Learning Opportunities

Kristin Wiens (@kwiens62), MEd, is an Inclusion Coach for Sooke School District (#62) on Vancouver Island.  She supports Integration Support and classroom teachers from Kindergarten to grade 12. She facilitates workshops on a variety of topics including mindfulness, self-regulation, visual supports and PATHs (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope).  During her Masters in Special Education she studied mindfulness and self-regulation.  For her final project she wrote and illustrated a children’s book, “My Gratitude Jar”.  She creates graphics on topics related to education which are shared widely on social media.  She also co-creates Long Story Shortz stop motion videos for eudcators available at: www.northstarpaths.com .

Robyn Combres is a registered psychologist who lives in Sylvan Lake, Alberta with her husband and her two daughters. Over the last 20 years, Robyn has gained valuable experience working with difficult behaviors in a number of positions including educational assistant, a community outreach worker, family school liaison, and a district psychologist. For the past seven years, Robyn has been specialized in working with individuals with severe behaviors around the province in her private practice. Her clients have ranged in age from 3 years to late adulthood. This is a passion for Robyn and she dedicates her career to supporting those who work with and live with individuals with severe behaviors and the clients themselves.

Currently on leave from Vancouver School Board Learning Services and her role as 'District Resource Teacher for Social Emotional Learning", Patricia has been an educator for 30 years, having taught in special education programs, enrolling classrooms, and school based Resource Centres.  She was responsible for offering support to over 100 elementary schools and a number of high schools in the areas of positive behaviour supports, social emotional learning, and self regulation.  She was instrumental in the design and implementation of two Social Emotional Learning Centres which provide district support for individual students and their home school teams.