The SHIFT Blog

Well, fellow Shifters, you are probably tidying your desks, thinking of a (HOT!) Canada Day weekend and looking forward to some much deserved rest.  Thank you for following along with and supporting the Shift this year, your energy and enthusiasm has been contagious! If you are looking for some summer learning opportunities, look no further.  There are at least two chances to Shift in the coming months! First up is Second City at the Barn .   July 12th and open to ALL staff in HDSB, this is a great opportunity to laugh and learn with the incredible Second City Improv Group. Next, in August you can participate in the second Shift Your (Blank) Summer Learning Day .  This is a great opportunity to energize yourself before the new school year begins and learn with like-minded Shifters like you. Signing off for the summer! Jamie and Matt

Shifting back to the Barn On Wednesday night, 175 educators got to play together with a revisit to the Barn in Milton. The theme of the evening was “Can creativity and innovation be taught?”.  We’ve come to believe that the answer is a resounding YES!  As we have been exploring here at the Shift, there are learning conditions that foster innovation, in our schools and for our students.  This is where we started with The Case for Innovation and exploring these conditions, followed by Community Building and Risk Taking , and more to come soon.  Rethinking the structure of our classrooms and our schools is what we are aiming to do as we aim to answer the important questions of whether creativity and innovation can be taught.  This is our BIG why as shifters.  This goal is in context to changes happening at the Ministry level as well.  Our report cards are on the verge of a major overhaul.  The stated goal by the Ministry of Education is to...