If any of you have been checking the page, you will have noted that it has been awhile since any blogging occurred. The last year has been overwhelmingly busy - in your classrooms and here in the office. Now that we are back in the office, and the holiday season approaches, we have time to reflect on how very lucky we are. The new office is so very lovely to work in. Earlier this month, members signed petitions earlier asking Town Council to take some action regarding child poverty - and we were so happy to see the petitions accepted and actually heartened by the response of the council members. We have just received a copy of a letter from the School Board which informs the Minister of Education that a request to make more cuts to an underfunded system is not possible. We know that we have continually urged the Board to realize that the funding provided by the government is not adequate - perhaps this baby step will begin the path to understanding that we cannot keep the education system functioning properly without an increase to the levels of funding. We are thankful for teachers who continue to speak out for children, and who dedicate their lives to ensuring the children in their classes receive the education they need to become the future leaders in our society.
As we approach the holidays, we wish all of the CVTA members a restful holiday. See you in the New Year!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Spring Changes
Well, it seems the cold weather may have left us, and spring is bringing changes all around us. The CVTA office is also finally changing, the old office is being torn down and we await the beginning of a new one. Shayne Ducharme will be taking the leadership role here, working with his students from the high school.
Other changes, of course, have taken effect in our professional lives. Bill 22 was passed, and we have such great concerns about our profession’s future. Most of you have attended school based meetings, and we hope you are all planning to attend the General Meeting at the Rec Centre on Tuesday, April 17that 3:30, when we will be discussing and voting on the Action Plan developed at the AGM.
Lorraine Tyne has once more been appointed as our Returning Officer, and the voting dates are April 17th (Rec Centre),and April 18th and 19th from 12 to 4 at the CVTA office.
On March 27th, Tom Newell and I presented our concerns regarding the budget. There were presentations from other partner groups, including DPAC and Homelinks. Both the Technology teachers and Kindergarten teachers gave presentations, as well. Our presentation focused on our concerns regarding technology, Special Needs funding, and the growing rate of management in the district. Please note the link to our presentation. We have been informed that the district knows that it will be over one million dollars short next year, and that “business as usual” cannot continue.
Thank you for all of your work during the last few months; members of the CVTA have clearly demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of standing together. We would not want to say the strike was fun, but we have some great photos from the strike which will remind us of the work we did together. Chris has posted these on the website. We will need to help and support each other as we move forward in our plans to deal with Bill 22, if you have any questions or concerns, please check with your staff rep or contact the office.
(Originally posted by Becky on April 10, 2012)
Other changes, of course, have taken effect in our professional lives. Bill 22 was passed, and we have such great concerns about our profession’s future. Most of you have attended school based meetings, and we hope you are all planning to attend the General Meeting at the Rec Centre on Tuesday, April 17that 3:30, when we will be discussing and voting on the Action Plan developed at the AGM.
Lorraine Tyne has once more been appointed as our Returning Officer, and the voting dates are April 17th (Rec Centre),and April 18th and 19th from 12 to 4 at the CVTA office.
On March 27th, Tom Newell and I presented our concerns regarding the budget. There were presentations from other partner groups, including DPAC and Homelinks. Both the Technology teachers and Kindergarten teachers gave presentations, as well. Our presentation focused on our concerns regarding technology, Special Needs funding, and the growing rate of management in the district. Please note the link to our presentation. We have been informed that the district knows that it will be over one million dollars short next year, and that “business as usual” cannot continue.
Thank you for all of your work during the last few months; members of the CVTA have clearly demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of standing together. We would not want to say the strike was fun, but we have some great photos from the strike which will remind us of the work we did together. Chris has posted these on the website. We will need to help and support each other as we move forward in our plans to deal with Bill 22, if you have any questions or concerns, please check with your staff rep or contact the office.
(Originally posted by Becky on April 10, 2012)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
News on Continued Job Action
We have found it difficult to find the time necessary to contribute a blog on a regular basis – just like all teachers, the “busyness” of our job sometimes forces us to prioritize and somehow the blog has fallen way down on our list of jobs.
Certainly the job action – and answering questions, meeting with members, and looking for answers has filled our days. We are beginning our sixth month of the job action, and we have maintained our actions have ensured parents and students face very little disruption in their school experience. We have been commended in public for this, and we believe that teachers have become more aware of the amount of voluntary activities to which we contribute every year. We have been teaching what we enjoy teaching, participating in extracurricular activities and ensuring student progress is reported to parents.
The BCTF has recently released some very good advertisements regarding our job action, and we have been attending provincial meetings to ensure members’ voices are heard. The next few weeks will likely move us towards further discussions, and we will ensure the opportunity to speak to all members happens.
One of the concerning issues of the strike is the inequity which is occurring when rulings by the LRB are made around such things as supervision or government exam marking. Because most of the CVTA schools are termed “remote” from the Board Office, we do not see excluded staff providing supervision or providing markers for exams. We are challenged by this – if there are district principals, or directors who are paid to work throughout the local, why are we not seeing them in our schools? We always state that it is the Board Office which is “remote” – moved from the location right beside our office through amalgamation ten years ago.
The decision by our Board to direct teachers at PCSS to mark was a dark day for us. Thank you to those of you who wore black on that day. At least one photo is posted for your enjoyment.
On another fiery note – we have had the opportunity to sort through documents which survived the fire. We have rescued many, and others are now being thawed and dried. We have started to purchase essential items for the office, and we believe there have been some quotes provided for reconstruction of the office. More to follow on this issue…hopefully in a timelier manner than this post!
(Originally Posted by Becky on February 7, 2012)
Certainly the job action – and answering questions, meeting with members, and looking for answers has filled our days. We are beginning our sixth month of the job action, and we have maintained our actions have ensured parents and students face very little disruption in their school experience. We have been commended in public for this, and we believe that teachers have become more aware of the amount of voluntary activities to which we contribute every year. We have been teaching what we enjoy teaching, participating in extracurricular activities and ensuring student progress is reported to parents.
The BCTF has recently released some very good advertisements regarding our job action, and we have been attending provincial meetings to ensure members’ voices are heard. The next few weeks will likely move us towards further discussions, and we will ensure the opportunity to speak to all members happens.
One of the concerning issues of the strike is the inequity which is occurring when rulings by the LRB are made around such things as supervision or government exam marking. Because most of the CVTA schools are termed “remote” from the Board Office, we do not see excluded staff providing supervision or providing markers for exams. We are challenged by this – if there are district principals, or directors who are paid to work throughout the local, why are we not seeing them in our schools? We always state that it is the Board Office which is “remote” – moved from the location right beside our office through amalgamation ten years ago.
The decision by our Board to direct teachers at PCSS to mark was a dark day for us. Thank you to those of you who wore black on that day. At least one photo is posted for your enjoyment.
On another fiery note – we have had the opportunity to sort through documents which survived the fire. We have rescued many, and others are now being thawed and dried. We have started to purchase essential items for the office, and we believe there have been some quotes provided for reconstruction of the office. More to follow on this issue…hopefully in a timelier manner than this post!
(Originally Posted by Becky on February 7, 2012)
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