On August 29, Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) teaching staff, educational assistants, and early childhood educators from all schools across the Board will be participating in professional development in-person. Below is the format that will be taking place throughout the day for each group:
Elementary and secondary
Length: Morning
Topic: Mental health and safe schools
Entity hosting: TLDSB
Presenter(s)/facilitator(s): School administrators
Description: School teams will engage in professional learning to deepen their understanding of the academic and health impacts of substance use, like vaping and excessive cell phone use. In alignment with the Ministry of Education updates to PPM 128, staff will develop strategies to uphold the expectations of the Code of Conduct and develop effective classroom management strategies to remove distractions to learning. Staff will engage in learning activities to develop a whole-school approach to progressive discipline, as well as develop effective strategies to promote mental health and address bullying in order to create a safe and inclusive school community. These strategies will support both staff and students to build mental health and resilience, along with developing healthy decision-making skills.
Length: Afternoon
Topic: Health and safety, student medical conditions, and cybersecurity
Entity hosting: TLDSB
Presenter(s)/facilitator(s): School administrators
Description: Staff will participate in a one hour session related to a review of health and safety. Topics covered will include workers rights and responsibilities, reporting processes, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), as well as sections on key areas to increase prevention of injury related to slips, trips, and falls, electrical safety, safe ladder use, ball strikes/concussions, and student aggression.
School teams will engage in learning to review relevant policies and procedures to understand their role in supporting students with prevalent medical conditions, as per Ministry of Education PPM 161.
Additionally, staff will be given time to complete mandatory cybersecurity modules.
