The Foothills School Division made an appearance at the ULearn conference in New Zealand earlier this month.

Heritage Heights teacher, Amy Park made the trip over to learn about technology, collaboration and moving education forward.

She says, it was actually a special opportunity for the division. 'We were invited to attend because Foothills is recognized, not only in Alberta or Canada, but around the world as leaders in education and I think that's why we were chosen to participate in this conference."

Park says it was an amazing experience.

"As a presenter I received excellent feedback from the people who attended my presentation. I was proud to share the work that I was doing as well as the vision of the school division. In terms of being a participant, it was unbelievable. Probably the best conference I've been able to attend in terms of the types of teaching practice that they have in New Zealand and the teachers who were sharing it."

Park was at the conference on her own dime. Even though she had been invited by Alberta Education, they had not provided any funding to get her there.

She says she's just passionate about her job. "I've known for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher and that passion has continued to grow. This is my 8th year of teaching and that passion is still there and strong and I am constantly looking for ways to improve my practice and to challenge my students to try new things and show their understanding in multiple ways."

The Foothills School Division was impressed by Park's enthusiasm and paid for her substitute teacher while she was away.