Introduction
Gina Sparling
Porter Creek Secondary School
Whitehorse, Yukon
My name is Gina Sparling. I teach the HOPE program at
Porter Creek Secondary, which is a life skills program for
neurodiverse students. This is my third year working at this
school. Our program has students ranging from grades 8-12
who have a variety of different backgrounds and interests.
Having different hands-on learning opportunities is crucial
for our class because this is how they best learn and stay
engaged. Connected North has a large variety of hands-on
workshops ranging from art to science to writing topics.
Although these are virtual, there is ample opportunity for the
students to complete hands-on projects and learning.
The first session that I booked was one that was sent to
all educators and was a beaded pin. This session was
very effective because all materials were mailed to me
at the school ahead of time and were precut for
students. After this, I explored more workshops, often
trying to focus on Indigenous artists when possible.
I have booked some workshops where I have had to
obtain the materials and some where materials are
sent to me. As a busy teacher, having materials sent to
me made me alleviated the stress of purchasing
materials and ensuring I had the correct ones.
First Session
C o n n e c t e d N o r t h i n O u r C l a s s r o o m
Gina Sparling - Connected North in Our Classroom
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