The President concluded by paying special tribute to Hilda Watkins, a long-time member of the ETFO Executive and a past President of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation. Hammond thanked her for many years of service on behalf of ETFO members and all of the teachers of Ontario.

Four Federation Activists Honoured

One current and three retired union activists were honoured at a special dinner reception at Annual Meeting on Wednesday, August 17, 2011.

The 2011 recipients of Honorary Life Memberships include:

• David Kendall - a former North York teacher, OPSTF president, and ETFO staff member;
• Jim McMahon - a former Lincoln District teacher, local OPSTF president, and ETFO staff member; and
• Elaine Salisbury - founding president of the Toronto Occasional Teacher Local.

Please visit the Annual Meeting website to read detailed biographies of ETFO's newest Honorary Life Members, and to view video of the induction ceremonies.

Ellen Chambers, the President of the Lakehead Teacher Local and a noted social justice advocate, was presented with the President's Award by Sam Hammond. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to ETFO, and has advanced public education and the needs of elementary students. For video of Chambers's award presentation and her full biography, please visit annualmeeting.ca.

Annual Meeting Highlights

Other Annual Meeting highlights available at www.annualmeeting.ca include:

• Daily coverage of all the proceedings, including lists of motions passed by Annual Meeting delegates.
• Video of Premier Dalton McGuinty, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, OTF President Rian McLaughlin, CTF President Paul Taillefer, and Social Justice Speaker Dr. Elaine Bernard—who delivered a powerful speech in defence of the public sector as an essential element of civil society. Oh—and don't forget to catch the yellow wave!
• An excerpt video of President Sam Hammond's Opening Address in which he encourages the public and members to vote for public education this coming October. View it at AnnualMeeting.ca, or view and share it from our YouTube channel.
• New resources for members launched at the Annual Meeting:
• A book club based on ETFO's 'Thinking it Through' kindergarten resource
• A new book - Poverty and Schools in Ontario: How Seven Elementary Schools are Working to Improve Education
• A French version of ETFO's Roots of Equality resource on building positive, healthy friendships and dating relationships free from violence: Les racines de l’égalité
• An LGBT Take Action Kit in English and French outlining ten ways teachers can create supportive school communities for ALL students.
• 'It Starts with You. It Stays with Him.' eLearning modules addressing issues around healthy relationships, gender issues, homophobia and sexism.
• The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning - a book and blog for new teachers
• The Early Learning Central website - an expansion of ETFO's kindergarten blog '1000 Moments of Learning' - now designed to cover learning in all of the primary grades
• A new book - Primarily Play: Engaging Primary Learners Through Play
• A new eResource - The Collaborative Coaching Conversation

The School Health & Safety Bulletin Board

The health and safety bulletin board is a source of vital information to protect your well-being at work. The following is a list of information that should be posted on the board:

• Occupational Health & Safety Act, updated to include the revisions that came in with Bill 168 in 2010.
• WSIB "In Case of Injury Poster" (Form 82). This WSIB poster explains—in four steps—what you and your employer must do in case of injury at work.
• Your school board's policies on Health & Safety and Workplace Violence & Harassment.
• The names of the people on your site Health and Safety Committee, and your school board's Joint Health & Safety Committee (JHSC - if your board has one).
• The minutes of your school's Health and Safety Committee meetings, and the Board's JHSC meetings (if your board has a JHSC).
• First Aid kit locations and the names of staff with First Aid certification.
• A record of monthly health and safety inspection reports at your school site.
• Reports that relate to health and safety such as lab results and surveys.
• Ministry of Labour (MOL) field reports—including MOL orders—issued at the school site. 

If the bulletin board in your staff room is not up to date, then tell your principal, your local steward, and your site Health and Safety Representative.

• Project Overseas is a program of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) in which teachers from across Canada work with co-tutors in host countries delivering professional learning workshops to teachers. The projects last four to six weeks and occur during the summer. ETFO sponsors fourteen participants. All expenses are paid by CTF and the participants volunteer their time. Application forms for Project Overseas 2012 are available at www.etfoprojectoverseas.ca. The deadline to apply is November 4, 2011. 
  
  
• ETFO Professional Services is seeking instructors for online Additional Qualification courses for teachers. Applicants should have extensive experience in online course instruction or online professional learning, and a specialist or equivalent in the course subject. For more information, please visit the ETFO website.