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.