Meet our great line of speakers who had ONLY 4 minute to share 4 slides and their story about….. To get to know our speakers we asked each:
- What were you doing 4 years ago?
- What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now?
- What famous group of 4 would likely have been part of or like to be part of?
CARRIE ANTONIAZZI: Carrie is on sabbatical from her teaching job at the Conseil Scolaire Francophone. She is working at Science World, developing and delivering professional development workshops, on site and throughout the province, in computational thinking.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Was an instructional coach for the Conseil Scolaire Francophone. This was also the year I decided to explore the west coast, driving from Vancouver to San Fransisco visiting Yosemite and Astoria (home of the Goonies!) on the way!
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? I would like to be teaching abroad and exploring a new part of the world.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? I would like to have been Dorothy rounding out the famous four in the Wizard of Oz. She was adventurous and fierce, and travelled between the two lands of Kansas and Oz before settling in the Emerald city. This would be a great adventure, as long as i could avoid the flying monkeys! those things gave me nightmares as a child!
JENNIFER BARKER: Jennifer is a Numeracy Helping Teacher with the Surrey Schools. Here are some important numbers in her life. 6, 20, 18, 2, 3 – Can you reason which one represents each of the following: years she has been teaching, number of kids she has, years married, degrees she has received from UBC, and the number of slices of pizza she can eat on any given Friday night.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Mom, Wife, Faculty Advisor, and Grades 3/4 Teacher.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? My youngest child will be graduating High School. I will have more grey hairs than I will be able to count, and I will continue to be grateful to spend each day doing what I love – teaching and learning.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? I would likely be part of, they might say I would be part of the four mathematical operations. Depending on what is needed I can transform into any operation e.g., I can ‘subtract’ a person’s stress by helping them out or I can ‘add’ stress (as in the case of my teenagers) by constantly reminding them of the school work they need to complete.
DAVID BURNS: Education policy scholar looking at post-sec admissions, scientific literacy, and local education policy. Vice-Chair of KPU Senate, Teaching Fellow
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Teaching a wonderful 1st year transition course for new university students.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Telling new jokes.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? Great Big Sea
TIM CAVEY: He is an 8th Grade Teacher at Pacific Academy. He’s also currently pursuing his Master’s in Educational Leadership degree at Vancouver Island University and is the host of Teachers on Fire, a podcast that profiles agents of growth and transformation in education.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Four years ago, I married a gorgeous woman and became a stepdad to two amazing boys! Kristine is a huge source of joy in my life, and her love and support has taken me to places I never thought possible.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Four years from now I would love to help shape growth and transformation as a lead learner in a learning community. I also love the thought of one day writing and publishing a book that helps bring inspiration and growth to other educators. And if that book writing happens to take place in a context of sun, sand, and surf … then that’s just about perfect.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? I would love to join some of our young Canuck stars on the ice for a game: Horvat, Boeser, Pettersson, and Virtanen.
JEFF CURWEN: Jeff is utterly captivated by Design Thinking in the Classroom. He has been a Grounds- Maintenance worker, Educational Assistant, Elementary and Secondary teacher, general laborer, and has worked on a dairy farm, as a bartender, and for a major oil company in Southern Alberta. Current he has a flock of his own children and is Vice Principal at Pitt Meadows Secondary.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Learning the ropes as a new Vice-Principal during a strike year.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Tattooed and playing piano.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? Kramer, George, Elaine and Jerry
STELLA FLEMING: Wife, mom, Grade 1/2 teacher, trying to inspire, advocate of play-based learning, loves the core competencies and thinks she has found her tribe.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Every year I try and learn something new and outside of my comfort zone. Four years ago, I was learning French.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? In four years’, time I would like to be mentoring teachers and inspiring them to go on their own journey of adventure in education. Maybe I can find the time to take a Master’s degree. Really, I just want to say yes to whatever comes my way.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? The Golden Girls
GRANT FREND: Grant Frend is the principal of Thomas Haney Secondary School in Maple Ridge. He has spent the past few years learning about design thinking as a lever for change. He is a live music junkie who probably spends too much time going down YouTube rabbit holes.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? First year as principal of Thomas Haney Secondary
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Continued his education in conflict resolution, facilitation and coaching
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been a part of or like to be part of? Loved to have been the 5th member of the A-Team
LINDA KLASSEN: I’m an educator, singer, mother of two amazing adults and wife to artist David Klassen. I’ve been loving my job of working in schools for 30 years and continue to find Joy in helping students find their voice. SD #37
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Planning a wedding to marry off my son
2.What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? To have a place on the ocean in Portugal where I could sip Port and watch the waves roll in.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? The group of 4 that suits me are the Spice Girls. “Tell me what you want what you really really want.”
PAULA MACDOWELL: Paula is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University working on research and advocacy initiatives to empower youth through education and technology. Motivated by a social justice orientation to education and firmly committed to ethical practice, diversity, and equity, Paula studies the design of constructionist learning environments and works closely with teachers to integrate technology in the classroom for meaningful learning. She uses design-based research methods to create and analyze tools that support youth innovation in addressing humanity’s challenges and opportunities, to achieve sustainable change with and for our communities.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? I was visiting schools and travelling throughout East Africa with my family.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with my husband and two kids!
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? A grateful student once told me that I was one of his “Mount Rushmore of Educators.” May teachers everywhere consider the responsibility and opportunity we must empower students, ask the hard questions, and share our love for learning.
DARREN MITZEL: Principal at Mount Pleasant Elementary in Vancouver, President of Vancouver Elementary Principals & Vice-Principals Association (VEPVPA), heavily into Ed Tech with Vancouver School Board as a mentor and many working groups to increase the tech experiences of students and colleagues. Also, a husband, father and coach.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Just finishing up my very first Principal assignment, exposed my kids to skiing, and when my daughter fell in love with horses
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Anything that allows me to make a difference – educationally and the lives of others
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? The A-Team – Face, BA, Murdock and Hannibal. They always came to the rescue of others, creatively build a trap or a way out and they always ended the show with “I love it when a plan comes together.”
SEAN NOSEK: Sean Nosek has an affinity for back alleys, book stores, and vintage shops. An English teacher, he is currently Assistant Superintendent, West Vancouver Schools. Sean is the author of Ken Foster’s Vancouver: Life, Art and Alleyways.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Wandering the streets of the Downtown Eastside in search of a person I wasn’t sure existed
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? Making a difference ….in my work and my life…
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of ? The Who
MIKE SCHULTZ: Husband, father of four, grade five teacher and vice principal of Immaculate Conception School in Delta. Fan of all things Canucks and Lions. My idea of a good time is being around a campfire with family and friends.
1. What were you doing 4 years ago? Four years ago, was the family’s last big vacation. We travelled to Mexico, where I proceeded to spend much of my time standing knee deep in the pool acting as a lifeguard, making sure we left with as many kids as we showed up with.
2. What do you hope to be doing 4 years from now? In four years, I hope to be planning for my oldest daughter’s graduation, dealing with the daily drama that comes with a big family, and being open to all the exciting opportunities and challenges that God puts in my way.
3. What famous group of 4 would you likely have been part of or like to be part of? If I could be part of a group of four, I really think I would be Hannibal from the A-Team. I constantly come up with hair-brained schemes, I love it when a plan comes together, and my associates are questionable, at best.
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