Educators engage in professional learning.

I was able to only attend one professional development day this semester but was lucky enough to spend it in, what I thought, was a unique way. I coached the senior girls’ volleyball team of College Heights Secondary School, and we decided to run a camp for our feeder school (College Heights elementary, Beaverly, VanWay, Southridge, Malaspina, etc.). This was a great experience for some of the girls who have not had the opportunity to coach younger athletes. This teaches them patience, and how to break down skills for a less skilled athlete to understand. I also find, when you are an athlete and you are coaching skills that seem natural to you, you are actually learning even more about your skill. This obviously is the same in the classroom as well. The more you practice and teach the more you learn and develop your teaching skills. On the higher end of this, I learned the importance of the feeder schools and as well, the connection between the younger and older grades. Even though this camp was only girls, I feel that the younger girls look up to the older girls and it is nice for them to see that. This fostered a relationship that can go further than just one day camp, next year when they head into grade 8 they will see another friendly face in the hallway that can maybe help them to their class or find their locker. School is all about the connections that the students make, it is their entire social life and their entire childhood, we must make sure we are using our professional development days to make these the best years and to teach them all they must know.