Members Win Premier's Awards

ETFO extends congratulations to members Alison Wojkowski and Dagney Gardiner for winning 'New Teacher of the Year' in the 2010-2011 Premier's Awards for Teaching Excellence. 

Ms. Wojkowski teaches at W.H. Morden Public School in Oakville and is a member of the Halton Teacher Local. Ms. Gardiner is a member of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto local and teaches at James S. Bell Junior Middle School in West Toronto.

Biographies of these and other Premier's Award winners are available on the Ministry website. Ms. Gardiner is also profiled in this YouTube video posted by the Ontario Newsroom.

Four weeks to go!

Ultimate Block Party (UBP) takes place June 5th at Toronto's Fort York and will be the largest display of play-based learning held to date in Canada.

Since our last update, we have added a blog to the UBP website located at www.ultimateblockparty.ca. Amanda Judd, a DECE member from Simcoe County, will be posting regularly on play-based learning and the Block Party. Be sure to check out the blog and join the conversation!

UBP Ontario is now also on Facebook and Twitter [dead link removed 13 Jan 2012].  Be sure to 'Like' our page and share it with your friends. If you use Twitter, please follow @UBPontario and use the hashtag #UBP for any tweets related to the Block Party.

We are still looking for volunteers—come out and be part of a great day when we will work with our partners to promote play. The application form is available here and the deadline to apply is May 24.

Breaking Ground for ETFO's New Home

A ground breaking ceremony was held on Wednesday, May 4 at the Huntley St. & Isabella St. location of ETFO's new building. The property, a former Children's Aid Society (CAS) site, has been owned by ETFO since 2007.

Construction on the site was delayed pending the outcome of an application for a zoning change. In its application to the city, ETFO won the support of Councillor Kyle Rae and the local community association with a building design by KPMB Architects which respects the residential nature of the neighbourhood and achieves the highest standard possible for green building design and construction (LEED Certification at the Platinum level). ETFO learned that its zoning application was successful during Annual Meeting last August.

L to R: Deputy General Secretary Marilies Rettig, ETFO President Sam Hammond, General Secretary Gene Lewis.	Ceremonial shovel emblazoned with the ETFO logo.

Groups present at the Ground Breaking Ceremony last week include Provincial Executive, ETFO staff, and local presidents—who were in Toronto to attend Representative Council. The Executive Director of Casey House and representatives from KPMB Architects, the project management team, and Bird Construction Inc. were also present to view this historic event. Also on hand was former Councillor Kyle Rae, who congratulated the Federation on its new home and recounted what changed his mind about the zoning of the property: an exquisite building design, the high environmental standard, and the important work ETFO does. ETFO's new office will truly enhance the community.

Demolition of the former CAS buildings is currently under way at the site. Construction of the ETFO building is expected to be completed in May 2013. A slide show documenting the Ground Breaking Ceremony is available on the ETFO website.

Arts Resources to Support Classroom Teachers

Are you needing support when it comes to dance, drama, music or visual arts in your classroom? Are you aware that the Ministry funded the development of "teacher-friendly" resources to support the implementation of the revised Arts Curriculum document?

Arts Education Video Clips

This CSC (Curriculum Services Canada) website features 57 videos of teachers from boards across Ontario. These videos provide examples of classroom teachers implementing the revised arts curriculum. They feature teaching in dance, drama, music, media arts, and visual arts.

Arts Lesson and Units

The Arts subject associations have developed dozens of sample lessons and units to support teachers with the implementation of the new Arts curriculum. These resources feature primary, junior, and intermediate lesson plans for dance, drama, music, and visual arts.

1. OAEA (Ontario Art Education Association - formerly OSEA) lessons include drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, and sculpture units for primary, junior, and intermediate teachers. http://www.osea.on.ca
2. OMEA (Ontario Music Educators' Association) units include a range of vocal, instrumental and Orff lessons for primary, junior, and intermediate teachers.  http://www.omea.on.ca
3. CODE (Council of Ontario Dance and Drama Educators) units include process drama, dance, and drama conventions lessons for primary, junior, and intermediate teachers. http://code.on.ca

These resources also provide assessment strategies for teachers to support comments on the provincial report card. Check them out today!

• Pride 2011 - events will be held across the province this spring and summer. For more information, please see the following flyer.  To access the ETFO Pride Kit which will help you organize your own pride event, or to find out how to volunteer at the ETFO booth at Toronto Pride, please visit the ETFO website.
  
  
• A 2011 Census Teacher’s Kit has been developed by Statistics Canada that contains eight activities (teacher-ready) for use in classrooms across the country. The activities have been designed to help students learn what a census is and what it’s used for, how a census is taken, how to use census data to enrich their research, as well as how to conduct their own survey project. To download a free electronic copy of the kit, or for more information about the 2011 Census, visit www.census2011.gc.ca.
  
  
• The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples presents its 4th annual Summer Institute: "Slavery, Memory and Citizenship," August 21-27, York University. Teachers, educators, and librarians are encouraged to get involved in the discussions and attend the sessions. For more information, please go to: www.yorku.ca/tubman/summerinstitute2011/.