QPAT Reflection

Catherine Hughes-260519806
December 7th, 2015
On Friday, November 27th, 2015 I had the pleasure of attending
the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers at the Montreal Congress
Center. It was my first experience at a Teachers Convention,
consequently I didnt quite know what to expect. I decided to look at
the list of available workshops being offered beforehand and I decided
to attend a workshop entitled The Groove: Using Dance & Movement
as a TOOL for Learning and to Promote Physical, Mental, and Emotional
Health offered by Michelle Hiller.
I thoroughly enjoyed her presentation; it gave me many ideas on
how I could integrate movement, dance, and physical activity in my
everyday classroom teaching. Physical activity and fitness is truly
something I believe is essential to meaningful learning. Throughout my
years of university in learning how to become a teacher, and during my
time as a student teacher, I have always tried to maintain a healthy
and active lifestyle. I have made it my mantra to be the teacher that
promotes physical activity in the classroom, as well maintaining a
healthy diet, regardless of ones busy schedule. I have thisso by
integrating nutritional education in my core subject lessons, such as
Language Arts, Math and ERC. Additionally, I have tried to always have
healthy snacks and lunches at school. At the convention there were

several pamphlets and kiosks promoting health education. This was

encouraging for me, because not being a physical education teacher,
finding resources on this topic that are applicable to the core subject
areas isnt always easy. At this convention, I was also able to get fresh
ideas on strategies to integrate nutritional as well as physical
education to my pedagogy.
Throughout the semester weve talked a lot about ourselves as
professionals and our professional identities. I feel that this convention
has reinforced my professional identity as an educator and has helped
me shape the teacher I hope one day to become. Lastly, I hope to be
able to attend other educator conferences in the next couple of years
and hopefully attend a workshop for new teachers. I think it would be
helpful to hear from professionals on what to expect as a new teacher.
Even though I am now currently a student teacher, I am still not the
primary teacher. I still have support from my CT, and Supervisor. I hope
to attend a workshop that would give words of wisdom for a new
teacher. Overall, this was an amazing experience for me and I wish I
could have stayed longer to attend more presentations.