Deadline is Friday!; LTO positions for September; LTOs and June 29, PD Day; OTF Summer Institutes 2018

LTOs and Daily OTs - The deadline is Friday -
All mandatory online OTE training modules in the Employee Portal must be completed by the end of the school day Friday, June 19, 2018. Noncompliance will result in your being made inactive in September.  Daily Occasional Teachers who meet this deadline will be paid a half day; LTOs will have completed many of these modules during paid time within their assignment but may need to ensure all modules are finished.
We encourage both LTOs and daily OTs to log into the Employee Portal to verify that the check marks for each module are still in place as this confirms completion of each segment.
This year you are only required to complete:

• Anaphylaxis and Asthma
• Asthma Metered Dose Inhaler
• Concussion Spotlight Part 1
• Concussion Spotlight Part 2
• September - Emergency Codes and Asbestos Awareness
• October - Fire Code Training - Staff
• November - Ladder Safety Awareness
• December - Slips, Trips and Falls
• Module 4 - Safe Schools and Employee Roles
• Module 5 - Harassment
• Module 6 - Work Refusals
• Module 7 - Management of Aggressive Behaviour
• Module 8 - Domestic Violence in the Workplace
• Module 9 - Parking Lots 

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LTOs and June 29th PD Day -
Contrary to past practice, this year TVDSB has decided not to pay some LTOs for attending the PD Day on the last day of school and in some cases, LTO contracts have been altered.
Your Union regards this as a violation of our Collective Agreement and will rile a Policy Grievance on behalf of our members in long-term assignments.  Those affected are encouraged to contact the Local by email at etfotvot@gmail.com but they should abide by the instructions given to them by their Administrators.  The Local will keep members apprised of the proceedings as the grievance process unfolds.
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LTO Positions for next September -
TVDSB postings for LTO positions that begin in September will be available the week of August 13, 2018.  Hiring will be according to seniority from those qualified applicants on the LTO List, as required by Regulation 274. There will be no interviews and placement will by central staffing which means the most senior applicant person will be called first and asked which position they want from those they applied for; number two will get second choice from the remaining positions for which they applied and are qualified, and so on.  Regulation 274 stipulates that after this process has been completed, positions which remain will be posted to the OT Roster, and interviews may be required at that point. Any unfilled positions will then be advertised externally on Apply to Education.  Please do not hesitate to contact the Local should you require clarification.
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Once again OTF, with the support of the Ministry of Education, is offering exceptional professional Learning workshops that give you time to learn, reflect on your classroom practice, and collaborate with peers. All institutes are conducted by Ontario teachers.

The workshops support the Ontario Ministry of Education's focuses on:

• activating global competencies;
• deepening equity and inclusive education practices;
• increasing assessment literacy, especially FOR and AS learning;
• leveraging information and communication technologies to support learning;
• responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action;
• supporting English language learners;
• supporting experimental learning, including, but not limited to, pathways to non-traditional occupations and vocations;
• supporting inquiry-focused and play-based teaching and learning; and
• integrating financial literacy education and learning.

The three-day institutes are offered at several locations across Ontario during July and August.

A registration fee of $50 covers workshop materials, on-site meals and two nights of accommodation at a university/college residence. Participants may also be eligible for a transportation subsidy. This $50 fee will be reimbursed upon successful completion of a workshop.

For more information or to register, go to 

https://event--wizard.com/OTFSummerInstitutes2018/0/welcome/
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Back by Popular Demand: Columbia Invitation for June 22 - July 5 -
Just a reminder to those who still wish to visit the Columbia Sportswear outlet that our online invitation is available to members who have registered on our Local website at www.etfotvot.com
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The Blog is Closed - 
On behalf of our Office Administrator Debbie and myself, it has been a pleasure serving the needs of the membership again this year. Please note however, that your Occasional Teacher Office is not  open during the summer but will open when classes resume in September.  As your President, I will continue to monitor emails sent to etfotvot@gmail.com and attend meetings as needed but recognize that as a Teacher, I too am not paid over the holidays.
Should an emergency related to your teaching duties take place, please contact Provincial ETFO at 1-888-838-3836 and they should  be able to provide you advice/support.
Good luck to those who apply to teaching positions for September.
Best wishes to everyone for a safe, pleasant and relaxing summer because next year promises to be another very busy year for Occasional Teachers in Thames Valley. 

LTOs must complete mandatory training too! Earn a few extra days of pay! LTOs and June 29th; PLDF Grant

IMPORTANT: LTOs Must Complete Mandatory Training Too!
The required online mandatory training modules are posted in the Employee Portal under the link "Employee Training". Both daily OTs and LTOs must complete these before the end of the school day on June 29, 2018. Daily OTs will receive .5 of a day of pay and LTOs will have completed most of these on Board paid time.
N.B. Check off each completed module as completed then log back in - if the check mark is still there, completion has been recognized.

Hear are this year's required modules and if they are not completed by the due date, you will be made inactive until they are done, and you will not be paid for completing them:

1. Anaphylaxis & Asthma Management Training
2. Asthma Metered Dose Inhaler Resource
3. Concussion Spotlight Part 1
4. Concussion Spotlight Part 2
5. September - Emergency Codes and Asbestos Awareness
6. October - Fire Code Training
7. November - Ladder Safety Awareness
8. December - Slips, Trips and Falls 
9. Module 4 - Safe Schools and Employee Roles
10. Module 5 - Harassment
11. Module 6 - Work Refusals
12. Module 7 - Management of Aggressive Behaviour
13. Module 8 - Domestic Violence in the Workplace
14. Module 9 - Parking Lots
    

Earn a Few Extra Days of Pay - 
Daily Occasional Teachers are entitled to three days of extra pay if they complete the paid PD offered by the Board.  (N.B., one half of these days is paid for completing the above mandatory training modules.) Only online modules remain but they can be completed anytime so long as they are done by the end of the school day on June 29th. Participation counts as time worked for E.I. purposes, seniority credit, pension credit and credit toward the 10 days required to remain on the OT Roster.  If you are a LTO of less than .5, you are eligible to complete 1.5 days and be paid. Registration is on the Employee Portal > Conference/Sessions  Registration > "Elementary Occasional Teachers PD 2017 - 2018.

LTOs on the June 29th PD Day - 
If no permanent Teacher will be attending in your place that day, it is the Union's expectation that you will participate and be paid according to your FTE.  This does not apply to Itinerant LTOs who will not be paid for the last day of school.
If you have any questions, please call our office at 519-641-3936 and we will look into these individual assignments.

Professional LEarning Development Fund 
Just a reminder to apply for your $300 PLDF grant before you take the course.  You must be registered as a member on www.etfotvot.com and been a member for one year in order to be eligible.

You're Invited! - Reference Codes for Summer EI Claims and OTs getting info on Mandatory Training

Find your Columbia Sportswear Company Employee Store Invitation at www.etfotvot.com under Member Services.
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Usually at this time of year we receive a message containing the Service Canada Reference Code to be used on summer EI benefit applications. This year, we have been advised that there is no requirement to provide a Reference Code.
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We have been made aware that some members have not received information on the mandatory training and it seems they are not following the Occasional Teachers Elementary group in Outlook.

System Staff Development did a step-by-step on how to access it and wanted to share it with you.

Not receiving group messages directly in your inbox?  If you are worried you might be missing important information and communications, which are distributed through outlook groups, you might want to follow the group so you get the messages directly in your inbox.

How do I start following an Outlook group?

Open Outlook.
On the left side of your screen are a number of folders. One says Groups. Click it.
Under Groups, click the title Occasional Teachers Elementary. This will open that group and its contents.
At the top, beside the title of the folder, it will say if you are following or not following the Group (having them come into your inbox).
To follow the group and have the emails show up in your inbox, click the down arrow next to Not Following.  Then click on "Follow in inbox"

Vote Tomorrow; The OT Shortage: The Heart & Art of Teaching & Learning and Ontario Election Update

Tomorrow is Election Day.  If you have not voted in the advance polls, you have until 9 PM tomorrow to exercise your right to vote.
Even if you did not receive a voter card, you need only bring one piece of identification with your name and current address to your voting station.
This is your right and responsibility.
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Know any Teachers looking to get onto the elementary OT Roster? TVDSB still needs elementary  Occasional Teachers and the shortage promises to continue into next school year. There is lots of work to go around and applications are still being take via Apply to Education so spread the word.
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From the June 4, 2018 ETFO eNewsletter:

BLOG FOR (BEGINNING) TEACHERS The Heart and Art of Teaching and  Learning Here are some recent posts on the ETFO Heart and Art blog: Why Ontario Teachers Need to be Political by Deborah Weston Teacher Guilt by Michelle Fenn Demystifying by Will Gourley Setting Up Successful Transition Meetings by Tammy Axt Are Artists Mathematicians Too? by Arianna Lambert

Blog In _____________________________________________________

Ontario 2018  ELECTION UPDATE

Ontario voters faced with two stark options in most ridings

With Kathleen Wynne acknowledging over the weekend that the Liberals have no chance of winning, the election has become, more than ever, a choice between Doug Ford and the PC Party and Andrea Horwath and the NDP. The collapse of the Liberal vote means there are a high number of ridings where there is a tight race between the PC and the NDP candidates.

ETFO members can make a difference by donating even an hour to a campaign.

Polls indicate PC and NDP tied for support

Overall the polls show the PCs and NDP statistically tied for voter support.

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/onvotes/poll-tracker/

The polls don't necessarily predict who will actually vote, which means getting out to vote is the key to which party wins in the many ridings where there are tight races.

Do your part to get out to vote.