I visited Niagara Falls yesterday and it was absolutely break-taking. I was a bit disappointed with the tacky tourist traps, but we did stop in Hard Rock Cafe to pick up some souvenirs and received a recommendation for a scenic drive and winery. Of course, we had to go. The drive was beautiful, but the winery was too pretentious, so we kept going and found a more suitable place in Niagara Falls on the Lake. It looked like a story book scene situated in New England. It was so picturesque. We tried delicious drinks and an appetizer with roasted eggplant, hummus, olive tapenade, feta spread with grilled pita bread. It was delicious!
Then, we headed back to the apartment to get ready for the first day of the conference.
Joe dropped me off around 8:20 and I realized that I had to register before going to sessions. So, by the time I registered, I was about 10 minutes late to my first session. This is the pre-registration day before the actual conference and it is packed. All of the presentations are usually amazing with the latest research and biggest people in the business. It is awesome.
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| main session |
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| breakout sessions |
- 8:30-9:45 Session 1 - Technology in the Language Classroom: Relevant and Authentic Learning
- 10:00-11:15 Session 2 - Eye of the Storm: Academic Vocabulary = Successful Secondary ELLs
- 11:30-12:30 Main Session (Jim Cummins) - Universal Design in Teaching English Learners: Articulating Evidence-Based New Basics
- 12:30-1:30 Lunch
- 1:30-2:45 Session 3 - Mentoring Progress to Advance ELLs' Writing Development With Standards-Based Tools
- 3:00-4:15 Session 4 - How Instructional Coaching Helps ELLs and All Learners
- 4:30-5:30 STEM Education and ELLs: Consider the Possibilities
I know listing the sessions might be super boring to someone else, but my day was filled with learning from the best researchers in the field of second language acquisition. I was like a kid in a candy store.
After the conference, Joe and I went out to dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant. They had an appetizer, dinner, and dessert for CAD 25, which is about $22 USD. It was delicious.
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| organic greens salad with maple balsamic |
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| pasta with veggies |
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| salmon and veggies |
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| tiramisu and creme carmel |
The night with a wonderful bath and glass of wine. I absolutely love a baths and always took them growing up. I have not had a bathtub for the past 3 years and I miss it terribly. It was a nice way to wrap up the day.
