ECSD Elementary Summer Summit: Full Schedule

ECSD Elementary Summer Summit 2026: September Starts Here
Join us on August 28 for a day of learning, collaboration, and inspiration designed to help you start the school year strong! Choose from over 25 sessions featuring classroom-ready resources, practical strategies, and ready-to-use lessons across literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, assessment, inclusion, faith permeation, and wellness. Whether you’re exploring the new Grades 4–6 Social Studies curriculum, discovering Dynamic Math, or looking for fresh ideas to support every learner, you’ll leave confident, energized, and September ready!

9:45am MDT

From Routine to Remarkable - Supercharging Tier 1Instruction with Stations, UDL, and Tech

LIMITED

Friday August 28, 2026 9:45am - 10:45am MDT

Limited Capacity seats available

Session Materials

How can we design Tier 1 instruction that is deeply rooted in joy, faith, and purposeful learning, while ensuring all students are engaged, challenged, and empowered?

Inspired by Catlin Tucker’s Station Rotation Model and guided by Universal Design for Learning (UDL), participants will explore how to design inclusive, student-centred learning experiences that honour learner variability and promote deep thinking. Through meaningful technology integration, teachers will focus on aligning digital tools with learning goals to foster agency, differentiation, and authentic engagement.
Participants will experience station rotation in action through three lenses: a science-based model, an English Language Arts/literature model, and a cross-curricular application. These experiences will highlight how intentional design can cultivate joy, rigour, and ownership across disciplines while embedding opportunities for faith connections and purposeful learning.

Educators will collaborate to design their own station rotation plan, leaving with practical, ready-to-implement strategies and student-centred experiences to support learning from September through November, ensuring their classrooms are truly rooted in joy from the very start.

Speakers

Brandi Clark

English Language Arts Consultant (K-6), Edmonton Catholic School Division

I have been working in the division for over 25 years. I have a Masters in Elementary Language Arts. My passions are reading and writing across a variety of genres and topics. I live in a house of artists and writers, specifically, my husband, two adult kids, a pug and two cats. I... Read More →

Nicole Cunningham

Emtech, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Nicole Cunningham is an Educational Technology Consultant with Edmonton Catholic Schools for the past 3 years, supporting teachers from Kindergarten to Grade 12. She designs and delivers professional learning and at the elbow planning and in-class support that helps educators purposefully... Read More →

Katerina Campbell

Elementary Science Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Katerina is an elementary Science consultant at Edmonton Catholic Schools. She loves all things Science, exploring natural phenomena and will never stop asking “why?” Katerina is a self proclaimed maker and cardboard collector. She is a proud promoter of inquiry based learning... Read More →

Natalie Zuberbuhler

Elementary Science Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Natalie Zuberbuhler: Elementary Science Curriculum and Assessment Consultant with Edmonton Catholic Schools lives for Science and supporting her teacher colleagues. Natalie always has great recommendations on books, tips for catching fish, and how to incorporate computer science to... Read More →

Friday August 28, 2026 9:45am - 10:45am MDT
3A

3-6

11:00am MDT

Phonics Companion in Kindergarten (We Translated It To Human)

LIMITED

Friday August 28, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm MDT

Limited Capacity seats available

Session Materials

In this session, teachers will explore the foundations of the Phonics Companion, focusing on the purpose of the program and what it means to teach phonics in a systematic and explicit way in Kindergarten. Lesson components will be broken down and clarified in a Kindergarten context. We will highlight the importance of pre-reading lessons, preparing materials, and making teacher notes to keep instruction focused and efficient. We will talk about if and when it is appropriate to adapt the Line Masters. Teachers will also examine the connection between this resource and the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum to better understand how they complement one another. The session will include a modeled lesson so teachers can see the flow, pacing, and structure in action, with clear guidance on what an effective lesson length looks like in practice.

Speakers

Carilynn Salisbury

English Language Arts Consultant (K-6), Edmonton Catholic School Division

English Language Arts Consultant, K-6

Kathleen Ruff

Kindergarten Programming Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School Division

Kindergarten Consultant. French Immersion teacher. Boy mom. Baker. Carbohydrate lover. TV watcher.

Courtney Cregan

Edmonton Catholic School Division

A lifelong Swiftie with a deep love play-based learning, Courtney brings heart, curiosity, and a touch of sparkle to every learning experience. When not teaching or curating magical classroom moments, you’ll find her curled up with a good book and Reputation on repeat.

Friday August 28, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm MDT
3A

Kindergarten

12:45pm MDT

Handwriting Without Tears in Kindergarten

LIMITED

Friday August 28, 2026 12:45pm - 3:30pm MDT

Limited Capacity seats available

Session Materials

The highly effective resource Handwriting Without Tears has returned! In this double block, teachers will be introduced to the foundational occupational therapy skills that support early writing development, including proper directionality, fine motor control, and print readiness. We will explore what the resource includes and why specific materials were selected. Teachers will practice some favourite activities such as using wooden pieces to build pre-printing shapes and letters, building and drawing Mat Man, and exploring multisensory approaches like the Wet-Dry-Try lesson and Roll-A-Dough activities. After this double block cross-curricular session, you will be fully equipped with practical strategies and ready-to-use resources to support writing success in your classroom.

Speakers