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Start of August Summer 2020- Accomplishments

 I just finished my Honours Specialist HPE course. Time this summer is flying by. I have had many ups and downs this year and I can not wait to see what next year brings.  Accomplishments this summer. Went on a staycation to a farm A few motorcycle trips  Visit family and friends frequency increases. NOTE- respected social distancing for some friends. I wore a mask mostly (always indoor) and washed hands very frequently. We also washed all of the food and packages that entered our living space. We also washed high-frequency touch spaces.  Started to become a divemaster. Have over 60 dives this year. I have almost all the gear for scuba (only a few things remain).  1 course left for Master Scuba Diver Challenge. Courses this summer - search and recover + navigation. Need Deep Diver.  Spend a lot of time going for bike rides and walks with my lovely wife. We really worked on our communication and it is wonderful, although I do not feel as much as her. My heart is at such peace.  Worked o
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2019-2020

This year comes to an end and I have to reflect on what happened this year. The end of March break was a time to celebrate the last stretch of the school year. What we did not know is how much change was headed our way. This year for me was one of a lot of struggles. To start my year, the new school that was supposed to be ready in September was not ready. Our staff was placed temporarily into another school, who I must thank for their kindness and sharing of space. From a pedagogical standpoint, it was far from ideal. We had about 70 primary students in an open concept style place. You can imagine the frustrations while trying to teach when 60 kindergartens are trying to change their clothing after coming inside from their outdoor play. Even if all 60 kids were silent the acoustics alone are a challenge. The blessing for me was that I had access to half the gym making my life a lot easier. There were labour disputes and disruptions to learning when all of this was happening. Fast forw
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Technology Part 2- Mod 6 Artifact

Below is a brief reflection of my learning during COVID 19. I learned a lot about how to move forward with my pedagogy. Please read and enjoy my post. https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/16rXC3k7QqWne5MG6JiC8OEOpgOqzKKFp6BqreQ7OdJs/edit?usp=sharing
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2018-2019

I have completed my Masters in Education (2018) while working full time at 5 different schools; twice a week I would travel during lunch. Traveling across a major city during, sometimes 30 minutes or more of driving, was stressful. I have added to my teaching credentials. One of my goals was to teach in high school and as of this summer (July 2019), I have completed this goal. Another goal I had was to go to only one school. As of September 2019, this goal has been accomplished. Teaching is extremely challenging and I am finding the vocation quite rewarding. Investing so much of your time to supporting the future of our world, at times, seems like a daunting task. In the educational world, my comfort level has increased. When I first started to teach I felt like a fraud because I was never the most academic individual and I really did not like the academic side of the school (loved the social part). If you are thinking of joining the profession just be aware it is very hard work. Balan
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Reflecting on developing literacy for early readers.

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I have started to read a lot to support students that are early readers. One thing that I have learned is that exposing students to a variety of texts and strategies supports literacy development.  Very important factors to supporting early readers are learning how students learn to read words. Information from Cain, K. (2010). Learning to read words. In K. Cain, Reading Development & Difficulties (Ch. 4, pp. 67-94). Toronto: Wiley. Sight word When a reader sees a familiar word on a page or a computer screen, a word that they have read several times previously, their memory for that word is activated. Phonological When readers see an unfamiliar word, they can try to read it by sounding out the individual letters and blending them Analogy To read by analogy, readers use information from similarly spelled words that they know in order to pronounce unfamiliar words, for example using knowledge about the pronunciation of a familiar word such as table to pronou
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Mastery of tasks or mastery of test taking

Read the following article: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/nyregion/mastery-based-learning-no-grades.html?referer=http%3a%2f%2fm.facebook.com
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My Leadership Plan

Overview Making a positive change in this world is something that anyone can do. For this project, I decided to focus on changing something that will benefit both students and Canada as a whole. Presently, younger people are getting larger and are less physically active than generations ever before. Currently, 59% of adults are overweight or obese in Canada which costs Canadians about 4.3 billion dollars annually. There are over 26% of Canadians under the age of 18, who are currently overweight or obese (Childhood Obesity Foundation, 2015). These numbers are high and every citizen should be concerned. It is not enough to simply focus on the problem; it is time to focus on a solution. The solution I am proposing is that educators begin to take physical activity more seriously. Reflect on your own personal education, have you ever heard a teacher say “If you do not finish your “name subject”, you will not go to the gym!” If you have heard a variation of this statement, what the t
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