In the Loop - May 28, 2026

Indigenous History Month

KEY RESOURCES IN LANGLEY

  • Guide to Key Websites and Resources: Here
  • Instructional Services Website: For all your district-vetted resources K-12!  Check it out!
  • Aboriginal Resources vetted by the District: Here
  • TCS Sites: Key resources are still being placed in these Teams. If you need access to one of these Teams, please email dzurbuchenjonker@sd35.bc.ca.
    • TCS SS-Grade 3
    • TCS Grade 4-8
    • TCS Secondary

DISTRICT LEARNING COMMONS

The DLC is your one stop shop for useful resources to enhance your teaching available to all school staff in the Langley School District. You don’t need to buy everything for all of your lessons yourself! We deliver and pick up all the items you request through district mail twice per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Links to all the info below:

  • View and book online through Insignia Library system | Here
  • Find instructions, an area to check out new resources, request new resources and report lost or damages kits | Here
  • Sign out instructions | Here

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

*NEW!* Follow us on our UDL/Mentorship Instagram! @sd35mentorshipmoments

We post lots of events, teacher tips, UDL strategies, and more!
  
Upcoming Events: 

  • Week of June 1-5, 2026
     Pack up Classroom Mentorship Library and IS Kits and return to the SBO through inter-school mail attention: Deborah Jonker
  • Year-End Celebration | Monday, June 15, 2026 4-6pm, SBO HUB | More info | RSVP by June 5, 2026

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HONOURING TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

June is National Indigenous History Month
With National Indigenous History Month starting next week, we wanted to share some new or newish Indigenous resources with all Langley educators.  There are resources on the list below that would be excellent for use with students in your classrooms as well as a number of books or resources that would be useful for adults as we all continue our journey in Truth and Reconciliation.  There is a link to order directly from the publisher, although please also do consider ordering from your local bookstore.  Thank you for supporting Indigenous authors and illustrators and for celebrating and sharing joy, truths and love during Indigenous History month.

Ages 4-10

  • Little Brown Girl by Leona Prince and illustrated by Paige Pettibon | Link
  • Tess’s Red Dress by Carolyn Roberts and illustrated by Kelsey Mata Foote |  Link
  • Kohkum’s First Drum by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated by Karlene Harvey | Link
  • Springtime in Kitkatla by Kim Spencer and illustrated by Karlene Harvey | Link

Middle Grade/High School

  • 52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing | Link
  • Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Written by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Adapted by Monique Gray Smith with illustrations from Nicole Neidhardt | Link

DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Building Inclusion Through Sport: The Story of Jackie Barrett | On-Demand Learning Feature 
Looking for practical ways to foster inclusion and a sense of belonging in your classroom or sport setting? Join Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as they explore Respecting the Game: The Story of Jackie Barrett - and innovative, bilingual, pre-recorded program developed in partnership with Special Olympics Canada. This engaging resource brings the story of a remarkable athlete with an intellectual disability to life, offering students powerful lessons on perseverance, respect, and the true meaning of inclusion.

In this session, you will:

  • Get a sneak peek at the program's dynamic modules and ready-to-use lesson plans.
  • Deepen your understanding of DEI with a discussion on key terms and preferred language when speaking about and working with individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
  • Gain access to their DEI Coaching Workshop, a practical tool designed to help you create and inclusive environment where all students feel valued and supported.
  • Walk away with free, curriculum-aligned resources that integrate social-emotional learning and inclusive coaching strategies into your teaching.

Through the Beyond the Win EducationPlatform - beyondthewin.ca - not only will you gain access to this incredible learning experience, but you will also gain instantaneous access to hundreds of other free, ready-to-use engaging programs and resources that seamlessly integrate social-emotional learning and inclusion into your classroom or coaching.

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Math Professional Development for Teachers | UBC | Registration closing May 30, 2026 | More info
The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences and the Departments of Mathematics at UBC will be offering a 4-week Math Summer School for Elementary School Teachers this summer. The summer school will run from Monday July 6th to Friday July 31, 2026. Teachers are expected from 9:00 to 12:30 every weekday and to work on their own at home for another half an hour each day. They will be paid a $1,200 stipend upon completion of the program. Teachers will have the opportunity to:

  • Improve their mathematical knowledge and skills
  • Broaden their understanding of mathematics and its applications
  • Develop strategies for teaching
  • Develop exemplary lessons that can be used by other teachers
  • Enhance their professional networks

Children in the Middle Years: Trends in Well-being & Community Connections | June 9, 2026 | Register
Join Dr Eva Oberle and Trisha Dulku for an engaging webinar exploring trends in data collected through the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) and examples of moving the data to action in BC. Dr. Eva Oberle will discuss trends in well-being and how children spend their out-of-school time in the neighbourhood, on screens, outdoors and more.

Build Your STEM confidence this Summer: a three-day institute in Ottawa | Ingenium | July 7, 8, 9, 2026 | Apply by June 23, 2026
This award-winning teacher professional development series – designed and delivered by Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation – focuses on hands-on, classroom-ready STEM activities for elementary teachers. But this isn't your typical professional development workshop. We bring science to life through immersive, high-energy workshops facilitated by subject-matter experts — from astronomers to geologists — alongside Ingenium's own museum experts. $100 including meals, workshop materials and additional resources. Includes a $50 gift certificate to the Ingenium boutique upon completion.

2026 Professional Development Workshop Mental Wellness Supports & Interventions for Indigenous Children & Adolescents: Supporting Indigenous Children & Adolescents Who Use Substances | Register
This two-day event brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous mental wellness and healing professionals, educators, community-based programs and services to share knowledge about the latest trends and strategies in mental wellness supports and interventions for Indigenous Children and Adolescents. There are two options:

  • August 13-14, 2026 | Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa | Harrison Hot Springs, BC | Agenda Draft
  • September 15-16, 2026 | Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Agenda Draft

The Workshop is presented by W. Zarchikoff & Associates, Langley, BC. The Workshop features presentations addressing 3 themes:

  • Indigenous-Led Mental Health and Healing Approaches
  • Understanding Holistic Indigenous Therapies
  • Therapeutic Supports and Interventions for Indigenous Children & Adolescents Who Use Substances

A Pivotal Moment: AI, Evidence, and the Future of Assessment | Canadian Assessment Centre | September 25, 2026 | More info
The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence hasn’t created new problems in assessment; it has exposed the ones that have been quietly limiting learning all along. When students can use AI to complete tasks with ease, it forces us to confront a deeper question: What actually counts as evidence of learning? In this NEW ONE-DAY WORKSHOP, Tom Schimmer and Danielle Paloposki reframe the role of assessment in an AI-rich world by shifting the focus from task completion to the production of defensible evidence.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF/STUDENTS/CLASSES

This Month in the Arts: June | Poster
Even though June marks the final stretch of the school year, the arts scene is still buzzing with energy in our Langley Secondary Schools.  June features music concerts and festivals that celebrate a full year of creativity right to the very end!

Investigating Insects Digital Field Trip | Royal BC Museum | Book
Insect bodies and behaviours have a lot to teach us. Join Royal BC Museum educators for a live, interactive online program that takes students up close with real insect specimens from the museum’s collections. Through guided observation and discussion, students will investigate how insects move, survive, and interact with their environments while building scientific inquiry skills. Designed for grades 3–5 science, this engaging digital program brings real museum learning directly to your students.

Students will:

  • Identify key features of insect anatomy and behaviour
  • Practice observation and inquiry skills with online specimens
  • Observe how insects adapt to different environments

LEARNING RESOURCES

Inquiry and Questioning Videos and Resources from Trevor Mackenzie | Website
Are you interested in learning more about how to increase student engagement and learner agency through inquiry and enhancing your students ability to think critically and ask good questions?  Trevor Mackenzie is a BC educator who specializes in this work and he has been providing some excellent videos and resources to help teachers implement inquiry and questioning routines into the classroom.  Trevor was the keynote presenter at our Langley Middle School Conference back in October where he introduced teachers to inquiry, classroom provocation and questioning routines.  In the folders below you can find the video of Trevor's keynote along with 4 subsequent folders with shorter, 30 minute videos and accompanying resources that build off Trevor's keynote and dive deeper into the subjects outlined next to each folder.  Please feel free to use these resources and share with others.  You can also check out Trevor's books and other resources at his website at the link above.

Coast Metro Numeracy Website | Link
The Coast Metro Math Project/Numeracy Website is an excellent, free resource for K-8 teachers. It contains a ton of great resources and lesson ideas for teachers to use around math and numeracy instruction. The website has recently been supplemented to include Math Practice Questions based on requests from teachers across the province. Teachers can access the website through the link above. 

Free Learning Portal | Royal BC Museum | More info
If you’re diving into a specific theme with your students, be sure to explore the Learning Portal from the Royal BC Museum. It is a free digital resource full of curriculum-connected content tailored to BC learners.

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL READINGS

Making Time for It All | Pembroke Publishers | Free Preview
Working on your professional learning this summer? Pick up a Pembroke book for practical teaching and learning that you can really use! Next year starts now with MakingTime for It All — accessible ideas, tools, and strategies for making time for every learner, every lesson, every day. This guide to thoughtful planning will help you find that much-needed balance between best practices and instructional time in a literacy-rich environment. You'll find practical solutions for creating a program that is responsive, manageable, and meets the needs of diverse students.

TECH TIPS

Book Creator | Hide Teacher Template When Assigning Books 
Using the Assign feature in Book Creator lets teachers quickly distribute individual copies of a template or exemplar to every student, ensuring everyone starts in the right place and can work independently.  
 
If you’re already using Book Creator to assign template books, a recent update adds a small but impactful improvement. The “Hide original book” option allows you to assign a template to students while keeping the original teacher copy out of the class library view. 
 
Why this matters: 
      • Clearer for students: Each learner only sees their own assigned copy, reducing confusion about which book to open or edit. 
      • Less cluttered libraries: Teacher templates stay hidden, keeping class libraries organized and focused on student work. 
      • More efficient for teachers: You can continue to use rich templates and exemplars without needing extra steps to manage visibility. 
It’s a simple toggle but one that improves workflow, reduces student frustration, and keeps your digital classroom space clean and easy to navigate. Check out how to utilize this here. 


Book Creator