Welcome Back to a Different School Year

So, here we go....  Welcome back to another school year, but one that is different from all those that have preceded it.  During these unprecedented times we must try to stay informed and keep matters in perspective. We will need to be adaptable so let's make a point of supporting one another, staying in contact and being kind to our colleagues and of course, to our students and their families.  And if at times you feel overwhelmed, anxious and need support, TVOT Occasional Teachers now have access to the Board's confidential Employee Assistance Plan. No need to suffer in silence for together, we will get through this! 

Displaced LTOs - With the influx of additional Federal funding, the Board has had to make last minute staffing changes throughout the system. In fact, TVDSB staff worked over this past weekend re-organizing permanent Teacher assignments and school allocations. As a result, many of our LTOs assigned to long-term assignments through central staffing, have been displaced. The Board assures us they are in the process of offering new positions to those who have been affected so we advise patience as the process may take several days yet. 

Work for Daily OTs - At this time, TVDSB intends to use daily Occasional Teachers in the usual manner with no limitations on the number of schools OTs can visit. PPE for daily use will be available at each school but no OT will be eligible to teach in TVDSB until they complete the mandatory Covid-19 Procedures training now available in the Employee Portal. The deadline for completion is September 13th and for this, you will be paid a full day salary.

Unlike during the emergency instruction that took place in the spring, OTs will be called on to replace absent Teachers/LTOs who are teaching remotely. Familiarity with "Brightspace" will be a pre-requisite for taking such assignments and OTs will be expected to conform to the timetable of the absent Teacher. The Board assures us it will be clear when an assignment is to replace a remote learning Teacher.

Website in Transition - Your TVOT Local is excited to announce that our new website is almost ready. We are hoping the transition will have little impact in our service to the membership and that you will find the new format, much more convenient. Also, don't forget to open an account there (using a personal email address) so that you have access to our Lending Library, the $50 Annual Book Rebate and the Professional Learning Development Fund. It's also how we contact members to keep you abreast of emerging news.

Did you know that TVOT members have access to Provincial ETFO conferences - 

.

Vote on the new Tentative Local Collective Agreement; ETFO Summer Academy;Take Action to Protect Long-Term Care homes;

Today is Your Chance to Vote on the Tentative Local Collective Agreement!

Your TVOT Local is hosting a telephone Town Hall today, June 17th at 4:30 pm.
To participate, call in at:
Toll Free: 1-888-396-8063
From Toronto: 1-416-764-8652
The Tentative Agreement is posted in the "Member" section of www.etfotvot.com for those who have set up accounts.
Voting will open immediately following the Town Hall today and closes 24 hours later on Thursday, June 18th at 5:00 pm.
To vote, log in with your TVDSB Employee ID #  as your Username. Your Password will be the last 4 digits of your phone number.
Voting link: https://unionvote.live/
For technical support about the vote, call 647-776-0950 from 9 - 5 PM
_______________________________________________________

ETFO Summer Academy
This year, ETFO's popular Summer Academy courses will be offered virtually so members can participate from anywhere they have internet access.
Make your selection from 28 courses, including some designed specifically for Occasional Teachers.
Registration for these July and August courses is open now.
Go to  ETFO Summer Academy  for more details.
______________________________________________________

Ontario Nurses' Association's Day of Action to Protect Long Term Care is today.
Take action and send a message to Premier Ford to protect residents, nurses and health care workers in long term care.
The Ontario Nurses Association has three demands:
1) More full time Registered Nurse positions
2) A COVID fund for self-isolation and lost wages
3) The phasing out of private, for-profit long-term care
To provide safe care, nurses and health care professionals need safe working conditions, so spread the word and take action today.
________________________________________________________

TWO WEEKS LEFT
Remember that all Occasional Teachers (daily and LTOs) must complete the mandatory online training modules by the end of the June 26th school day. You must also complete your annual WHMIS Review and Offence Declaration etc., all of which can be found in the Employee Portal.
Please email the office at etfotvot@gmail.com or check past blogs if you require further details.

Having Courageous Conversations

HAVING COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS
This material has been taken directly (with some minor grammatical modifications) from: Speak Up at School, How to Respond to Everyday Prejudice, Bias and Stereotypes by Teaching Tolerance
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” – Martin Luther King Jr.
PREPARE YOURSELF 
1. Mindset: Avoid being stymied by a discriminatory remark by preparing your mindset in advance. Start internally identifying yourself as a person who speaks up against bigotry and discrimination. Say the following to yourself:
 I am a person who will speak up against bigotry.
 I will not let hate have the last word. To help you feel prepared, come up with some ready responses that will work in a variety of moments, such as:
 That offends me.
 I don’t find that funny.
 I’m surprised to hear you say that.
 Can you clarify what you meant by that?
2. Tone and temperament: When speaking up, consider your tone and temperament. Remain calm and thoughtful in your approach. Do not react with shock or attack. Be yourself. Be firm. Be confident. Know that you are doing the right thing and that there is no need to shame the other person. Also avoid resorting to humour as it can send mixed messages to the other person around the appropriateness of their discriminatory comment or approach.
3. Assess the risk of speaking up: Try not to let unwarranted fear of speaking up silence you, but consider the consequences of speaking up and weigh them against the consequences of not speaking up.
4. Understand the dynamics of change: Change happens slowly and sometimes not at all. Remember though, that if you speak up, others may follow and others after them. You may inspire people to find the courage to speak up themselves.
5. Don’t underestimate your efforts: If changed behaviour is what you are after, keep that goal in mind and let it shape your response. Be a model for others to follow, As the saying goes, be the change you wish to see in the world.
IN THE MOMENT – BASIC STRATEGIES
1. Interrupt: You must speak up against every biased remark, every time it happens. Letting one go, them speaking up against the next one, send an inconsistent message: that sometimes bias is OK; other times it isn’t. Letting the first instance go without comment also sends the message to anyone within earshot that it’s OK to say bigoted things (or allow exclusion to continue occurring).
2. Question: Ask simple questions in response to discriminatory comments or exclusionary situations. This can create a helpful dialogue without being aggressive or accusatory.
Some examples include:
 Why do you say that?
 What do you mean?
 Tell me more.
 Did you mean to say something hurtful when you said that?
 Using that word as a putdown offends me.
 Using that word (or making that decision) doesn’t help others feel safe or accepted here.
3. Educate: Sometimes ignorance is at wok when people haven’t had as much exposure to diverse populations. Other times, people simply don’t know the negative power behind certain words or phrases. A good first step in addressing a moment of bias is to explain why the term, phrase or situation is offensive. It is not your “job” to educate everyone else about bias. People do need to take responsibility for their own ignorance. That said, you are in a school and education happens in schools. So it’s a natural fit to wrap education around moments of bias or stereotyping.
4. Echo: It’s powerful to be the first voice that interrupts bias. It’s also powerful on another level to be the second, third, fourth voice to join the interruption. In group settings, if someone has said something biased, and multiple people speak up, the echoing power of those voices can have a multiplying effect As the echoing voice, you can reiterate the anti-bias message or you can thank the first person for speaking up – or both!

What to expect? N.B.Offence Declaration/Mandatory online training

What to Expect for September?
So it's official - school is out until September but then what?
At this point, we expect staffing to proceed as usual with permanent hiring to begin in late June and into July and LTOs to be posted in mid-August.  And after that, nothing is certain.
Please know that ETFO Provincial and your TVOT Local will continue to advocate for our members at every opportunity so look for further details as they become available.
And because information is evolving so quickly, we again encourage all members to register at www.etfo.ca to receive their Covid-19 updates and e-newsletters.
___________________________________________

Important for all LTOs and daily Occasional Teachers - 
All TVDSB employees must complete the annual Offence Declaration, WHMIS review etc. posted in the Employee Portal as a condition of employment.  As well, you must complete all 19 of the OTE modules listed there under "Employee Training". For daily Occasional Teachers, completion counts for all purposes as a half-day of teaching. LTOs will have completed many of these modules at staff meetings or on PA days, so there is no additional compensation. Failure to complete these will make you inactive with TVDSB and could result in removal from the TVDSB OT Roster.
Please contact Staff Development or your TVOT Local etfotvot@gmail.com if you have any questions.
_______________________________________________

LTOs and Report Cards; Local Bargaining; Last Chance;

LTOs and Report Cards
The Ministry of Education has not yet sent out a guidance document regarding this year's report cards. 
That being said, your TVOT Local agrees with TVDSB that:
- student marks will be based on material assessed and evaluated between September and March 13 but if the LTO sees additional achievement in a subject area from April – June, this may result in an increase in the overall grade/mark provided on the report card in June
- though Term 1 reports were struck work during job action, assessments and evaluations were submitted by Teachers to Administrators on January 30th. This combined with material from the following 6 weeks will generate the mark that goes on the final student report
- in the absence of specific direction from the Ministry of Education, student reports will be written in accordance with: Growing Success; Growing Success - The Kindergarten Addendum; Report Student Learning; TVDSB Reporting Student Achievement Procedure. These documents listed above are available on the TVDSB website.
- LTOs are expected to use professional judgement in writing student reports
- There will be a COVID-19 statement from the Board embedded in student reports.
- The Term 1 column of the reports will remain unfilled
- Student reports will not be signed. They will be distributed electronically to parents/guardians centrally via School Messenger. Students whose parents have not provided an email address to the school will receive their report cards via Canada Post. 
Though the Ministry of Education changed remaining PA Days to Instructional Days, it is understood that LTOs will have flexibility during their workday to complete report cards and to engage with students, parents, colleagues and their own families. 
- Report cards are due to Principals by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 11th.
- LTOs will inform Principals by email when report cards are complete and ready for review
- If you were in a LTO assignment that has ended but the Principal has asked you to prepare the reports, please be aware that L35.00 (iii) of your Collective Agreement provides: "When a long-term occasional teaching assignment is completed prior to the required date for report cards to be submitted, the Occasional Teachers may be assigned to assist with the completion of these report cards. In such an event, the OT shall be paid for the time to complete the report cards up to a maximum of one (1) day. The rate of pay shall be the rate the Occasional Teacher received during the long-term occasional teaching assignment."

Please contact the Local at etfotvot@gmail.com if you have any questions.
_____________________________________________________________

Local Negotiations
As you know, TVOT members have already accepted the ETFO Central Agreement. There remain however, many matters that affect the day to day working conditions of TVOT members and those are the subject of local negotiations.
Your Local bargaining team is comprised of Terry Card - President/Chief Negotiator, Nancy Springer, Vivek Nath, Farida Makhani, Sharon Pinylo and Kevin Utley, all of whom have been working with ETFO CB Staff Officer Susan Ansara to represent the interests of elementary Occasional Teachers in Thames Valley. These talks with TVDSB are ongoing and ultimately we will reach a Tentative Agreement. At that time, we will notify members and you will have a chance to either accept or reject the deal so please make sure you maintain accurate email information with our Local.
_________________________________________________________________

May 31st Deadline - 
ETFO Provincial requires Locals to close their books at the end of June so let us remind you that the TVOT Local cannot accept late requests for our $50 Book Rebate program. This is an opportunity to purchase material to assist you in your professional development or in meeting your teaching needs.
Don't miss your chance - Forms are available in the Member Services section of www.etfotvot.com
_______________________________________________

LTO Benefits questions related to Covid-19; Paid PD & Mandatory training online;Ontario's new VRP;

LTO Benefits during Covid-19
If you have been in a LTO and have questions because of services that were cancelled due to Covid-19, we recommend you check out the link below where you can find Provincial ETFO's ELHT Coronvirus Updates and answers to:

- My medical/dental appointments were cancelled. Now that my assignment is ended, will the plan cover my appointment?
- What happens if pharmacy would only dispense 30 days of my medication so that I exceed the limits?

FAQ re Covid-19
____________________________________________________________________

Paid PD Opportunities
Though the elementary paid PD options that are listed in the TVDSB Employee Portal have June 26th listed as the date, please know that these can be done anytime before then (including weekends and evenings). There are lots of interesting options for daily OTs or LTOs in assignments of .5 or less so don't miss out on "earning while you learn". Check them out now - the list may be amended as additoinal sessions come online. 

Mandatory Training

All Occasional Teachers, whether you are daily or in a long-term assignment, have until June 26th to complete the list of modules listed in the Employee Portal under "Employee Training". Please make sure to hit submit after each module. When you log back in to this section of the Portal, if the check mark is still there, then it has been entered. 
The Modules are in one section and include:

• IPOC Roles and Responsibilities Updated Video
• Anaphylaxis
• Epilepsy
• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Concussion Training Module
• September - Emergency Code and Asbestos Awareness
• October - Fire Code Training
• December - Slips, Trips and Falls
• Video 1 - Violence Awareness and Handling Violent Situations
• Violence Awareness Module 4 - Safe Schools and Employee Roles
• Violence Awareness Module 5 - Harassment
• Violence Awareness Module 7 - Management of Agressive Behaviour
• Violence Awareness Module 8 - Domestic Violence in the Workplace
• Violence Awareness Modules 13 - Recognizing and Coping with Aggressive Behaviour
• Mental Health Awareness
• Attending Alternate TVDSB Site Safety Spotlight
• Driving in Inclement Weather Safety Spotlight
• Employee Accident Incident Reporting Safety Spotlight

_________________________
Heard about Ontario's Voluntary Redeployment Program/VRP?

Some of you have heard that Ontario will soon set up a portal to enable eligible staff in the education sector to volunteer for temporary redeployment in the community.  Occasional Teachers who are not teaching may apply to volunteer in the program and, if selected, will be paid in accordance with their collective agreement.

ETFO has also worked to ensure that members who opt to voluntarily participate and are matched to a community facility will receive the necessary training, orientation, safety and personal protective equipment before they begin their first shifts and will be paid while doing so. This VRP will continue until there is no longer an active emergency declaration under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. 

Members who are selected will be required to sign a template agreement and will continue to receive all compensation entitlements under the ETFO Collective Agreement including salary, benefits and pension contributions, where applicable. Members will also be entitled to receive the emergency pandemic premium, if applicable, and access the childcare benefit available to those working during the pandemic. The program may extend into the summer months if pandemic-related issues continue at their current rate. Members will be covered by the policies and procedures at the redeployment work site including the provisions relating to shift assignments, hours of work, breaks etc. They will not be covered by any collective agreement at that site but will have access to the local union representative, if any, should a question or issue arise.

Potential community placements for education staff include: residential childcare facilities and residential homes for youth; residential group homes for those with developmental disabilities, Violence Against Women (VAW) and anti-human trafficking residential sites; youth justice residential facilities; and emergency homeless shelters.  

It is important to emphasize that members who volunteer can opt out at any time without reprisal or consequence including

(a) when they receive notification of the redeployment workplace, (b) before or after their safety training and orientation, and

(c) any time after they commence working at the redeployment workplace.

It is expected, however, that they will give as much notice as possible prior to terminating their assignment. Similarly, their assignment can be terminated by the redeployment employer without any consequence to their employment with their school board.

Stay tuned for further details as they become available.

LTOs still being posted; Mental Health Week (sorry forgot to publish this on Wednesday)

Teaching continues...
You may not be aware that the Board is still posting long-term assignments so we urge members to continue to apply for positions for which they are qualified. 
Familiarity with online tools will be an asset in these times of distance learning so take time to familiarize yourself with the Board approved platforms. You can find training for much of what you need in the TVDSB Employee Portal > Conference Sessions and if you have not used all of your paid PD opportunities, completion of these sessions count for all purposes as time worked.
______________________________________________________________

This Mental Health Week
Each one of us has been affected by the strains caused by this pandemic, and though it is sometime difficult to ask for help, there is no shame in accepting assistance.

Occasional Teachers now have access to the Board's Employee Assistance supports. Check your Outlook email for more information about .

As well, there are community supports such as "Stronger Minds" by Beacon, a free digital program through the Covid crisis available at www.mindbeacon.com

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has resources available at https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19

OTIP has a comprehensive list of services available to even those who are not covered by the Ontario Teachers' Insurance Plan so take time to visit https://www.otip.com/Help-Center/Coronavirus/Mental-Health-COVID to see what might be of assistance to your or someone you know needs support
____________________________________________________________

Just a reminder to members to subscribe to the ETFO Provincial newsletters so that  you don't miss any of ETFO's guides on Responding to Covid-19