Teachers step up their work-to-rule campaign (UPDATED)

According to the Toronto Star, starting next week the elementary teachers will step up their work-to-rule campaign by "by refusing to plan field trips for next year, take part in meetings about students’ transition from one grade to the next or participate in professional development programs at the end of June or the start of September."

There will also be no comments on report cards this year -- only grades.

UPDATED: here is more detail on what the teachers union will and won't allow the teachers to do:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/266660788/ETFO-internal-memo-on-new-curriculum

P.A. Day Friday June 5

Friday June 5 is a P.A. Day. School will be closed.

It's bike-to-school week!

Trustee Parthi Kandavel's ward forum - June 1

TDSB trustee Parthi Kandavel will host a Ward 18 forum on June 1, 7pm at H.A. Halbert Public School (31 McCowan Road).

On the agenda:

1. Introductions 
2. Trustee Update 
3. Year End updates by Parent Council Chairs (if any) 
4. Discussion on idea sharing for new school year in September and succession planning/torch passing 
5. PIAC reps selection 
6. Mingling

The trustee has also communicated that the province is looking for our input and consultation on the TDSB. You can submit your opinions via the link above, or attend one of the public consultation meetings:

• In north Scarborough (Midland & 401): May 28, 7pm-9pm at the Centre For Immigrant & Community Services
• In south Scarborough (Lawrence & Birchmount): May 30, 11am-1pm at McGregor Park Community Centre 

The snack program has begun

In case your kids haven't mentioned it, Clairlea's snack program began this week. It will continue Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of June.

It is open to anyone who has signed the permission forms. Contact the office if you need another form.

This is a pilot project in preparation for a daily snack program that will start next school year. Many thanks to the school administration who are putting a great deal of work into getting this up and running for our kids.

School Council meeting tonight (May 20, 7pm)

A message from School Council chair Irit Hartman:

Dear Clairlea Families…

Here are the minutes from the April meeting.  Please have a look through and as always we want to hear your comments so please contact us via clairleacouncil@gmail.com   Other places to look are; The School Council bulletin board located outside the Main Office  and the School Council Blog http://clairleacouncil.blogspot.com to keep up to date of what is going on! 

The next school council meeting is tonight Wednesday May 20^th from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there!    We will have a guest speaker tonight from FoodShare to discuss our new snack program.  FoodShare is a non-profit organization that gets good healthy food and food education to schools and communities.  www.foodshare.net.  

We will also be discussing whether to move forward with FunFair this year given the work to rule situation in place.

Please be advised that we will not have a meeting in June and this will be our last meeting for this school year.

Tonight’s Agenda for the School Council meeting:
6:55pm – 7:00pm Sell 50/50 tickets (optional)
7:00pm – 7:20pm Steve - Student Nutrition Community Development Animator FoodShare Toronto
7:20pm – 7:45pm Administration Report (Mr. Mcgilvray)
7:45pm – 7:55pm Treasurer’s Report (Tina)
7:55pm – 8:05pm Fundraising Report (Joanne)
8:05pm – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)
8:25pm 50/50 Draw
Meeting will adjourn at 8:30pm

Best Regards,

Irit
Clairlea School Council

Pizza lunch is May 27

Pizza lunch is Wednesday May 27. Orders are due May 22. In case you can't find the order form, you can download and print a copy. Please circle May's date.

Teachers will work-to-rule starting Monday; school remains open

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (the teachers union) is starting a work-to-rule campaign starting Monday May 11. Schools will remain open and teachers will continue to teach their classes. The union has instructed teachers not to supervise EQAO testing or to participate in any "ministry of Education initiatives."

This letter explains what the TDSB knows so far.

The union put out a statement which indicates that extra-curricular activities and field trips will continue "for the duration of phase 1." It says that the job action is "incremental in nature," so presumably the situation will change whenever they decide to move into phase 2.

Possible strike on Monday? (updated)

According to the CBC, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is planning to launch strike action on Monday.

This CBC report quotes the ETFO president as saying that "parents will be told what they can expect from the job action by Thursday night or Friday morning."

So far I do not see any official word from the TDSB on this, but interested parents might wish to follow their Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/tdsb. 

UPDATED May 6: Apparently this letter will be sent home in backpacks today. Also, this Toronto Star article suggests it will more likely be work-to-rule than an outright strike.

Parent event tonight: Michael Eisen on mental health

A reminder of tonight's parent event, part of mental health week. A speaker named Michael Eisen will be giving a talk creating an empowered family (restoring connection and harmony in the modern family).

Tuesday May 5, 6:30pm at the school. Details on the school's blog.

Teachers' contract negotiations

High school teachers in Peel Region are currently on strike.

Some parents may be wondering whether Clairlea will be affected by any job action. The elementary teachers' union is not in a legal strike position until next week, but it is possible that there will be job action after that. According to the Toronto Star, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is displeased with the offer currently on the table and could decide to strike or work-to-rule.