August 26 to 28, 2026
Branksome Hall offers educators the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of the IB curriculum through engaging, high-quality workshops led by highly experienced, certified IB instructors. Participate in meaningful discussions, elevate your teaching career and become part of a network dedicated to fostering educational excellence.
Register Here
What We Offer
Primary Years Programme (PYP)
PYP Cat 1 - Building your IB programme: Primary years
PYP Cat 2 - Learning and teaching for conceptual understanding
Middle Years Programme (MYP)
MYP Cat 2 - Mathematics
MYP Cat 2 - Language & Literature
Diploma Programme (DP)
DP Cat 2 - History (new curriculum)
DP Cat 2 - Theory of Knowledge
IB Education
IBED Cat 3 - What is AI? An overview of AI in teaching, learning and assessment
Our Campus
Located in the heart of Toronto, our 13-acre campus includes a gorgeous ravine woodlot with an outdoor classroom and a winding pathway. Our buildings include a mixture of heritage mansions and modern structures, all with leading-edge technology. The Athletics and Wellness Centre includes the dining hall with kitchen and rooftop terraces.
Experience all Toronto has to offer this summer
Immerse yourself in the world of IB education while exploring the best of Toronto this summer! From the iconic CN Tower to the beautiful Art Gallery of Ontario, your stay overlaps with celebrated summer events, including the Toronto Blue Jays, the CNE and Fan Expo. The workshops' unique blend of professional growth and urban adventure offers an unforgettable experience that will inspire both your teaching practice and your sense of wonder.
Summer Schedule
| 8:00–8:30 a.m. | Registration |
| 8:30–10:00 a.m. | Session 1 |
| 10:00–10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15–11:45 a.m. | Session 2 |
| 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. | Lunch |
| 12:45–2:15 p.m. | Session 3 |
| 2:15–2:30 p.m. | Break |
| 2:30–4:00 p.m. | Session 4 |
Coffee and tea available at the start of each day
| 8:30–10:00 a.m. | Session 5 |
| 10:00–10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15–11:45 a.m. | Session 6 |
| 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. | Lunch |
| 12:45–2:15 p.m. | Session 7 |
| 2:15–2:30 p.m. | Break |
| 2:30–4:00 p.m. | Session 8 |
Coffee and tea available at the start of each day
| 8:30–10:00 a.m. | Session 9 |
| 10:00–10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15–11:45 a.m. | Session 10 |
Coffee and tea available at the start of each day
Choosing a Workshop
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Choose Category 1 workshops If you are new to the IB or if your situation is similar to any of the following:
- You are new to the faculty of a longstanding IB World School and have not taught in an IB programme previously.
- You are aware of the IB philosophy and programme structure but are not experienced in teaching or administering the IB.
- You are familiar with the IB subject guide (including assessment procedures, moderation) and would like greater confidence before teaching a course.
- You have inherited a course and would like a review before teaching it to suit your own style and expertise.
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Choose Category 2 workshops to develop your expertise in delivering an IB programme. You will have an opportunity to:
- Make connections between programme frameworks and classroom practice.
- Enhance your understanding of assessment in IB programmes.
- Discuss and analyze standards and practices.
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Choose Category 3 workshops to go more deeply into areas you enjoy and to deepen your understanding and mastery of a particular area or subject.
Note: Teachers and other school leaders who do not teach in an IB World School but wish to sample IB learning may choose to participate in many of our workshops. Please refer to the "Recommended for" information in each workshop description.
Choose Category 1 workshops If you are new to the IB or if your situation is similar to any of the following:
- You are new to the faculty of a longstanding IB World School and have not taught in an IB programme previously.
- You are aware of the IB philosophy and programme structure but are not experienced in teaching or administering the IB.
- You are familiar with the IB subject guide (including assessment procedures, moderation) and would like greater confidence before teaching a course.
- You have inherited a course and would like a review before teaching it to suit your own style and expertise.
Choose Category 2 workshops to develop your expertise in delivering an IB programme. You will have an opportunity to:
- Make connections between programme frameworks and classroom practice.
- Enhance your understanding of assessment in IB programmes.
- Discuss and analyze standards and practices.
Choose Category 3 workshops to go more deeply into areas you enjoy and to deepen your understanding and mastery of a particular area or subject.
Note: Teachers and other school leaders who do not teach in an IB World School but wish to sample IB learning may choose to participate in many of our workshops. Please refer to the "Recommended for" information in each workshop description.
Workshop Leaders
Jamie Lester PYP Category 1 - Building Your IB Programme: Primary Years
Jamie is an experienced IB educator who has worked with the IB in both Canada and Asia. He is currently teaching Grade 4 at Branksome Hall in Toronto. Jamie has led both internal and external PD workshops covering a wide range of topics. He brings over a decade of experience, an open mind and a curiosity to learn to each workshop!
Jamie Lester PYP Category 1 - Building Your IB Programme: Primary Years
Kelsey Lewis PYP Category 2 - Learning and Teaching for Conceptual Understanding
Kelsey Lewis is an Assistant Teaching Professor and IBEC Coordinator in the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick and an instructor and faculty advisor in the Master of Teaching program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. With over 25 years of experience in education, she has served as a teacher, curriculum director, workshop leader, consultant and principal and now works closely with teacher candidates and educators across diverse contexts. Her work focuses on inclusive and equity-focused teaching practices, teacher education and responsive, inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning.
Kelsey Lewis PYP Category 2 - Learning and Teaching for Conceptual Understanding
Emily Malach MYP Category 2 - Language and Literature
Emily Malach is the MYP Coordinator at Branksome Hall in Toronto. With a career in education spanning 24 years, she has held diverse teaching and leadership roles across the PYP and MYP, covering a range of levels from Kindergarten to MYP 5. Her subject expertise includes Language and Literature, Music and Career Studies, alongside extensive experience leading and supporting the MYP Personal Project. Emily brings a global perspective to her practice, having taught in Canada, England and France. She is particularly interested in supporting educators to build interdisciplinary connections in their programming in order to drive student engagement and curriculum cohesion.
Emily Malach MYP Category 2 - Language and Literature
Edith Louie MYP Category 2 - Mathematics
Edith is a MYP & DP mathematics teacher and Department Head at Branksome Hall in Toronto, Canada. She has been teaching math for 30 years and 20 of those years in the IB program. As part of the IB Educator Network, she facilitates MYP Math Category 1, 2 and 3 workshops in the United States. As the President of the Independent Schools of Mathematics Association in Ontario, she takes pleasure in bringing math teachers together through conferences and discussion groups to share ideas, form teaching networks and provide professional development opportunities. She is a recipient of the René Descartes Medal in recognition of her work in raising the level of mathematics education in Ontario.
Edith Louie MYP Category 2 - Mathematics
Tracey Robertson DP Category 2 - History
Tracey Robertson has been teaching since 1993 and has been with IB since 2002. She has worn many IB hats, including Examiner, Senior Team Moderator, Subject Matter Expert, Consultant, Reader, DP Coordinator, Workshop Leader and Authorization Team Member. Tracey is excited to be facilitating a workshop in her hometown of Toronto. She’s also looking forward to the new and exciting history curriculum and the many continuities and changes it brings to DP History.
Tracey Robertson DP Category 2 - History
Marilynne Sinclair DP Category 2 - Theory of Knowledge
Marilynne Sinclair is an IB educational leader, international school consultant and TOK curriculum specialist. Her career is framed by her 25-year tenure at Ashbury College, her global work as an IB senior examiner and her influence in competitive student debating communities.
Starting out in Montreal and educated at McGill University, her career in education has stretched to Halifax and finally to Ottawa. Meanwhile, her IB work has taken her across North America, to Europe, and across the globe online. Marilynne says that teaching and supporting teachers in TOK is always a particular joy as the course works such magic on students’ intellectual growth in sometimes surprising and always rewarding ways.
Marilynne Sinclair DP Category 2 - Theory of Knowledge
WHAT People are Saying
“I thought it was a great workshop. I am happy I made notes and will use them to implement improvements to my classroom this coming year. Thank you.”
PYP Category 2 - Evidencing Learning IB Workshops
“Our workshop leader did an excellent job of facilitating this workshop to ensure we felt ready to assess for TOK. The content in this workshop was mostly for the assessments, which was helpful to see where we want to go with the course when we teach it.”
DP Category 2 - Theory of Knowledge IB Workshops
“This workshop was great because the workshop leader used the same apps and platforms that all teachers use and can easily access. In the past, when the leaders just used the IB proprietary apps, it was hard to find the resources and to have online discussions. Using Padlet, Zoom, etc., was much smoother.”
IB Education, Category 3 - Learning Diversity and Inclusion IB Workshops
Fees & Payment Policy
Registration Fee: $1,300.00 CAD (approximately $900.00 USD).
A portion of this fee is paid to the International Baccalaureate Organization for professional development support that allows us to make these workshops possible.
Acceptable payment methods:
Visa, MasterCard, cheque or wire transfer. To pay via wire transfer, please email conferences@branksome.on.ca for more information. Purchase orders are not accepted.
Other Policies
All registrations for Branksome Hall’s IB Summer Workshops are made through our online registration system.
A registration confirmation will be emailed to you once payment has been processed. Until you are confirmed in our system, your seat in the selected workshop is not guaranteed.
Late registration
A $50.00 late fee will be charged for all registrations received after the registration deadline.
Once a workshop is full, we will waitlist participants on a first come, first served basis. Should space become available, waitlist requests will be processed in the order in which they were received.
Notification will be sent via email to the participant and IB Coordinator, where applicable, if an opening becomes available.
The participant or the IB Coordinator must accept this spot via written confirmation (email or fax) within four business days. If a confirmation is not received within four days, the offer becomes cancelled. Once written confirmation is received from the participant, all registration and cancellation policies are applicable.
Waitlist notifications sent out after the registration deadline are not subject to the $50.00 late fee.
Registration fees will be fully refunded, minus a $75.00 administration fee, for cancellations received in writing one month before the start date of the workshops.
A credit will be issued for cancellations received between July 1 and the workshop date. This credit will be valid for the next year’s workshop only. Your acceptance of the terms of this agreement shall be your acknowledgment of this policy. All cancellations will be processed after the workshop and refunds will be issued in the form of a cheque. Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops reserves the right to cancel a workshop due to low enrolment or other unexpected circumstances that may arise. We will make every effort to keep participants informed of any changes, with as much advanced notice as possible. Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops will refund registrants the full registration fee for cancelled workshops.
Please note: Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops will not issue refunds for no shows or reimburse participant travel expenses*. Should a registrant fail to show for the workshop, or if the workshop should proceed but the registrant runs into transportation issues en route to the workshop, no refund or credit will be issued. We recommend registrants purchase a suitable travel insurance plan to safeguard the traveller from losses due to any unforeseen or sudden conditions or events.
Attendee/Workshop Substitution
Attendee substitutions may be requested up to two weeks before the workshop start date. Attendee substitutions are not finalized until you receive formal consent from Branksome Hall.
Workshop substitutions are subject to the availability of spots in the desired workshop. Workshop substitutions are not finalized until you receive formal consent from Branksome Hall.
*Arrangements for travel and all expenses are the sole responsibility of the participant.
All Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops are 15 hours in length; it is required that participants attend the entire workshop. An electronic Certificate of Attendance will be emailed to each participant following the workshop, only if they have completed 15 hours total. If, after two weeks from the end of the workshop, you have not received your certificate, please email conferences@branksome.on.ca.
One replacement certificate can be issued free of charge up until one year after the workshop end date. Requests made after this date will incur a $20.00 administration fee.
Branksome Hall’s Sustainability Policy commits us to fostering environmental stewardship in our school. To this end, we are taking steps to minimize the amount of paper used in our IB Summer Workshops.
As such, we do not issue printed copies of workbooks to our workshop participants. Prior to the workshop, participants will be contacted by their workshop leader with instructions on how to access the workshop materials online.
Participants will be provided with Wi-Fi access when on campus and should plan to bring a device (laptop or tablet) to work on during your workshop.
Please note that Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops is required to share your workshop registration data with The International Baccalaureate Organization. The IBO will not share your data with anyone else.
Travel
Branksome Hall is located at 10 Elm Avenue, Toronto, ON M4W 1N4, Canada.
Due to construction, there is limited parking on campus. For a list of nearby public parking lots, please click here.
TTC - Toronto Transit Commission: If you are taking the TTC, the closest stations are Bloor-Yonge Station and Sherbourne Station. If you exit from Bloor-Yonge Station, walk east on Bloor Street, and turn left on Mount Pleasant Road. If you exit on Sherbourne Station, walk north on Sherbourne Street and turn left on Elm Avenue. Our campus will be on your right-hand side.
If you are walking to us from Hilton Canopy Hotel, turn right as you exit the hotel and walk north on Sherbourne Street. Then turn left on Elm Avenue. Our campus will be on your right-hand side.
Directions
Accommodation Options
The Canopy by Hilton
The Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville is the closest hotel to Branksome Hall. It is a 6-minute walk to campus.
The Canopy
FAQs
- The title and category of the workshop you would like to register for. For full descriptions of workshops, please see the workshop catalogue on the IB’s website.
- Full name and email of the participant. Please provide an email which the participant can be contacted during the weeks leading up to the workshop. If our workshop dates fall under your district’s summer holiday, the participant may wish to provide their personal email.
- Full name and email of IB Coordinator. Please provide an email which the IB Coordinator can be contacted during the weeks leading up to the workshop. If our workshop dates fall under your district’s summer holiday, the coordinator may wish to provide their personal email.
- Payment Information.
All registrations for Branksome Hall’s IB summer workshops are made through our online registration system. A registration confirmation will be emailed to you once payment has been processed. Until you are confirmed in our system, your seat in the selected workshop is not guaranteed.
Late registration
A $50.00 late fee will be charged for all registrations received after the registration deadline.
Generally, IB Coordinators will register on behalf of teachers at their school because they have the payment information needed for registration.
Registration fees will be fully refunded, minus a $75.00 administration fee, for cancellations received in writing before the specified date. The administration fee applies regardless of if we have received payment. Please email conferences@branksome.on.ca to request a cancellation. For more information, please read about our policies on this page.
Attendee substitutions may be requested up to two weeks before the workshop start date. Attendee substitutions are not finalized until you receive formal consent from Branksome Hall.
Workshop substitutions are subject to the availability of spots in the desired workshop. Workshop substitutions are not finalized until you receive formal consent from Branksome Hall.
For payment details, please refer to our Payment Policy section above or contact conferences@branksome.on.ca.
Yes, if your desired workshop is full, you can join the waitlist. Participants are waitlisted on a first come, first served basis. Should space become available, waitlist requests will be processed in the order in which they were received. For more information, please refer to our Waitlist Policy above.
Contact Us
Heather has been devoted to education at Branksome since 2000. She has since filled various positions, including IB Middle Years Programme Coordinator, Head of Middle School and Head of Academics. She previously worked at TVOntario and was the Head of Science at St. George's School of Montreal. As a science educator, Heather has taught Grades 7-12 in Ontario and Quebec, including the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate MYP and DP programs. While at TVOntario, Heather oversaw the development of programs to support the implementation of the Ontario science curriculum in Ontario public schools. She has served as a DP Biology examiner, has been a workshop leader with the IB for over 20 years, currently is a Lead Educator for IB Americas, and facilitates the Certificate in International Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)/U of T. Heather is a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics, Science and Technology and the OISE Award for Excellence in Continuing and Professional Learning. She holds both a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Education from McGill University. Heather’s daughter Saffi’19 is a graduate of Branksome.
