On Professional Activity (PA) days, staff engage in professional development. Our school, along with all schools in the Halton District School Board (HDSB) have several Professional Activity (PA) Days throughout the school year. The purpose of these days is to enhance student success. Staff focus on professional development activities, participate in training or planning sessions. There are no classes for students on these days.
To learn about what schools across the HDSB are focusing on during each PA Day, visit HDSB PA Days 2024-2025
For a detailed description of what our school will be focusing on please see the following information.
Timing/Format
Tues., Sept. 3, 2024 - Full Day
Facilitators:
Paddi Dewmyn, Principal
Peter Marshall, HDSB Consultant, Lumina Leadership
Harrison Staff
Learning Materials:
Literacy and Numeracy Monitoring
Lumina Spark
Harrison Mantra reflection in reporting
Additional information:
Timing/Format
Fri., Oct. 11, 2024 - Full Day
Facilitators:
Paddi Dewmyn, Principal
Peter Marshall, HDSB Consultant, Lumina Leadership
Harrison Staff
Learning Materials:
Literacy and Numeracy Monitoring
Lumina Spark
Harrison Mantra reflection in reporting
Additional information:
Student Led Parent/Guardian Teacher Conferences
ETFO Assessment and Evaluation
Report Card Writing
Timing/Format
Fri., Feb. 14, 2025
Full Day
Facilitators:
Administrator
Harrison Staff
Topic: School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (SIPSA)
Format:
Full-day, in person
Description: School teams will focus on School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (SIPSA) work. The HDSB has district-wide goals that each school develops detailed SIPSA plans for. School teams will focus their attention on district and school data analysis, planning effective strategies (literacy, mathematics, assessment and evaluation, monitoring student achievement and student safety and well-being). They will engage in learning related to the SIPSA goals and identify effective strategies.
Timing/Format
Fri., April 4th, 2025
Full Day
Facilitators:
Administrator
Harrison Staff
Child and Youth Worker
Learning Materials:
Emotional Validation Learning - acknowledging and accepting emotions without judgement, is a cornerstone of building trust, empathy, and resilience within the school community. Staff will explore how this approach can enhance the well-being of both students and staff, creating a foundation for a thriving educational environment
Outdoor Experiential Education - staff will engage in learning, planning and programming of outdoor experiential learning that supports grade level curriculum expectations.
Student Belonging and Well-being - staff will examine student survey data results and plan next steps to support student sense of belonging.
Additional information:
ETFO Assessment and Evaluation
Report Card Writing
Timing/Format
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 - Provincial Education Priorities - Keeping Schools Safe and School Resource Officer Program
Topic: Provincial Education Priorities - Keeping Schools Safe and School Resource Officer Program
Format:
Full-day, in-person
Description: School teams will review policy requirements and support for safe schools regarding the Provincial Code of Conduct, violence prevention, violent incident reporting and debriefing, gender-based violence and the Provincial Model for a Local Police/School Board Protocol. The content will include the role of police in providing high-quality, age-appropriate educational public safety presentations to students on subjects such as cybercrime, human trafficking, road safety and more. Information will be provided about the role of police in the school community, to support trust building between educators, policing services, students and parents/guardians. Suicide prevention and intervention will also be reviewed.
Staff will be provided with time to work with their grade and divisional teams to prepare for students arrival September 3rd.
Facilitators: Learning will be led by principals and school-based staff, supported with materials and guidance from central departments including Student Mental Health and Well-Being, Safe Schools and Special Education.
Learning/Delivery Method: Whole group presentations and small group work