Manitoba’s largest school division is renting out Canada Life Centre on Wednesday so its workforce can participate in professional development under one roof.
“It’s the only venue that can actually house our staff,” said Matt Henderson, superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division.
Roughly 5,500 staff, including upwards of 2,200 teachers, are expected to attend the division’s inaugural in-service meeting.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Matt Henderson, superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division, said the Canada Life Centre, an iconic concert and hockey arena downtown, is the only venue that can house all of the school divison’s staff.
The concert and hockey venue is being transformed to accommodate a morning of performances and speeches inside the bottom bowl.
WSD is spending about $50,000 on the day, just under $10 per participant, Henderson said. Food coordinators, tradespeople and information technology specialists will be among those in attendance.
“It’s really, really important to bring the whole group together. We’re really trying to build a strong culture where everybody feels that they’re part of a community that’s moving the needle for kids and families so it’s important we’re all in the same room and feeling part of that community,” he said.
The division booked African-American educator Christopher Emdin to deliver a keynote. Emdin is an award-winning author whose research interests include STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and social justice education. Student drum groups from Tec Voc, Daniel McIntyre and Gordon Bell schools will also perform.
Following morning programming, educational assistants are scheduled to attend support staff-specific sessions at the convention centre.
Teachers will take part in school-level professional development for the remainder of the day.
Regular instruction will resume Thursday.
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter
Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., Maggie was an intern at the Free Press twice while earning her degree at Ryerson’s School of Journalism (now Toronto Metropolitan University) before joining the newsroom as a reporter in 2019. Read more about Maggie.
Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.
Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.