Good morning County!

First off, apologies for the late release date on this edition of the Check-In. There are several things going on right now that are causing concern for members, and I was waiting until I had some more information on a few key items. I can’t say that I was tremendously successful in that effort, but here goes 🙂

We met with the HRCE on Monday afternoon in one of our regularly scheduled Management/ Teacher meetings. There we were informed about the new “data wall” initiative, which some of you have already contacted me about. Read more

Good morning County! Happy Tuesday!

I hope you all had a restful long week end, and had an opportunity to perhaps attend some of the events for this year’s heritage day which commemorated Africville.

I heard from a number of you on Friday that you had been contacted by the health and abilities team under the new attendance support program (ASP) about your absences up to and including November 12th of 2019. 

Now, I want to make a few things completely clear. Read more

Good morning, County. Happy Monday.

I don’t know if it’s the time of year, but I have gotten several reports over the past few weeks of teachers being involved in some fairly nasty parental interactions.

Parents are, by their very nature, protective of their children, and are not necessarily at their most rational when it comes to their wee ones. As true as this may be, it is not unreasonable that they approach these concerns in a respectful way. In a perfect world, should a parent have a concern with a teacher, they would begin by approaching the teacher directly. Read more

Well, we finally made it through January! (Was it just me, or did this one seem inordinately long?)

As high school teachers welcome students into their 2nd semester classes and everyone else is “In the groove” as it were, I am getting a few questions about PLCs, and about Running Records.

I have tried to be very clear about running records, to such a large extent that I am feeling a bit like a broken record myself. I will state again that there is no situation under which your admin team can insist you do running records with your students without providing you coverage. Yes, running records are best practice, but they are best practice when teachers can work with students individually without having to supervise other students. Again, this is not some “union thing”. The province agreed that this is how running records should be done. If you are hearing anything else, please let me know. Read more

Good morning County! Happy Monday!

Are you feeling a bit sluggish lately? Have you got a case of the mid-winter ‘blahs’? Are you looking for a bit of inspiration? Well, The Winter Wellness Challenge may be just what you are looking for! This challenge is designed to get you up and moving through these somewhat bleak winter months, and hopefully allow you to have some fun while doing so. With the onset of ‘flu season, health and wellness take a front row seat, so sign up today 🙂 Read more

Good Morning, County! Happy Tuesday!

I want to start off this morning with a special note about substitutes.

Any teacher who has ever taken a sick day knows the value of a good substitute teacher. They make our lives so much easier, and quite simply provide us with peace of mind. When you find a substitute who is a good fit, you know your class is in good hands, which allows you to focus on you, regardless of why you happen to be out of the building. 

We do tend to build relationships over time with these people, and many subs start to feel like regular members of the staff. There are others, however, who come in as “one offs”; strangers in a strange land. Unfamiliar with the school, or the kids, or the routines, these individuals go through the day, sometimes with very little support. As the rest of us struggle to find our own way in the modern mayhem that is education today, we may not even register that a sub is in the building. Read more

We open on a very solemn note today, with a brief moment of remembrance for all those innocent lives that were lost when Ukraine Airlines Flight 752 was shot down last week.

It has been very difficult to not be impacted by this senseless tragedy. The images of those individuals who were killed were those of everyday, average people. I know that many of you will be called upon to navigate this situation with your students, as is so often the case. As you attempt to help young people make sense of the events of the past week, don’t forget to allow yourself a few moments of personal introspection. For those of you in the classroom, do not hesitate to ask for help. The same goes for those of you in guidance. Lean on each other and you will be in a much better personal place to help the kids.

Now, onto other items.

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Good morning, County! Welcome to 2020! I hope today finds you rested and recharged after a well deserved holiday break.

As many of you may know, this marks my last year in the local President’s chair. That means that this seat will be coming up for competition in a few short months time. It is a full time release position, which does provide a nice break from the classroom, however, it also means a fair amount of after school time. If teachers need to reach out, that usually happens after the 3:00 bell. If any of you are considering a run for this position, I invite you to contact me for a bit of a “insiders view” of what the job entails. Read more