Raise in Pay; LTO Interviews; "Smoke Free Ontario" Legislation; Volunteer Science and STEM Teachers

Raise on February 1, 2019
Effective February first, the daily rate for Occasional Teachers will be $237.78 which will show on your pay stub as $228.63 with 4% Vacation Pay added on the second line.  LTOs will also see this raise of 1% added to their grid rate.  LTO salary grids can be found as the last pages of the Collective Agreement, available on our Local website www.etfotvot.com or in the TVDSB Employee Portal.

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Interviews for the LTO List
Elementary Occasional Teachers who have been on the TVDSB roster for 10 months and have taught at least 20 days, are eligible to apply to be interviewed for the LTO List, per Regulation 274.  The Board will start accepted applications on February first and will close the last day of that month.
Please know that even if you are in a long-term position now, you will still need to interview to be included on the LTO List since TVDSB currently recognizes the interview process as the sole route to inclusion on the LTO List.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Local at 519-641-3936 for further information.
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Smoke Free Ontario Act and Schools
Last fall, the Government of Ontario passed the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which prohibits smoking tobacco or cannabis as well as all vaping in public areas, including schools.

The new law specifically states that a person can not smoke or vape in or around a school. This includes all indoor spaces and all outdoor areas such as playgrounds and sports fields, It also prohibits smoking and vaping in public areas within 20 metres of the property line of a school or School Board facility. For reference, 20 metres equals 65 feet, or the approximate length of 1.5 school buses.

A person caught smoking or vaping in a prohibited area may be charged with an offence and subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offence, if convicted.

For more information on the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, visit:  https://bit.ly/2FGV4y5 .
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Volunteers needed: Teachers of Science and STEM in Grades 7/8
or Intermediate Qualified in Physics, Chemistry, General Science

Western University First Year Engineers are looking for your mentorship!
Dr. John Dickinson, Assistant Professor of  Western Engineering, is the coordinator of a foundational first year engineering course that has students work in teams of five to respond to a design challenge. This year, the teams have been asked to design and build an INTERACTIVE TEACHING DEVICE as well as an accompanying lesson plan that demonstrates/explains and enables students to experience/interact with a scientific/engineering principle.

To support these students, John needs the help of science and STEM oriented teachers to meet once or twice with teams and offer feedback from a teacher's perspective. Additionally, he is looking for judges (as in a Science Fair) for the morning of April 4th, 2019 at the Western campus.

If you are interested in more information, or would like to volunteer for this CV worthy opportunity, please contact John Dickinson directly at jdickin5@uwo.ca .
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Rally for Education
Just a reminder that all Teachers / Occasional Teachers are invited to join OSSTF District 11 for an information rally from 4 - 5 PM on Thursday, February 7th at the office of Teresa Armstrong MPP,  155 Clarke Road in London or at the office of Jeff Yurek MPP, 750 Talbot Street in St. Thomas. We need to let everyone know that cuts to education are detrimental to our students, staff and the communities in which we all live. 

Fun PD Event and OSSTF Rally Invitation

Next Wednesday (January 30th) is when our first Professional Development Event of 2019 is going to take place at the BMO Centre, 295 Rectory Street in London, from 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm.  We are very excited to have everyone come out and response has been wonderful!  There is still room to join your colleagues. 

Registration is at www.etfotvot.com .
Choose from either of the following worthwhile workshops being offered:

1) Classroom Management for Occasional Teachers, or
2) Physical Education and Daily Activities (DPA) for Occasional Teachers (on the BMO field).

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From the Office of Lisa MacMaster, President OSSTF District 11 - Thames Valley

OSSTF Districts across Ontario will be rallying next week against the Ford government cuts to education.

OSSTF District 11 has invited ETFO members to join them for an information rally! The Ford Government has clearly signaled its intent to cut the Ontario budget. For our public education system, that's a cut of over one billion dollars. This means that EVERY member will be impacted. Jobs will be lost. This isn't fear mongering but a reality we have to be ready for.

We need to defend public education and we are asking for your help. It's expected that the budget will be released in late March - late April. Waiting until then to mobilize our members and educate our local MPP's about the significance of such a severe cut is too late.

We need your help on February 7th, help us show our local MPP's  that cuts to education are not in the best interests of our students, staff or communities.

When :                      Thursday, February 7th from 4 - 5 pm!

Two locations:          The Office of Teresa Armstrong, MPP at 155 Clarke Road, London or
                                  The Office of Jeff Yurek, MPP at 750 Talbot Street, St. Thomas

Time:                         4 - 5 pm

We look forward to seeing you there!

OCT Fees; Investment in Public Education and ETFO-TVOTs January 30th PD Event at the BMO Centre & Paid PD Opportunity

Ontario College of Teachers' Fee
Those Occasional Teachers in long-term assignments for January 1 will see on their pay-stub that TVDSB has automatically deducted their OCT fee for 2019 - 2020.
Annual membership fees of $150 are due the first of January each year but OCT allows payment up to April 15th after which time an OT is no longer be in good standing with the College and so is ineligible to teach in Ontario.  The reinstatement fee for late payment is $130. Payment can be made online with a major credit card at www.oct.ca
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Education as a Budget Priority in Ontario
The PC government is currently working on its first provincial budget and has signaled its intention to cut funding for public services. Earlier today, ETFO President Sam Hammond presented a submission to the Legislature's pre-budget hearings making the case for investment in public education.
You can find ETFO Provincial's submission here:  etfo.ca/link/pbb2019 or

http://www.etfo.ca/AboutETFO/Publications/BriefstoGovernmentAgencies/BriefstoGovernmentAgenciesDocuments/2019PreBudgetBrief.pdf

Members are encouraged to contact their MPP and let them know that public education needs investment, not cuts. Find out more at:  buildingbetterschools.ca/funding
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Fun PD Event
Join us on January 30th, at the BMO Centre, 295 Rectory Street in London, from 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm for our first PD Event of the year!  Spots are limited and filling quickly. A lovely hot dinner is included.
Choose from either of the following worthwhile workshops being offered:

1) Classroom Management for Occasional Teachers, or
2) Physical Education and Daily Activities (DPA) for Occasional Teachers (on the BMO field)

Register at:  www.etfotvot.com

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Opportunity to Earn While You Learn
Unless you are in an LTO greater than .5, you are eligible to earn a day of work on a PD Day when you could normally teach. Just register via the TVDSB Employee Portal under Conference Registrations where you will see the options under Elementary Occasional Teacher PD for one of the in-person sessions being offered or any of the online options.  NB: online sessions can be completed anytime at your convenience - check out details in the portal.  Some spots are still available for January 18th.

TVARRIS Job Shopping; January 30th PD Event and Regional Conference offered by ETFO

Happy 2019!!  Welcome back to all ETFOTVOT members.

Job Shopping - 
Word is that TVDSB will reinstate the online job-shopping feature of TVARRIS so stay tuned for details in the near future!
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Registration is open for our 1st PD Event of 2019!
Scheduled for January 30, 2019 at the BMO Centre, 295 Rectory Street in London from 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM.  Dinner is included at no cost for all ETFO-TVOT members

The 2 workshops to choose from are:
1)  Classroom Management for Daily Occasional Teachers
 Elementary Occasional Teachers face many obstacles in their daily work and students who misbehave can make a challenging day even more stressful.  This workshop will discuss why students act out and how we can change our own attitudes and behaviours in order to ensure that both teachers and students can have positive and productive days. Learn effective strategies based on calm and respectful approaches for both preventing and dealing with challenging behaviours. Participants will leave with renewed confidence and be ready to implement proven strategies to use in their daily practice (or LTO assignments)!

2)  Physical Education and Daily Activities (DPA) for Occasional Teachers
In this hands-on workshop you will learn about the benefits of physical activity for our students and engage in games/activities related to Daily Physical Activity and the Health & Physical Education curriculum! Come on out to learn some great activities that require minimal equipment for Occasional Teachers to use in their assignments!
Dress comfortably as we'll be heading out to the soccer field for part of this workshop.

(Workshop # 3 was CANCELLED due to personal reasons of the Presenter.)

Register for one of the two workshops at www.etfotvot.com under Member Services.
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A regional ETFO Provincial conference called Conscious Classrooms Responding to Gender-Based Violence is being offered to Avon Maitland, Bluewater, Simcoe County, Thames Valley, Upper Grand and Waterloo Region locals. This two-day training will be held on February 11-12, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza Kitchener-Waterloo, 105 King Street East, Kitchener. Daily OTs will get release time from ETFO Provincial i.e., be paid as if they worked those days.

The Conscious Classrooms Responding to Gender-Based Violence program is for ETFO members who self-identify as women. It is intended to increase critical knowledge about Gender-Based Violence, equip teachers and DECEs with strategies to support students who have witnessed violence and create a space for knowledge sharing.

To register, have your ETFO membership number handy and visit: the ETFO Events Management System at events.etfo.org/upcoming-events
Deadline to register is January 25, 2019.
For more information, contact Punita Bhardwaj at 1-888-838-3836 or by email:  pbhardwaj@etfo.org
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Paid PD Opportunity
Just a reminder for all members (unless you are in a LTO greater than .5), that you are eligible to earn a day of work on a PD Day when you could not normally teach.  Just register via the Employee Portal > Conference Registrations > Elementary Occasional Teacher PD for one of the in-person sessions being offered or any of the online options.  NB: online sessions can be completed anytime at your convenience - check out the details in the portal.