In this reflection, first-year BEd student Bennett De Medeiros shares their experience leading their practicum class through an engaging and creative introduction to print media.

Introduction
My name is Bennett De Medeiros (he/they), a first-year Education student at 91亚色. My primary focus within my Visual Arts teachable is to provide students with diverse hands-on opportunities within the Arts. Grade 11 and 12 students from St. Edmund Campion were welcomed into the Print Media Studio at 91亚色 for a school workshop. As a Print Representative for the Visual Arts Student Association (VASA), I worked alongside David Scott Armstrong, the Print Media Associate Professor here at 91亚色.

Exploring the Creative Process through Monoprinting
In planning this workshop, our goal was to provide an experience unavailable at St. Edmund Campion. We chose Monoprinting, a unique disciplinary art form. While most Printmaking is defined by its ability to create repeatable images (like the everyday use of an ink stamp), Monoprinting produces a singular, non-repeatable design. To prepare for the workshop, I introduced my students to the global history of Printmaking and taught how to develop templates to ensure a smooth transition of the creative process once they arrived at the studio.

The SHSM Experience
This event was programmed as an Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) workshop, designed to introduce visiting students to post-secondary facilities. Under the demonstrations and the guidance of Professor Armstrong, students toured the studio, analyzed existing 91亚色 student work, and dove into the technical process of Printmaking by preparing their plexiglass surfaces to roll and draw ink to create their designs. Then to produce their design, students collaboratively used Printing presses to transfer designs onto specialized paper and how to safely prepare the printing bed. A crucial component of the Printmaking is learning the essential habits of studio maintenance and safety, students handled and cleaned the ink and tools for the future Printmakers of the studio.

Reflections of Community
Beyond the technical skills, the workshop emphasized the importance of the shared studio environment. Learning to maintain a clean, safe space as it is integral to the post-secondary experience and fosters the loving creative community here at the Department of Visual Art & Art History (VAAH). To conclude the day, each student was awarded a SHSM certificate of my own design. Overall, I am incredibly proud of how these students navigated a professional studio space for the first time as their results truly exceeded my expectations.

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She鈥檚 talking about healing, community, and responsibility.

A proud member of Timiskaming First Nations, and a graduate of 91亚色鈥檚 Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) - Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program, McGill represents the sort of educator that leads from the front: grounded in lived experienced, guided by community, and deeply committed to change starting in the classroom.

Her path to teaching began not in a lecture hall, but an elementary school classroom.

While studying Social Services at Confederation College, McGill completed a placement at a local school where she was invited to speak with students about her Kokum鈥檚 experience at a residential school, using the national education initiative .

鈥淚 completely fell in love with the work,鈥� McGill says. 鈥淚 was welcomed into classrooms to talk about the history of my Kokum鈥檚 residential school.

鈥淎nd I knew I wanted to continue working in education.鈥�

When she learned about 91亚色鈥檚 B.Ed Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program, the fit felt immediate, and so she applied with intention, not just to become a teacher, but to learn within a community that embodied her vision.

鈥淚 wanted to learn from Indigenous educators who understood my values,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to be surrounded by peers committed to creating meaningful change in classrooms, moving beyond cultural inclusivity toward cultural advocacy and celebration.

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 exactly what I got.鈥�

For McGill, that commitment was on display daily at through the program.

She credits her professors -- Kiera Brandt, Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing, and Andrew McConnell -- for providing the foundation in both her pedagogy and in her identity as an educator.

鈥淭heir dedication to Indigenous-led, community-informed learning, and equity-driven teaching, has helped me thrive in my role as an educator, and truly enjoy the work I am doing.鈥�

Today, McGill teaches at North Easthope Public School with the Avon Maitland District School Board, where her classroom now reflects the values she admired through the program鈥� student-centered learning, cultural safety, and shared knowledge.

鈥淭he program better equipped me to deliver meaningful instruction in ways that are both positive and healing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 also learned how to find reliable resources that center Indigenous voices, which has shaped how I approach learning and teaching across cultures.鈥�

And perhaps most transformative of all was how Waaban reframed her understanding of just what it means to teach in the first place.

鈥淚t helped me understand my role as a facilitator of learning,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e may enter the profession with excitement about the material we teach, but it is just as important to be equipped to meet students where they are. I am not the sole source of knowledge in the room, and I love that. My job would be very boring if I were.鈥�

That philosophy reflects where education in Ontario is heading, with a strong focus on equity, reconciliation, and student wellbeing.

For McGill, the impact of 91亚色鈥檚 B.Ed Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program extends beyond coursework. It鈥檚 a lifelong network of support.

鈥淭he small class size helped me feel supported through my courses. I am still in contact with my professors, I鈥檓 still in a book club with some of my peers from our cohort, and I know there are at least 20 people rooting for me in anything I do.鈥�

To prospective students considering the program, her message is quite simple: 鈥淚f you are open to it, you can gain so much from this program: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.鈥�

Waaban鈥檚 vision is realized in educators like Bailey. More than preparing teachers, it builds leaders serious about leading Ontario classrooms with integrity, care, and purpose.

Story by Dennis Bayazitov, special contributing

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Don Galbraith Pre-Service Teacher Award of Excellence winners: Lauren Cunningham, Anthony Pereira and Elvina Patapau (From left to right)

Congratulations to Lauren, Anthony, and Elvina on this well-deserved recognition. Their achievements reflect the high calibre of 91亚色鈥檚 Bachelor of Education program and its commitment to preparing future educators who will inspire and engage learners in science education across Ontario.

Pre-service students are encouraged to explore the many subject organisations related to their teaching discipline. These organisations often offer valuable scholarships, awards, and professional development opportunities designed to support and recognise future educators. A list of subject organisations can be found on the Education Resource Centre (ERC) website, an excellent place to start building connections with your future professional community.

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The Waaban teacher education program in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education is being given a reboot designed to ensure students feel comfortable in both Indigenous and university settings.

The accelerated 16-month program is offered every two years, and applications are open through mid-January for its 2026 cohort. Cohort members move through the program together, forming a community.

Assistant Professor John Hupfield, the program co-ordinator, emphasizes Waaban鈥檚 unique pathway toward a Bachelor of Education degree and Ontario teacher accreditation.

鈥淲e鈥檙e creating a conduit for Indigenous educators,鈥� says Hupfield, an Anishinaabe educator and grass dancer from Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, Ont. 鈥淲e鈥檙e creating an access point for mature learners and culture-based educators so they can get into the classroom. It鈥檚 a way of giving back to our Indigenous communities.鈥�

The accelerated 16-month program doesn鈥檛 require its candidates to have any university experience or a teachable subject; the Faculty of Education team considers an applicant鈥檚 knowledges, experience and interest in sharing it. People with a passion for their culture, whether they create beadwork or ribbon skirts, dance in pow wows or serve as knowledge keepers for their First Nation, are encouraged to apply.

鈥淭he university education system wasn鈥檛 designed by Indigenous Peoples,鈥� Hupfield says. 鈥淭hat construct didn鈥檛 exist in our communities, and the education system isn鈥檛 equipped to meet our needs. The Waaban program takes into consideration the unique needs of Indigenous students, rooted in history and factoring in the residential school experience and the resulting intergenerational trauma.鈥�

At Waaban, however, students鈥� Indigenous backgrounds are considered valuable and important.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not traditional teacher education,鈥� says Gabrielle Ayotte, a 2021 Waaban graduate, who is currently working on her PhD in Indigenous education at 91亚色. 鈥淭he program implements oral knowledge, and the relationship between students and teachers is at the centre. We鈥檙e able to think about land and spirit and have opportunities to bring our own stories into the classroom. Our knowledges are not usually validated in the education system.鈥�

Ayotte grew up in Montreal as a member of Garden River First Nation. She visited her community near Sault Ste. Marie each summer.

鈥淢y Indigenous identity was never discussed growing up,鈥� Ayotte says, 鈥渂ut family and friends began to ask questions about residential schools [when news broke about the Joyce Echaquan tragedy] and our identities. I wanted to learn more about my identity and colonization, and Waaban seemed like the perfect program for me. It had all the elements I needed to learn about and grow.

鈥淚t provided a space where my classmates and I could breathe and didn鈥檛 have to explain what it means to be Indigenous. I found community there.鈥�

Hupfield says that Waaban 鈥渢ries to create educators better equipped to meet the specific needs of Indigenous students. One of the ways we do that is by helping teaching candidates foster their own sense of identity and understand the values they carry and the teachings they know. I want to equip them to take on a leadership role.鈥�

Waaban classes have generally been held at the Urban Indigenous Education Centre (UIEC) in Toronto鈥檚 East End, but this year, the 91亚色 campus will host the classes throughout the summer. Hupfield is eager to see 91亚色 build stronger ties between the university and local Indigenous communities.

鈥淭here are lots of opportunities for the program to grow and for 91亚色 to have meaningful relationships with the Anishinaabe Nation and other First Nations,鈥� Hupfield says.

鈥�91亚色 will once again be hosting the winter Pow Wow on campus, and it is an opportunity for Indigenous people to see themselves on campus and consider it as a place for culture-based gatherings.鈥�

UIEC also has a major benefit as a classroom space; it is located next to Wandering Spirit School (K芒pap芒mahchakw锚w), a K-12 Toronto District School Board school that 鈥減rovides Indigenous children with an opportunity to learn about Anishinaabe cultural traditions in a nurturing, caring environment.鈥�

Laurie LaBrecque, who graduated from Waaban鈥檚 first cohort, teaches land-based learning and physical education at Wandering Spirit School. A member of Dokis First Nation situated along Ontario鈥檚 French River, LaBrecque, who grew up in Toronto, says 鈥淲aaban changed my life.鈥�

鈥淚 grew up in a white, middle-class environment and saw myself as white, even though I knew my culture. My grandfather was a residential school survivor who grew up on a trapline, and I went to Pow Wows with my aunt. But I struggled at university, and graduation felt very far away.鈥�

A friend who taught at Wandering Spirit School encouraged her to consider Waaban, given that she had always enjoyed working with children.

鈥淚 look at people talking about Indigenous pedagogy and a lot of them have no classroom experience,鈥� says LaBrecque, who is now working on a master鈥檚 degree at the University of Toronto. 鈥淚 believe the biggest change I can make is in the classroom.

鈥淓ducation was used as a weapon of violence against Indigenous people. The only way to make change is to have people with lived experience involved in the system.鈥�

As Waaban graduate Ayotte says,

鈥淭he media frame us as broken people, but we are reframing that.鈥�

The Waaban program is an important piece of that puzzle.

To learn more about the Waaban teacher education program or to apply, visit /edu/students/waaban/

Article by Elaine Smith, special contributing writer

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Second-year Bachelor of Education student, Natasha Reodica talks about her experience this past summer in Freiburg, Germany.

This past summer, 8 Bachelor of Education students took their learning beyond the classroom through 91亚色鈥檚 Summer Exchange to Freiburg, Germany. For four months, they studied at the University of Education (PH Freiburg) alongside students from across Europe, Africa, and Asia, gaining fresh perspectives on teaching and learning.

Living in the heart of the Black Forest, our students immersed themselves in German culture, picked up new languages, and traveled to eight countries during their exchange.

The Summer Exchange to Freiburg is open to 91亚色 BEd students, typically in their first year of the program, and offers university credit courses in English, German, or French. The program blends academic study with cultural immersion, helping teacher candidates build independence, cultural awareness, and global networks. All skills that enhance their future classrooms.

To learn more about eligibility, courses, and application details, visit the Summer Exchange to Freiburg program page.

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New artist(s) statement about the show:

Transitional Traces was a group art exhibition located at the Special Projects Gallery within the Joan & Martin Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts building. The show featured artists Bennett De Medeiros (Year 1, BEd), Diena Howe (Year 1, BEd), and Grayson King (Year 4, BFA). Each artist explored how traces can be identified within the physical environment or emotional states.

These artworks represented shadows, frottage drawings, paleoart, industrial landscapes, printmaking, and representations of the human form. 

Traces in the environment represent shifts of time by erosion or human intervention; they provide a snapshot of time through mark making and space.

For example, one artwork by Bennett De Medeiros focuses on familiar paths the artist traversed during their childhood. These parks and spaces hold memory not only through lived experiences but the physical textures above, around, or below. Frottage is a form of documentation to recollect and trace back to all the environmental influences which shape a surface.

The paleoart in the exhibition also traces back through deep time before human existence or disturbance. Sometimes environmental traces only exist through a short period of time or require a specific list of circumstances to appear, such as through Grayson King鈥檚 shadow depictions. A form of trace which casts a subject鈥檚 shape onto a surface, a projection that is able to appear and transform shape over time. Similarly, these shadows can invoke a specific memory or time to a viewer鈥檚 own interpretation.

Finally, human presence is a major theme within the exhibition as some artworks represent how human activity is lively through emotional events and the traces of these experiences which influence personal feelings. In contrast, what happens when human representation is taken away from infrastructure? For example, Diena Howe鈥檚 work showcases familiar industrial spaces which are contrasted with little human presence, providing a colder and quiet atmosphere, but the viewer can understand that these spaces are the traces left by mankind.

Traces are tangible but also abstract concepts, the artists in this exhibition encourage the viewer to look for these traces where they go. In the end, remember these traces are ever-changing but always present. 

About The Goldfarb Gallery

The Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery of 91亚色 is a socially minded not-for-profit contemporary art gallery that is a space for the creation and appreciation of art and culture. It is a supported Unit of 91亚色 within the President鈥檚 Division. We are externally funded as a public art gallery through the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, local and international foundations, embassies, and our membership who support all of our programs.

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ERC Hours

The ERC operates on the following schedule:

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm

Tuesday: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

If you have any questions or need assistance, the ERC team is here to help! You can reach out at 416-736-2100 x40565 or by email at erc@edu.yorku.ca

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91亚色鈥檚 Top 30 Alumni Under 30 awards program is a prestigious annual recognition of outstanding young alumni who are making significant contributions in their fields and communities. This year, the Faculty of Education proudly highlights alumna Blessing Owusu, a three鈥憈ime 91亚色 graduate, as one of the honorees. Blessing is an educator, children鈥檚 book author, and dedicated advocate for equity and inclusivity in education.

A leader in inclusive teaching, her master鈥檚 research on Black students鈥� experiences in schools led to the creation of Abena鈥檚 Adventures: A Taste of Home, a children鈥檚 book inspired by her Ghanaian鈥慍anadian heritage that is now used in classrooms to celebrate cultural identity and belonging. She also launched Lessons With Blessing, an online platform offering resources to help educators create equitable, affirming learning environments. These innovative contributions, reflecting her commitment to 鈥渂ringing inclusivity and equity to the forefront鈥� of teaching, research and advocacy earned her a place on 91亚色鈥檚 2025 Top 30 Alumni Under 30 list.

For the complete list of recipients and their profiles, visit 91亚色鈥檚 official Top 30 Alumni Under 30 awards page.

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Article by Deirdre Kelly ()

Photography by Horst Herget

Marnie and Rena Schwartz are a force to be reckoned with. The identical twins, who both earned double degrees (BA 鈥�01, BEd 鈥�01) from 91亚色, have spent more than two decades transforming the Greater Toronto Area鈥檚 dance scene through their ViBE Dance and Fitness Studio.

Founded in 2002, ViBE is no ordinary dance school. From its inception, the Schwartz sisters envisioned a space where creativity trumped competition 鈥� a sprawling 12,000-square-foot studio in Vaughan where students of all ages could focus on self-expression rather than scorecards or trophies. 鈥淲e wanted to create a place where everyone felt welcome,鈥� says Marnie, who oversees the business side of operations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about joy, not judgment.鈥�

That vision has resonated with thousands of students over the years. ViBE鈥檚 inclusive approach treats every dancer equally 鈥� whether they鈥檙e three years old, or an adult 鈥� and emphasizes fun over pressure. 鈥淲e believe in building confidence through movement,鈥� adds Rena, who leads the artistic side of their business.

Education has always been central to their lives. Their mother, Susan Schwartz (BA 鈥�80), is an accomplished educator and author of teaching manuals used at 91亚色 and beyond. Growing up surrounded by her passion for learning and teaching left a lasting impression on Marnie and Rena, who credit their own time at the University for shaping their approach to leadership and innovative thinking. 鈥�91亚色 taught us how to manage our time and think creatively. It really ignited our passion for lifelong learning.鈥�...

For more, check out the full article in the

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Participants explored the Camerise Project鈥揳n online hub designed to support FSL teachers in sharing and adapting classroom resources, learned about Open Education, Creative Commons licensing, and effective strategies for collaborating online.

The workshop included a panel discussion featuring experts in FSL education, who shared insights on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference), the action-oriented approach, and ways to incorporate diverse Francophone perspectives into teaching materials.

First-year Glendon BEd students played an important role in the workshop. Having completed the Camerise online asynchronous course on Creative Commons licensing and resource sharing (), the students contributed valuable knowledge to experienced teachers who may be new to open licensing practices. The students also collaborated with teachers to co-create classroom resources, giving them an opportunity to apply their learning in a practical setting.

鈥淭his collaboration offers mutual benefits: experienced teachers gain fresh insights from students engaged in current research, while BEd students gain a deeper understanding of real-world classroom challenges鈥�, said Muriel P茅guret Co-lead of the Camerise Project (FSL hub) which has been funded for the past five years by MOE and Heritage Canada. 鈥淏y working together, participants created resources that are not only effective but also responsive to the evolving needs of FSL classrooms鈥�.

The resources that were created will be shared publicly via the , allowing other educators to re-use, adapt them and re-share their adaptation for the benefit of the community.

The workshop鈥檚 broader goal was to build a community of practice that connects future and experienced educators. By fostering dialogue and collaboration, the workshop helped BEd students to feel connected to the profession before they officially enter the classroom. For experienced teachers, this opportunity to exchange ideas and collaborate with peers outside their school boards encourages fresh approaches to lesson planning.

By combining the expertise of seasoned educators with the fresh perspectives of Glendon BEd students, the workshop aims to build a community of practice to generate high-quality resources that will enrich FSL classrooms. The initiative highlights how resource sharing can save teachers time while enhancing student learning in FSL classrooms across Ontario.

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