Staff ‘open hearts’ at Odyssey Pro-D Conference
February 20, 2024
The theme of this year’s Odyssey Pro-D conference – held annually in the District – was “Opening Our Hearts” and for staff, that meant more than just expanding their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous culture.
Considering this year’s event was in-person for the first time in five years, rather than online, it was also about connecting with colleagues and being inspired by both an impressive dance performance by the Git Hayetsk Dancers and an engaging, entertaining keynote address from Drew Hayden-Taylor, an Indigenous author, playwright, and storyteller from Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario.
“We all work in different schools across the District and you often don’t see people over the course of the year, everybody is busy in their school, so Odyssey is also about connection, about bringing together everybody from across the District,” said George Kozlovic, Director of Instruction at the District. “So that’s a huge part of the day, just seeing people who you haven’t seen for months because you have been immersed in your school.”
The dance performance – which at various points had hundreds of people out of their seats dancing alongside the performers – and keynote speech were “meant to be a celebration of Indigenous culture,” said Kozlovic.
The opening festivities, held at the Langley Events Centre, were emceed by District Principal of Aboriginal Education Mike Pue, and Superintendent Mal Gill also made a welcome address that touched on the importance of continued learning as part of Truth and Reconciliation and connection.
“The learning, and the impact that the togetherness brings, helps us prepare for that next step and helps us in that journey that we face every single day, and it makes a difference in the lives of every single student that we touch,” Gill said. “And that’s not easy work. But it’s the most important work that we do – it is the work that we do. It is the why of our work.”
“We talk about Every Child Matters, absolutely. And today, it’s about Indigenous learners, and how we can learn together and do more,” he continued.
“We do that together, we do that in partnership. We do that because we all believe in the same thing. We do it because we believe that every student in our District deserves a chance to transition well into the future and have hope. And that’s what we do – we create hope.”
After the opening ceremonies, which were held at the Langley Events Centre, the professional development conference moved to R.E. Mountain Secondary, where District and school staff attended a number of seminars and info sessions that covered a variety of Indigenous-themed topics, including Indigenous lessons suitable for Kindergarten students; how to access the District’s online Indigenous resource library; and an Indigenous-based geography lesson that included a giant floor map.
A number of non-Indigenous-based seminars were also offered, including one on using green-screen technology in the classroom; unit planning; and Ocean Chemistry, which focuses on how to teach chemistry with a focus on the health of the planet.
To get a fuller picture of the Odyssey event, check out the slideshow below, as well as a video of the opening ceremony and keynote address.