Merry Christmas and all the best for the Holidays!

Here we are, the last BLOG for the 2015 school year!  Your Local has been very busy with Bargaining, Professional Development and always, representing it's members with professional and sound strength.  Stay tuned for our upcoming Newsletter, "The Supply Line" which will include new and unadvertised planned PD events for 2016.  The Supply Line will be sent to all members via Canada Post, so please advise our office if there has been a change to your residential address.
It is also a condition of employment that the Board have your correct address, so we also ask that you go to the Employee Portal under 'Your Personal Information' to ensure it is correct.  If you have a unit/apt/suite  # in your address, please ensure it is on the same line as your street address;
eg. Suite # 8 - 521 Nottinghill Road.

ETFO's Awards Program:
ETFO members often engage in activities and programs outside of their work responsibilities that deserve recognition.  This program honours these members and others for activities, academic achievements and outstanding contributions to education and the Federation. Locals and members may nominate a colleague or themselves for an award.  Categories include:

• Environmental Education Award
• Curriculum Development Award
• Humanitarian Award for an ETFO member
• Children's Literature Award
• Anti-Bias Award
• Honorary Life Membership
• Health and Safety Actvist Award
• Arts and Culture Award
• Writer's Award
• Humanitarian Award for a non-ETFO member
• Member Service and Engagement Award
• New Member Award
• Rainbow Visions Award

ETFO Women's Program Awards:

• Women Working in Social Activism on Behalf of Women and Children Award
• Writer's Award
• Curriculum Development Award
• Women Who Develop Special Projects in Science and Technology Award
• Outstanding Role Model for Women Award

For more information, contact Evelyn McGrogan at 1-888-838-3836, extension 2214 or emcgrogan@etfo.org.  To apply please visit etfo.ca/aboutetfo/awardsandscholarships.  Deadline is February 1, 2016.

The Local office will be closed during the Christmas Break and re-opening when school resumes on January 4, 2016.  Emails and telephone calls will be checked weekly.   If you have an emergency, please contact Provincial ETFO at 1-888-838-3836/www.etfo.ca.

On behalf of your President, Terry Card and your Local Executive, we wish you a relaxing and joyful holiday.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 

  
 

Ratification of Local Agreement Tonight and other news

Ratification:
Thank you to everyone who came out this evening to the Best Western Lamplighter Inn for our all important meeting to vote on our tentative Local Agreement. The membership gave the agreement  100%  approval and your bargaining team of Terry Card - Local Pres/Chief Negotiator, Vivek Nath, Nancy Springer, Sharon Pinylo and ETFO Provincial CB Staff Officer Susan Ansara thank you for your support.
Our next step is to work with the Board to finalize enactment of the new terms.  Look for these details and other important information in our next newsletter which will be out by the new year.

ETFO Provincial Opportunities:
We encourage members to check the ETFO Provincial website on a frequent basis. ETFO offers many workshops, leadership and professional growth opportunities with very generous subsidies - most courses cost less than $100 and often provide release time (as if you worked a day) and cover accommodation and transportation and meal expenses.
ETFO is also well know for their Additional Qualification courses, practical and popular courses which are reasonable priced.
Don't forget that our Local offers a $150 grant to those who have been on the list for one year so be sure to register on our website and get your form - there are still funds available for this self-directed professional development as well as our $40 book rebate available to all members regardless of date of hire.

We Have a Deal!

Your Local bargaining team is happy to advise members that we have reached a tentative settlement for a local agreement.
Voting on the new terms will follow an information meeting being held at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn, 591 Wellington Road South, in London, N6C 4R3 on Wednesday, December 9th.
A light meal will be offered at 4:30 PM with the meeting to follow at 5 PM.
This meeting is for ETFO Thames Valley Occasional Teachers' Local only.

Registration for this meeting will be open shortly on the etfotvot website, www.etfotvot.com. Members with accounts on the secure portion of the site will be notified via email.

Outreach Donations

In light of ETFO Provincial's intent to match donations, your OT Local voted to send $1500 from our Outreach budget line to assist the Canadian Red Cross to provide  relief to those in refugee camps. Provincial's initial donation of $55,000, dispersed to the Canadian Council of Refugees, Oxfam Canada, and the Canadian Red Cross has now been increased another $25,000 so that ETFO's combined provincial and local donations total $112,800, a significant contribution to both the international relief efforts and the settlement projects in place to welcome Syrian refugees to Canada.

In the spirit of solidarity, our Locals and many others in ETFO have also donated $500 to Operation Christmas Cheer to assist union members currently on picket lines in Ontario who are facing hardship. Contributions are used to provide food hampers, grocery gift cards and one toy for each child over this Christmas season.

Local Negotiations and Next Week's Fall General Meeting

Congratulations to the ETFO Thames Valley Teachers' Local on attaining a tentative Local Collective Agreement and to Teacher President Craig Smith and his bargaining team.  Our OT Local will be returning to the local table next week and we will continue to advocate for Occasional Teacher issues. We will keep members apprised of the status of these talks and hope to have more news soon.

December Fall General Meeting and Banquet
Don't miss out on joining us for the ever-popular Fall General Meeting and Banquet on December 2nd, 2015 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn, 591 Wellington Road South, London, N6C 4R3. 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM.
Dinner for this event is free to ETFO-TVOT members.

Holiday Celebration with Interactive Chef-Engaged Stations

California Mix Salad - Crisp Vegetable Crudites with Dip; Olive Oil Tossed Pasta Salad and Mediterranean Greek Salad; A Savory Assortment of European Breads and Rolls

Roast Breast of Young Ontario Turkey with a Traditional Savory Dressing and Cranberry Sauce; 
Stuffed Gigantic Pasta Shells along with Ricotta Cheese;

Sweet Selection including Coffee, Tea and Soft Drinks

Please consider bringing Children's goods to donate to Merrymount Children's Center
Merrymount's Family Support and Crisis Centre has children up to 12 years of age in its Overnight Care Program and needs new or very gently used  clothing.  We ask that you consider their Wish List:

• Warm pyjamas
• Socks, Underwear, all sizes
• Winter Coats and Snow Pants
• Winter Boots and Shoes
• Pants, Shirts and Sweatshirts
• Hats & Toques
• Mittens (waterproof)
• New Books
• Gift Cards, Movie Passes
• New Toys for Birthdays, Holidays
• Toothbrushes and Toothpaste
• Non-Perishable Food Items
• Art & Craft Supplies

Register at www.etfotvot.com under Member Services: Events, Fall General Meeting 2015.  Space is limited so please avoid disappointment.

ETFO Kindergarten Part 1 & Part 2 Courses being offered by TVDSB
This winter the ETFO Kindergarten Part 1 & Part 2 - Additional Qualification Courses in Thames Valley are being offered.  These are ETFO’s “Onsite” AQ courses which means that they are a blended model of face to face learning time with an instructor and also online learning time which is done independently by the course participant.

Rose Walton will be teaching these courses.

Interested applicants can access the information and registration by visiting:

http://etfo-aq.ca/catalogue/kindergarten-part-1-thames-valley/

http://etfo-aq.ca/catalogue/kindergarten-part-2-thames-valley/


Lastly, the following message has been forwarded from ETFO's Vivian McCaffrey:

This is an appeal for action.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is following through with his election commitment to have a House of Commons debate on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), but it would appear that the new federal government is planning to sign on regardless.
ETFO is joining other unions and social justice organizations that have concerns about the implications of the TPPA on unions and public services and that are calling for public hearings.
Please visit the ETFO website to access a Council of Canadians' overview of concerns about the TPPA and an online letter to Prime Minister Trudeau calling for public hearings:

http://www.etfo.ca/AdvocacyandAction/ETFOTakesAction/Pages/Join%20the%20campaign%20to%20have%20real%20public%20consultations%20on%20the%20TPPA.aspx

If this link doesn't work, you can access the page through the home page of the ETFO website.
Thanks for your support.







 

Upcoming Fall General Meeting

Registration is open for our Fall General Meeting on December 2, 2015 taking place at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London from 4:30 - 7:30 PM. Please register at www.etfotvot.com.

Thank you to all participants of yesterday's PD event at the Best Western Stoneridge Inn.  Over 100 registrants enjoyed and benefitted from Classroom Management - Presenter Connie Zoet or Interview Skills - Presenter Sylvia van Campen.  Both workshops were very well received.

Voting for the Tentative Agreement;

Your Tentative Central Agreement:
After fourteen months of negotiations, Provincial ETFO is presenting for ratification from the membership, a tentative central table agreement as announced by ETFO President Sam Hammond in the following video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWpUEAs6zo&feature=youtu.be
Voting closes at midnight on Thursday, November 12th and though members can read the original documents for themselves by logging onto the voting site at http://www.etfocb.ca , below are a few of the reasons from an Occasional Teacher perspective, that your Local is recommending this deal to our members:

• Boards will be required to provide keys for daily OTs to lock classroom doors (a major concern of the membership as expressed in our last CB Survey),
• The superior terms in our current collective agreement are protected eg. 2 paid PD days, provisions for leave, experience credits, money in lieu of benefits for LTOs to name a few, 
• The 97 delay in grid advancement is to cease with credit retroactive to September 2015,
• All OTs will receive a lump sum payment equal to 1% of earned wages from 2014-2015, 
• Daily OTs and LTOs will receive an additional 1% raise as of September 2016 and an additional .5% in February 2017,
• Sick leave benefits for LTOs will be doubled to 120 days,
• One-time grant to be provided to Boards for H&S training for Occasional Teachers,
• Regulation 274 remains intact with enhanced provisions for feedback after interviews and a committee to further review the process,
• And finally, none of the OPSBA threats to enshrine language enabling Principals to direct an OTs prep time, assign additional duties or remove the provisions of Regulation 274, have been included.

Please note that members must have their ETFO ID number to participate in the site. Assistance is available at 1-877-869-8233. Access to the site and accompanying documents is terminated once members have submitted their vote so please review the materials before  you cast your ballot.

PD Opportunity on November 17, 2015 

Two of our most popular presenters are returning to offer members a session on Interview Skills and Classroom Management Strategies.  These workshops will be held at the Best Western Stoneridge Inn and Conference Centre, 6675 Burtwistle Lane, London, Ontario, N6L 1H5.
Registration is open and spots are filling quickly.  Please go to www.etfotvot.com to register.  You will need to have an account on the secure portion of the ETFO-TVOT website referred above.
Registration closes on November 13, 2015, at noon.

You can also register for our upcoming Fall General Meeting taking place on December 2, 2015 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn.  Registration is open on the ETFO-TVOT website referenced above.

Elementary Occasional Teacher PD Offerings

Information regarding Elementary Occasional Teacher PD is now posted on the Staff Development website.

To see online offerings, please go onto the Employee Portal--> Conference/Session Registration -->
"Elementary Occasional Teacher PD 2015-2016" conference.
Register for the offering you would like to complete and then proceed with the offering.  You will need to go back into the main conference page and click on the name of the offering (ie: ".5 French - Transforming FSL").  A second screen will appear with instructions, links etc.  Each offering constitutes a .5 day of PD.

Some important reminders:
1.  PD must be completed on a PD day (the next PD day is Friday November 20th, 2015).
2.  Your  submission of a reflection form is what initiates the payment process, so please submit them in a timely manner.
3.  Links to the reflection form and request form (if doing self-directed at a school location) are found in the Elementary Occasional Teacher PD 2015-2016 conference text, or on the Staff Development website. There's additional information posted as well for OTs who are in a partial LTO or partial contract as your entitlement is pro-rated.
4.  Remember to save a .5 day for your mandatory training!

Please direct any questions directly to Lyndsey Kendall, Staff Development Coordinator, Organizational Support Services - HRS, Thames Valley District School Board,  Tel:  (519) 452-2000 ext. 20506

A Tentative Agreement; Save the Date - More PD Opportunities

Yes we have a Tentative Agreement - Action Required:
Today in Toronto, Local ETFO Leaders reviewed the terms of the Central Table tentative Agreement for Teachers and Occasional Teachers. It is a fair settlement and considers class sizes, the health and safety of our members, special education needs and matters of both direct and indirect compensation.
The Local will be posting the highlights of this agreement tomorrow in the Member's section of our website www.etfotvot.com 
CB e-newsletters will be sent to subscribers with answers to Frequently Asked Questions and later with the details regarding town halls and the process for ratification.
Then on Saturday, members will receive a robocall with these details and the information will be posted on ETFO's Twitter feed and Facebook page.
At noon on Sunday, the secure voting site will open and members will be able to review the agreement in detail.
Voting will not close until midnight on November 12th, so please avail yourself of this information and try to participate in one of the town halls where you can have your questions addressed, before you cast your electronic ballot.

New! November 17th PD Opportunity:
Your Executive/PD Committee has organized an additional Professional Development Event in response to your requests.
On November 17th, two of our most popular presenters will return to offer members a session on interview skills and another will present classroom management strategies.
These workshops will be held at Best Western Stoneridge Inn & Conference Centre.
This is a new venue for us and we are excited to offer this location especially to those members travelling via the 401 or 402.  The Best Western Stoneridge can be accessed off the 401 on exit 177 (A) or off the 402 by exit 98.
Final details and registration will open tomorrow at www.etfotvot.com
As a reminder, please ensure that you have an account on the secure portion of the ETFO- TVOT website, referenced above.

Make Sure it is Accurate:
It has been brought to our attention that residential addresses are not complete if apt./unit,/suite numbers etc. are included on a separate line from the main address.  We would ask those members who have apt./unit/suite numbers to please go to the Employee Portal, under your Personal Information and put the unit/apt/suite # before the street address, i.e. 8 - 521 Nottinghill Rd, London, Ontario  N6K 4L4
As always, we ask that you contact our office (519-641-3936) should you have any questions or require any further information.