Keynote Sessions
With: Incarnational Education in Canada Today 

How Does Jesus Show Up in the Classroom?
Sam Wells

1. First Night Sermon: Exodus 3: God on Fire
   The sermon aims to inspire the attendees by rediscovering the heart of Christianity in the depth of God’s desire to be with us.
   
   
2. First Keynote: Incarnational Education
   The lecture introduces the notion of being with, roots it Christologically, and outlines what it entails in eight dimensions, before making connections with education today.
   
   
3. Second Keynote: Before the Foundation of the World
   The lecture recentres Christianity from an instrumentalising of God to fix our human guilt and mortality problem to a realisation that being with is the nature of the Trinity, and being with us is the purpose of incarnation, reason for creation, and eternal destiny of humankind; and hence the goal of education.
   
   
4. Third Keynote: Making Christ Present
   The lecture explores profound ways the Holy Spirit makes Christ present in world and church, classroom and home characterising the educational process and the joy of teaching. 

Breakout Sessions

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With Parents – A.J. Cluck
Building Trust with Parents through Listening

Using the Listen → Engage → Act framework to strengthen incarnational partnerships with families. Christian education is most effective when families feel seen, heard, and valued as partners in the formation of students. In this workshop, participants will explore how intentional feedback rhythms through the Listen → Engage → Act framework can strengthen communication, deepen trust, and support a more incarnational approach to school leadership. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for listening intentionally, engaging relationally, and responding visibly in ways that strengthen school culture and parent partnership.

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With Yourself – Dr Rod Wilson
Who Arrives at Work?

All of us who are in educational leadership bring ourselves to work. Every morning, our strengths and struggles, virtues and vices, traumas and triggers, accompany us. Whether we know it or not, our stuff, positive and negative, impacts us and also those we lead. This session will guide your self-understanding by providing skills and deepening your awareness, so you can lead with a better, more effective sense of self.

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With Creation – A Rocha
Place-based Education: Let Your Place Direct Your Learning

Introduce your school community to the wonder of their place!

We only love what we care for. We care only about what we know. And we only know what we experience. We will share about who God is through experiencing up close the ecosystems and interconnected living systems and organisms around us! Participate in some simple outdoor, active, accessible activities that you can take back to your school community. These experiences have the potential to build knowledge and hopefully a deeper care for God’s creation and the special place where your school is located.

Be ready to engage outdoors in proper weather-appropriate clothing and with a water bottle.

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With Our Neighbour – Dr Quentin Genuis
Walking with students, families, and neighbours through addiction and other struggles

Christian educators and schools are increasingly called to help students and families navigate complex situations involving substance use and addiction as well as related mental health, social, and pastoral realities. Drawing from his experience as a physician, ethicist, and educator in downtown Vancouver, Dr. Quentin Genuis will consider how the Gospel empowers us to address these situations with clarity, compassion, and hope.

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Within Culturally Diverse Communities – Bryan Young & Zab Vilayil
When Cultural Representation Shifts and Leadership Must Adapt Too

What happens when we name the tensions impacting our culturally diverse communities while faithfully living out our mission?

Drawing on Zab’s refugee background and Bryan’s experience growing up in an immigrant family, they explore what it means to lead with integrity in culturally diverse Christian schools today. They reflect on unspoken needs and expectations, the challenging work of building healthy communities, and leading both proactively and responsively with courage and care.

Rooted in honesty, humility, and hope, they will offer practical tools and open a broader conversation about creating places of belonging where all can flourish.

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With Steadiness – Stacey Wieland
Leading Without Reactivity in Anxious Moments

Conflict is an unavoidable part of school leadership. In moments of tension, anxiety often shapes how we respond, pulling us into reactivity rather than faithful engagement. This session invites leaders to explore how to live out their values by developing the capacity to remain present, grounded, and thoughtful amid conflict. Using a biblically grounded, social-emotional development framework, participants will examine common reactive patterns that surface during conflict and learn how anxiety operates in individuals and groups. Through guided reflection, brief teaching, and interactive practices, leaders will be better equipped to respond to tense moments with clarity, compassion, and courage. Participants will leave with practical strategies and a renewed imagination for navigating conflict in ways that reflect both spiritual maturity and emotional intelligence.

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With Your Team – Jon Eckert, Ed.D.
Catalyzing Sustainable Leadership

How do we lean into life-giving leadership? We do this best when we do this with others. In this session, we will explore tools and strategies to build our leadership together. We will accelerate others' work in ways that help our colleagues and our kids become more of who they are created to be.

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With Spiritual Practices – Donavan L. Graham, Ed.D.
Creating Space for God

Healthy leadership begins with a healthy soul. Leadership that has impact beyond our skills and abilities requires a deep, intimate relationship with God, fostered by right perspectives and meaningful practices. In this session, we will examine those perspectives and present practices to help you engage with God in a deep, open, trusting, and healthy relationship that can shape and direct your leadership.

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Within the Public Square – Joanna DeJong VanHoff
Director of Education Program, Cardus (lunch sponsor)

Leading a Christian school frequently means engaging with the broader public narrative about religious schools and their role in society. Drawing upon decades of Cardus research, this session will situate Christian schools within a broader Canadian context. We will explore prevailing myths, current realities, and opportunities for productive, positive, and Christ-filled engagement and collaboration between religious and non-religious independent schools and across the independent and public school sectors.