Workshop Information

This session will focus on students leading core strength circuits to provide leadership for peers. Circuit design is imperative to the success of student engagement. Action schools resources and student creative design provide variety to engage students in this endeavour. Teachers will benefit from learning what equipment is available for circuit training at the elementary level and how to engage students in leadership roles to run the circuits. The learning intentions for this session are to: incorporate Action Schools resources into circuit design, provide teachers with ready made circuits designed by students and assessment rubrics for use in their PE classes, videos of students’ leadership instructing circuits , "Toe Dip" into the realm of inquiry to see the connection to student ownership of learning. A sample student inquiry question to ponder for future use 

Currently a teacher at Dover Bay Secondary, Lynn has twenty-seven years experience teaching K-9. Lynn recently completed her Masters of Education in Educational Leadership (2010) with a focus on how teaching physical activity and healthy eating changes student attitudes towards healthy living. Lynn is also a NPPE planning committee member as well as a Regional Trainer for Action Schools BC, a best practice model to provide more opportunities to get more kids moving, more often. Lynn is also a member of the Network of Performance Based Schools BC and a provincial committee member and regional leader for the BC Healthy Schools Network.
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Kid Fit Club Tools: Be the teacher that makes a difference in children’s lives. This workshop is action packed with an eclectic approach to fitness. You will be able to build safe programs that cover all of the basics: confidence, cardiovascular drills, strength, agility, when to stretch and more. Come and have fun teaching fitness.

Germana Rovinelli has 25 years of experience working in the fitness industry as a highly accredited and trusted fitness professional. The founder of Able Body Consulting, Germana has sold this highly successful business to free up time—energy to inspire others to be their personal best.
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Introduction to this most popular Latin American dance.  This Cha Cha workshop is designed for absolute beginners, and will consist of some easy basic steps and end with fun variations and turns. The dance session will emphasize on fun, social and body work-out in an easy going and pleasant atmosphere.

Nelson Wong is a professionally qualified ballroom dance instructor, the co-founder of the Nanaimo Ballroom Dance Society, the co-founder of the Island Fantasy Ball, and a member of the Canadian Dance Sport Federation. Nelson has over 20 years of ballroom dance teaching experience and has danced competitively for many years. Nelson has taught dancing to ever secondary school in SD#68 as well as many elementary schools. Nelson teachers over 1,000 social dancing students each and every year in the Nanaimo area and also coaches competitive ballroom dancers who have achieved top ranking in dance competitions.
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Concept pieces are a hit, especially for high school-aged students. If students have an idea of the picture they are asked to paint by the choreographer (dance teacher) they enable themselves to get more into the choreography. Concept pieces can be done with any style of dance. The styles of dance that I have found the most successful thus far are street jazz and hip hop. Students enjoy taking an issue such as 'bullying' and presenting it to others as advocates or a piece on poverty, women’s issues, sexuality that grasps one's attention. Concept pieces are used to send a message to an audience. When students find meaning behind a dance, their effort and motivation to dance increases.

Ashley Bell is a recent graduate of Vancouver Island University with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education and Media Studies as well as a BEd. Over the past seven years, Ashley has taught hip hop dance at studios within the mid-Vancouver Island region, community centers, parks and recreation of Cowichan, Chemainus and Ladysmith, both secondary and elementary schools within School District #68 and Vancouver Island University.
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A brief discussion on the LTAD and BMS models will kick off the session. You will participate as the basic motor skills are broken down into their teaching progressions. You’ll come away with a variety of activities, games and their extensions to implement quality Physical Literacy in your next PE class! Instruction will be based on the Movement with Meaning and Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approaches!
Research shows that without the development of physical literacy, many children do not have the foundation of skills, attitudes and knowledge to participate in physical activities, recreation, and sport for healthy, life-long enjoyment and sporting success (CS4Life). Physical Literacy is defined in the Canadian Sport For Life framework as: ”… the development of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills that permit a child to move confidently and with control, in a wide range of physical activity, rhythmic (dance) and sport situations. Physical literacy also includes the ability to “read” what is going on around them in an activity setting and react appropriately to those events.”  The foundation for physical success is built upon the development of fundamental movement skills and motor skills in the first two stages (Active Start & FUNdamentals) of Canada’s Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) program. The basic skills (ie. jump, throw, strike, catch) form a platform to learn sport skills, which are then transferred across a variety of different sports and activities. 

As a Physical Literacy specialist, Jill Christie has been instructing, coaching, and facilitating personal and professional growth in the fields of recreation, fitness, sport, and outdoor pursuits for nearly twenty years. Jill holds degrees in Education and Physical Education, with specialties in Elementary Pedagogical studies and Outdoor Rec. She delivers workshops for educators on supporting Physical Literacy as well as Daily Physical Activity as a Regional Trainer with Action Schools!BC. Jill is also a registered Personal Fitness and Strength Trainer with the BCRPA. She is at the forefront of the development of sailboat and water
based literacy training in the central island and delivers courses for children, youth, adults and corporate
groups through her company Red Sky Outdoor Experiences and the local yacht clubs. Jill is currently a Teacher Teaching On Call in SD #68.
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This workshop will introduce participants to a range of rhythmic and educational gymnastic patterns and body movements that could be used in a school setting. Participants will also learn about the use of small hand apparatus such as bean bags, Frisbees, ropes, different sizes of hoops, parachute, sticks, ribbons, scarves, and large pieces such as benches, mats and even chairs.

Marta Kroupa has been inducted into the Saskatchewan Sport Hall of Fame (2005) for her work in developing Rhythmic Gymnastics. Marta was a school principal for many years. She is now retired, but remains active at the National level as a member-at-large – coaching on the Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastics Program Committee. Marta also teaches educational gymnastics at VIU.
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Students often can’t believe that they are allowed to play these fun games! This session will help you to get your students engaged in safe and easy to learn games that challenge their bodies AND minds. You will participate in a warm up, join in a safety chat, and then play a sample of combative games. The sample games shown do not require your school to have mats. A handout will be distributed to assist your own implementation; it will also have a list of local resources and websites

Andrew Tuck is the 2009 recipient of Nanaimo’s Grassroots Coach of the Year Award for his efforts in starting Olympic Freestyle Wrestling teams at 5 high schools in the district. In just their third season, several Nanaimo athletes have a real chance to qualify to compete in the Canadian National Championships! At the high school level, almost half of the participants are female in this most inclusive sport.
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Struggling to think of ideas for DPA? (Daily Physical Activity) Yoga is a great strategy to DPA in the classroom, library, and gym or in the great outdoors. In this session participants will learn how to introduce yoga to students and fill the required 30 mins of physical activity thought literature, music and movement. Children’s social emotional health is an essential component to student achievement and success. Yoga can calm or wake students up to help educators set the learning environment. Dominique Sullivan is a teacher in School District 68 and has been teaching yoga for the past eight years. She has established a yoga club and also had success training students to teach other children the power of yoga. Participants should wear loose clothing and bring a playful attitude to the session.

Dominique Sullivan completed her education degree from VIU in 2009 and has been teaching yoga since 2004.   She understands the unique opportunities/challenges when doing yoga for children. She has taught yoga during a school assembly, taught K-7 and leads a yoga club at the school level. She believes that educators should incorporate yoga into the PE curriculum so that all students can be successful and enjoy PE. Physical education should be both a group and individual process to ensure students become active and fit adults.
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Jive & Swing is the all-time dance favorite that rocked the world dance and enjoyed by all ages. This Jive & Swing workshop is designed for absolute beginners, and will consist of some easy basic steps and end with fun variations and turns. The dance session will emphasize on fun, social and body work-out in an easy going and pleasant atmosphere.

Nelson Wong is a professionally qualified ballroom dance instructor, the co-founder of the Nanaimo Ballroom Dance Society, the co-founder of the Island Fantasy Ball, and a member of the Canadian Dance Sport Federation. Nelson has over 20 years of ballroom dance teaching experience and has danced competitively for many years. Nelson has taught dancing to ever secondary school in SD#68 as well as many elementary schools. Nelson teachers over 1,000 social dancing students each and every year in the Nanaimo area and also coaches competitive ballroom dancers who have achieved top ranking in dance competitions.
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DPA is a great chance to work on the ABCs required for an active and healthy life. Agility, balance, coordination and speed come into play in nearly every physical activity! Make them a part of your daily Physical Literacy program! Take home some fabulous new Fun, Fitness and Fundamentally-based action breaks for your students. Ready to use activities for Elementary DPA that meet BC Curriculum standards. Join Jill Christie, Action Schools! BC Regional Trainer, BCRPA Personal Fitness Trainer and Physical Education and Literacy Specialist and get FFF-ysical!

As a Physical Literacy specialist, Jill Christie has been instructing, coaching, and facilitating personal and professional growth in the fields of recreation, fitness, sport, and outdoor pursuits for nearly twenty years. Jill holds degrees in Education and Physical Education, with specialties in Elementary Pedagogical studies and Outdoor Rec. She delivers workshops for educators on supporting Physical Literacy as well as Daily Physical Activity as a Regional Trainer with Action Schools!BC. Jill is also a registered Personal Fitness and Strength Trainer with the BCRPA. She is at the forefront of the development of sailboat and water
based literacy training in the central island and delivers courses for children, youth, adults and corporate
groups through her company Red Sky Outdoor Experiences and the local yacht clubs. Jill is currently a Teacher Teaching On Call in SD #68.
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Are you tired of playing the same old games during gym time? Is it a challenge to meet the needs of the various ability levels in your PE class? If you want a potpourri of success-oriented activities and strategies that you can use “Come Next Monday” then this workshop is for you. We’ll play a variety of “instant activities,” “classroom energizers,” “cooperative” and “low organized” games that have been time tested with primary children. As we play, I’ll model some teaching strategies for managing and motivating children to ensure you have an easy transition to make these activities work in your setting.

George Kelly traded the sandy beaches of PEI for the magical mountains of B.C. fifteen years ago. He teaches Physical Education methods and exercise Physiology at Vancouver Island University. He is a faculty member in the SHAPE department at VIU and coaches many youth sports in the local community.
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Yoga is a highly effective practice for rebalancing musculature. This reconfirms proper posture and efficient bodily functioning. In this session we will look at common postural imbalances that occur within the body and yogic poses to counteract them.

Kavita Maharaj, owner and operator of Red Door Yoga, is an internationally recognized Registered Yoga Teacher and Teacher Trainer. Kavita has authored and implemented a number of very unique, highly successful rehabilitative and preventative programs which have made her well-known within the Nanaimo medical community. Kavita appears weekly in The Yogic Way, a widely read yoga column featured in the Nanaimo News Bulletin. She is a natural-born teacher with a genuine love of passing along knowledge and helping others. She has worked within the fitness industry for over 10 years to date and is a traditionally practicing Yogini.
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This session will focus on the development and implementation of assessment rubrics. Participants will gain a better understanding of the practice of assessment for learning (AFL) in a PE setting through the use of student  self-assessment rubrics with a focus on the 6 Big Strategies (clear learning intentions, clear criteria for success, regular meaningful feedback, thoughtful classroom questions, learners as teaching resources, and students as owners of their learning) and the 4 Big Ideas of AFL (learner meta-cognition, nimble responsive teaching, inquiry-based learning, learning through networks). This is a classroom session.

Having completed her Masters of Education at the University of BC., Cheryl is currently the Department Head of Physical Education and the ACE IT Fitness Leadership Program at Alpha Secondary School in Burnaby.  She has been a member of the steering committee for the writing and implementation of the Healthy Living Performance Standards as well as a member of the Healthy Schools Network and Network for Performance Based Schools.
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Elementary aged children are at a peak stage for nervous system development. The challenge we face is most of their body awareness, coordination, movement mechanics and balance will be developed by the age of 12 making it a critical time for children and young athletes to link their brain to their muscles and joints. This session will focus on how teachers can help students develop movement instead of muscle training.  Simple, fun, and challenging drills including: balance, agility, quickness, core stability, reactivity and strength will be demonstrated.  Participation is a must and come away with ideas to use Monday morning.

Kevin Spicer MEd, BCRPA-PFT has been teaching High School Physical Education and Science for 12 years and has developed two specialty courses at Kwalikum Secondary: Fitness and Sports Conditioning and Strength and Power Training.  His personal training business, Team Achieve Health and Fitness, offers a distinctly unique training system that progressively trains multi-directional movement skills with whole body strength and power. His focus is to enhance performance through the development of athleticism providing athletes of all ages and all sports with improved physical tools to pursue their goals in sport and life.  Kevin is an active member in the community, playing recreational sports, participating in triathlons and coaching community teams.
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Are you looking for a new activity to implement in your school? Would you be excited with a sport that promotes community and harmonious societies while still allowing for personal excellence and competition? Well then, maybe you'd like to give the sport of Tchoukball a try. It's a fun game with multiple goals, a rebounder, no defence and small ball about the size of a volleyball.   The sport was invented by Dr. Hemann Brandt, a swiss biologist, who had also won the Thulin prize for a paper titled, "A Scientific Criticism of Team Games."  So, please come and try a sport that is starting to grow in popularity and one that Dr. Brandt believes is the sport of tomorrow.  The sport is well suited for middle school and high school, but I believe that it would fit well in intermediate grades as well. In case you want to take a peek, here's a video to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4shhPBCvmms.  I plan to teach Tchoukball through the "Sport Education" instructional model, so this conference session will have a dual purpose. We'll introduce a new sport while also introducing you to a practical teaching methodology where participants learn all the roles (referee, coach, player, administrator, etc) within a sport. The Sport Education curriculum model is well suited for middle school and high school teachers.

George Kelly traded the sandy beaches of PEI for the magical mountains of B.C. twenty years ago. He teaches Physical Education methods and exercise Physiology at Vancouver Island University. He is a faculty member in the SHAPE department at VIU and coaches many youth sports in the local community.
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Youth Sport Conditioning will show teachers steps to building a structured core and strength program with foundational components of athleticism through a fun, dynamic, and motivating training environment.  Youth Sport Conditioning is available for teachers and coaches involved with young athletes and students from a variety of multi-directional sports including: hockey, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football, rugby, baseball, tennis, swimming and volleyball. This session will focus on developing the secondary fitness characteristics common in all multi-directional sports including: speed, agility, reactivity, balance, rotary power, quickness and developing more resistance to injury.  Participation is a must to use these ideas Monday morning.

Kevin Spicer MEd, BCRPA-PFT has been teaching High School Physical Education and Science for 12 years and has developed two specialty courses at Kwalikum Secondary: Fitness and Sports Conditioning and Strength and Power Training.  His personal training business, Team Achieve Health and Fitness, offers a distinctly unique training system that progressively trains multi-directional movement skills with whole body strength and power. His focus is to enhance performance through the development of athleticism providing athletes of all ages and all sports with improved physical tools to pursue their goals in sport and life.  Kevin is an active member in the community, playing recreational sports, participating in triathlons and coaching community teams.
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