Hello members,
The 2020 MTS PD Day is coming soon on October 23rd and we understand that this day is very different than previous years. There was some initial confusion regarding whether MTS PD Day would continue as planned this year. Not every school division in Manitoba is considering this a mandatory professional development day. Some divisions have been arranging internal PD where school psychologists are required to join or facilitate.
In light of all of this, MASP will not be hosting a formal professional development session on October 23rd, 2020. Instead, emphasis will be given this year to looking into providing on-demand virtual professional development sessions and discussion for members through the MASP website. The intention is to continue providing quality professional development to school psychologists in a way that accommodates the increased need for flexibility felt by all this year. This plan will extend throughout the year beyond October 23rd to help provide virtual PD opportunities available to members and divisional school psychology groups as needed and at your leisure.
We have set up a discussion forum on the MASP website to help with your networking and idea planning for Oct 23rd MTS PD day and future MASP PDs. Login at www.masp.mb.ca and under “Members” click “Discussion Forums”. Posts will be organized by topic, provide resources and links to virtual presentations, and will facilitate discussion between members among the broader MASP community.
Several topics are already posted, including “Reading development with Dr. David A. Kilpatrick.” This post includes links to three one-hour presentations by U.S. school psychologist Dr. David A. Kilpatrick, author of “Essentials of Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties.” The post also includes summaries for review by speech pathologist Alison Clarke. Within the forum post there is opportunity for members to provide their own comments, reflections, and engage in discussion among MASP members.
Additional topics and presentations will be posted over time. There will be opportunity within the forum to provide suggestions or requests for topics and presentations. Also, there will be opportunity for members to network and connect with other school psychologists within the province to coordinate dates and times to engage in remote professional development learning and discussion together through the forum.
Best regards,
Shelby Nickel
PD Chair
pd@masp.mb.ca