D3 Office Calendar

Meetings and dates of interest:
 

Nov 1st:   School visit  🍕Cecil Facer SS -11:20 am 
Nov 8th:   School visit 🍕 Lo-Ellen Park SS - 10:50 am 
Nov 9th:   School visit 🍕 Espanola High School - 11:15 am
Nov 10th: School Visit 🍕 Sudbury SS - 10:15 am and 11:05 am
Nov 11th: Remembrance Day   Lest we Forget

Nov 12th: School visit  🍕 Lasalle SS - 11:00 am and 12:15 pm
Nov 15th: School visit 🍕 Confederation SS -11:00 am
* Pizza has been ordered for all members at each school and we welcome all staff to join the lunch meetings.
Nov 16th:  Human Rights Committee Meeting - 4:30 pm 
Nov 17th: PSSP Fall General Meeting - for all PSSP members
Nov 18th:  Status of Women Committee Meeting - 4:45 pm
Nov 19th:  PD Day - Deadline for submission - Student Achievement Award
Nov 23rd:  ESSU Executive Meeting - 5:00 pm
Nov 24th:  T/OTBU Executive Meeting - 4:30 pm
Nov 25th:  Ed Services Committee Meeting -4:30 pm
Dec 1st:  District Executive Meeting - 4:30 pm
 

OSSTF Provincial has begun conducting worksite visits, both virtually and in-person, as part of their consultation process ahead of the provincial election in June 2022. The goal is to engage with members directly to hear suggestions, challenges, and concerns firsthand. Stay tuned for future meeting dates.

We will begin local consultations on bargaining priorities over the next few weeks. Bargaining Unit leaders will develop membership surveys to frame local bargaining briefs. We encourage members to complete these Bargaining Unit surveys, make your voices heard, and have a say in this process.

Finally, the District Executive has just approved a policy and procedure for hosting in-person meeting once again at the District Office. Plans and preparations are being finalized to welcome back all Bargaining Unit Executives and Standing Committees and to wean ourselves away from the two-dimensional virtual environment. We look forward to welcoming members once again. 
 

Regards,

Eric Laberge
District President

                                                                      

Negotiated Leaves in the Collective Agreement (LOCAL)

One of the most frequent questions we hear is, “How many days do I get…?”  The question might be about sick leave, personal days, bereavement, jury duty, or some other type of leave.  Here’s a brief overview that applies to members of the Teacher, Occasional Teacher, Educational Support Staff, and Professional Student Services bargaining units.  For information specific to your bargaining unit, please see your current collective agreement.  They are posted at http://www.d03.osstf.ca/en-CA/Bargaining-Units.aspx.

Medical Leave:  OSSTF District 3 members who are permanent employees of the Rainbow DSB are entitled to medical leave of 11 days at full (100%) pay.  Medical leave is to be used when the member is too ill to come to work, or to attend their own medical appointments during the work day.  When those days have been used, the member is then entitled to a further 120 days at 90% of their regular pay.  Top-up from 90% back to 100% may occur provided the member did not use all of their 11 days in the previous school year.  For every day remaining from last year’s eleven, the member will have 10 days topped up from 90% to 100%.  Use of medical and short-term disability leave (STDLP) has no impact on pension or any other entitlement.  Permanent part-time employees’ medical and STDLP entitlements will be pro-rated to reflect their full-time equivalent (FTE) status.  For example, a member working a 0.67 assignment will be entitled to 2/3 of the entitlement of a full-time employee.

Personal Leave:  Permanent employees of the RDSB are entitled to up to three paid days of personal leave to attend to business or non-medical appointments that cannot be scheduled outside the work day.  We encourage members to provide a minimum of two weeks’ notice when requesting personal days, and to use the RDSB Personal Leave Request Form HR-10.  Language common to all collective agreements precludes members from attaching personal days to statutory holidays including long weekends, Christmas holidays, or the March break.

Bereavement Leave:  The four OSSTF bargaining units that represent RDSB employees all have similar language on bereavement leave.  For most bereavements involving immediate family members, the employee is entitled to up to five paid days.  Despite our best efforts to extend coverage, family members not included in the language are uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew.  In the last round of negotiations, stepfamily members were added.  An additional full day of leave may be granted by the supervisor to attend the funeral of a person not covered in the language above.

Jury Duty:  Paid leave is available to permanent employees who are called to jury duty, or summoned to serve as a witness in any court proceeding to which they are not one of the people charged.  This language also applies to someone called to testify at a court proceeding to which they are not a party (ie., a civil matter).
 
Negotiated Leaves in the Collective Agreement (CENTRAL)
Centrally-negotiated leaves include top-up for WSIB, pregnancy, and some leaves covered under the Employment Standards Act (Ontario).  For further information about these leaves as well as Family Medical, Family Caregiver, or Critical Illness Leave, consult your collective agreement, or call the District 3 office for information.

Sue Melville, 
District Officer

                 

 Tips for getting the most out of your mortgage renewal
 

Don’t be so hasty to renew your mortgage without doing a bit of homework first.
 
According to an Angus-Reid survey, 27% of Canadian mortgage-holders allow their mortgages to automatically renew without a second thought. That lackadaisical approach to renewal can mean missed opportunities to save money and take advantage of new mortgage features and products that may actually be a better fit for your needs.
 
To avoid missed savings or opportunities, here are our top 10 tips to ensure you’re getting the most out of your mortgage renewal:
 
Tip #1: Do your rate research.
Knowing what other financial institutions are offering in comparison to your current rate will give you an idea of how much wiggle room you’ll have to negotiate.
 
Tip #2: The posted rate is usually the ‘lowest’ rate.
This number typically has plenty of room to be talked down. So, don’t be afraid to negotiate.
 
Tip #3: The lowest rate may not be the best way to go.
Cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean better when it comes to your mortgage. So, it’s best to read the fine print before you sign—or better yet, ask the lender what penalties are associated with the lowest rate. For example, by accepting the lowest rate, are you sacrificing the ability to make extra payments? Also, what are the penalties for breaking your mortgage early? (In case that big windfall or gratuity payment comes in)
 
Tip #4: If you get a lower rate, consider keeping your payments the same.
You’re probably thinking WHY go to all the trouble of negotiating a lower rate, only to make the same monthly payment? But we have a good reason for that. While lower monthly payments could increase your cash flow, it most likely wouldn’t be by much. However, keeping the same monthly payments at your renewed lower interest rate means reducing the overall amortization and paying your mortgage off sooner—giving you maximum ‘bang’ for your buck.
 
Tip #5: Put a little extra towards the principal.
Renewal time is the perfect time to make a lump sum payment on your mortgage because there are no pre-payment limits. This is your opportunity to make a serious dent in your amortization and save in total interest costs because every dollar goes to paying down the principal.
 
TIP: If you’ve recently moved up the pay grid or consolidated your debt and now have some extra cash flow to play with, consider putting that extra money aside for making a lump sum payment at mortgage renewal time.  
 
For the remaining 5 tips visit: https://www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/affiliate/article003
 
Get educator-specific mortgage advice.
 
Have a mortgage renewal coming up? Speak to one of our mortgage agents, call today at 1.800.263.9541 or go to: https://www.educatorsfinancialgroup.ca/affiliate/F2211/get-started
 
 
 

 
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the arts, the sciences, and culture.

The International Day for Tolerance was initiated by the UN General Assembly, with the goal of getting educational institutions and the general public to see tolerance as a staple of society. Since the inception of this day on Nov 16, 1995, it’s been the UN’s goal to strengthen tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples.

Madanjeet Singh was an internationally known author and humanitarian whose efforts and personal commitment to fostering mutual understanding and peace, lead to his joining UNESCO in 1982 and to his appointment as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in November, 2000.
 
In 1995, in recognition of his lifelong devotion to the cause of communal harmony and peace, the UNESCO Executive Board unanimously created the biennial “UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence”.

In 1995, UNESCO created the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance as a means to define and provide awareness of tolerance for any and all governing and participating bodies. That day was November 16, 1995.  Now, as an anniversary of that Declaration, we celebrate the International Day for Tolerance every November 16th to help spread tolerance and raise awareness of any intolerance that may still be prevalent in the world today. 

The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence rewards significant activities in the scientific, artistic, cultural and communication fields aimed at the promotion of a spirit of tolerance and non-violence.  In 2020, this biennial prize was award to Centre Résolutions Conflits for 27 years of work to build peace in the conflict-affected provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. 

https://www.peacedirect.org/us/blog-crc-unesco-prize/
 

How Maya Angelou Taught Tolerance and Self-Acceptance


                 

Maya Angelou, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 86, was a teacher.  The renowned poet taught American Studies at Wake Forest University for more than 30 years.

But in a more metaphorical sense, she was the beloved teacher of a nation. She modeled courage in the face of adversity, preached tolerance for differences and proudly accepted herself - flaws and all.

She was also a journalist who worked in Africa, an historian, a songwriter, a dancer, a stage and screen producer, a director, a performer, and a singer.

Her poem, “And Still I Rise,” has served as something of an anthem for not only African-Americans, but other groups facing oppression, as well.

Angelou had a tough upbringing and was raised mostly by her grandmother in the segregated South. She stopped speaking for years as a child after blaming herself for the death of her rapist. She later chronicled her childhood and adolescence in the 1969 autobiography describing the early years of her life “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

In one of her last interviews, Dr Angelou stated:  “We are all teachers whether we know it or not, I used to think I was a writer who could teach but I’ve found in the last 15 years I am a teacher who can write.”
 

Here are six lessons Maya Angelou taught us on tolerance and self-acceptance.

1. History

In her decades of teaching American Studies at Wake Forest University, and as a lecturer at the University of California at Los Angeles prior to that, Angelou imparted to her students not just cookie-cutter lessons about the country’s past, but made sure to emphasize the experiences of people so often left out of textbooks - poor people, minorities and women. 
 

2. Tolerance

Angelou served as a vocal civil rights advocate. She was friends with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and even lived in Ghana for a time with other African-Americans who felt unwanted in the United States. She returned to write proudly about her heritage. In her later years, Angelou spoke in favor of tolerance for gays and lesbians, reportedly calling New York state senators to urge them to support marriage equality.

3. Self-acceptance

Angelou had a tough upbringing and was raised mostly by her grandmother in the segregated South. The woman who would later be called the “people’s poet” stopped speaking for years as a child after blaming herself for the death of her rapist. She later chronicled her childhood and adolescence in the beloved “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

“You can ask forgiveness of others, but in the end the real forgiveness is in one's own self."

4. Respect for women

Angelou has served as a mentor for women like Oprah, and broken barriers for female artists and writers with her frank, unapologetic prose. She was even San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car driver and lent her name to a women’s health centre in Winston-Salem, where she lived. But she’s also penned works about the sometimes-mundane tasks of motherhood and spoken about her struggles as a young, unwed parent. 

5. Wisdom

Angelou grew up hearing stories and learning traditions from her grandmother and other elders in her family. She has lamented the negative impacts of technology and urged young people to learn from the mistakes of those who have lived more life than them.

“The youngsters don’t have to make all the mistakes again,” Angelou  stated.

6. Courage

Angelou overcame more obstacles than most people face in a lifetime partially because of her tenacity and courage. She chronicled some of those struggles - suffering rape and neglect, among them - in one of her earlier works, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” 

"It's the most important of all of the virtues because without courage you cannot practice any other virtue consistently," Angelou said. "You can be anything erratically. You can be kind or true or fair or generous and blah, blah. But to be that thing time after time, you have to have courage."

        

Maya Angelou quotes: 

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."