Board News updated February 21, 2012
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School to celebrate Solemn Blessing
On February 23, staff and students at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in
Brampton will celebrate the school’s blessing. Father Vitaliano Papais from St.
Patrick Parish, will preside over the ceremony.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, located at 25 Mount Royal Circle in
Brampton opened on September 6, 2011. Currently, there are 306 students enrolled
in Grades JK to Grade 8.
A school blessing is a milestone event in the life of a new Catholic school and
normally takes place within one year of the opening of the school. Blessings are
important ceremonial occasions with a strong community focus, and are attended
by students, parents, clergy, school staff, board officials, school trustees and
other elected officials.
WHAT: Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School Blessing
WHEN: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Reception: 6:00 p.m.
Blessing: 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, 25 Mount Royal Circle, Brampton
2012 Criminal Offence Declaration (COD)
The Criminal Offence Declaration 2012 needs to be completed and submitted by April 30th to Agatha deLemos, Support Services Department, please mark "CONFIDENTIAL - COD" on the envelope.
Download the COD 2012 form here.
February 21st After School Professional Development flyer
Professional Development Opportunities for Elementary, Secondary and Occasional Educators. These after school sessions are open to all Dufferin Peel OTs. To register use the form on the last page of the booklet. If you would like to register by phone, please call Mary Riggi @ 905-890-0708 x24016 or Louise Filipuzzi @ 905-890-0708 x24303.
Employment Insurance in December 2011
If you plan to apply for Employment Insurance in December 2011, please click
on the links below from Service Canada. Attached to the link is information
which will provide basic filing instructions with emphasis on the reporting of
Statutory Holiday Pay.
* Employees working in the CERTIFIED supply group, web records will be filed by
January 6, 2012.
Please ensure that you apply to Service Canada within 2 weeks after the dates
that we file the records of employment.
Due to the fact that the Statutory Holidays fall on non-working days Sunday 25
and January 1, it is important that you use the dates that the Board will
observe as the holiday dates, (December 27, and January 2, 2012 respectively).
You must use these dates when completing your application. In addition, it is
very important to use the REFERENCE CODE 3511012011201112 to
file your claim.
SERVICE CANADA WEB SITE: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/application/employmentinsurance.shtml
Attendance Support Program (ASP):
The Attendance Support Program is designed to address attendance and absence issues and to support employees. The Board is hoping to reduce absenteeism.
Effective October 1st, all employee groups including permanent and LTO teachers, but NOT daily occasional teachers, will have the number of days absent and the reasons for the absences monitored by the Board. Specifically, the Board will be monitoring their absenteeism for personal and family illness (Code 01 and 03). The goal is not to exceed 7 absences. Remember, the Board is monitoring absences, and not the number of days absent.
There are 6 levels in the Attendance Support Program. For example, a teacher who is absent because of personal and/or family illness 7 times will receive a courtesy email. Should that teacher continue to be away for personal/family illness up to 12 times, that teacher will enter into Level 1 of the ASP. If after 6 months, the teacher has 0 to 4 absences, then they EXIT the ASP. But if after 6 months the teacher has 4 or more absences, the teacher will proceed to Level II of the ASP. The goal at each level is not to exceed 4 absences in a 6 month period. If the number of absences exceed, they proceed to the next level where meetings will be facilitated. At Level IV more Board personnel will get involved. At Level VI, termination is possible if the employee is not fulfilling their employment contract.The Attendance Support Program is designed to address attendance and absence issues and to support employees. The Board is hoping to reduce absenteeism.
L.O.P. positions listed (Letter of Permission)
When the Board cannot fill a position with a teacher, they may hire an uncertified person and apply to the Ministry for a Letter of Permission. This LOP gives the uncertified person permission to teach for a time period of one year.
January 2012 LOP report:
| Location |
Position |
Position Start Date |
Position End Date |
Assignment FTE |
Assignment |
Position FTE |
| St Anne |
LOP |
20111003 | 20120629 | 0.8 | FSL |
1 |
| St Anne |
LOP |
20111003 | 20120629 | 0.2 | EXFR |
1 |
| St Monica |
LOP |
20110926 | 20120629 | 0.5 | GR07 |
1 |
| St Monica |
LOP |
20110926 | 20120629 | 0.5 | GR08 |
1 |
| St Sebastian |
LOP |
20111003 | 20111201 | 1 | FSL |
1 |
| St Rose of Lima |
LOP |
20111010 | 20120629 | 0.3 | EXFR |
0.3 |
| Cardinal Newman |
LOP |
20110928 | 20120629 | 0.2 | FSL |
0.2 |
If you see a position you applied to, please contact the Dufferin-Peel OTBU office immediately.
If you applied for LTOs, hopefully you have recorded the job posting number, location, assignment description, start and end dates, and date you applied. Print the "Jobs Applied To" as your confirmation. You are asked to document and keep the data for all LTOs you apply to throughout the year!
GAP 542 - DO NOT use cellphones, PEDs during class time
It was brought to the Association's attention that occasional teachers are using their cell phones during instructional, class time thereby violating one of the Board's Procedures, GAP 542. Occasional teachers are NOT to use their Personal Electronic Device (PED) such as cell phones, blackberry, laptops, etc. during class time. If necessary, use your PED during recess, lunch or planning time when students are NOT present.
Read the board regulation, GAP 543
Our Story, Our Tradition, Our Journey
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board introduced its new
resource, Our Story, Our Tradition, Our Journey, a 252 page photo
illustrated history of the role of the Catholic Church in the
development of Catholic education and in the development and growth of
local communities in Peel Region and Dufferin County.
The book is a component of two Community Studies Units for Grade 7 and Grade 10,
approved by the board of trustees and designed to help students better
understand and appreciate the contribution and role of the Catholic Church from
historical and contemporary perspectives in the development of Catholic
education and in the development and growth of our local communities in Peel
Region and Dufferin County.
Full-day Kindergarten
The Dufferin-Peel Board's 2nd phase of the full-day Early Learning Program (ELP) for September 2011 will be introduced in 8 more schools: Father Sullivan, Father Francis McSpiritt, St. Charles Garnier, St. Francis of Assisi, St. John of the Cross, St. Patrick, St. Raphael, and St. Thomas More.
In September 2010, the 1st phase was introduced at the following schools:
Mississauga: Holy Cross, Queen of Heaven, St. Alfred, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Louis, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and St. Valentine.Brampton: Georges Vanier, Good Shepherd, St. Aidan, St. Brigid, St. Leonard, and St. Mary.
Bolton: Holy Family
Orangeville: St. Peter
Full-day Kindergarten is a voluntary program for families in the school neighbourhoods selected. Parents who prefer children remain in a half-day program will be accommodated at schools offering the current Kindergarten program. Should the demand for the program exceed space at a school, a lottery will be held to determine which students get into the full-day kindergarten.
Media Library (available to LTO teachers)
Over the summer the new Media Library was relocated to the portapak at St. Jude
and is now open for bookings.
All teachers with the board have existing accounts with the library. Attached
are step-by-step instructions for booking materials.
Read the Media Library
booking instructions.
Should you encounter any difficulties or require additional information, please
contact the Service Desk at ext. 25000 or submit a HEAT ticket.
ICT - Service Desk -
Self Service: type http://help.dpcdsb.org in the browser's address bar
Tel: (905) 366-DESK or 1-866-376-5215 -
Direct Extension: x-25000
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Thursday: 7:30 am - 4:30 pm and
Friday: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Urgent Plan Member Communication
Sun Life Identifies Fraud in Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto
We received the attached communication from Sun Life which we will be sending
shortly to all employees by email. We don’t have the identities of any Dufferin-Peel
employees who may have been affected by this, but have been informed by Sun Life
that each has been contacted directly.
This message is directed at any employees who might wish to shop at the
identified facilities. We are aware that many employees may not be accessing
their email through the summer but feel it is important to get the message out.
We are not certain how any legitimate claims made at this group of providers
might be processed after August 8th but I will be asking Sun Life that question.
Read the Plan Member Communication details.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board approves $900 million budget
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board trustees approved a $900
million budget for 2011-12 at the board’s regular meeting held last night at the
Catholic Education Centre. The budget is compliant with Ministry of Education
requirements and reflects the commitment of the board to balance student needs
with prudent fiscal management.
While funding for all school boards in Ontario increased by 3.8% over last year,
the majority of enhancements were related to salary and benefit increases and
other conditions agreed to under the Provincial Framework Agreements (PFA).
August 31, 2012 marks the end of the fourth and final year of the agreements.
The Ministry has reduced funding through a number of savings measures. The
overall impact of this reduction on Dufferin-Peel is approximately $5.8 million
in 2011-12. The areas impacted include textbooks, classroom computers, board
administration and governance, staff development, school operations and
facilities top-up grant, and transportation. During budget deliberations, staff
made a conscious effort not to impact school budgets. As a result, reductions to
accommodate the savings measures were managed centrally.
In addition to the above, the Ministry has asked boards to reduce their
executive offices budget by 10% over two years and redirect these amounts to
front line services.
While this is a balanced budget, the board was required to use an estimated $1.8
million of its accumulated surplus to address the new Ministry requirement to
fund 50% of the board’s vacation accrual liability.
The budget includes a re-investment in some areas due to additional Ministry
funding, including:
► Funding for special education as part of the PFA funding enhancements of
approximately $4 million in 2011-12;
► Additional capital funding for the full-day kindergarten program of $1
million;
► A new school condition improvement grant of $4.3 million.
Benefits newssletter - for OT's on the Board Plan
Read the Spring 2011 Benefits Newsletter
Read details on the Preferred Vision Services
Read details on the Plan Member online registration
Sun Life new address for claims
Read about the New Requirement When Submitting Claims for Orthotics
Read about the Sun Life e-claims Processing Change
Dispelling Myths About Catholic Education - Director's Bulletin
As we begin the month of March, we begin as a Catholic Community to
concentrate on the Liturgical Season of Lent. One of the gifts that the Catholic
school system has is its ability to deal with faith related matters in an
integrated fashion. I would like to speak to some of the myths that are
circulating around Catholic education and hopefully dispel those myths.
Read the
special Director's Bulletin here.
Board Benefit Plans
For OT's on the Board's Benefit Plans, below are updates from Sun Life:
Plan Member Online
Registration
New address for
paper claims submissions
Preferred provider network for
vision and hearing care
Out of Province travel
Benefit bulletin: New Requirement When Submitting Claims for Orthotics
For those on the board medical plan, read the new requirements here.
DPCDSB receives Community Empowerment Award
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board receives Community Empowerment
Award for its cutting-edge desktop virtualization strategy
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce that its
Information and Communications Technology Department has received the Community
Empowerment Award from the Info-Tech Research Group.
In January, Info-Tech Research Group launched a nationwide contest, The Quest
for Canada’s Smartest IT, to recognize and reward both Canada’s smartest and
greenest mid-market IT departments. The Info-Tech Research team travelled across
Canada for four months looking for IT Departments that were doing some
innovative things. They interviewed over 70 organizations, spanning a variety of
industries.
Dufferin-Peel’s ICT Department was selected for the Community Empowerment Award
for its work to increase access to Assistive Technology through application
virtualization for special needs students.
“Our plan is to deliver special needs software to our students from any Windows
desktop computer in the school using Virtual Desktops”, said John Steele,
General Manager of ICT and Chief Information Officer. “Testing has gone
extremely well and we will begin rolling this solution out to the secondary
schools in the Fall.”
“This is a great achievement for our board to receive this sort of
acknowledgement from a global leader in IT research,” added Steele
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
All Dufferin-Peel employees MUST participate in the Customer Service training to
meet the Ministry mandated legal requirements under the Accessibility for
Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The purpose of this training is to help our
Dufferin-Peel community better serve members of the general public who are
living with a disability.
You will find the website slide presentation on the home page of WebTracs. You
will be required to read information and respond to multiple choice questions
which will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
Dufferin-Peel C.D.S.B. to launch six new Specialist High Skills Major programs
This fall, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will launch six new
Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs at the secondary level. The new
programs for 2010-11 include: Social Justice at Holy Name of Mary Catholic
Secondary School, Business and Environment at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary
School, Business at St. Joseph Secondary School, Sports at St. Martin Secondary
School, Energy at St. Paul Secondary School and Arts & Culture at Robert F. Hall
Catholic Secondary School.
The addition of these programs in schools is instrumental in meeting the
individual learning needs of students; building on their skills and interests to
ready them for their post-secondary goals. “Specialist High Skills Major
programs give students a chance to gain practical knowledge and theory in a
specific sector,” said Marianne Mazzorato, Superintendent of Program. “The
experiential learning and cooperative education component of these programs
allow students to network and learn firsthand what it takes to gain employment
in their chosen field.”
A student who partakes in a Ministry-approved SHSM program must complete all
five components in order to graduate with a Red Seal on their OSSD. An accurate
description of these components can be found online at edu.gov.on.ca/studentsuccess.
Completion of a SHSM is also specified on the student’s Ontario Student
Transcript, which is available to any post-secondary educational or training
institutions.
With the addition of these six new programs, Dufferin-Peel will now offer 19
SHSM programs in 13 secondary schools across the district. Dufferin-Peel will
continue to offer the following programs: Hospitality at Ascension of Our Lord
Secondary School, Arts & Culture at St. Edmund Campion Secondary School,
Hospitality at Cardinal Leger Secondary School, Arts & Culture at Iona Catholic
Secondary School, Health & Wellness and Hospitality at St. Francis Xavier
Secondary School, Transportation St. Joseph Secondary School, Hospitality at St.
Marcellinus Secondary School, Health & Wellness at St. Marguerite D’Youville
Secondary School and ICT, Environment and Construction at St. Paul Secondary
School.
Board begins process for disposition of surplus properties
In accordance with provisions outlined in the Education Act (Clause 194(3)(a))
the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board has adopted a resolution to
commence with the disposition of two properties deemed surplus to its needs. The
properties include two of three elementary schools recently closed or scheduled
to close as a result of the 2008-09 Pupil Accommodation Review.
The schools are Blessed Trinity in Mississauga, which closed in June 2009, and
Mother Mary Ward in Brampton, which is scheduled to close in June 2010. The
board has decided to retain a third school closed as a result of the Pupil
Accommodation Review (St. James in Mississauga) and is considering board-related
uses for this facility. A fourth school, St. Mary in Port Credit, has been
closed for a number of years and is currently being leased as a day care
facility. The board will retain this property and continue to lease it for child
care purposes.
There are three steps outlined in legislation regarding the disposal of
properties by a school board:
1. The Board must first adopt a resolution that the property is surplus to the
needs of the Board;
2. Subsequent to a Board declaring a property surplus, the Board must first make
a proposal to sell or lease the property to a number of public agencies
including coterminous school boards, local colleges and universities, local
municipality, the Region of Peel and the Federal Crown. Alternatively, the Board
may lease the property to a child care agency or other agency that serves the
educational, emotional, social or physical development of children;
3. If, after ninety days, the Board does not receive an offer from one of the
public agencies identified in the regulation, the Board may dispose of the
surplus school property for market value.
In May 2009, trustees approved a Long-Term Accommodation Plan, where it was
identified that the Board will need to construct fourteen new schools, as well
as several additions, to accommodate students in new development areas in
Brampton and Caledon. Proceeds from the sale of surplus Board properties will be
a key source of funding for new schools in the future.
“In a perfect world, we would have liked to retain each one of our properties,”
said John Kostoff, Director of Education. “The fact is, however, that the
retention of surplus schools for other uses will have to be balanced against the
need to utilize the funds from the sale of surplus properties for the
construction of required new schools in areas of high student demand.”
For information contact:
Bruce Campbell, General Manager, Communications & Community Relations
(905) 890-0708, ext.24466 or (905) 609-1480
Dufferin-Peel opens Parenting and Family Literacy Centres
On September 21, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will open Parenting and Family Literacy Centres in four elementary schools. These centres are located at Canadian Martyrs School and St. Teresa of Avila School in Mississauga, Holy Cross School in Malton and St. Monica School in Brampton. Each centre will officially open at 9 a.m., with ribbon cutting ceremonies taking place at 1 p.m.
Read the full press release here.
School Atlas - locate a school
The school atlas is now online. Use the 'School Directory
link" at the lower right on this page to go there immediately, or browse to the
Board OT webpages after you log into Webtracs, then:
first select 'Dufferin Peel Weblinks', then select 'Dufferin Peel Schools and Maps'
Board's Occasional Teacher Website
You can access the board information pages for Occasional teachers through the WebTracs site or directly at http://www.dpcdsb.org/CEC/About+Us/Departments/HRS/TPD/OECTA OT
Information on removal from the board list (article 13.10) is available on the front page.
Select 'General Information' for a list of pages, including pay schedules, school hours, and telephone numbers. Also listed are links to forms such as Tracs Profile, Name and Address change, Criminal Offence Declaration (COD), and LTO evaluation.
TRACS Profile:
According to Article 13.03 b), occasional teachers may request in writing changes to their TRACS profile during September and February. Use the form available on the Board OT webpages under 'General Information' or click here.
The Board has separated the JK/SK from the Primary division. If you do NOT want to teach JK/SK, you are asked to email karen.tanner@dpcdsb.org and request that JK/SK be removed from your classification list of grades. Any changes should be done ASAP as it takes up to 10 working days to take effect.
Payroll Direct Deposit
All Dufferin-Peel employees, including occasional teachers, should be on Payroll Direct Deposit. If you have not completed and submitted this form to the Payroll Dept. at the Board office, please do so as soon as possible.
To apply, complete the form available here.
Regardless of medical coverage our primary concern is your safety, The Government of Canada maintains extensive information on travel destinations worldwide and precautions that should be followed when visiting foreign countries. We are attaching a link to the Government of Canada's Foreign Affairs Travel Information and Advisory Reports web page. If you click on the link "TRAVEL WARNINGS" there are reports outlining countries, or areas of countries that are deemed unsafe and not covered under the board plan by the Government of Canada at http://www.voyage.gc.ca
Private Tutoring
Teachers who establish private tutoring practices outside of normal school hours must not use Board facilities, or resources, or privileged information and must not charge fees to students or parents from their own school (Board Regulation 8.71).
French Immersion Schools:
Mississauga locations: St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gretrude Elementary schools.
Brampton locations: St. Joachim and Our Lady of Providence Elementary schools.
Extended French Schools:
Extended French program will be available to students in Mississauga at St. Christopher, St. Philip, St. Rose of Lima, St. Therese of the Child Jesus St. Thomas More, San LorenzoRuiz Elementary Schools, and Loyola S. S., Philip Pocock S.S., and St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary Schools; in Brampton at St. Anne, St. Monica, and St. Jean Brebeuf Elementary Schools, and Cardinal Leger S.S. and St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary Schools;and in Caledon/Dufferin at St. Andrew and St. Cornelius Elementary Schools, and Robert F. Hall Secondary School.
Balanced Day Schools:
The 3 Balanced day schools in Dufferin-Peel are St. Raymond, St. Maria Goretti and St. Patrick. Their school day consists of a 100-minute instructional period, followed by a nutrition/recess period (a 40 minute), a 100-minute instructional period, a nutrition/recess period (a 50 minute), and a 100-minute instructional period
WebTracs:
Evening call out will be from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. with a morning call out from 5:30 a.m. for Sec. and 6:00 a.m. for Elem. OTs. The call out will be according to Article 13.05 that states unless an OT is specified/requested by a principal, OTs on the A List will be given the first opportunity to accept all daily assignments that are within their profile. If there are daily jobs still available, OTs on the B List will be given opportunity to accept those jobs. You will be able to check for 'available jobs' between 9 p.m.and 1p.m., the next day.
Pay Statements
If you have questions/concerns about your Pay Statement please contact Sonia Lindo-Diogo, Payroll Department at the C.E.C. telephone 905- 890- 0708 Ext. 24247.
Retired Teachers receiving CPP (Canada Pension Plan)
If you are in receipt of the CPP, forward a copy of your 'Notice of Entitlement' to the Payroll Department. Once received, the Board will stop deducting CPP contributions.
Transportation of Students
The Board has recently revised their General Administration Procedure (GAP) 801 on transporting students in one's own personal vehicle.
The OTBU strongly advises you to refrain from transporting students in your own vehicle. If you drive students in your own car, your personal insurance is accessed until it is exhausted. It would adversely impact on your insurance rates, threaten your career, and expose you to damaging litigation.
Both OECTA and the Ontario College of Teachers have issued professional advisories of the professional risks for teachers who transport students in any vehicle.
Medical and Dental Plans
Occasional Teachers will have an opportunity to enroll in the Board's Semi-Private, Major Medical and Dental plans. Enrolment in the plans shall be available on November 1st and March 1st of each school year provided that the occasional teacher is active and available for work. The occasional teacher MUST pay the full cost of the benefit premiums for the balance of the school year at the time of election. Payment of benefit premiums must be in the form of direct withdrawal from your bank account or a set of monthly cheques made payable to the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
According to Article 16.06 of the collective Agreement, LTO teachers are entitled to enroll to receive benefit coverage provided your LTO is four (4) months or longer in duration. For full time LTO teachers the board will assume a portion of the cost (currently 90%). If a part-time LTO teacher is eligible and elects to participate in a Plan or Plans, the Board will assume a portion of the premium as detailed in Article 16.06. The Board will assume "single" coverage unless indicated otherwise. Actual benefit coverage will commence on the date upon which the Benefits Department receives the complete and fully executed documentation package. It is the responsibility of Occasional Teachers to comply with the appropriate procedures for benefits enrolment. Failure to do so may result in a lack of benefits coverage.
The cost of enrolling in these benefits is detailed here. The application form is attached. (pdf format)
To enroll contact Francie Murray, the benefits department, at the C.E.C. telephone 905- 890-0708, Ext. 24205.
Teachers enrolled in the plans may contact the plan carrier, Sun Life, at 1 800 861-6212 or use the contact information.
Alternate Medical and Dental Plans for O.T.s
Occasional teachers can purchase plans from the Ontario Teacher's Insurance Plan. (OTIP) Read details on their web page. Further details, including the cost, are included in the brochure.
Ontario's Family Medical Leave
The Minister of Labour has recently published a Minister's Letter and short document regarding Family Medical Leave under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
"The Ontario government has created a family medical leave that now allows employees in Ontario who are caring for a gravely ill family member to take up to eight weeks off work without worrying about losing their jobs."
The Ontario Family Medical leave pamphlet is available here.
The Safe Schools Act
The Safe Schools Act (Bill 81) implemented by the Ministry of Education (Part XIII, Education Act) in June 2000 required school boards to review and modify their code of student behaviour to bring it in line with the current legislation. Each school board is required to provide safe, healthy, and effective learning school environments for their students.
Note: Effective February 1st, 2008 Bill 212 will make changes to the Safe Schools Act. (see Educational News for more information)
Read more on the Board's Safe School pages
The Catholic Code of Conduct
The Catholic Code of Conduct is part of "Safe Schools in Dufferin-Peel." It includes policies governing appropriate dress for students, opening and closing exercises in schools, access to school premises, a set of behavioural expectations, disciplinary procedures, suspension and expulsion of students as part of the consequences for various incidents, and a revised police and school response protocol. The standards of behaviour apply not only to students, but to all persons involved in the schools - parents/guardians, teachers, students, volunteers and visitors. All are expected to behave in a manner that is helpful, courteous, respectful and caring.
Read the Catholic Code of Conduct
Health & Safety - Work Related Injury
If you are injured while on the job, no matter how minor the
injury appears, you are required to follow these steps:
Step 1 — Immediately notify the school
administrators or office of the injury. According to Health &
Safety procedures, they are required to complete an "Incident Report
Form". You should receive a copy of this completed form. If there were
any witnesses, please make sure you have their names and phone numbers
where they can be reached.
Step 2 — You are also required to fax the "Incident
Report Form" to the Benefits Department immediately after the injury.
Occasional Teachers and Copyright
Teachers may use only materials from the media catalogue that have PPR (public performance rights) in the classroom. The following qualify:
- all videos from Media Services (shipping tags on back)
- videos from the school library
- videos from the department if the tape or case has a PPR label or sticker
- videos taped from a Cable in the classroom source. This includes: Newsreal (from CBC Newsworld), CNN Newsroom, and A and E Classroom
These programs must have been taped within the previous year. The date of taping or the expiry date is indicated at the front of the program.
If the teacher has left a feature film to be used in class, the occasional teacher must check to see if it may be used. If it has a shipping sticker from Media Services, the tape may be used. Otherwise, the occasional teacher must check with the office to see if the school has purchased a copyright license to permit the showing of feature films in the school. If not, the material may not be used.
Some years ago, the Ministry sent out a memo pointing out that teachers were individually liable for any legal fees and expenses related to copyright infringement. Neither the board nor a teaching federation may provide any financial assistance. It is in the individual occasional teacher's best interest to adhere to copyright rules.
School Work Required During Suspension
The Code of Conduct, Board's policy, regarding students' behaviour and suspension states that a student who is suspended "may be provided with work". There has been a Human Rights Settlement which states "when students are suspended 10 or more days, they will be provided with work".
This settlement may have an impact on occasional teachers.
Note: Effective February 1st, 2008 Bill 212 revamps this requirement through the Safe Schools Act.
Employee Assistance Program
available at no cost to OTs and family members to assist with personal or work related concerns.
To help you deal with a wide range of personal and work-related problems, the DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD and Warren Shepell have made available the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). As an employee of DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD, you are eligible for EAP services and supports.
More Employee Assistance program details
HAVE YOU MOVED?
If you have moved, please send your change of address and phone number in writing,
by
completing
this change of information form and sending it to:
Teacher Personnel Department
Attention: Lucie Baptista
Manager of Teacher Personnel
L.T.O. Teacher Evaluation
Question: I've been an occasional teacher with the Board for a few years waiting for a permanent teaching position. Since the Board has hired new graduates over occasional teachers already working for the Board, I've become discouraged and am very disappointed. What should I be doing to get a permanent teaching position?
Answer: You need to demonstrate your teaching ability and talents to the schools´ administrators by taking LTO positions. While doing your LTOs, you should invite the administrator(s) in to observe and evaluate you. Make sure you keep a copy of the signed evaluation. If the administrator's evaluation is positive, you should ask him/her to recommend you for permanent hire to the Board. Make sure you get a copy of this, too. The recommendation should occur by the middle of December at the latest as the Board's recruiting officers´ visit the faculties across Ontario interviewing and hiring new graduates for the Board's projected needs for the next school year. This procedure should be followed for each and every LTO you do!
LETTER OF INTENT #1
A Long Term Occasional Teacher employed on a Long Term Occasional
Assignment will be evaluated by the administrator at the
school after one (1) month in the classroom, upon request by
the Occasional Teacher with a minimum of two (2) weeks notice. This
does not preclude the administrator´ discretion to evaluate the
Occasional Teacher at any other time. Should the evaluation not be
positive, the administrator will endeavour, where possible, to
re-evaluate the Long Term Occasional Teacher before the end of the
assignment thereby giving him/her time for professional growth, and to
improve his/her teaching and/or classroom management skills.
L.T.O. teacher evaluation form.
EMERGENCY DAYS
As an occasional teacher working in an LTO position you are entitled to emergency days, under article 17.01 of the contract.
These can be granted for a variety of reasons, including bereavement, weather (snow days), Family Illness, moving, graduation, religious holidays, and writing exams.
Board memorandum re: emergency days here. (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
Board policy re: SNOW DAYS here. (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
Harassment Of Teachers
The collective agreement refers to LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING #6 titled: Procedure Regarding The Harassment Of Teachers By Members Of The Community At Large" and GAP 305
Letter of understanding about harassment of teachers
BE AWARE - E-mail TO and FROM the board is not private
Any email you send to or from the board mail servers is subject to board policies. Board policy states that use of the system "does not carry with it a reasonable expectation of privacy". (GAP 316 VI D & Policy 4.75) Any inappropriate use may result in disciplinary action.
All use of the school board electronic communication equipment is subject to rules and regulations outlined in the board's GAP manual. (Procedure 316.00) It is up to you to know and follow these regulations.
"Violations will be processed by the appropriate Board authorities and/or law enforcement agencies. Inappropriate use of electronic communication and/or violation of the policy/procedures regarding same could result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment with the Board."