June 30th for LTOs; Paid PD Deadline; Mandatory Modules; September LTOs: Best Wishes

June 30th for LTOs
If you are in a long-term assignment with a posted end date of June 30th, the expectation is that you will attend school on Thursday, according to your FTE and you will be paid grid rate.  Please call the OT Office if you have any questions regarding your specific situation.

Deadline for designated Paid PD Opportunities
As you are aware, Thames Valley is the only Board in Canada where elementary OTs are eligible for 2 full days of paid professional development, which amounts to an additional 2 days of employment since these count for all purposes as time worked (Pension, EI hours, seniority etc.). One half of these days is to be reserved for members to complete mandatory online training but the other opportunities are posted in the Employee Portal under Conference / Session Registration and then Elementary Occasional Teacher PD 2015 - 2016. We encourage all members to take advantage of these opportunities to enhance their professional development. All PD must be completed by June 30th in order to be eligible for payment under the terms of the Collective Agreement.

2015-2016 OTE Required Training
OTE required training for 2015-16 school year must be completed by June 30, 2016 (with payment by July 22nd, 2016). Confirm electronically the completion of each module. We recommend that you log back into this page and if the checkmarks are still there, you are assured completion of the modules has been received.
Note the WHMIS, Offence Declaration and ITS Security Declaration is accessible on the main page of the Employee Portal under the heading "Personal Information".

Module 2 - Handling a Violent Situation
Module 5 - Harassment
Module 6 - Work Refusals
Module 7 - Management of Aggressive Behaviour
Module 10 - Working Late
Module 12 - Workplace Design
Module 13 - Recognizing and Coping with Aggressive Behaviour
Mental Health Awareness (May Safety Spotlight)
Concussion Awareness PART I (June Safety Spotlight) (Mandatory)
Concussion PART II - Response, Management (June Safety Spotlight) (Mandatory)
Anaphylaxis Awareness (March Safety Spotlight)
Fire Code Training
Emergency Codes and Asbestos Awareness (Mandatory) (September Safety Spotlight)
Ladder Safety Awareness (Mandatory) (November Safety Spotlight)
Workplace Violence Hazard Assessment Survey, 2016-2017 (Voluntary)

September LTO Postings
 LTO positions for the coming September will be posted the week of August 15th and will close on August 19, 2016.  Again this year, there will be no interviews. Positions will be offered according to seniority.  We recommend that applicants rank their selections so that when the call from Human Resources comes the following week, qualified applicants are ready to accept one of the positions for which they are applied.  Please ensure that your telephone number is accurate.

Best wishes
On a final note, the ETFO-TVOT office will be closed over the summer but emails and telephone messages will be checked on a weekly basis.  In the event of an emergency, please contact ETFO Provincial at 1-888-838-3936 / www.etfo.ca.
On behalf of your President and Executive at the ETFO-TVOT Local, we wish you a happy, healthy and restful summer break.
See you in September when we will resume our Wednesday Blogs!!

ETFO Summer Academy 2016; TVDSB Postings for Permanent; PD Day on June 30th; OTF Summer Institutes

Registration has been steady with over 1000 registrants to date.  There are still spots remaining in some courses.
Please review the course descriptions and locations on the ETFO website www.etfo.ca by clicking on the Summer Academy icon.  All registration is done through the online process linked off of the the ETFO website.
For more information, please contact Ruth Dawson (rdawson@etfo.org) or Jane Bennett (jbennett@etfo.org) or Joanne Myers (jmyers@etfo.org) at the ETFO provincial office.

Postings for Permanent Positions
It is our understanding that permanent teaching positions will be posted next week in First Class under "Job Postings" and will remain open over the Canada Day weekend.  This means that those who need to finish their LTO assignment on June 30th to be eligible for permanent hire (by the Board's interpretation) will have that weekend to apply for positions for which they are qualified.

PD Day on June 30th
For those LTOs with a posted end date of June 30th, the expectation is that you will attend school that day according to your FTE and you will be paid grid rate.  Please call the OT Office if you have any questions regarding your specific situation.

 This summer OTF with the support of the Ministry of Education, is offering 3 day workshops similar to ETFO's Summer Academy.  A registration fee of $50 covers workshop materials, on-site meals, and two nights of shared accommodations. Participants may be eligible for a transportation subsidy and the registration fee will be reimbursed upon successful completion of the workshop. For further information see: http://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/summer-institutes-2016/

LTOs and June 30th; Sick not weak Rally; Fort McMurray Donations; EI information for TVOTs

LTOs and June 30th PA Day
Just a reminder that Long-Term Occasional Teachers are expected to attend school for the PD Day slated for the last day of school, if June 30 was the posted end date of your assignment.  LTOs must participate and will be paid according to the FTE of their assignment. Please call the office if you have any questions in this regard.

Sick Not Weak Rally
Canadian sports journalist and mental health advocate, Michael Landsberg of TSN will host a rally #Sicknotweak Thursday, June 16 from 7-9 PM at the Woodstock Community Complex, 381 Finkle Street. "There is hope - mental health doesn't have to be a death sentence - sharing and dialogue can be life saving."   Registration is free at https://t.co/sJtkqAgbU3  We hope to see you there.

ETFO and Locals donate to Fort McMurray Relief 
"Children and families in Fort McMurray have faced displacement and lost everything to the fire that swept the city," said ETFO President Sam Hammond.  "When tragedy hits like this, it is incumbent on us to help our fellow Canadians find a way forward to rebuild their lives."
ETFO committed an initial $50,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal and pledged to match ETFO local donations up to an additional $50,000.  The latter matching amount was realized with donations from ETFO locals across Ontario recently reaching $57,500.  ETFO's combined provincial and local donations currently total $157,500.

Employment Insurance
N.B. In this region, the Government of Canada will require 630 insured hours of work to qualify for Employment Insurance benefits this year. http://srv129.services.gc.ca/eiregions/eng/rates_cur.aspx  For purposes of EI, the hours reported by TVDSB changed from 7 hours to 8 hours as of December 16, 2015.

Pan-Canadian Survey of Beginning Teachers; Offence Declaration and Modules; PD for Next Year

Survey for Newer Teachers/OTs
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) is funding a study to explore the impact on teacher induction and mentorship programs on the retention of beginning teachers across all Canadian provinces and territories.  Professors from Queen's University and the University of Saskatchewan are undertaking this work.  This study has the full support of teacher organizations across the country, including ETFO.

Teachers within the first 5 years of employment in a publicly funded school in Canada (this includes occasional teachers) are encouraged to participate in an online survey that will take about 15-20 minutes to complete.  The questions pertain to teachers' perspectives and insights about their early career experiences with teaching, induction and mentoring programs, professional learning opportunities, and career development.  Upon completion of the survey, members can enter their name into a draw for an iPad Mini3.

The learnings from this research study will be helpful to ETFO and for beginning teachers across Canada.

http://queensu.fluidsurveys.com/s/teacher-induction-survey/

Annual Offence Declaration and Training Modules
Remember to complete the modules for the 2015-2016 OTE Required Training along with WHMIS, Offence Declaration before the last day of school!

For those of you who are in LTOs, make sure you submit your QECO ratings to the Board if they don't have one for you or if there have been any changes.

ETFO Summer Academy; PD Book Rebates; ETFO Stewards' Mailings

 Registration is now open for ETFO's Summer Academy.  This year there are over 80 courses to consider. Each course is 3 days in length and include practical classroom-ready strategies. Enjoy networking with colleagues and working with dynamic presenters.  Registration is $75 and includes your lunch on site and supporting resources.  Courses fill quickly so register now at https://summeracademy.etfo.ca/


$40 PD Book Rebate a resounding SUCCESS!!
Over 100 members have participated in and received up to $40 in rebate for Professional Development Book purchases this school year.  We are happy you are finding this Professional Development helpful and applaud your initiatives.  Stay tuned for exciting developments with this PD for next year!

ETFO Stewards' Mailings
As daily OTs we do not have access to Provincial ETFO mailings that are distributed to staff through permanent Teacher stewards but we can get the same information by checking www.etfo.ca . There you will see that the most recent mail out contained information on teaching abroad through Project Overseas; being a witness in a court proceeding and using your professional judgment when completing report cards.