2019 IBSC Annual Conference

Selwyn House School

Montréal, Québec, Canada
June 26 - 29

Download the conference program (6 MB).

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Featured Studio Speaker Bios

Brad Adams
Building the Character of Boys: A Prototype for Creative and Critical Thinking
Director of CIRCLE Education Brad Adams has 25 years of experience in university administration, teaching, and school leadership in Toronto, and most recently as a senior lecturer in education at the University of Tasmania. Until 2014, Adams served as IBSC executive director. He shares CIRCLE’s passion for and commitment to unleashing the leadership potential of teachers and schools to improve student learning.

Bill Bedard
Mental Health, Movie Magic
Officially the department head of computer science, Bill Bedard prefers to be known as the media guy—the person who helps staff and students make movies to tell a story. When not doing that, he also teaches photography, coding, and digital art and acts as an advisor for the yearbook. A big fan of virtual reality,Bedard wants to bring it into his classroom.

Anne-Marie Blais
Showtime! Place au Spectacle
Anne-Marie Blais holds a degree in musical theater and has worked in theater since 2007. For many years she has participated in a children's show tour, Un vent de changement avec Rafale (Winds of change with Rafale), which toured across the province of Quebec. With over 30 years of experience on the stage, Blais started classical ballet at the age of five, and she has since explored other dance styles, worked in improvisation for seven years, and performed on film. She has taught dance, theater, and improvisation to young people of all ages for over 20 years. For the past three years, she has brought her passion for children into the classroom as an elementary school teacher.

Evren Boisjoli
Confidence in Film
Evren Boisjoli is an Oscar-nominated, Montreal-based film producer, executive, and entrepreneur. His filmography includes titles such as "Fauve” (Oscar nominee 2019 , CSA nominee, Best Short of the Year Award, Sundance Special Jury Award, TIFF Honorable Mention), “We’re Still Together” (Karlovy Vary, BAFICI, Best Narrative Feature at New Hampshire), and executive producer on "Pre-Drink" (Best Canadian Short at TIFF, CSA nominee). Boisjoli holds a bachelor’s in film production from the renowned Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has attended the 2018 Canadian Film Center Cineplex Producer’s Lab. He is the founder of Achromatic Media, a production company that owns RED and Arri camera gear, as well as founder of Outpost, a post-production company. His skills as a well-rounded producer are proven by his ability to balance the worlds of business and art to create award-winning content. Follow Boisjoli on Instagram.

Jonathan Bracewell
Debating as a Learning Tool for the Arts
Secondary English teacher Jonathan Bracewell has coached the debate team at Selwyn House for seven years, leading to many successes including four Provincial Championships. The president of the Quebec Student Debating Association since 2015, he received the 2017 McLeese award for contribution to Canadian High School Debating from the Canadian Student Debating Federation.

Phil Cummins
Building the Character of Boys: A Prototype for Creative and Critical Thinking
An educator by trade and conviction, Phil Cummins knows and understands schools and leadership. With 30 years in education as a leader, teacher, author, speaker, and adjunct associate professor in education at the University of Tasmania and honorary associate at Alphacrucis College, he consults widely to schools, the tertiary sector, educational organizations, and government about building culture and improving performance with a focus on 21^st century strategy, governance, and leadership. Cummins believes leadership that inspires learning and promotes outstanding educational outcomes is the key to unlocking improved performance in our schools.

Cory Deegan
Where the Wild Things Are: Safe Spaces in Outdoor Education
Selwyn House Head of Outdoor Education Cory Deegan holds a master's degree in teaching and learning from McGill University and has spent the past 10 years diligently designing and implementing a cohesive and comprehensive outdoor education program for grades five to 11. In his spare time he enjoys rock climbing, bear baiting, and pickling wild gooseberries with McCarney.

Hal Hannaford
Close Connections: Maintaining Relationships with Old Boys
Selwyn House Headmaster Hal Hannaford began his educational career as a student at Lower Canada College in Montréal, and has spent his entire professional life in education, now entering his 30th year as a headmaster in CAIS schools. From his time as director of Kilcoo Camp (1982–84) and as a teacher, he has experience at both an elementary and high school level in Canada (Crescent School), as well as higher education at the American University in Paris. Hannaford was the founding headmaster of Kingsway College School in Toronto in 1989. He joined Royal St. George’s College in 1996 as headmaster, and remained until December 2008. In January 2009, Hannaford become headmaster of Selwyn House School. He has a keen interest in athletics, public speaking, auctioneering (has raised over $30 million for charitable causes), landscaping, drumming, and the Blues.

Reid Hannaford
Confidence in Film
A film director and producer, Reid Hannaford is a recent graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Canada, now based in New York City, Hannaford has worked on dozens of short films, commercials, and several features. His producing work has been featured in the Sundance Ignite Fellowship and screened at festivals across the United States. Above all, he strives to tell compelling stories. Learn more about Hannaford.

Carol-Ann Hoyte
Poetry: Not Just for English Class Anymore
Carol-Ann Hoyte is both the head librarian at Selwyn House School and a poet. Her poetry for children has been published primarily in School Magazine Australia and the U.S.'s Poetry Friday Anthology series. Hoyte has featured the work of poets from around the world in two self-published collections: the award-winning And the Crowd Goes Wild!: A Global Gathering of Sports Poems and Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems.

Vanessa Jothy
Bentwood Boxes and the Art of Telling Stories
Now in her 16th year teaching art (en français), Vanessa Jothy is a graduate of Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) where she earned a fine arts degree with a specialization in arts education. She strongly believes instruction must be designed to meet the needs and interests of all students to ensure student success. Cross-disciplinary lessons and multisensory approaches to teaching are also key components to keeping the class relevant and fun. Away from teaching Jothy enjoys art projects that range from mosaics to jewelry making and spending time with her two sons and husband.

Devon MacEachron
Neurodiversity and Unique Thinkers
A psychologist specializing in neuropsych assessment and educational advising for gifted and twice-exceptional learners, New York-based Devon MacEachron takes a positive psychology and strengths-based perspective in her work, helping individuals find their "super powers" and learn how to grow them while also addressing any challenges getting in the way of accomplishing their goals. Her appreciation for the strengths associated with having a "differently wired brain" and unique thinkers who offer much to the world led MacEachron to neurodiversity—that mental diversity is as deserving of respect and accommodation as any other type.

Lucy Martin
Play! Write! The Logistics and Benefits of a 24-Hour Playwriting Competition
Lucy Martin studied theater at Bishop's University and worked professionally in the field for 10 years as an actor, stage manager, and producer. Her most influential gig was working for The Second City Toronto serving as the stage manager for its long-running hit "Tony n' Tina's Wedding." During those four years, Martin gained exposure to a lot of improv, which continues to inform her work today. She is in her seventh year teaching drama at Selwyn House and considers this her best job.

Matt McCarney
Where the Wild Things Are: Safe Spaces in Outdoor Education
Matt McCarney serves as department head of middle school English and history and as an outdoor education teacher. He holds a master's degree in educational leadership from McGill University. McCarney has worked at Selwyn House for 20 years. In his spare time he enjoys reading, amateur ornithology, and pickling wild gooseberries with Deegan.

James McMillan
Bucket Brigade: Everybody Thinks They Are a Drummer
Close Connections: Maintaining Relationships with Old Boys
Director of advancement since 1987, James McMillan is part of a highly successful Advancement Team responsible for raising significant capital and endowment funds for Selwyn House. His responsibilities also include coordinating over 80 friend-raising events every year across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France for Old Boys and friends of the school. A member of the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools’ Advancement Professionals (CAISAP), now known as the Independent Schools’ Advancement Professionals of Canada (ISAPC), since 1987, McMillan has served on its board since 1995 and as its president in 1997. In addition to hosting three national conferences in Montreal (1997, 2005, 2015), he has been responsible for fundraising for all the CAISAP National Conferences since 1997. McMillan received a BFA in percussion performance and music composition from Concordia University, and a master’s in Educational Administration from McGill University. In addition to teaching on the faculty at McGill University, he taught jazz, rock, and blues at Selwyn House (1979-2011), and was the director of music (1979-2008). McMillan is also a professional drummer.

Sheryl Murray
Creating a Spark Through Experiential Learning
Sheryl Murray is the director of outreach at Crescent School (Canada). Involved with experiential education for years, she previously held positions at the Toronto Zoo and the Ontario Science Centre as an experiential educator. It is Murray’s dream to make the abstract come alive. She does this by incorporating different forms of hands-on elements into her students’ learning, both in a traditional classroom and out in the community. This love for creating connections carries through to all aspects of her role at Crescent, where she creates meaningful opportunities and encourages engaging community connections for boys in grades 3-12.

Maureen Powers
Bust a Move, Boost Your Mood!
An employee of Selwyn House School since 2015, Maureen Powers has been teaching dancing for much longer. A graduate of the Musical Theatre program of the American Music and Dramatic Academy in New York City, she has performed in numerous productions and continues to teach tap dancing to all ages. Powers firmly believes that everyone can dance!

Courtney Prieur
Creating a Spark Through Experiential Learning
Courtney Prieur is the director of experiential education at Selwyn House School. She has worked at the school since 2005 in various capacities, including as the director of student life. At Selwyn House, the department of Experiential Education is the nexus point for the growth and development of experiential learning opportunities and focuses on student leadership, outdoor education, community engagement, global education, sustainability initiatives, and experiential teaching and learning in the classroom. Prieur also worked for ISEEN (Independent Schools Experiential Education Network) organizing institutes for teachers and program directors looking to share, learn, and grow from each other. An avid believer in learning by doing, she enjoys a variety of sports with her two young girls and husband and actively volunteers in her community.

Michael Reichert
The Power of Connection to Build Good Men
Author and psychologist Michael C. Reichert is founding director of the Center for the Study of Boys' and Girls' Lives based at the University of Pennsylvania and consulting psychologist at The Haverford School (Pennsylvania).

Ada Sinacore
Let's Talk About Sex...ual Citizenship
Mental Health, Movie Magic
Currently at McGill University, Ada L. Sinacore is chair of the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies Program, director of the Social Justice and Diversity Research Lab, and associate professor in the Counselling Psychology Program. With more than 20 years of experience working in Canada, the United States, and worldwide, Sinacore is internationally recognized for her extensive expertise, presentations, and publications addressing social justice concerns at the individual, institutional, and policy level. She actively engages in research on gender equity education, sexual health education, social justice pedagogy, migration and immigration, workplace harassment, bullying, and gender-based violence. Additionally, Sinacore is highly sought for her consultation and program evaluation skills. Her numerous honors and awards include the Oliva Espin Award for Social Justice Concerns in Feminist Psychology: Immigration and Gender, from the Association for Women in Psychology. She is a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and received its Distinguished Member Award from the Section on Counselling Psychology. In a tribute to her passion for teaching, she received the McGill University, Faculty of Education Distinguished Teaching Award.

Clare Stewart
Bust a Move, Boost Your Mood!
A full-time student in communications at Concordia University, Clare Stewart has been dancing for over 15 years and teaching dance to all ages for the past seven. She loves to share the joy of dance with her students.

Emma Totten
Creating a Spark Through Experiential Learning
Emma Totten is the coordinator of global partnerships and real world connections at Royal St. George’s College (Canada). She has taught at the elementary, secondary, and college levels; in-person and online courses; in all-girls, all-boys, and coed settings; in Canada and overseas. One of her favorite aspects of a career in education—it can take you in so many different directions. Most recently, Totten finds herself building community partnerships. She works alongside classroom teachers to bring concepts to life by connecting what is going on in the classroom to people, experiences and “real-world” situations in the local and global community.