communications

Good morning, County! Happy October!

Last week was another busy one here at the office, as all three local Presidents struggled to understand the removal of excess marking and preparation time from teachers schedules, and the implementation of the tier 2 support for students.

It seems that there is a great deal of confusion around what this support is meant to be, and how it has rolled out across schools. We have recently received information from the HRCE that this is not meant to be “Tier 2” support, but rather “Tier 1” support. However, when looking at the inclusion report, what is actually happening in most schools fits under neither description. We have further been told that this is still very much a work in progress, and is an attempt to align HRCE practice with the Inclusion report, and, more specifically, the Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) for students. Read more

Good Morning, County! Happy Monday.

Rather a short Monday Check-In this week, as there is a whole number of issues that are set to be dealt with/ discussed this week.

Today, the Halifax Regional Representative Council (HHRC) will be meeting with the HRCE to discuss a number of issue in our regularly scheduled Management/ Teacher meeting. Topics this time around include Permits to Teach, Power Outages and Water Shortages, Tier 2 Supports and the new Teaching Standards. I will have updates ready for presentation on these topics for Wednesday’s general meeting. Read more

Good morning County. Welcome to week three!

Last week saw your local executive meet on Wednesday and discuss a number of issue and concerns. We solidified a number of motions which had their inception at our executive summer planning, and we will be presenting them in finalized form at the local meeting on SEPTEMBER 26th. (Please note this change of date.)

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Hello again County! Welcome to the very first Monday of the year!

As we embark on this next phase of our educational journey, we do so with a bit of trepidation, to be sure. I am already starting to receive questions about the practicalities of having school administrators out of our bargaining unit.

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Well, folks, that just about wraps up another year.

This will be my last Check-in of the year, and as you all set about the last few weeks of business that is the end of year wrap up, I just wanted to send out a wish that your summer be restful and at least somewhat relaxing.

In one last little bit of union news, we did manage to get through the Teacher Placement Process on Saturday, and we had almost two hundred teachers secure employment for next year. I want to take a moment to congratulate everyone who did so, and wish them an excellent summer of anticipation and excitement. Read more

Good morning County! Happy Monday!

We start of this week with a bit of a good news story in that yesterday saw Halifax County celebrating another amazing group of retirees. We had a lovely brunch at the Delta, and it was a wonderful time of celebration for a great group of educators who have made it to the finish line. I often like to ask the retirees where they plan on being on the first day of school in September, and I had one gentleman tell me his notice of assignment for 2018-19 listed his local Legion! Thanks to our social wellness chair, Mona MacNeil, and her committee for organizing such a great event, and congratulations to all our retirees. Read more

Good morning, County! Happy Monday!

First of all, a big congratulations to Paul Wozney on being elected to become the next president of the NSTU. He won 58% of the vote and will take over on August 1st, 2018. I want to take a small point of personal privilege to thank Paul on a great campaign, and am looking forward to supporting him in whatever capacity I can as Local President as we move forward through what will undoubtedly be a challenging two years. Read more

Good morning County, Happy Monday.

I know that this has, again, been a very challenging year, so this week, I wanted to share a bit of good news.

Halifax County is very pleased to announce that 4 of our members will be receiving the Halifax County Local Service award for 2017/2018. Read more

Good morning County.

I know that many of us have spent a very reflective weekend after hearing the news of the unspeakable tragedy out of Humboldt, Saskatchewan. As someone who has spent many, many hours travelling with young people on any number of occasions, this horrifying incident has touched me deeply. The loss of even one young person is one too many, but the sheer magnitude of this devastating accident has, I am sure, given many of us more than a moment’s pause over the past few days. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the families of the victims, and if you are interested in finding out more, follow this link. Read more

Good morning County! I hope you had a restful Easter weekend.

As a high school teacher, the Easter break was always fairly significant for me in that it marked the 2nd to last milestone on the way to the end of the year. It was always between the Easter break and the May long weekend when I found a nice long stretch of classroom time where I could get a good flow going with my students. It was also probably one of my busiest times of the year. Just a friendly reminder to keep an eye on your own “energy reserves” as best you can over the coming weeks. Read more