In-Service Workshops

Core needs for everyone and crucial in creating a supportive, dynamic learning environment are connection and belonging. Creating an environment of safety, trust and engagement is the foundation for fostering healthy relationships amongst students and adults. One key and powerful way to create this environment of trust and engagement is using well-led play. Play helps create a social and emotional learning environment of cooperation, active engagement, joy and social connection. Thus, a Community of Care and Belonging.

Many play activities and Play leadership skills will be taught. Skills and activities that highlight how to use playfulness to engage students, how to add in playful movement as brain breaks, how to interject simple mindfulness activities and offer voice and choice which fosters safety and internal control, all while having fun ourselves.

This workshop will allow the participants to "Expand their bag of tricks." Utilizing energizers, ice breakers, circle games, active games, theater games, team building games, free play and imaginative play, this strand will offer many activities that will support any PBIS and SEL programming, responsive classroom curriculum or restorative circles practices.

There are many barriers that prevent people from disclosing abuse and getting the support that people deserve. In this session, we will identify barriers of receiving support. We will build confidence on having conversations that might make us uncomfortable, especially when working with people we care for. Participants will leave with tools for responding to difficult questions, as well as learn techniques to create 2-way discussions about values, boundaries, and your role in supporting them.

Play is one of the fastest and most direct paths to building genuine connection — at any age. When people play together, something shifts. Guards come down, laughter opens doors, and belonging follows naturally. This highly experiential workshop explores how intentional, well-led play builds the social-emotional foundation every thriving classroom needs.

Drawing on the neuroscience of learning and behavior, the power of a growth mindset, and the science of positivity, you'll discover why play is the brain's most natural path to engagement — and how to use it purposefully. You'll leave with a toolkit of simple games and collaborative problem-solving activities designed to spark curiosity, build student agency, and deepen relational trust.

This workshop is informative, immediately applicable, and genuinely fun. Because when students feel connected, they're ready to learn — and when teachers feel it too, everyone thrives.

This presentation is designed to help educational, mental health, and community professionals both deepen their connections with their colleagues, students, teams, and families and focus on their own self-care as a way to build and maintain professional resilience. We will focus on strategies to foster interprofessional collaboration so that all team members share both the challenges and joys of their work. We will also discuss barriers and share solutions to collaborating and engaging in consistent self-care.

All schools have bullying response guidelines but sometimes school staff struggle with understanding the causes of bullying. This workshop addresses the dynamics between bullies and victims and explores the role bystanders play. Practical suggestions to deal with bullying will be given. This presentation is only available to school staff and administrators.

This dynamic and interactive presentation explores the critical difference between being a bystander and becoming an upstander in the face of bullying. Participants will learn to recognize various forms of bullying—physical, verbal, social, and cyber—and examine the powerful role peers play in either perpetuating or preventing harmful behavior. Through real-life scenarios, discussion, and practical tools, attendees will gain the confidence to intervene safely and effectively. The session emphasizes empathy, accountability, and the importance of creating a culture of respect in schools and communities. Whether you're a student, educator, or community member, this presentation will challenge you to shift from silence to action.

Every day, educators bear witness to the impacts of trauma in their classroom. Young people share their stories with us through behaviors (acting out, withdrawing, overachieving), attitudes (angry, distracted, anxious), and their own words. We care deeply about our students and creating a safe and supportive learning environment. As teachers, we also have our own stories and our own pain- both past and present. The goal of this workshop is to create a space to acknowledge the cumulative toll bearing witness to trauma can have on us and develop strategies to care for ourselves and support one another in doing this important and impactful work.

Prom is a special night one should always remember. Nothing will spoil that memory more than underage substance use, or worse, bad decision making. This presentation is for juniors and seniors ahead of prom, educating them on the dangers of underage substance use and unhealthy decision making and empowering them with alternatives to ensure their prom is a night to always remember!

This presentation is designed to educate students on the dangers and realities of vaping. Participants will learn about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes, how vaping is marketed to youth, and the impact nicotine can have on developing brains. Through real-life stories, current data, and interactive discussions, students will gain the tools to critically evaluate vaping culture and resist peer pressure. The session also highlights strategies for making healthy choices and provides resources for those seeking help to quit. Ideal for middle and high school audiences, this presentation promotes awareness, empowerment, and prevention.

Participants will learn the basics of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and how to implement CBT in their own personal lives and during treatment. Participants will also learn the inter-relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviors and how they interact with decision making and maladaptive behaviors. Participants will receive tools defining and addressing cognitive distortions, the dysfunctional response cycle and confronting cognitive distortions by meta-cognition. Participants will receive tools to implement during clinical sessions and group therapy.