Stewards' Mailing - May 2010

REMEMBER, YOUR FEDERATION IS JUST A CALL AWAY!

You may find the following provincial office contacts helpful:

• TO CHANGE NUMBER OF MEMBERS AT YOUR WORK SITE OR MAILING ADDRESS, PLEASE CONTACT: JAMES POINTS EXT. 2504
• TO INQUIRE ABOUT MAILING MATERIALS, PLEASE CONTACT: OLESIA ROMANKO EXT. 2231.

PDF Version

From now on we will be including a link to the full Steward Mailing in PDF format. Feel free to forward this to others.

PRS Matters Volume #53

Bill 168 Protects Educational Personnel from Violence and Harassment in the Workplace – As of June 15, 2010, members will have better health and safety protections in the workplace due to amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This document provides you with more details. You can also visit our PRS Matters page.

Leaders for Tomorrow

This program includes a variety of workshops and experiences related to leadership roles within ETFO and abroad. The course is designed to enhance leadership skills in an inclusive, anti-racist/anti-oppression framework. Release time will be provided for all members accepted. The program is open to 25 women ETFO members who self-identify as Aboriginal, racial minority, having a disability, and/or lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. You must be able to commit to all sessions. Registration package is available in PDF format.

The application deadline is June 23, 2010.  For more information, please contact Kalpana Makan, extension 2245, kmakan@etfo.org, at the provincial office or visit our upcoming workshops page.

Summer Academy 2010

It’s time to register!  Online registration is now open.  Full course descriptions, dates, and locations are available online. For further information visit the Summer Academy web page. This year’s program includes 76 curriculum courses addressing a range of curriculum areas, grades, and divisions.  Most courses are offered at the low cost of $45.00 per course including a light nutritional morning snack, lunch and many practical handouts.  We look forward to another inspiring and energizing July and August. Choose a course or two for you!

The program flyer and catalogue are available for download. If you have any questions contact Jane Bennett, extension 2277, jbennett@etfo.org, or Joanne Myers, extension 2279, jmyers@etfo.org, at the provincial office.

Summer Academy - The Inclusive Classroom

This three day workshop will explore the steps, strategies, how to, and development of creating an inclusive classroom where students are empowered and accepted as part of the larger community. During the course, participants will work together collaboratively in grade teams to develop practical classroom resources and materials based on the foundations of sound inclusive curriculum. A wide variety of strategies and ideas that you can use in the fall will be shared and implications for the classroom will be discussed in order to ensure your students feel they are part of, not only your classroom, but the school community as well. For more information, please contact Kalpana Makan, extension 2245, kmakan@etfo.org, at the provincial office.

Building Bridges to Success
Historical and Contemporary Aboriginal Culture – Moving Forward

This summer ETFO will offer an exciting and interactive professional learning program focussing on Aboriginal issues, perspectives, resources, and their relevance in Ontario classrooms. Join us in Ottawa, Ontario, from August 10-12, 2010. The registration form is available on the ETFO website. You can view the program flyer and application form in both PDF and RTF.

The registration deadline is July 22, 2010. For further information, please visit the upcoming workshops page or contact Jennifer Mitchell, extension 2248, jmitchell@etfo.org, at the provincial office.

ETFO Credit Courses

Four ETFO Credit Courses that are extremely relevant to today's classrooms are featured in this brochure. One of the courses “Collaborative Inquiry for Students: Preparing Minds for the Future™” is new this summer. To download additional copies of the brochure, visit the ETFO website at http://etfocreditcourses.ca. The program flyer is available here.

For more information, please contact Melanie McClelland, extension 2511, mmcclelland@etfo.org, at the provincial office.

Celebrating 30 years of Pride

Featuring Pride events which are being held across the province.  Members are encouraged to participate in Pride events and to make celebrating Pride an integral part of their inclusive classroom.  ETFO is looking for volunteers to host the Pride Booth during Toronto Pride on Saturday, July 3, 2010 and Sunday, July 4, 2010, and for people to march behind the ETFO Pride Banner in the Pride Parade Sunday July 4, 2010. You can visit our Pride page or download the program flyer for more details.

If you have any questions, please contact Sonia Ellis-Seguin, extension 2244, sellisseguin@etfo.org,  or Nicole Tighe, extension 2266, ntighe@etfo.org, at the provincial office.  ETFO is working to create safe places in all of Ontario’s public schools and classrooms.

The enclosed Q & A will assist stewards in understanding the employer’s duty to accommodate members who have disabilities, and will assist stewards in handling member queries in this area. For more information, please contact Christine Brown, extension 2235, cbrown@etfo.org, at the provincial office.

A PDF copy is also available.

OTF and Affiliate members

To see program flyer and application information click here.