VENUS WORKSHOP
EMILY MILLAR
Emily Millar is a Registered Psychotherapist supporting kids and teens through mindfulness, creativity, play, and evidence-based therapeutic approaches. She helps parents and educators build confidence with practical, compassionate strategies they can use in everyday life.
This workshop offers a playful, practical approach to understanding the emotional worlds of children. Participants learn how emotions function as full-body signals with meaningful messages and unmet needs beneath them. Through the Emotion Clubhouse framework, educators explore how to name and normalize feelings, reduce shame, and build regulation skills. The workshop highlights key emotions—anger, sadness, worry, joy—and their needs, and provides creative, play-based tools to support emotional expression. Educators leave with strategies to create emotionally aware classrooms where all feelings are welcome and every child feels seen.
earth workshop
REBECCA SEILING, MELANIE TAYLOR
Rebecca Seiling is an educator and founder of Nature Connect, designing outdoor experiences that centre relationship-building, play, and care for the land. Melanie Taylor is an educator with nearly 20 years of experience working in the (ALCDSB). Melanie has combined her passion for teaching with a deep commitment to experiential learning in her educational programming.
This interactive workshop brings curriculum to life through Outdoor Learning. Melanie and Rebecca combine their years of experience in education to guide participants in meeting curriculum expectations while learning outside and from the land. Through hands-on activities, practical examples, and reflective discussion, you will explore ways to connect learning to place, nature, and student curiosity. Leave with confidence, adaptable strategies, and ready-to-use tools that will help you begin your own Outdoor Learning journey and share meaningful, land-based experiences with your future students.
MERCURY workshop
PAUL AKPOMUJE
Paul is a PhD candidate at Queen’s Education who researches visa stories and poetics of migration. He is the Faculty’s first international Ontario Graduate Scholarship recipient, and released his debut poetry collection, Black Passport, in December 2025.
This interactive workshop explores how poetic storytelling can serve as a powerful pedagogical tool for accessing and teaching about complex issues such as migration, identity, and social justice. Participants will engage with poetry, multimodal texts, and reflective prompts to examine how power, race, and media shape teaching and learning. The session invites educators and students to rethink curriculum beyond borders, experimenting with creative, critical, and humanizing approaches to teaching complex social issues. Participants will leave with adaptable strategies for incorporating poetics into their classrooms across disciplinary contexts.
NEPTUNE workshop
OYA PAKKAL, JAIME BARRATT
Dr. Jaime Barratt is a Registered Early Childhood Educator and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University, specializing in early childhood education, physical literacy, and outdoor nature play. Oya Pakkal is a PhD candidate at Brock University and instructor in the Faculty of Education. Her research focuses on inclusive education, youth development, and experiences of marginalized learners.
In this interactive workshop, we share our experiences as post-secondary instructors in an online, asynchronous Honours program who initially felt defeated by the rapid rise of Artifical Intelligent (AI). Rather than “policing” or “catching” AI use, we reframed it as an opportunity for creativity, compassion, and partnership. We’ll introduce the background of the issue, showcase an assignment we redesigned, share student responses, and guide participants through critically reframing AI in assessment, engaging them in redesigning assignment to promote AI literacy, and ethical/responsible use.
uranus workshop
ANDREW WACHNER
Andrew Wachner is a veteran educator with 24 years of experience teaching Physics, Math, and Science in Belleville. He holds a BSc (Waterloo), an MSc (Guelph), and a B.Ed. (Western). Beyond the classroom, Andrew has been a dedicated leader within the OSSTF for 25 years, serving in key roles including Branch President, Chief Negotiator, and District President. He brings a unique perspective shaped by decades of both classroom instruction and high-level professional advocacy.
Beyond the Classroom: Developing Leadership Through Teacher Unions:
While your teaching degree prepares you for the classroom, professional leadership often begins with the participation in a teacher union. This session explores how union involvement serves as practical training for leadership, advocacy, and systemic change. Whether you are interested in member protection, community organizing, or professional development, the union provides a structured pathway to grow as a leader at the school, bargaining unit, district, and provincial levels.
Jupiter workshop
KIM LOCKHART
With 24 years of classroom teaching experience, Kim Lockhart has taught internationally, completed a Master in Education, is a certified Structured Literacy Classroom Educator, and contributed to Ontario’s new science-based Language Curriculum. Kim currently teaches at Trent University in the B.Ed program, at Vancouver Island University in the M.Ed program, and is dedicated to training teachers in evidence-based practices to improve students’ reading and writing outcomes.
Helping ALL Students Reach the Stars: Breaking the Poverty Cycle with Strong Literacy Instruction: In this 1-hour workshop, participants will explore how research-based language and literacy instruction opens doors of opportunity for every learner. Participants in this workshop will learn practical, research-supported strategies that build strong early reading and writing skills that are essential for students with learning difficulties but beneficial for all students. Through examples and reflection, participants will discover how to create inclusive, engaging environments where all students can thrive. Participants will leave this workshop with a toolbox of practical resources and engaging strategies that will ensure all students grow up to be confident, capable readers who have the ability to reach any star they choose.
the sun workshop
SHAUNA HEWITT
Shauna Hewitt is an accomplished Manitoba-based educator and family wellness consultant. Her career has taken her to Asia, the UK and across Canada as she cultivates her passion for heart-centred teaching and learning. She is a certified Advanced Skills Teacher, dedicating herself to supporting teachers in every area of the classroom. Most recently, she has turned part time consulting into a flourishing business, Roots to Thrive, serving schools, child-care centres and families alike. At the core of her work is a commitment to connection, relationship and ensuring the overall wellness of children – all anchored in her belief that when we lead from the heart, everyone thrives.
Built on Shauna’s Roots to Thrive framework and aligned with this year’s theme Teaching Among the Stars: Charting the Future of Education, this workshop explores how strong relationships and attachment-based practices light the path forward in our classrooms. When we lead with connection — our sun — we inspire students to shine, grow, and reach toward their vision. Through hands-on collaboration and a resilience-focused activity, participants will gain practical tools to build belonging, support regulation, and nurture thriving classrooms. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use strategies that help every child feel seen, safe, and capable of their brightest future.
Holly Ogden is an educator and researcher in the ConEd, BEd, and MEd programs at Queen’s University. Drawing on her K–6 teaching experiences, she focuses on fostering inclusive and positive learning environments and designing integrated curricula.
This interactive workshop introduces the Know Do Be Curriculum Framework as a powerful tool for meaningful planning and instruction across all subject areas. Participants will explore how the framework aligns knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support meaningful learning before planning for instruction or assessment. We will also share practical strategies that spark curiosity, foster wonder, and build authentic connections for students. Participants will leave with actionable ideas to design engaging learning experiences that inspire critical thinking and foster habits of mind.
mars workshop
HOLLY OGDEN
