CITE CONFERENCE 2021

VISION 20/20
"When We Can See From All Angles​"
Picture

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, April 24, 2021
Virtual Conference: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and English Lit Trivia/Social, 4-5 p.m.

The theme for the CITE conference in April is 20/20 Vision, with a focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The flipside to the "danger of a single story" is the importance of many stories. How can we best serve our diverse student populations? How do we make space for students to experience and represent a multitude of stories? How do we engage students who think differently? 

Join us on Saturday, April 24 for a day of inspiring, informative, and engaging conversations. Registration will begin early February. Look for the announcement and registration link from CIS Ontario.

Click here to register: https://www.cisontario.ca/forms/~form-uuid/e7522a9a-9003-4336-b347-ec211c354088

​CITE CONFERENCE 2019

Saturday, April 13, 2019
Hosted by MacLachlan College, Oakville | Conference Chair: Gregory Dominato

INTERWEAVING THE STRANDS

(Startling Discoveries Often Result)

"When two seemingly disparate elements are imaginatively apposed, put in apposition in new and unique ways, startling discoveries often result.”
— Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, The Medium is the Massage

​Thank you to everyone who attended the CITE Conference on April 13. Having attended many PD workshops over the years, this is always one of my favourites as the sessions are practical, inspiring and are delivered by our Ontario colleagues. This year we had the following twenty CIS Ontario schools in attendance:  Albert College, Appleby College, Bayview Glen School, Crescent School, Crestwood Preparatory College, Elmwood School, Greenwood College School, Havergal College, Hillfield Strathallan College, Holy Trinity School, Lakefield College School, MacLachlan College, Mentor College, Pickering College, Ridley College, Royal St. George's College, St. Andrew's College, St. Clement's School, St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School and The Bishop Strachan School. Congratulations to Hillfield Strathallan School, Bishop Strachan School, Appleby College, Bayview Glen School and Crestwood Preparatory School for sending five or more teachers! Also, kudos to Albert College in Belleville for travelling from afar and sending four teachers.​
2018 CITE Conference | Saturday, April 21, 2018
THE WORLD IS YOUR CLASSROOM: CREATIVE NON-FICTION AT WORK
Villanova College | Conference Chair and Co-Chair: Sally Mastromonaco and Christine Doyle

Thank you to the nineteen CIS Ontario Schools who came out on a Saturday to attend the ninth CITE Conference hosted by Villanova College. Branksome Hall wins the award for bringing seven colleagues, the most teachers from any school! The morning began with keynote speaker Jan Wong, whose wry wit and candour kept everyone entertained as she spoke about her two memoirs: Out of the Blue depicting Wong’s experience with work-place caused depression, and Apron Strings, about Wong’s travels to France, Italy and China to learn about cooking in other cultures, and the complicated relationship between a mother and son. The day consisted of two workshops, a delicious lunch, a panel discussion with Brendan Kennedy from The Toronto Star and Tristan Bronca from The Medical Post and there were some great door prizes at the wine and cheese reception. In addition, The Stratford Festival, Docs for Schools, Mabel’s Fables and A Different Drummer Books were also at the conference all morning. This year, twelve student InCITE winners participated in a writing workshop with writer Krystal Lunardo, and the three first-place pupils read their entries during lunch. A huge thank you to Sally Mastromonaco and the Villanova team for their hard work and organization! They put together an outstanding day that left many teachers feeling inspired and ready to try new ideas in the classroom. 
Picture
INCITE 2018 Judges Krystal Lunardo (Founder, Editor-In-Chief, & Art Director at Dauphine Magazine) and Lauren Knowles (Villanova Alumnus & student of journalism at Ryerson University)
2017 CITE Conference
​HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE HEARD?: CRESCENT SCHOOL
​The CITE Conference hosted by Crescent School in April was a success. The well-paced conference resembled a "spa" for mind and body (sans the mud baths and cucumber-over-the-eyes treatment). Sixty-seven teachers attended and twenty-seven CIS Ontario schools were represented. The morning began with an impressive performance from the spoken word group Unchartered. They were so impressive that many schools have already booked the group for next year. After two workshops, a delicious lunch and time to browse the booksellers' tables, CITE members enjoyed a guided wine tasting by a sommelier. A big thank you to Aggie Maksimowska and Christine Corely for their superb organisation and for allowing us to use their beautiful school.  ​
2016 CITE Conference
​MAKING MEDIA MATTER: ROYAL ST. GEORGE'S COLLEGE​
​The CITE Conference on “Making Media Matter,” held on Saturday, April 16th at Royal St. George’s College, was a success thanks to Trena Evans’ leadership and her wonderful team. Eighty teachers from over twenty-three CIS Ontario schools attended, and fifteen different workshops were offered. RSGC Headmaster Steven Beatty and CIS Ontario Executive Director Jan Campbell welcomed CITE teachers to Royal St. George’s College in their beautiful chapel, the jewel of the school. The day began with keynote speaker, Kenneth Goldsmith, poet and professor of poetics at The University of Pennsylvania, delivering a provocative presentation entitled "How I Stopped Worry and Learned to Love the Internet:  New Ideas for 21st Century Pedagogy." After a delicious lunch, a panel discussed the question, Are We Shaping Our Tools,Or Are Our Tools Shaping Us? Ramona Pringle moderated panelists Pasha Malla, Kenneth Goldsmith, Michael Harris and Carol Arcus who discussed how media affects everything, including how we read and write, which is much different than twenty years ago. Arcus explained that “Technology is barely twenty years old; we are in the “bedazzlement stage.” The conference concluded with a lovely wine and cheese reception where teachers had a chance to meet other CITE colleagues. Don't miss next year's event held at Crescent School!  
Picture
Keynote Speaker: Kenneth Goldsmith.
2015 CITE CONFERENCE, Hillfield Strathallan College on Saturday April 11, 2015

Hillfield Strathallan College put together a fabulous conference on Saturday, April 11, 2015. What made Leading with Words so great is that it was a conference for English teachers by English teachers, so that participants gained practical knowledge and resources to bring back to their classrooms. 

The day began with a presentation from Miranda Hill, author and Executive Director of Project Bookmark Canada. Dr. Patrick Deane, Professor of English and President of McMaster University presented the Keynote Address.

Listen to the Keynote address here.

InCite contest winners had the opportunity to work with two esteemed Canadian authors of humour, Terry Fallis and Dr. Gary Barwin.

In addition to great workshops, inspiring keynote, and wonderful food, participants were also treated to a fabulous swag bag. Special thanks to Anansi Press for generously providing free books for everyone who attended. Thanks to Jeremy Johnston, CITE 2015 Conference Chair, and the team at HSC for a spectacular day.
2014 CITE CONFERENCE, Upper Canada College (5th Anniversary)

The 2014 conference theme was Writing the "I": Reflections on Personal Experience. The conference kicked off with a plenary conversation hosted by UCC's Julian Bauld in which authors Katrina Onstad, Stephen Marche and Paul Vermeersch opened by exploring the recent vogue in memoir writing as a way into the theme. There were also intriguing personal stories including one from Stephen Marche about an idiosyncratic high school English teacher who doted on the Augustan Era of poetry, taught the secrets of perfect syntax and also marched students around the classroom periodically in order to hone corporal zeal.

At lunch, the spotlight was on the student winners of the InCITE writing competition. Indeed, it was a special feature of the 5th anniversary conference that students were present to receive their awards. What a successful addition!

In the afternoon Toronto authors Anthony De Sa and Kamal Al-Solayee entertained and educated with readings and stories that put a final polish on the theme. 

Along, of course, with the authors, UCC English Chair Colleen Ferguson and her team brought a wide range of exciting workshop opportunities to attendees that ranged from techniques for assessment to WordPress tips to graphic storytelling to creative nonfiction.  
2013 CITE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS, Appleby College 
 "Appleby College is proud to be hosting CITE 2013, and we have organized and exciting day of professional development and networking," writes Clayton Dion conference organizer. True to their word, Appleby did, indeed, deliver. We heard Marina Nemat's riveting account of her life in Iran and her wake-up call to watch over our fragile democracies here and now; We heard Jennifer Klein's engaging and energetic insights into making the English classroom a global village; We heard the razor sharp wit of Trevor Cole and Don Gilmour; We heard Aggie Maksimowska's warm and colourful introduction to life in Soviet-era Poland; and we heard from the many, many wonderful presenters, many of whom were CIS teachers themselves. We heard, and we shared. What a day to be an English teacher!
2012 CITE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS, The Bishop Strachan School
In his controversial manifesto, Reality Hunger, David Shields argues for work and forms that “reflect the speed of 21st century culture” and “capture our moment.” On April 21, the CITE Membership gathered to look at narrative through a range of lenses and ask important questions about relevance, creativity and authenticity in the works our students study and the works they author. In addition to welcoming Dr. Tom Romano, Hal Nedzviecki and Dr. Cindy Parrish from Bard’s Institute of Writing and Thinking, Bishop Strachan School offered a range of workshops delivered by other experts and discussants. 
2011 CITE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS, Ridley College
The Mandeville Theatre was the setting for a literary Friday evening event. After introductory remarks from Jonathan Leigh, Headmaster, Ridley College we were treated to readings by Linden MacIntyre, Katrina Onstad, Russell Smith, Richard B. Wright, followed by a panel discussion on The Future of Print chaired by Derek Finkle and Ian Brown. This event was open to the public, allowing avid readers to purchase books and get them signed by the authors. Saturday morning opened with a stimulating plenary Speech by Ian Brown: The Liberal Arts in Education. Delegates participated in two rounds of workshops, followed by lunch, readings by Andrew Pyper and Lee Gowan, and the announcement of the INCITE contest awards. A huge thank you to the Ridley Conference team, led by Colin Brezicki and Shelley Thomas for a wonderful event!
2010 CITE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS, Appleby College
After holding our first AGM on January 21, 2009, Appleby College took on the task of organizing the first CITE conference since 2002.  Envisioned as a one-day conference which would offer a lot of opportunity for participants to network with English teachers from other CIS schools, the day provided a combination of formal conference sessions, Harkness discussions on pertinent issues affecting CIS English teachers, and plenary addresses by award-winning authors Lawrence Hill and Nino Ricci.  The conference itself was titled Bridging the Gap: Forging Connections in Language Arts and Literature, and a symposium on bridging the gap between high school and university English courses took place at the end of the day, led by a panel of students, high school English teachers, and a university professor. The inCITE competition was revived for this conference as well.  Nino Ricci provided the writing theme for the competition, and also judged the student entries.  Winners of the competition were announced at the end of the conference, and each winner received a cash prize and a copy of the inCITE publication signed by Nino Ricci.  Close to 100 people registered for the 2010 CITE conference and over 25 CIS schools were represented that day, contributing to a well-attended conference and a very successful revival of the CITE organization!