Elementary teachers could be in strike position by spring

Lisa Rutledge, Times Staff

Published on Jan 29, 2009

Waterloo's public elementary teachers could be in an official strike position by the spring if their union and the local school board can't hammer out a contract deal soon.

Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario president David Clegg was in Kitchener this week to highlight the union's demand that school boards get their full proposals ready to meet a Feb. 13 deadline.

The union, which is fighting for the same level of per-student funding and resources as secondary school teachers, couldn't come to a provincial framework agreement with the Ontario Public School Boards' Association last December.

As a result, the Ontario Ministry of Education withdrew its offer to fund a three per cent pay hike each year for four years, now offering to only pay for a two per cent increase a year for two years.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, which entered into a collective framework agreement with the school board association, also reached a tentative contract agreement with the Waterloo Region District School Board this week. A union vote is set for Jan. 30. Contract details aren't yet being released.

But reaching a deal with the elementary teachers' union may be harder to do, according to John Bryant, the school board's superintendent of human resources. He said without a framework agreement, the provincial government won't provide the funding for the same pay hike deal as allotted to the secondary teachers. Only two per cent a year for years will be funded.

“That's the money we have to negotiate with,” he said.

Bryant said the board has set two dates, Feb. 13 and 18, to meet with the elementary teachers' union negotiators. While the board wants to work closely with the union and be accommodating, it has to remain fiscally responsible to all its stakeholders, he explained.

“We're trying to be fair to everyone.”

The elementary teachers' union aims to close the gap between what's funded to high schools and elementary schools in order to secure more resources for those educating children in the critical learning years.

Rules for a Happy Home

Silverheights School Council Presents...
Rules for a Happy Home

This is the first of 4 free interactive workshops presented by Silverheights School Council. KW Counseling will facilitate this first evening. Create a happier more peaceful home by setting clear rules for the whole family. Establish or maintain your authority as a parent and at the same time keep the self-esteem of the children intact.

When: Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Where: Silverheights Public School Library
390 Scott Rd, Cambridge

Light refreshments will be made available. Childcare is provided.
To register for this free event, or if you require further information, please contact Chris Callander at 519.658.5776 or thecallanders(at)sympatico.ca.

January Council Meeting Agenda

When: January 21, 2009
Where: Art Room
Time: 7:00-8:00 PM

Agenda:
1. Budget update – Ozzie (10 minutes)
2. Budget spending – Roger/Alison (5 minutes)
3. School update – Roger/Alison (10 minutes)
4. Program reviews inc. BBQ – All (10 minutes)
5. Tuck Shop - Richard (5 minutes)
6. Principal profile – Richard (10 minutes)
7. Other – All (10 minutes)

All parents are welcomed to attend!

Minutes from December 2008 Council Meeting

Meeting Start: 7:00 PM
Meeting Close: 8:45 PM
Attendees: Richard Marcil, Ozzie Ahmed, Kimberly Namespetra-Sullivan, Alison Wardrop, Barb MacLeod, Steve Cole, Tabatha Dominguez, JoAnne Hennig, Benedictus Soga;
Next Meeting: January 21, 2009 at 7:00 PM

1. Treasures Book Fundraiser Update:

• 170 books outstanding, but the class list tracking scheme for the teachers to follow-up seems to be working effectively. It is important to note that the outstanding books are mainly senior students.
• Steve Cole said that he was hoping to give out the student rewards for the fundraiser before the holidays, but with so many books outstanding it may be difficult. Richard Marcil mentioned that it would be good to give out prizes before the holidays mainly to avoid dragging the fundraiser into January.
• Calling student homes, even from the school may be a privacy issue for those on the School Council; Alison will look into this.
• The Council will also look into simplifying this process for next year as the way that we’ve gone about it this year was very time consuming and arduous. Ozzie offered up the idea of just using an order form as most people are familiar with what the books look like and contain.

2. Budget Update:

• As for our fundraising inflow, nothing has really changed. The contract from the magazines guaranteed last years numbers, Richard has gone back to them about honouring that; We are $2289.00 short of where we were last year.
• Alison mentioned that they purchased a headset microphone for $265.00 for the gym instead of a regular type of cordless microphone that $500.00 was originally budgeted for.
  

3. Other:

• There was a microwave suggestion for each classroom for hot lunches, but Alison mentioned that microwaves are a safety issue and are therefore prohibited in the classroom.
• An issue from a parent about supervision during nutrition break was brought up. Alison and Barb let us know that there is a rotation of supervisors and that Intermediate students are filling out applications to add to helping out with added supervision.
• Alison mentioned about the upcoming designation as an ECO school. There will be an ECO team with staff and students trying to “green” the school; Parents are welcome to get involved with this as well. Everyone agreed that this is another wonderful leadership opportunity for Grade 5, 6, 7,and 8 students - 2 students per grade. It was noted that a large number of Grade 6 French Immersion students that have expressed an interest in this leadership opportunity.
• Alison has booked a speaker for Climate Committee – character development is tied in with this.
• Barb said that the Intermediate teachers have started purchasing the literacy books for Intermediate students. Richard asked that maybe pictures of these purchases could be taken by the “Paparazzi Group” for the School Council website so that all parents are able to see a visual of what their fundraising money is going toward.

4. Program Reviews:

• Richard spoke about the “Lunch Lady” program. It seems that the lunch program is executing wonderfully, but not raising a lot of money – we’ve not had any negative feedback so far, but we are only taking in 30-40% of what we did last year for fundraising. He suggested raising the prices a little to increase our profit margins or looking at additional days especially in the winter, ie. If a PD Day falls on the Friday, students will have “Lunch Lady” on the Thursday instead, or holidays like Valentine’s Day. It was also noted that if we go with Boston Pizza or East Side Marios, we will need more parent volunteers, and “Lunch Lady” requires no extra volunteer help.
• Alison mentioned that theme days are already done in conjunction with Spirit Days and perhaps adding a special lunch on that day would be too overwhelming. Perhaps every other Wednesday would increase money coming in?
• Richard added that we cannot do the printing each month instead of every two months to relieve any ‘sticker shock’, but the franchise does the printing and therefore there is not any flexibility with this. The need to promote the online order option may increase sales as well.
• Richard looked at having Ronald Morrish as a speaker for parents, but felt that what he had to offer seemed more academic focused. He has however gone ahead with contacting him, but hasn’t heard back on details as to how and what he would present to a parent group.
• Richard has also reached out to the YMCA for information on a teen seminar.

5. French Immersion Program:

• As seen in recent media outlets, the WRDSB is not meeting the ministry standard for French Immersion hours. The lack of parent outcry is probably due to the fact that parents were not completely aware. 50% of the day needs to be in French – in Grade 7 and 8, math changes to English – Richard mentioned that parents are upset only because they were unaware. Perhaps the school newsletter could include something from the board about what Grade 8 students and parents need to know to address their concerns. From here on out, perhaps this seed should be planted at the beginning of Grade 7 and even in Grade 1.
• Alison and Barb also mentioned that the teacher is a great resource for information. (Barb had a pamphlet with this from EFTO). Communicate that Grade 6/7/8 students and parents are welcome at 9 information nights. Barb mentioned that we could add an ‘Ask An Expert’ part to the website.

6. Tuck Shop:

• This will be back in business in the New Year. It was noted that the available items need to be nutritious and environmentally friendly.