Now that the first "snow day" has arrived and most of the buses have been cancelled, members need to be reminded of the KPR's Inclement Weather Policy when it comes to reporting to work.  A summary of the policy is located on our website by clicking the link on the left tool bar under "Important Articles", or you can CLICK HERE.

Also, you can go to the KPRDSB Inclement Weather Policy document on their website to see the entire policy. 

OSSTF / FEESO is looking for proposals for practical, stand-alone, progressive, classroom-ready lessons/unit plans of 4 to 5 lessons in length on social issues such as (but not limited to) globalization, world peace, anti-discrimination, environmental issues, universal child care, sexual harassment, aboriginal issues, poverty and other related issues.

These units must:

• be original material;
• not have been previously published or adapted from existing published material, nor directly include material from other copyrighted sources (note: copyrighted material, such as articles or photographs, may be referenced in the unit but not directly included without copyright permission). In other words, if you didn’t write it or create it, we can’t republish it without explicit copyright permission;
• not have been developed for a board or on board time;
• have been field-tested and proven effective in providing credible alternatives or supplements to fill gaps in existing curriculum.

Educators Financial Group is hosting a number of meetings this fall to talk over financial goals with a financial planner.  Members can book appointments with EFG when they come to your area.

Members are encouraged to contact Educators Financial Group to set up an appointment when they come to your area:

Belleville - November 26, January 20

Campbellford - December 10

Clarington - November 19, January 22

Cobourg - November 24, January 26

Oshawa - November 10, December 15, January 7

Peterborough - November 17, December 8, January 5

Port Hope - December 23, January 26

Contact EFG for other appointment dates in other areas of the province, or to book an appointment at one of the locations above.

East Northumberland Secondary School has been at the forefront of improving their ecological footprint for many years.  The students and staff have recently been transforming their school into an eco friendly institution that is a shining example of how all of the schools in our board could operate.  Just last year their fundraising culminated in the purchase and installation of a wind turbine.  To continue on the path to an energy neutral building, the school has embarked on an ambitious quest to acquire and install solar panels on their roof.  Last week teacher Gwen McConkey delivered a 30 minute presentation to the Board of Trustees highlighting their accomplishments and their intent to go further than any school to integrate green technology, and support its use.   Currently the school is trying win a $250 000 grant to get the ball rolling on support for this initiative.

You can help by visiting the link below this article, and voting to support the ENSS.   We are encouraging all teachers, to get their students to visit the site and vote to support this initiative.  Anyone who registers is permitted to vote every day, until November 13^th.  With the funds generated from AVIVA (grant foundation) , the ENSS solar  project will grow exponentially in the years to come.   This power will be resold to the Ontario Power Authority at a premium to reinvest in more solar panels annually.

Curriculum overcrowding is something that all teachers are concerned about.  In the various curriculum documents that have been revised and rolled out over the past few years we have all witnessed the overzealous list of expectations within them.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Elementary Curriculum.  There has been a groundswell of public concern related to the Elementary Curriculum that has led to the Ministry creating a Working Group in the Spring of 2009 to study the issue.  The findings of the Working Group will provide the foundation for the Curriculum Council as it develops recommendations to be forwarded to the Minister of Education.  These recommendations will be used in the development of the elementary component of the new Ministry curriculum document outlining policies and programs for Ontario schools from K to 12.   Surely this study will have consequences for overloaded secondary curriculum.   

The OSSTF has just released its latest Common Threads resource entitled “Hungry for Change”.  This is a fantastic and comprehensive resource that was developed by teachers for teachers.   We all know that food is becoming a highly political issue not just in our bread basket country, but around the world.  Our members know that there are a myriad of food issues that affect our students now, and all of society into the future.   This resource is packed with a variety of lessons that explore the dynamic role that food plays in our economy, personal health, and global stability.  Lessons, and course content is grouped into sub topics such as “What’s in our Food”,  “Where does our Food Come From”,  “The Politics of Hunger”, “Food or Fuel” and “The Future of Food”.  There are seven different PowerPoints included in the package,  two Smartboard lessons, and over 280 pages of material that include resource readings, detailed activities, Blackline masters, and rubrics.   It will definitely be an excellent resource for Family Studies, Geography, Civics,  Hospitality, Environmental Science and Horticulture courses.   

The best news about this package of material is that it has just arrived in your school.  Branch Presidents who attended the TBU Council meeting on October 21, will have received 4 copies of the resource for your school.   Please ask for it, and check it out!  

The Student Achievement Awards is a writing and creative arts competition which is open to all public secondary school students in Ontario. The competition is meant to encourage the intellectual development of our students and an interest in society. The 1984 Provincial Assembly established the awards in honour of Marion Drysdale, a secretary at OSSTF/FEESO Provincial Office for twenty-two years, for her dedicated work over so many years.

Each year a new theme is determined by the Member Education Sub-Committee of the Communications/Political Action Committee. This year the theme that has been selected is “Suppress Excess: Living Within Our Means”. 

Entries for this year’s Student Achievement Awards should consider how we should be living within our means and how that should require us to look outward.  In this day and age, our global concerns must begin with local solutions.  This can be achieved by avoiding technology and thinking about sustainability.  We should be buying locally, reducing waste, and assessing our material values.

The Communications Committee is working hard to publish a new edition of the Newsletter in November.   In an effort to get to know each other a bit better, the committee has chosen a “Pet” theme for the center spread.  If you know a colleague with a special pet, or have one yourself please take the time to submit it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Dave will be glad to include the picture in a collage representing all the District 14 members that love their pets.   

Please submit your photos by November 1st!