial Conference - Friday, October 27, 2023
Registration CLOSED!
No refunds after October 13th
Registration Information
| Conference Fee (NSTU Members) | $85.00 |
| Substitutes | $50.00 |
| Pre-Service Teachers | $50.00 |
| Retired Members | $50.00 |
| Other Affiliates | $50.00 |
As per NSTU Operational Procedure 14 E. IV.: receipts of payment and attendance will not be distributed until the conference has concluded.
Location
Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School
105 Braemore Avenue, Antigonish NS, B2G 1L3
Click on the map to access directions
Accommodations:
Microtel Antigonish
Agenda
Friday, October 27 |
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8:45am - 9:15am |
Registration |
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9:15am - 9:30am |
Welcome & Introductions |
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9:30am - 11:30am Capacity: 30 |
Session AA1: Tour of Six Maples FarmAlicia and Danny King along with their children Makayla, Casey, Percy and Grace raise beef cattle, sheep, free run laying hens (eggs) with CFIA inspected egg grading station as well as free range broilers (meat birds). We sell privately as well as through the local farmers market and are part of Lochaber Growers Cooperative, a farmer owned CSA. We will discuss our farm and how we have incorporated different value added products as well as how on farm diversification has allowed us to produce local food and keep it in the local market. As a family run operation we also find it important to keep a work/life balance that allows us to enjoy time as a family both on and off the farm! |
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9:30am - 11:30am Capacity: 20 |
Session AA2: Wool Dyeing and SpinningDenise Bekkers, teacher, farmer and “shepard” will use wool from her sheep to teach you how to spin and dye wool. Participants will also be making dryer balls. |
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9:30am - 11:30am Capacity: 20 |
Session AA3: Salsa in the Kitchen with the Mattie Sisters
Come and join a local family of sisters as you participate in using local vegetables to make some delicious salsa! Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dive in. All participants will be taking home their own jar of salsa.
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9:30am - 11:30am Capacity: 20 |
Session AA4: Candle Making
Join Emily Cody for an immersive and hands-on candle making workshop designed exclusively for educators! In this engaging session, you will discover the art of crafting beautiful candles from scratch while learning techniques and tips to ignite creativity in your classroom. This workshop will guide you through the entire candle making process, from selecting the perfect materials to adding personalized touches to your creations. During the workshop, you'll learn about different wax types, wicks, dyes, and fragrances, gaining a comprehensive understanding of how these components work together to create stunning candles. Emily will demonstrate essential techniques, including melting and pouring wax, scent blending, and wick placement, ensuring you feel confident and equipped to replicate the process independently.
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9:30am - 10:30am Capacity: 30 |
Session BB1: Meditation with Jillian
Jillian Marchand is the founder of Exploring Embodiment, which seeks to inspire others on their self healing journeys alongside her. She is a Usui Reiki Master and Trauma Informed Breathwork Facilitator with Pause Breathwork. Her background in dance allowed her to explore her passion for movement, music and expression and to connect to her body from a young age. She now carries these passions into her breathwork & embodiment classes to share how these somatic tools can move and transform our energy and shift our everyday experiences. The session will teach about how we can use intentional breathing throughout the day to create shifts in our experience & include a guided meditation and breathing practice to clear the mind and bring in more relaxation.
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9:30am - 10:30am Capacity: 20 |
Session BB2: Genealogy with Neil MacIsaac
Interested in your roots? Come join Neil MacIsaac as he helps you to discover the history and genealogy of your name! All participants are asked to take along their laptop/Chromebook.
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10:30am - 11:30am Capacity: 30 |
Session CC1: Mindfulness with Yvonne Landry
Come and relax as you learn how to meditate with Yvonne. She will engage you in gentle practice and teach you how to incorporate mindfulness and meditation into your classrooms. Yvonne will also give you strategies to practice self-care at work and at home.
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10:30am - 11:30am Capacity: 20 |
Session CC2: RealCare Infant Simulators with Derek Murphy
In this session, you will join other educators who use the RealCare Program for a one-hour training and information session. This session will provide training on the fundamentals of RealCare Baby, including Control Center Software, assessment tools, lesson planning and more.
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11:30am - 12:30pm |
Lunch |
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12:15pm - 12:30pm |
AGM |
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12:30pm - 2:30pm Capacity: 30 |
Session DD1: Tour of Sugarloaf Farm with Denise BekkersTour of a dairy farm milking 150 cows three times a day. The group will be shown the dairy barn and milking parlor, calf nursery, feeding and equipment. The farm also includes beef cattle and sheep, so the advantages of diversifying will be discussed. We can also talk about how to organize a farm field trip, things to prepare for and questions for farmers and staff. This is a good opportunity to talk about the cost of food with students, the input costs for farmers, food supply and value-added products. (Milk is not just milk.) |
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12:30pm - 2:30pm Capacity: 20 |
Session DD2: Crafts with the CricutGina Bell is a writer, content creator, and mom of three who loves crafting, cooking, traveling, decorating, and party planning. She lives in Antigonish with her husband and three sons and is constantly on the lookout for easy, inexpensive ways to make magical memories with her family. Follow her adventures at www.EastCoastMommy.com. Gina will be here to demonstrate techniques and give us some great ideas about how to use a cricut machine. There are some interesting applications for the family studies program. Come check it out! |
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12:30pm - 2:30pm Capacity: 20 |
Session DD3: Pickles with Mattie SistersCome and join the Mattie sisters as they walk you through making your own jar of pickles. Participants will be going home with some recipes and a jar of pickles. |
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12:30pm - 2:30pm Capacity: 20 |
Session DD4: DBT with Stephanie Teasdale
Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills for the classroom. Special focus on Distress Tolerance Skill: Self Soothe. Creating self-soothe kits with students. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a modified type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others. DBT includes skill building sessions that include strategies and methods in 5 modules. The full DBT Skills Training Modules includes: - Mindfulness - Distress tolerance - Emotion Regulation -Interpersonal Effectiveness - Walking the Middle Path This session will focus on the Distress Tolerance skill: Self Soothe. A strategy found by many students to be very helpful is creating a self-soothing kit. In DBT, “self-soothing” is using the five senses to regulate emotions and increase feelings of calmness. To help prevent overwhelming distress, students can incorporate soothing things into their routine and environment, or they can utilize sensory soothing to grounding themselves when they start to get upset. The value of having the “kit” is that everything is already together in one place. When students start to feel distressed, they don’t have to think about what they should do or try to find what they need; they can simply pull out the box or bag and begin to try things. Having the kit to look through and choose from can create a new, positive ritual to replace previous unhelpful rituals. The self-soothe kit, anti-anxiety kit, calm down kit, happy box, self-care kit… whatever you call it, is an emergency kit of items that will help soothe students in stressful moments. Think of it like a first-aid kit for emotions. We have first-aid kits for physical damage, why can’t we have one for our emotions too? The cool thing about these kits is that students create them and customize it to fit their needs. |
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12:30pm - 1:30pm Capacity: 30 |
Session EE1: Mindfulness with Yvonne LandryCome and relax as you learn how to mediate with Yvonne. She will engage you in gentle practice and teach you how to incorporate mindfulness and meditation into your classrooms. Yvonne will also give you strategies to practice self-care at work and at home. |
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12:30pm - 1:30pm Capacity: 20 |
Session EE2: Classroom GardensJoin Peter and Julia Ritchie as they help you explore homegrown hydroponics. You will learn about plants and how to implement and maintain a small garden in your classrooms! Put on the green thumb for this one! |
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1:30pm - 2:30pm Capacity: 20 |
Session FF1: Genealogy with Neil MacIsaacInterested in your roots? Come join Neil MacIsaac as he helps you to discover the history and genealogy of your name! All participants are asked to take along their laptop/Chromebook. |
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1:30pm - 2:30pm Capacity: 30 |
Session FF2: Yoga with AllanaBring along your mat and some cozy clothes for a gentle yoga session with educator and yoga instructor, Allana Beaton. You are guaranteed to leave the session feeling peaceful! |
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2:30pm - 2:45pm |
Closing |
Primary Contact / Registrar
Stacey Purdy | fstaconference@nstu.ca