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“School is not preparation for life; it’s life itself.” On 8 February the DIPs Early Years mini conference took place in Den Haag at the European School.
By Charlotte Johnson-Naus, DIPs Early Years Network Group Coordinator, RISE International School, Eindhoven.
On Wednesday 8 February 2023 the first of a series of DIPs mini conferences took place at the European School The Hague. The Early Years mini conference was led by speaker Anne van Dam and focused on Developing a Shared Playful Pedagogy. The event was organised by Charlotte Johnson-Naus – SALTO International School RISE and hosted by Alison Donnelly – European School Den Haag, with more than 70 people from across 17 schools attending the conference.
How do I define learning?
How do I view children? How do I define learning? What is my perspective on how young children learn best? These were some key questions to think about before the day of the conference. The conference offered a lot of thought-provoking ideas and time for discussion and sharing with other Early Years professionals.
Some of the feedback included:
- “School isn’t a preparation for life; it’s life itself”, this phrase stuck in my mind and I would love to share this to everyone.
- This conference was really valuable – both in terms of the content of the conference from Anne, but also as an opportunity to meet and talk to educators from other schools. It was inspiring and informative and we made important new connections. We are all facing challenges and it is helpful to get other people’s perspectives and hear their experiences.
- I thought the event was beautifully organised and the fact it was a day specially dedicated to EY will have been a huge moral boost for the team.
- It was very interesting and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing.
Early Years network group
The DIPs Early Years Network group meets three time per year and the next meeting will be held on Thursday 20 April at Optimist International School. For further information contact Charlotte Johnson-Naus charlotte.johnson-naus@salto-eindhoven.nl or Jessica de Porto jessica.deporto@sopoh.nl
Other DIS mini conferences coming up..
If you are interested in attending a mini conference, checkout the DIS Sharing Knowledge across our schools article for more information. For example, on 7 March we have a DIS EAL conference at International School Delft and a DIS support staff conference at AISC happening. And on 14 March there is a DIPS Middle Years Conference happening about Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism at International School Utrecht.
