LTO Postings; International Travel; Six Important Deadlines; Teaching Strategies for OTs;

If you have been following the local news, you are aware that TVDSB has been facing declining enrolment. For that reason, the TVOT Local does not expect a large number of postings for permanent positions, unless there is a boost in attendance come September. 

That being said, here is the information from TVDSB regarding LTO postings (also available in TVDSB Outlook): 

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If Travelling Internationally -

Be aware that employees of TVDSB who travel outside of Canada generally cannot access their Board emails. To ensure access, employees must notify the Board's IT Help Desk at least 7 days in advance in order to minimize complications with TVDSB's multifactor authentication. 

To do this:

1) From the TVDSB Employee Portal log-in page, select "Help Hub Help Desk"

2) Log-in with "Sign-in Using Office365 (SSO)"

3) You may be asked to sign-in with your Board Outlook account, TV#####@tvdsb.ca

4) Once in, type into the search bar: Request login access for travel outside of Canada

5) Select appropriate link for cellphones and enter the required information (Supervisor for this purpose is

Important -

- This must be done at least 7 days prior to leaving the country.

- If you are already outside of the country, call the Help Hub at 519-452-2005 but you must be able to receive texts to your Board registered cellphone.

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1) Mandatory Training: In order to receive a 1/2 day of pay for the Mandatory Training found in the Employee Portal, it must be fully completed by Friday, June 26th, 2026 at 4pm. Your Annual Offence Declaration and all Mandatory Training modules must be completed by August 31 prior to returning to work. Completion will be unpaid if the modules are submitted after 4PM, June 26/26. 

If you are a teacher-retiree working as an Occasional Teacher and the Board's paid mandatory training may affect your pension, then it is suggested that you complete the mandatory training (a condition of employment) on your own time during the summer months.

2) Annual Offence Declaration - Even if you have been contacted by TVDSB about completing a vulnerable sector check or criminal and judicial matters check in the 2025-2026 school year, you are required to complete the Offence Declaration by August 31st, 2026. Look for the link in the TVDSB Employee Portal - 

  

3) Submit Your Claim - Occasional Teachers in daily and long-term assignments "...who are not able to receive their preparation payback period in the course of their assignment will be entitled to money in lieu." (per Letter of Understanding #5)

The deadline to submit a claim for this current school year is July 2/26 at 4 PM. Here is the link that was also sent via TVDSB's Outlook - https://forms.office.com/r/AG8wNG36YJ

TVOT members can also claim for lost prep where an Occasional Teacher is hired for a vacancy for preparation time or meeting coverage, and that Occasional Teacher does not receive a forty (40) minute preparation time period. The forty (40) minute preparation time will be scheduled as early in the day as possible based on the schedule of events requiring coverage. (per Article L18.03 (b))

4) July 31st is the deadline to submit a QECO (Qualifications Rating Statement) rating to HR, if you were in a LTO this school year and want to be compensated retroactively to properly reflect to your qualifications. QECO accepts online applications at www.qeco.on.ca . The process can take several weeks so send your receipt to Jessica Fox in HR at j.fox@tvdsb.ca to show that the process is underway. 

5) The deadline for LTOs to submit a claim for other post-certification teaching is July 31. For proof of post-certification teaching experience outside of TVDSB, the Board requires a letter on official letterhead, stating the nature of your employment, the dates of employment and notes of any leaves taken during that time. The TVOT Collective Agreement provides that international teaching and daily OT work in Canada are recognized for grid placement. 

6) To remain on the TVDSB elementary OT List, members must teach a total of 10 days per school year. This number is pro-rated for those who were on leave for part of the year or who were recently hired to the list. Participation in paid PD and the completion of the mandatory training module, count as time worked for all purposes including pension and Employment Insurance.

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Special Strategies Just for OTs - Ronald Morrish, Educational Behaviour Consultant

• Speak, walk and teach with confidence. Act like you have been teaching for 10 years using a firm voice, not a loud voice.
• Approach each lesson with enthusiasm. No student gets excited about learning something that the Teacher is not excited about teaching.
• Remember that students engaged in learning are not engaged in misbehaving. Engagement is your single best prevention technique.
• Assume the absent Teacher has left no activities or plans. Come prepared to teach all day with your own materials - an "emergency" kit covering different grades and subjects. Many activities can be integrated to include multiple subjects and topics. Be over-prepared.
• Start with an intriguing activity that captures the attention of the students.
• Reinforce appropriate behaviour far more than you scold inappropriate behaviour.
• Effective Teachers use their voice primarily to maintain the flow of the lesson. Behaviour is dealt with mostly through non-verbal techniques: prompts, cues, active supervision, redirection etc. The classroom environment tends to break down when the Teacher's voice is constantly on student behaviour rather than on learning.
• As much as possible, keep your problems in the classroom. You want to present yourself in a way that creates a positive opinion with Administration. Sending every misbehaving student to the office won't get you where  you want to go.

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