Educators Open their Hearts Again at Odyssey Conference

February 11, 2025

At last February’s Odyssey conference, participants were encouraged to ‘open their hearts’ as per the theme of that year’s event.

This year, conference attendees were encouraged with a similar line of thinking, with Kwantlen First Nation Elder Kevin Kelly (spouse of Kwantlen First Nation Chief Marilyn Gabriel), who spoke at the event’s opening, asking those in attendance to ‘take it all in with your heart’ during the day’s learning activities, as well as moving forward, when they return to their schools and classrooms. He thanked everyone for being there, as he said it “shows how much you care as the frontline workers for our children. It takes people like you to make our education better.”

It’s a message that was also reiterated by District Superintendent Mal Gill when speaking about the District’s recent high transition rates, or graduation rate, over a 5-year span.

“That ‘why’ is sitting in this room and listening online. It’s the people, the adults with a mindset that they never want to give up. That every child is important,” he said. “I know as we continue on this journey, that we will achieve our goal that all students, every single student that comes into a Langley school, will be successful and will do so because of this collective commitment that we have, and you show that today by being here.”

The annual conference, which focuses on Indigenous learning and celebrating Indigenous culture, was held at R.E. Mountain Secondary and Peter Ewart Middle School, with an opening, hosted at the Langley Events Centre, that featured a performance, storytelling, and cultural presentation from the Git Hayetsk dancers.

“The goal for Odyssey, it is that we are working towards what we have been doing in Langley for many years around Truth and Reconciliation,” said George Kozlovic, the director of Instructional Services. “We have spent a lot of time in the District focusing on the Truth and our goal with the Odyssey conference in the last couple years is to continue to talk about the Truth but also to celebrate and acknowledge the vast diversity and wonderful things the Indigenous cultures have to offer and it’s a day of professional learning.

“Learning something, whatever your role is in the district, that is going to help you professionally become a better employee and be better at your job which in the end is going to be better for kids, all kids, and that includes Indigenous students in our District,” he added.

This year’s event was the largest yet, with more than 1,900 registrants. Last year’s event was attended by 1,500 people. This year’s event also featured more than 100 different breakout sessions, compared to 70 last year. Topics ranged from Kwantlen storytelling to Indigenous drumming workshops, among others.

“The majority of our sessions are Indigenous focused. There are approximately 50-60 workshops all on Indigenous topics, some are curricular based,” Kozlovic said.

“We have been able to blend in workshops on numeracy, literacy, as well as workshops for administrators, clerical staff, and even a session with a presenter in our facilities department. We are really trying to represent all the different partner groups in our District and trying to offer sessions for everybody, whether they are a special education assistant, custodian, maintenance worker, teacher, or administrator.”

For this first time, the conference committee included members from all employee partner groups as a means to ensure it was an “inclusive” experience for all staff.

For photos from the Odyssey conference, see gallery below: