Inuvik (Oct 20/06) - It was teachers who were busy cramming information into their binders and notebooks last week while students in the region were let out of school.

Beaufort Delta educators Reg Carpenter, left, and Chip Bryant were among the participants at the regional teachers conference last week. The pair tried to make their best balloon rocket using only a few basic materials. The exercise proved fun and challenging for the teachers. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

The Beaufort Delta regional educators conference had participants from the outlying communities learning new curricula, and some people got to meet for the first time.

"I had the opportunity to put faces to names of individuals who I had talked with over the past year," said Reg Carpenter.

Carpenter is the math and science program consultant for the Beaufort Delta.

He works with teachers in all of the regional schools to improve learning experiences for students.

"Overall, I found the conference to be a great success since it enabled teachers to network with their colleagues and to engage in new learning situations," added Carpenter.

The teachers that attended were treated to a wide variety of sessions, which were facilitated by different officials from around the Territories.

Steven Daniel, the math and science co-ordinator for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, held a science course on Thursday afternoon. It was aimed at elementary level teachers.

He introduced a new curriculum for kindergarten levels to Grade 6 classes. Daniel said the main change in the new system is that students will no longer learn the same materials year after year. Under the old system, a student would learn a little about birds and move on to another element. That same student might have the same unit on birds in the next year as well. "We found that students didn't like that old way," said Daniel.

Now students will learn about the animals one year and plants the next, which also allows for a more in-depth look at each unit, according to Daniel. The new science curriculum was implemented last year, so this meeting also served as a way for new teachers to catch up. Dennis Parsons, the regional superintendent, said he was happy with the results of the conference.

"It was good for the teachers to come together and learn from each other," said Parsons.

Carpenter was also happy with the response from others at the meetings.

"The comments made to me by teachers and presenters were all positive and many stated that the conference had something for everyone," said Carpenter.