Speakers   Marcus Conyers Positively BrainSMart®: Unleashing the Learning Power of All Learners Join international keynote speaker Marcus Conyers, author of BrainSMART 60 Strategies for Boosting Test Scores, for an exhilarating journey of discovery about how teachers can positively influence student learning by teaching the ways that the brain learns best. Leave with practical ideas you can apply right away to help all students learn.   Bridget & Nancy Brown Dwell in the Possibilities: helping students with disabilities have opportunities to succeed Bridget Brown is an advocate, a life long learner, a national public speaker and a young woman with Down syndrome. Bridget believes she has been given a clear voice so that she can speak for people who are trying to find their own voice. In this workshop, by Bridget and her mom, Nancy, participants will learn: the IDEAL method of adapting curriculum; how to look at the learner, curriculum and environment to create effective adaptations; adaptations based on the learning standards, different ways to reduce the density of the curriculum, note taking tools like graphic webs and visual strategies, mini books, the benefit of previewing and reviewing material; and many concrete tools and strategies that help students succeed in inclusive classrooms.   Janice Benton Resources for the Inclusion Journey Are you wondering where to begin? Do you want some guidance from “old-timers?” This workshop will direct you to resources, organizations, and colleagues who can assist you in your efforts to serve students with a variety of disabilities. Janice Benton brings to the position of Executive Director of NCPD (National Catholic Partnership on Disability) more than twenty-five years of experience in the field of ministry and advocacy with persons with disabilities. Her experience as a nursing home aide, catechist and camp counselor with children and adults with intellectual & developmental disabilities, as well as her closeness to friends and family members with assorted disabilities, raised in her, a concern for the rights of people with disabilities.   Terri Vandercook MAPS: One Strategy for Assisting Schools and Religious Education Programs to Welcome and Support the Inclusion of Every Child An educator for the past 29 year, Dr. Vandercook is passionate about creating and supporting inclusive communities. This session will describe the process of MAPS, and bring it to life by sharing an example of planning that was conducted for a young girl with disabilities to support her to be a part of her 3rd grade classroom. Terri will answer the question of: “So what? How can I take this information and use it in my community?”   Luchara Sayles Wallace ‘Love Me, Love My Body’ A product of Catholic education and spiritual formation, Luchara has a life-long commitment to the support and development of inclusion within the Catholic educational and formation ministries. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we each have a unique job to do for and within the body of Christ. So too is the role of our students with disabilities. In this interactive keynote workshop, we will focus on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) principle of inclusion as it relates to the advancement of academic skills and social integration. Participants will take from this session strategies for curriculum development and accommodations as they relate to universal design for learning. Ultimately, we will develop strategies that will allow us to use our and our students' different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us (Romans 12:4-6).   Larry Fraher & Isabella Rice A Work of His Hands: A Tool Kit for Retreats Larry and Isabella, both from Phoenix Arizona have extensive backgrounds in church ministry. Their workshop will offer practical ideas on how to put together a retreat for persons with developmental disabilities. This will include selection of team leaders, context or theme, activities and most importantly how to creatively engage the participants in the retreat process.   Brian Mitchell Gospel Champions Today video games are one of the most popular media forms for elementary age children. This session will study the availability and use of video games in households and how these trends effect the development of elementary age children. The session will look at emerging trends to utilize the popularity of video games for educational applications and specific opportunities and strategies for catechist’s to utilize these trends in their ministry with children. A case study will be presented on Gospel Champions – a new video game series designed to extend Gospel and Catholic teaching into children’s at home video game playtime. All attendees will receive a free evaluation copy of the Gospel Champions video game series. Brian Mitchell is the President of Third Day Games and Producer of the Gospel Champions Video Game Series. Brian has a BS and MS in computer science and has been developing training, education, and game software for both commercial and government use for over 20 years. Brian has been a catechist in the Birmingham Diocese for the past 10 years.