Week Two Already...

Provincial Occasional Teacher Conference -
First Vice-President Nancy Springer and President Terry Card had the honour of representing the interest of our members in Thunder Bay from Sept 8-10th.  Though many other issues were discussed and positions developed, the major concern of all OT Locals in Ontario remains the implementation of the hiring process imposed by Regulation 274. In the Memorandum of Settlement signed by ETFO in June, there is agreement that the Union and government will set up a committee to examine issues around the regulation and those in attendance at the conference worked hard to ensure that relevant feedback and data would be in the hands of our representatives at that table.

Labour Management -

Members may not be aware that the Local meets with Human Resources at the Board on a monthly basis to discuss matters which require more than a phone call or quick visit to resolve. As stated in Article 1.02 of our Collective Agreement: "It is the desire of the Parties to maintain a harmonious relationship between the Board and each Occasional Teacher covered under the Agreement." We welcome the opportunity to bring forward the issues and concerns of our members so please do not hesitate to contact the Local for assistance.

Pocket Calendars -

We are again pleased to offer each member a pocket calendar with information relevant to TVOT needs.  These are currently at our printer, Zippy Print and will be mailed out with the Fall newsletter towards the end of the month when the Board provides us with our membership data. NB: September 2013 was included in last year's edition to bridge the gap.

ETFO Kindergarten Specialist AQ Course -

ETFO is very excited this fall to be offering the Kindergarten Specialist Additional Qualification Course in Thames Valley - a blended model of face to face learning time with instructor Rose Walton plus online learning time done independently by each course participant.

Location: TVDSB Ed Centre, 1250 Dundas Street, London

When: 5:30 - 9:30 PM Wednesdays Sept 25, Oct 2, Oct 9, Oct 16, Oct 23, Oct 30, Nov 6, Nov 13, Nov 29, Nov 27 and 8:30 - 5:00 PM Saturdays Sept 28, Oct 26, Nov 9

Registration: www.etfo-aq.ca by Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Fee: $650

Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence Program (VLAP) for LTOs -

• LTOs may apply to the Board for up to 5 unpaid leave of absence days for personal reasons in 2013-2014.  Participation in VLAP is voluntary. LTOs may choose to take 1 unpaid day or up to 5 unpaid days (either individually or consecutively).
• VLAP days may not occur during the first week of school, during student assessment periods and parent reporting days.
• If LTOs apply for VLAP in writing before Sept 15th, the Board can spread the loss of pay over the the entire school year.  Otherwise the lost pay will be deducted on the applicable pay. There is no deadline to apply but the Board has requested one week's advance notice.  VLAP forms are available from the Principal.
• LTOs taking a VLAP day are required to provide appropriate work for each of their classes and other regular teaching and assessment responsibilities including responsibility for report cards.
• For pension purposes, Boards will report VLAP days as approved leaves, eligible to be purchased by LTOs.  After the leave(s), you are advised to contact OTPP directly to arrange to purchase credit for the leave: 1-800-668-+0105/416-226-2700 or got to iAccess on the OTPP website. Otherwise LTOs will lose service credit for that day. 

Welcome Back to Reg. 274

Even in September, it seems no Occasional Teacher conversation is exempt from discussions regarding Regulation 274 and the confusion it has caused among the membership, the Principals, and Boards of Education across Ontario. It certainly was paramount when Occasional Teacher presidents met at the provincial OT Conference in June, and it will be at the forefront when we meet again Sunday to Wednesday of next week.  President Sam Hammond has given his word that the province will assist Locals in dealing with this "chaos" and as stipulated by the ETFO Memorandum of Understanding, a committee with the government and ETFO representation is to be struck to work this out.
The government's intention  was to make hiring accountable and transparent which is laudable for we have all witnessed arbitrary hiring practices. However, this is an unwieldy process for Boards the size of Thames Valley and all parties acknowledge that there have been oversights and errors. The Union need first-hand anecdotes to take to our monthly Labour Management meetings so that we can identify and resolve as many of these difficulties as possible. Also know that the Union has filed a grievance regarding the group interview process and our first hearing is scheduled for October 11, 2013.

We hope the following will provide some clarification but do not hesitate to contact us with your questions:

Subsets of the Membership per Regulation 274

OT Roster (seniority list)

- All members on the OT List are ranked according to accumulated teaching days with the Board as an elementary Occasional Teacher only.

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LTO List

- Those who successfully interviewed for a posted LTO position in 2012-2013, 2011-2012 or who were successful in the group interviews; and had worked as an elementary OT for the Board for 10 months as of March 1, 2013 and had taught a minimum of 20 days are included.

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LTO List for permanent hire

- Includes those from the LTO List who had successfully completed a long-term assignment of 4 months or longer (no evaluation requirement since that process is still being developed) and who are not part-time permanent Teachers (the opportunity to increase their FTE is governed by the TVTL permanent Teacher Collective Agreement).

• The original OT Roster (seniority list) was revised after consideration of additional information provided by the membership last spring. The revised OT Roster was posted at the end of July, but does not take into account days worked from March 1, 2013 to the end of the school year.  The Union will be advocating that this adjustment take place as soon as possible.
• The LTO List that was also posted at the end of July is different from the LTO List for permanent positions because of the factors listed in the above chart.

End of Year Blog

We can all agree this has been a year as no other and it continues to be a very fluid time in our profession.

It is very important that we continue to keep calm heads and maintain communication with those who can provide support. Let's not forget, we are professionals and our role to educate and provide a safe and positive environment for the students we are entrusted to teach cannot be forgotten.  Take pride in knowing you can and do make a difference.

Many of you have learned to monitor and keep on top of ever changing procedures and have realized that educating yourselves and a little advance preparation are keys to success.  Your Union will continue to represent each one of you and we will continue to provide information to you in as timely a manner as possible. Our Newsletters, Pocket-Calendars, Blogs, and Twitter modes of communication are a constant source of information and we strongly encourage you to fully read the contents. As well, we encourage you to register for updates on our revamped website to be unveiled this fall.  This information along with notices on First Class provided by Thames Valley District School Board are YOUR information resources.  This is your career, don't skim over items that provide important information especially if action is to be taken by yourselves with due dates.

Information for EI Applications:

• For EI purposes only, the Board reports a Full Day of work as 7 hours
• Your Local has no number, it is ETFO Thames Valley OT Local      

The ETFO OT Office is not funded during the summer, (July and August) and will be closed.  We will however check emails on a weekly basis. Please remember to use the etfotvot@gmail.com email address. (The  tvotpd@gmail.com address is for registrations only and will not be checked.)

In the event of an emergency, please call/contact Provincial ETFO at 1-888-838-3836/www.etfo.ca for assistance.

On behalf of Terry Card, your Executive and Debbie Laxer who so capably runs the office, we wish you a relaxing and safe summer and we look forward to seeing you in September.

    

URGENT - ETFO Telephone Town Hall Meeting and All Member Vote

A series of one hour telephone town hall meetings about the ETFO Memorandum of Understanding will be held across Ontario this week.  Our regional meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18th from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM. These meetings are for ETFO members only and there will be an opportunity at that time for member's to ask questions about this proposal.
An audio file of the first of these meetings will be posted on the voting site, accessible from www.etfo.ca . Voting will be open to members from 7:30 PM on Monday, June 17th until Sunday, June 23rd at 6 PM.


In order to vote, ETFO members must have their ETFO number (from the red apple card).  Call 1-877-869-8233 for assistance if you have misplaced this membership number.
Additional information is available at ETFO's www.controlyourfuture.ca

The LTO List; 2012 -2013 OTE Mandatory Training; Updates

The LTO List
The Local has been made aware that most of those members who were interviewed for the TVDSB LTO List were not successful.  Our ETFO lawyer has asked us to collect some additional information so we urge all unsuccessful OTs to email the Local at etfotvot@gmail.com so that we can begin advocating on your behalf.

Mandatory Online Training
The following is a list of the mandatory online training modules required for OTs to complete by June 28, 2013:

1. Module 2 - Handling a Violent Situation(s)
2. Module 3 -  Post Incident Review and Documentation
3. Module 4 -  Safe Schools and Employee Roles
4. Module 6 - Work Refusal
5. Module 7 - Management of Aggressive Behaviour
6. Module 12 - Workplace Design
7. Module 13 - Recognizing and Coping with Aggressive Behaviour in a School Setting
8. Attending A TVDSB Site
9. Routine Practices
10. Anaphylaxis (Spotlight)

Don't forget to scroll down and click "Submit"when done a module. A red confirmation sentence will appear and the check mark will remain in the corresponding boxes of completed modules next time you log in.  We suggest taking a print-out of the page as a back up, signing out and logging back in to ensure the check marks remain.

SMARTboard Training
Congratulations to all those who have registered for our beginner and advanced sessions of workshops at Woodland Heights and thank you Kevin O'Neill for providing our members with this technological assistance.

Updates
You may be aware that ETFO has continued negotiating with the provincial government these past few months. Since our revamped website will not be available until September, we advise members to check this Blog for updates as they become available.

New! SMARTBOARD PD Workshops and more PD OPPORTUNITIES

Thames Valley Occasional Teachers' Local proudly presents two Smartboard workshops:
Where: Both workshops will take place at Woodland Heights P.S. with a light dinner provided
When: Beginner workshop: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 at 4:30pm
            Advanced Workshop: Thursday, June 13th, 2013 at 4:30pm

1)  Wednesday June 12th, 2013 -  Smartboard for Absolute Beginners:
Learn all about the basics of using a Smartboard and its software in your daily (and LTO) assignments. This will be a stress-free workshop that will allow you to explore the fundamentals. No experience necessary!

2) Thursday, June 13th, 2013 -  Smartboard for Intermediate/Advanced Users: 
If you've mastered the basics of Smartboard technology and software, and wish to take your learning to the next level, then this workshop is for you!

To register, please e-mail us tvotpd@gmail.com ASAP. Space is given on a first come/first served basis.
**Please also indicate if you have a laptop with wireless capability that you can bring to the session (not mandatory).**


SUMMER PD OPPORTUNITIES

1. ETFO Summer Academy:
Check the ETFO website; www.etfo.ca, to select one of more than 45 Professional Learning            Courses offered throughout the Province in July and August.

2. TVDSB Summer Learning Conference:
Registration opens June 10th on the Employee Portal > Program tab > Summer Learning Conference on the left hand menu, for sessions offered August 12 - August 23, 2013.

3.  ETFO Credit Courses:
Check the ETFO website; www.etfocreditcourses.ca .  Each course is recognized by QECO as a 1/2 University credit.  Cost is $475.00/course.
On-line sessions:  June 15 - July 20
On site sessions:   Throughout June, July, August.

Important reminders and Welcome to the 2013-2014 Executive!

All those members who are interested in registering for the June 7th PD conference at Althouse College are advised to do so ASAP.  Registration will be closed in a few days.  Contact Staff Development at the Board for further information.

September LTO postings may be delayed until the week of August 11th, 2013 as the Board works through the interviews for the LTO List. Invitations for LTO interviews are still being offered by the Board so don't worry if you haven't had yours yet.  Continue to check on First Class and remember to RSVP!

Evaluation Forms for LTOs to get permanent jobs will not be required as they have yet to be developed.

Last Thursday, we held our Spring General Meeting and Elections at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn.  Parliamentarian Jason Schwartz did an outstanding job ensuring the evening progressed in a timely manner covering all items on the agenda.  As usual the dinner provided by the chefs at the Lamplighter was delicious.

Presentations were made by various members of the Executive reporting on the year's standings and where we are heading to all those present.  We would like to take this time to thank all members of the Executive of the 2012-2013 year for their commitment and support.

Your newly elected Executive for the upcoming school year are:

President - Terry Card
1st Vice President  - Nancy Springer
2nd Vice President - Sheri-Lynn Honyust
Secretary - Gina Droppo
Treasurer - Mary-Anne Drocic
Health & Safety Officer - Carrie Heiter
Executive at Large - Kenish Choo-Yick
Executive at Large - Nicole Henderson
Executive at Large - Donna Leonard

Collective Bargaining Committee
Chief Negotiator - Terry Card
CB Team - Kenisha Choo-Yick, Janice Monk, Sharon Pinylo, Trish Robertson, Nancy Springer

On behalf of the membership, thank you for taking on this responsibility and representing the Local in a professional manner.

SAVE THE DATE:   NOVEMBER 28, 2013 !!!!!      Details to follow in September!