And we were the hostesses of this tea party...

Once upon a time, in a small city named Brandon, there lived a group of friends.  Now these friends were all very special people, for they had one thing in common; they loved school.  Infact, they all loved school so much that they wanted to stay there for the rest of their lives.  They decided to become teachers so that they could travel from school to school, and never have to grow up.  One day, these friends were given a very exciting message, their school would be hosting WestCast!  None of them were quite sure what it was, but by the way the professors were talking, they felt it was very important.  They soon learned that it would be like a large party, where other people from western Canada who loved school as much as them would attend.  Brandon University would be the gathering place for this three day tea party, and all the friends would get to play host and hostess.  Immediately they became excited and began anticipating the arrival of the guests.

The conference was fast approaching, and the friends were getting anxious.  Each of them would be doing a presentation at the conference, to share with their peers their love of teaching.  Math games and bullying powerpoints were being worked on around the clock.  Volunteers of all sorts were being recruited to make sure that this event would go off without a hitch!

Finally, Wednesday, February 23 arrived!  The friends all struggled sitting through classes that morning, anticipating the events of the evening.  As soon as their professor read her last warm fuzzy, the friends raced home to prepare for the wine and cheese that would take place later on.  After getting dressed in their best teacher/business dress, the friends met at the school.  Here they were donned with a blue and yellow striped scarf with a BU on it, to show the new visitors their school pride.  The guests began to arrive shortly following, and everyone began to mingle and discuss their education programs.  Words of wisdom were passed on from other people who too shared the loved of school and the classroom.  New friends were met, beverages were consumed, and fine music was enjoyed.  Soon, the cracker platters had turned to crumbs, and the excited friends went home to rest for the following day.

On Thursday morning, the students of the conference were blessed to get the opportunity to listen to Mr. Ian Ross.  His speech was both entertaining and full of wisdom, for not only teachers, but for every person.  The friends shared laughs many times throughout the morning.  Soon, it was time to carry on to the sessions, and each friend left with their brain stretched wide open, hoping to fill it with new knowledge by the time the day was over. 

The Education building that the friends had grown accustomed to seemed to have a different glow about it when they arrived.  Members of many School Divisions greated the prospective teachers, handing them pens, lunch bags, oatmeal, apple pie, and applications.  The friends dispersed throughout the school, in order to attend different sessions, and gain knowledge which they would later share.  Some of the friends were presenting a session on math games, others one on bullying, and others went to listen to the wisdom of our peer students and educators.  A wealth of information was available in all aspects throughout the day.

When they arrived home in the late afternoon, the friends shared many thoughts and new wisdom with each other, before heading out to their evening destination.  Here, they were thoroughly entertained, and some even a little freaked out, by a crazy magician named Anders.  Drinks and dance moves were shared with students from across the country.  The Brandon University girls showed off their true country dance moves, and led the crowd in the line dance to Boot Scootin Boogie.  This was done much to the amazement of a British Columbian boy, who had to video tape the crowd to show to his friends back home.  Many new friendships were formed on the dance floor, as in true Manitoba social style.  The evening ended with smiles, as several of the friends left with wonderful prizes, including an i-pod touch!

Friday morning, the friends were moving a little slower when they met for coffee to start the day.  Each of them was thirsting for knowledge, yet their thirst for caffeine was a little stronger.  After recieving a good dose of motivation about the potential of classroom learning, the friends again dispersed for the day.  They learned many things on their journey around their transformed residence, including what principals are looking for, how to use LEGO to teach, how to bring more culture into the curriculum, and overall, how to be a wise, resourceful, wonderful educator.  The friends gathered that evening to celebrate all the learning, by testing some of their old knowledge, in a friendly game of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"  Thankfully, all the teachers of the next generation passed, and those that were smartest were rewarded with more beverages, just what was needed after another long day. 

Saturday morning, February 26th had arrived very quickly agreed the friends, when they arrived on campus the next morning.  Each prospective teacher gained a wealth of knowledge about what it means to be a truly good person from a young girl by the name of Hannah Taylor.  Only fifteen years old, she was much younger than her audience, but her humanity and confidence was greater than that of many of her seniors.  Several of the friends were brought to tears by the inspiring message of this young voice, who felt that we could do a lot to help our world, just by showing a little compassion and care to our fellow human beings.  Every audience member left that dining hall feeling inspired, motivated, knowledgeable, and eager to make their mark on the world, and encourage their students to do the same.

After spending three awesome days together, the friends departed to head home for the rest of their weekend.  They all smiled and waved goodbye to their new friends from other provinces, and assured them that they would reunite next year in Calgary for WestCast 2012.  The party was over, but it had been amazing, so all the friends went home for a much needed nap, and all the teachers and students lived happily ever after.