Aboriginal Dance Play
Thompson Rivers University EDCO3100 | September 2021
Instructor: Roxanne Letterlough

On the first day of my Bachelor of Education, Roxanne Letterlough, lead resource choreographer and contributer of DancePL3Y, led us in an incredibly engaging, cross-curricular, Indigenized activity. We sang, danced, ran and played together in a structure that felt inclusive, inspiring and important. Through our participation, Roxanne opened this resource to us for future use in our classrooms. Dance PL3Y uses a 3 in their name to emphasize their 3 core philosophies: Be positive, Be Fun, Be Yourself. I hope to be able to share these philosophies in physical literacy courses in my future. Furthermore, I hope that I can share Roxanne’s Indigenized Dance PL3Y with students as a way for us to learn about and acknowledge the importance of dance to Indigenous cultures.

Truth and Reconciliation – How to Talk to Children
Thompson Rivers University EDSO3200 | March 15, 2022
Instructor: Kevin Lamoueux

For this certificate, I attended a virtual talk given by Kevin Lamoureux, the Education Lead at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation. Lamoureux has served as faculty member at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba, and is a well-known national public speaker. In his talk, he addressed the difficulty but the necessity of finding ways to speak with children about Truth and Reconciliation. It was a massive privilege to hear from Mr. Lamoureux. What struck me most from this talk was the presence of emotion, the focus on love and the existence of hope. Mr. Lamoureux was vulnerable and honest which allowed me to feel the same. I hope to attend more talks given by him throughout my career.

Bridging the Gaps. Strategies for Challenging Behaviour.
ASSAI SD73 | November 24 & December 1st, 2021
Instructor: Katy Bigsby

I was able to attend a two session seminar with Katy Bigsby, creator of the RIEL approach to behaviour management. It was a pleasure to listen to and interact with Katy during this virtual session. Katy began by speaking to the importance of being proactive with challenging behaviours. She broke this down into three sub categories: Flexibility, Boundaries and Raport. Katy provided space for us to share our experiences and to reflect on how we could have applied these new strategies. Something that stuck with me after the seminar is that stating “zero tolerance” for certain behaviours can actually lead to isolation of students. The language that we use is so important. We can still have firm boundaries and expectations without dismissing the needs of challenging students. Katy expanded my understanding or language around behaviour management.