Welcome
Kia ora and welcome to Imagine It! 2024.
If you are a teacher, Leader, TA, SENCO, centre owner, or anyone who supports children aged 4-8 years old then this is the conference for you!
Get Inspired, Motivated, Educated & Connected
35 workshops on foundation learning, all aspects of literacy, learning through play, maths, science, developmentally responsive practice, wellbeing, trauma informed practice, behaviour and SO much more!
This conference will be face-to-face as well as a virtual option. You have four months to view the keynotes and all 35 breakout workshops.
Thanks to Sponsors
A huge thank you to our sponsors who help make this conference a reality!
Key Info
Keynotes
The wonderful Cam Calkoen sets the scene with his inspiring keynote on breaking barriers to achieve your dreams. Vince Ford wraps up the day covering connection and culture drawing together the conference themes in an interactive and lively closing address.
Vince Ford
Author, Speaker, Educator
Vince Ford has worked as a jackaroo in outback Australia, been a stay-at-home Dad and led 4WD trips through the sand dunes of the UAE and Qatar.
He’s best known as an award winning author with 16 novels for children and teens. His first book won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award for an unpublished manuscript and went on to win the Junior Fiction and best first book awards at the New Zealand Children’s Book Awards. He’s been writer in residence at the University of Otago College of Education and participated in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.
Vince Ford
Author, Speaker, Educator
Vince Ford has worked as a jackaroo in outback Australia, been a stay-at-home Dad and led 4WD trips through the sand dunes of the UAE and Qatar.
He’s best known as an award winning author with 16 novels for children and teens. His first book won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award for an unpublished manuscript and went on to win the Junior Fiction and best first book awards at the New Zealand Children’s Book Awards. He’s been writer in residence at the University of Otago College of Education and participated in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.
Vince is a trained teacher and for the last five years has been working alongside the team at Clarity Education and Ready 4 Learning. He wrote Ready 4 Learning, Ready 4 Life during lockdown and has been researching and writing about social connection for his latest book.
Vince has spoken at numerous schools through the Writers in Schools program, he’s president of Tauranga Toastmasters, he’s an accomplished MC and has been speaking at wellbeing events, Kahui Ako and principals conferences throughout New Zealand.
Connection through Story
When was the last time you felt you were truly seen for who you are? How good did it feel to be recognised for the attributes and value that you bring with you into the world? Vince uses a unique blend of storytelling and audience engagement to unpack what it means to be seen and valued. He translates the latest neuroscience and demonstrates how we think socially and how we can bring the social world with us into our classrooms and our staffrooms.
Every one of our students brings unique experience and perspective with them. How can we draw out their diverse stories so that they are engaged in building their own understandings and they can accept and value the gifts that their classmates offer? Expect to laugh, to cry, to open up to others and be challenged in this dynamic keynote presentation.
Cam Calkoen
Speaker, Educator
Cam Calkoen dreams of a world where everyone is inspired to embrace their opportunity and our physical being is no barrier to succeeding in our dreams and aspirations. It is dreams that have brought the world to what we see today and our aspirations that will propel it into the future.
No one can walk and talk at birth. Some people, like Cam, are presented with this likelihood for the rest of their lives. He chose to defy the odds, and now showcases what can be achieved when we identify a challenge, leverage our opportunities and uniqueness, and indeed live for awesome!
Cam Calkoen
Speaker, Educator
Cam Calkoen dreams of a world where everyone is inspired to embrace their opportunity and our physical being is no barrier to succeeding in our dreams and aspirations. It is dreams that have brought the world to what we see today and our aspirations that will propel it into the future.
No one can walk and talk at birth. Some people, like Cam, are presented with this likelihood for the rest of their lives. He chose to defy the odds, and now showcases what can be achieved when we identify a challenge, leverage our opportunities and uniqueness, and indeed live for awesome!
Background
Born with Cerebral Palsy Cam was told that his biggest challenges would be the way he walks and talks, he dreamed big becoming an athletic gold medalist, highly effective charitable fundraiser, social entrepreneur and now a globally renowned inspirational speaker who ignites a connection and clarity between inspiration, dreams and people.
Through strength of human attitude and potential Cam chose to embrace the challenges he was born with, and harnesses his gifts to live in the pursuit of excellence and make life as awesome as it can be.
Current work
He is a living example that life is what we make it, and the values needed to achieve awesomeness are simple – we need to believe! In doing so, we leave no stone unturned. Through charisma, stories and artistic flair Cam’s presence sees people identify the unturned stones on the path, he ignites, inspires, enlightens and delights others by modeling what it looks like to dream big and achieve more!
List of workshops
Workshop 1
Workshop 2
Workshop 3
Workshop 4
Trade Stands
