Important Information
Officers for 2009-2011:
Al Bero, President
Sue Rauscher, 1st Vice President
Penny Cormier, Secretary
Daliah Brown, Treasurer
Bette Anne Stevenson, PL Chair
Roberte Rivard, Goodwill/Awards, Social Chair
Cecile Leach, Health and Safety and Communications Chair
Pay Scale:
This year our daily rate is $209.63 and the half day rate is $104.82
Constitutional Amendments for Spring Annual Meeting, May 2010
The following amendments to the HEOT Constitution will be presented to the membership at our Spring Annual Meeting. The Executive will be suggesting
that these amendments be voted on "en bloc" . This means that we will ask for them to be accepted as a package. If there are certain clauses that anyone would
like to see voted on separately then a motion from the floor can be made to do so. These suggested changes are listed here for members to see. We will not be spending
an extreme amount of time at the Spring Annual going over each item. Please read over these suggested changes and be prepared to discuss any concerns at the Spring Annual Meeting
Amendments to the Halton Elementary Occasional Teachers’ Local Constitution
Article III – Objects
3.7 to promote and defend the health and safety of members in the workplace
Article IV – Membership
Section 2 – Honourary Life Member
4.2.2 who have been granted an honorary membership by ETFO or any of its
predecessor organizations will have that membership continue in the Local DELETED
Article V – Rights and Privileges of Active Membership
Section 3 – Code of Professional Conduct
5.3.2 A member who is representing ETFO on the Local Executive and/or the
Federation shall, in addition to 5.3.1, strive to achieve and maintain a high degree
of professionalism and to uphold the honour, dignity and ethical standards of the
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
Article VI – Local Executive
Section 1 – Local Executive
6.1.1
Elected Positions:
f) Immediate Past President (or designated Executive Member if the past President is unable to serve) DELETED
Voluntary Positions:
b) Immediate Past President or, if none, an Executive Advisor
c) Members-At-Large
Section 2 – Committees
6.2.1 - Liaison DELETED
ADD
- Social
- Status
- Political Action and Public Relations
- Professional Lending Library
Article VII – Organizational Duties
Section 1 – Duties of the Executive
7.1.11 appoint, when necessary, a successor to complete any unexpired term of an elected or appointed Local representative DELETED
7.1.11 appoint, when necessary, a successor to complete any unexpired term of an elected or appointed Local representative for all but the position of the
President
7.1.13 nominate and select the recipients of the Honourary Life Membership Award
Section 2 – Duties of the Officers
7.2.1 The duties of the President shall be:
u) to maintain accurate records/files of correspondence received by and sent on behalf of the Local
v) to forward the annual report of the Local to the provincial Federation office by June 1
w) to designate, as necessary, any of the above duties
7.2.2 The duties of the Immediate Past President shall be: DELETED
7.2.2 The duties of the Immediate Past President or Executive Advisor shall be:
a) upon request by the Executive, to act in an advisory capacity to the Local to interpret existing law and to ensure parliamentary procedure is fulfilled DELETED
b) in the event of a vacancy of this position, these duties may be assigned to Executive members by the President DELETED
a) to act in an advisory capacity to the Local to interpret existing law and to make sure parliamentary procedure is implemented
b) to fulfill other duties as assigned by the Executive
c) to chair the Nominating Committee
7.2.3 The duties of the First Vice-President shall be:
c) to assume the office of President until a successor is elected, in the event that the position becomes vacant between Annual Meetings DELETED
g) to be Editor of the Local’s Newsletter DELETED
c) to assume the office of President should the President be unable to complete his/her term
h) to ensure the rights and privileges of the Honourary Life Members
7.2.4 The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
f) to forward the annual audited financial statement of the Local to the provincial office of the Federation by September 1 DELETED
f) to forward the annual audited financial statement of the Local to the provincial office of the Federation by September 30th
g) to strike a budget, including an investment plan, in co-operation with the President and First Vice-President for approval of the Executive
7.2.5 The duties of the Secretary shall be:
b) to maintain accurate records of correspondence received by and sent on behalf of the Local DELETED
c) to prepare and circulate minutes of Executive and General Meetings DELETED
d) to forward the annual report of the Local to the provincial office of the Federation by June 1 DELETED
c) to prepare and circulate minutes of Executive and General Meetings prior to the next meeting
d) to compile separately, a list of policy motions passed by the Executive or the membership and to have a current list available for future secretaries
e) to be a member of the Constitution Committee
Section 3 – Duties of Committees
7.3.1 Committees shall:
c) submit annual reports to the President and to be prepared to present the annual report at the Spring Annual Meeting
d) advise the Executive on matters relating to the work of the committee
e) maintain a complete file of the work of the committee
f) have a current file available for future committee members
g) be fiscally responsible and work within the budget approved by the Executive
7.3.2 The Collective Bargaining Committee shall:
a) consist of the chair, and at least two (2) members elected by the Executive DELETED
a) be appointed by the Executive; the chair and the Chief Negotiator shall be appointed by the Collective Bargaining Commit
7.3.3 The Professional Learning Committee shall:
a) consist of at least two (2) members appointed by the Executive DELETED
c) provide an annual report to the Executive and the Spring Annual Meeting MOVED TO 7.3.1 c)
d) be fiscally responsible and work within the budget provided by the executive MOVED TO 7.3.1 g)
a) consist of an elected chair and other members appointed by the Executive
d) liaise with the Professional Lending Library Committee regarding budget allocation for lending library needs
7.3.4 The Communications Committee shall:
a) consist of at least two (2) members appointed by the Executive DELETED
b) be responsible for co-ordinating the preparation of electronic newsletters and electronic bulletins and facilitate other communications deemed necessary by the
President or the Executive DELETED
c) provide a year end report to the Executive and the Annual Meeting DELETED
a) consist of a chair and other members appointed by the Executive
b) be responsible for co-ordinating the preparation and dissemination of newsletters, bulletins and announcements and facilitate the same for other
communications as deemed necessary by the President or the Executive
7.3.5 The Health and Safety Committee shall:
a) consist of two (2) executive members DELETED
d) perform Health and Safety inspections of Board assigned sites throughout the school year DELETED
e) encourage members to be trained in a variety of Health and Safety programs and
attempt to set up workshops to further encourage this development DELETED
f) post important Health and Safety information on the Local’s website and Board conference folder (CHATT) DELETED
a) consist of two (2) Executive members who must be certified or attain certification as Safety Officers under provisions set out by the Ministry of
Labourr and covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario
d) perform Health and Safety inspections and follow-up procedures of Board assigned sites throughout the school year
e) provide important Health and Safety information for posting in the newsletter, on the Local’s website and Board conference folder (CHATT)
f) review HEOT Employee Incident Reports (EIR)
7.3.6 The Liaison Committee DELETED
7.3.6 The Constitution Committee shall:
a) consist of at least two (2) executive members appointed by the Executive DELETED
a) consist of a chair and other members appointed by the Executive
7.3.7 The Awards Committee shall:
a) consist of at least three (3) members, one being the President or designate DELETED
b) promote awareness of any Local awards to members and the Board system DELETED
g) post Award information on the Local’s website and in the Occasional Elementary TalkConference on the Board’s CHATT system DELETED
a) consist of a chair and other members, one being the President or designate
b) collaborate with the Communications Committee to promote awareness of any Local awards, criteria and procedures to members
g) collaborate with the Communications Committee to post award recipient information on the Local’s website and in the Occasional Elementary Talk
Conference on the Board’s CHATT system
7.3.8 The Goodwill Committee shall:
a) liaise in the fall with the Professional Development Committee to determine the Goodwill needs for the year DELETED
b) work within the budget as identified in the Professional Development budget DELETED
a) consist of a chair and other members appointed by the Executive
b) establish the criteria for the presentation of Goodwill to members
e) liaise with other committees of the Local as necessary
7.3.9 The Social Committee shall:
a) consist of a chair and other members appointed by the Executive
b) consider possible social events; these events being planned and executed by the committee with the approval of the Executive
c) keep up-to-date records of social events and the related organizational details and maintain a file available for future social committee planning
7.3.10 The Status Committee shall:
a) consist of a chair and other members appointed by the Executive
b) encourage the development of members as leaders, through workshops,
discussion groups and conferences
7.3.11 The Political Action and Public Relations Committee shall:
a) perform, as necessary, duties assigned and approved by the Executive
7.3.12 The Professional Lending Library Committee shall:
a) consist of a chair and other members appointed by the Executive
b) establish the criteria for purchasing resource materials
c) be responsible for cataloguing and housing materials and facilitating lending procedures
d) liaise with the Professional Learning Committee regarding budget allocation for lending library needs
7.3.13 Members-At-Large shall:
a) perform, as necessary, duties assigned and approved by the Executive
Article VIII – Meetings
Section 2 – Spring Annual Meeting
8.2.2 a quorum for the Spring Annual Meeting will be the majority of the members present
8.2.3 the official authority for conducting the Spring Annual Meeting shall be the current Roberts’ Rules of Order
8.2.4 b) elect the officers for the next year DELETED
d) appoint the auditor DELETED
e) direct the Treasurer to send the year’s books to the auditor by July 31st for approval DELETED
b) as per 6.1.3, elect the officers for the next term
d) approve the appointed auditor
e) direct the Treasurer to send the year’s books to the auditor by August 31st for approval
Article IX – Elections
Section 3 – Election Procedures
9.3.7 where the elected position is not contested, the nominated candidate will be acclaimed
Article X – Delegates to the ETFO Annual Meeting
10.1 an Executive or Committee member of the Local may be nominated by the Executive as a delegate to the Federation’s Annual Meeting DELETED
10.2 delegates to the Annual Meeting must include the incoming President DELETED
10.3 delegates shall be appointed at a General Meeting DELETED
10.1 an Executive or Committee member of the Local may be appointed by the
Executive as a delegate to the Federation’s Annual Meeting
10.2 delegates and alternates of the Local shall include
a) the President
b) the First Vice-President
c) the Treasurer
Article XI – Resolutions to the ETFO Annual Meeting
11.1 shall be passed at the Local General Meeting DELETED
11.2 shall be forwarded to the Local Executive at least one month prior to the meeting referred to in 11.1 DELETED
11.1 members shall be notified that the submission of resolutions shall be forwarded to the Executive prior to January 15th
11.2 as required, resolutions to the ETFO Annual Meeting shall be passed at a Local general meeting to be held prior to February 15th for written submission to the
Federation office prior to March 1st
Article XIII – Finances
13.4 the Executive of the Local will establish a Local Levy as prescribed in the Collective Agreement between the Local and the Board DELETED
13.5 mileage is covered for all Executive and Committee Members to attend a function which is necessary for the running of the Local DELETED
13.6 Executive and Committee Members will be provided with a suitable meal when attending a function which is necessary for the running of the Local DELETED
13.7 dependent care beyond the regular day care costs will be covered for the members when attending a function which is neceasary for the running of the Local
and members are not receiving remuneration for that function DELETED
13.4 the Executive of the Local will establish a Local Levy which shall be deducted at source by the employer and remitted to the Local as per the conditions of the
Collective Agreement
13.5 mileage, using Federation rates, is covered for all Executive and Committee members to attend a function which is necessary for the running of the Local
13.6 Executive and Committee Members will be provided with a suitable meal, using Federation rates, when attending a function which is necessary for the running of
the Local
13.7 Dependent care will be covered for executive and committee members who participate, in an organizing capacity, in a function related to Local business
Nomination of Schools for Schools of Recognition:
In your late February newsletter there is a form to use to nominate schools for School of Recognition awards from the HEOT group. We are asking that you to send in your nominations for any school which you feel welcomes OTs and pays attention to our Collective Agreement. Keep sending in those nominations and make the Awards Committee's job as difficult as possible to make a decision to recognize one school in each of the board's 3 geographic areas. Each of the winning schools will be recognized at our Spring Annual dinner.
The 10 DAYS Rule:
As per our Collective Agreement 12.08 the board requires that all Occasional Teachers work at least 10 days per school year in order to stay on our list. This is to inform all members that the board will remove any member from our list who does not complete 10 FULL days of work in the 2009-10 school year.
And The Winners of 2008-09 Were:
Last May at our Spring Annual Meeting /Awards Dinner we honoured our award winners. We thank all those who submitted nominations because you made our decision a very difficult one. This year are award winners are:
North School Of Recognition - Robert Little
East School Of Recognition - Heritage Glen
West School Of recognition - Sir E. MacMillan
We thank all of the staff and students at these schools for everything that you do to make Occasional Teachers feel comfortable and welcomed.
The following members were also recognized
LTO of the Year - Kaz Miyata, LTO at Charles R. Beaudoin
STO of the Year - Sharon Ellis, nominated by the staff at Kilbride School
Congratulations to our winners and thank you for all that you do for the students in Halton.
Get Your QECO Rating
Yes, that is correct - GET YOUR QECO rating now, before it becomes an issue. You must have a QECO rating in Program 4 or 5 in order for it to be valid. Currently QECO is using Program 5 to do their assessments and ratings. If you had your rating done a few years back then it is time for you to get a new rating.
To get your rating you should download an application from the QECO website at www.qeco.on.ca . There are 2 forms - one for first ratings and one for a rerating. Download the appropriate form, fill it in, and send it to QECO along with all docuamentation. It is free and it is relatively easy so don't delay.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Well, if you look carefully at your Collective Agreement (Article 28, especially clauses 28.02 and 28.04) then you will see that it is absolutley vital that you get your rating, especially if you wantto do LTO work or find yourself in an LTO position.
Once you have proof of work ( ie your first pay stubb) then you can apply for your QECO rating. Do it now, do not delay. A rating can take some time ( up to 12 weeks) once all documentation is received by QECO. There are timelines in our agreement that need to be met and if you do not meet those timelines you will find yourself being underpaid for your LTO work.
Survive & Thrive - A Virtual Conference and On-line Conference
For Beginning Teachers, Occasional Teachers and Teacher Candidates!This on-line conference is available free to any interested member of OTF.
Resources, on-line discussions and ressources are available . The conference opens this month and runs until November. Such topics as Literacy, Occasional Teaching, Special Education, Assessment and Reporting, Relationships - Appropriate and Professional, Working with Parents and Families, Working with Adolescents, Reflective Practice, Managing Stree, Professional Issues and Classroom Management will be dealt with on this conference over the next few month. New information will appear between now and November.
To register you can go to www.etfo.ca and click on the Survive & Thrive link. Once registered you will have full access to all areas of the conference. You can also visit the site and register as a guest. In this case you will not be granted full access to all areas of the conference.
A Great Resource for all Occasional Teachers , new to OT work or not
For Those OT's on Interim Certificates:
This is a reminder that all OT's that are on an Interim Certificate should contact Tracy Adams at the J.W. Singleton Centre to get the form necessary to apply for a permanent certificate. You must have 194 days of work to change the Interim Certificate to a Permanent one. This is also a reminder that only days for which you are properly certified will count toward the 194. If you do French jobs or jobs in divisions for which you are not qualified then you will not get credit for those days. You have up to 5 years to get the 194 days necessary to convert your certificate.
Applying for LTO Contracts:
Our current Collective Agreement requires the board to hire LTO's from our OT List. To make this issue possible I have had a request from HEPA (Halton Elementary Principal's Association) that all members who apply for an LTO or a Probationary job should mark clearly on their Resume and their Cover Letter that they are current members of the Halton Elementary OT list. This would enable Principals to screen applications and interview the appropriate people.
Tutoring & Conflict of Interest Guidelines for ETFO Members:
Professional Relations staff of ETFO Provincial receive many calls from members asking whether they can engage in private tutoring on their own time. The following message has been developed by Provincial staff and should be considered when you make a decision about tutoring.
ETFO believes that every student in the public system should have access to the resources, services and support needed to experience success.
Although ETFO does not support privately funded tutoring, members are legally able to engage in tutoring on their own time. It is important that members familiarize themselves with the Ontario Teachers' Federation policy on tutoring which requires adherence to the following two rules: First, in engaging in private tutoring, the teacher must NOT tutor their own students for remuneration. Second, if the teacher accepts a student for tutoring, the teacher should consult the student's regular teacher. In any private tutoring arrangement, the teacher will be in violation of the Code of Ethics if her or she makes adverse comments about the student's regular teacher, or if the teacher interferes in an unwarranted manner between the student and the student's regular teacher.
Teachers are also bound by the Professional Misconduct Regulations 437/97 under the Ontario College of Teachers Act. Section 26 states that a teacher is guilty of professional misconduct when practicing the profession while in a conflict of interest. While the Regulation does not define what constitutes a conflict of interest, arbitrators and courts have frequently commented on this issue in the context of assessing disciplinary penalties imposed on employees who place themselves in a conflict of interest. Public servants, such as teachers, are held to a higher standards than other employees in conflict of interest situations.Teachers should be guided by the following rules which have been held to apply to public servants:
- They must not advance their own agendas, financial or otherwise, that might prejudice their employer's interests or reputation.
- They must not seek for private gain to make use of information not available to the general public to which they have access by reason of their official duties.
- They must not place themselves in situations where their judgment could, even unconsciously, be affected by their private business.
- Their interest in their private financial affairs must not clash, or appear to clash with their employer's interest.
Members should follow the following guidelines when engaging in private tutoring:
- Some school boards have policies on tutoring and if a teacher breaches the policy, he or she may be disciplined and/or reported to the College of Teachers.
Here are some specific guidelines which should be considered before engaging in tutoring:
- Find out whether the board has a policy about tutoring and follow it.
- Private tutoring should not take place on school property or during the instructional day.
- Members should not tutor their own students for financial gain.
- Members should not advertise private tutoring through connections at the school, through school or board publications, or through the board's computer network.
- Regular communication should occur with the student's own teacher so as not to work at cross purposes or outside the regular classroom curriculum.
- Members tutor students do so at their own risk, and may not be eligible for ETFO support should problems arise from the private tutoring situation.
GOOD Will - A Gift to Halton Schools:
In order to develop a positive relationship with our schools the Halton Elementary Occasional Teachers' Local sends an annual gift to each school in our board. This past year the gift was a $15 gift card to Chapters/Indigo book store. We have asked each school to present that certificate to a student in their school who displays positive citizenship skills.
HARRI Problems?:
If you have any problems related to HARRI ( the Halton call out system) then you should send your queries to Lily O'Brien at the J.W. Singleton Centre. Lily is in charge of HARRI.
She can be reached through e-mail at o'brienl@hdsb.ca or by phone 905-335-3665 x 3239.
ETFO Advisory to Members:
ETFO Provincial has once again issued an Advisory to Members about EQAO Marking. It states quite clearly: MEMBERS ARE ADVISED NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY EQAO MARKING EXERCISE.
The Federation views province-wide testing of every student at grades 3 and 6 as both a misuse of student time, and an ineffective use of funds that should be redirected to support student learning. The consistent trend within the media of ranking schools by assessment results has been unfair to students and is potentially destructive to the education system.
HEOT has its own Constitution!
Log into the Secure Section and click on Constitution
