Teachers Week Ontario - Faith Builders

August 6-9, 2024

Near the heart of the mission of Faith Builders is our commitment to training teachers. Each year in August, Faith Builders Canada* hosts Teachers Week Ontario in the southern part of the province at Arthur Christian School in Arthur, Ontario. Our goal is to provide resources to promote and sustain the vision for quality Christian education.

Teachers Week is packed with main sessions, workshops, and breakouts for new and experienced teachers who want to increase their effectiveness in the classroom. Attendees gather practical content and ideas built on a foundation of biblical teaching and refreshment.

Content-focused workshops and breakouts discuss history, science, math, literature, spelling, Bible, and more. Teachers Week typically falls a week or more before school starts in the fall and gives teachers a place to generate ideas, energy, and vision for the coming year.

General Sessions

Communicating Clearly Anthony Hurst

Biblical Principles of Communication
Effective Communication
The Art of Listening
Tips for Classroom Instruction

Split Sessions for Newer Teachers

Becoming an Effective Teacher Ben Krahn

Patient and Approachable
Enthusiastic and Energetic
Knowledgeable and Communicative
Disciplined and Professional

Split Sessions for Experienced Teachers

Exploring the Role of School Teachers Matt Peachey

Supporting Parents
Selling the Church
Strengthening the School
Sustaining Vision

Teachers Week Workshops

New Teacher Orientation Esther Bean
Ready to teach? Effective teaching requires preparation, and this workshop is intended to help prepare you for your first year in the classroom. It will include such topics as motivation, a typical lesson, teaching methods, and the learning process.
New teachers should also take a pertinent classroom management breakout session in conjunction with this workshop.

Doing Writing Right Meghan Brubaker
There are many reasons why writing class is not always a favourite time of the week for teachers or students, but there are so many reasons why it should be! Come to be inspired about why writing matters, how to structure writing classes, and how to make writing both manageable and fun. This workshop will include a little of everything, such as how to teach writing class content, creative assignment ideas, brainstorming techniques, various methods of editing, how to facilitate peer review, how to grade writing projects, and so much more.
Taught from the perspective of a middle grades teacher who spent nine years in the classroom.

Teaching Reading with Joy and Rigor Anna Zehr
Elementary teachers teach reading all day long as they use texts from any subject to strengthen reading skills of comprehension and fluency. In this workshop, we’ll read from a variety of texts including The Family Under the Bridge as we implement various oral reading methods, design questions that enable class conversations around texts, and practice narration and activities that strengthen student absorption of content in any subject.
Focused on Grades 3-6.

Expanding Your Math Skills Tanner Brubacher
Looking to grow in mathematics? In this workshop, we will explore the foundational topics in high school mathematics. Topics including algebra, functions and graphs, and trigonometry will be geared toward teachers who want to expand or refresh their math knowledge beyond a Grade 8 level. We will be working hands on with pen and paper to further each attendee’s current understanding in math.
This workshop is taught from the perspective of a high school teacher with 5 years of experience.

Methods of Teaching for Various Types of Learners Stephan Gingerich
What if learning didn’t always cater to the studious? What if it wasn’t the same old predictable format? How can a teacher be creative and sustainable, while maintaining classroom discipline? Stephan is a Christian school builder and promoter. He has years of classroom (especially Grade 7&8) and administrative experience. He enjoys inspiring teachers and students who don’t love school.

Wonders of the Human Brain Anthony Hurst
While many mysteries remain about this most complex organ, man has learned much since the days of believing the brain was just phlegm or a cooling unit for the blood. We will study the brain’s anatomy at gross organization, cellular, and molecular levels. We will also explore the following functions of the brain: synapse and neurotransmitters; the effects of various drugs; and learning, memory, and emotions.
From the perspective of one who taught school for 26 years and now work as a rep for Christian Light.

*Teachers Week Ontario is planned and sponsored by Faith Builders Educational Programs Canada, a sister organization of Faith Builders Educational Programs (USA). Many speakers participate in both Teachers Week Ontario and Teachers Week PA.