ETC Advisory Committee meets at Concordia International School

ETC Advisory Committee >>

ETC Advisor Committee meets at Concordia International School to plan for ETC2013

(Back row L-R) Bill Oldread, Clint Hamada UNIS Hanoi, Jeff Leppard ASIJ Tokyo, Peter Kimball TAS Taipei, Dick Krajczar EARCOS Exec. Dir. (Middle row L-R) Amy Moretti ISKL Kuala Lumpur, Keith Allerton JIS Jakarta, Amanda Wood SAS Singapore, Marnie Hurst ISM Manila, Dee Mulligan HKIS Hong Kong, Ross Tague ISB Bangkok, Lisa Keam ISB Beijing. (Front row L-R) Tina Bui SAS Shanghai, Vasudha Hurkat ISY Yangon, Elaine Repatacodo EARCOS ETC Coordinator.

Shanghai. The largest city in the world. A major financial center. One of the busiest ports on the planet. And the host city for the EARCOS Teachers’ Conference on March 28 – 30, 2013!

In preparation for ETC2013, the EARCOS brain trust of Dick Krajczar, Bill Oldread and Elaine Repartacado guided the Advisory Committee through a whirlwind weekend and jam-packed schedule in and around Concordia International School, located in the Jinqiao area of Shanghai. With returning members and new members alike working together, we worked our way through the agenda to help ensure that the EARCOS Teachers’ Conference will be a great experience for the hundreds of teachers in attendance from around the region.

As usual, the weekend began with a tour of the available conference hotel options. Fortunately, there is a large range of choices to suit every budget and every requirement. From the Ramada (great looking breakfast buffet!) to the Metro (funky décor) to the Citadines (closest walk) and a few other places in between, there is something for everyone. Be sure to check out the awesome video overview made by Advisory Committee member Vasudha Hurkat: http://bit.ly/etchotels.

The conference theme this year is “Moving Minds, Moving Bodies.” With conference strands in Physical Education, Visual Arts, Performing Arts (including Chorus, Music, Dance, Drama, Strings and Band), Technology, Chinese, Global Issues, Counseling and General Education, it promises to be an amazing professional development experience. This is the perfect year to be holding the conference in a school setting because the amazing facilities at Concordia – from the gymnasium to the theatre, from the dance studio to the weight room, from the band room to the classrooms – promise to support the performance-based strands in a way that a hotel venue never could.

The keynote speakers are world-class and inspiring. Liv Arnesen is a polar explorer and motivational speaker who plans to lead an 80-day expedition to the South Pole with a diverse team of six women from six different continents. Michael Furdyk seeks to empower youth to address some of the world’s greatest challenges through innovative global education programs. Zoe Weil is a pioneer in humane education who promises to challenge us to teach for a more peaceful, humane and healthy world.

In addition to their keynotes, these dynamic speakers will also be leading smaller workshops to share their expertise and experiences. There is also a lineup of workshop presenters invited to address a wide range of topics, from Chinese Language and Culture to Graphic Art to Choral Music. There are almost 30 workshops identified that are specifically for school counselors.

The centerpiece of any EARCOS Teachers’ Conference is always the teacher-led workshops. Our colleagues from around Asia are currently preparing to lead workshops that will highlight some of the amazing work that is happening in classrooms all through the EARCOS region. These workshops serve as an amazing source of PD for the presenters (as well as the participants!) and give them an opportunity to act as ambassadors and represent their schools to an audience of over 1000 teachers!

The preconference sessions are an excellent opportunity to dive deeper into a specific topic. There are whole-day sessions planned, including how brain research supports the need for quality physical education, counseling and university admissions, choral music and the artist with you, and physical literacy. Shanghai is a dynamic and vibrant metropolis. In addition to this amazing professional learning offered during the day, the city promises something for everyone. You can eat at world-class restaurants, stroll along the Bund, explore the French Concession, or be amazed by the city view from atop the World Financial Center, aka “The Bottle Opener.”

So talk to your school’s EARCOS Teacher Representative, check out the conference website (http://www.earcos.org/etc2013) for more information, and be sure to start your visa application for China early! You don’t want to miss the EARCOS Teachers’ Conference 2013!