Opening Statement



Monday 17 October 2011

Welcome New Teachers!

I am honoured to be your OECTA-TSU executive liaison for the Beginning Teachers Committee [BTC]again this year. The committee is open to all of our TSU teachers with 5 years experience or less at our board. The number of active BT members can vary. As a new teacher you can be pretty busy and quite understandably sometimes can't attend a meeting or event. Other times you can attend and get involved with this or that. We usually end up with a small core group of BT's who are very active. Then there's a a lot of members who participate when they can, as you find your feet and get on top of things at school.


Our BTC usually has three or four meetings a year, and hosts two events; the TSU Volleyball tournament and the Madison Pub. Many members also attend the OECTA Provincial spring Beginning Teachers Conference with your colleagues from across the province.


Dinner and coffee shop meetings have often proven popular in the past. We choose a secretary and a chair but otherwise keep it quite informal. The BT's will brainstorm ideas about what you would like to do at TSU and also just network. You know, you may well be working with the group of BT's who started with you now for the rest of your career. It's really good to get to know each other and can help you out a lot as the years go. BTC can help be your support group. You will be facing the same challenges and experiences. Hopefully you will also carrying on TSU's important professional work and responsibilities years after the rest of us have retired.


My BTC approach as your TSU executive liaison is that this is your committee, as it should be, and that my job is to just help support you on executive and  facilitate your different pursuits, based upon the decisions you yourselves make as beginning teachers. My hope is that someday you can replace us and do the same for other new members. TSU has built a very strong and effective teachers professional union and educational advocacy group, especially since the Harris years. We need to hand it over to you when you are ready, so that we don't lose all we've fought for and worked so hard to gain as teachers. It would be tragic if that were to happen through sheer apathy and it's attend default.


Consider this; TSU works with the school board on joint committee issues like Joint Safe Schools [JSS], Health and Safety [JHS] and Professional Development [JPD] giving you, as a teacher, a key voice in the board decision making process. We work with OECTA Provincial Government Relations in consulting with the Ministry of Education as teachers to give you a voice in the educational policy making process. TSU is your union and professional association working to safeguard our students, our teachers and our schools. And OECTA-TSU negotiates your work contracts for our salary and benefits. We also work to guarantee you the best work environment possible for our teachers and the students we teach.


Our BTC committee has prepared a budget proposal for the activities and events they wish to do this year. Last year and this years committee wanted to create a BT web page where you could post and share all the info and tips you think you need as BT`s. Your committee wants to continue with the yearly BTC Volleyball Tournament and Madison Pub. They are also also discussing hosting regular BT coffee club meets across the city to involve more BT`s in sharing helpful tips and discussing your interests and concerns. A BT camping weekend has often been discussed in years past but has yet to get off the ground. A skiing trip is being discussed. Our BTC committee members want to continue these activities with your help. They have submitted a budget proposal to be approved at our TSU October Budget Meeting. The BTC headed by our new Chair, Helene Suite from St. Mikes, needs you to come out on Oct 27 to vote to approve the budget.


Our TSU executive has always been quite keen on helping to provide whatever our beginning teachers want and need to make your committee work best for you. Your input and involvement is a very important key to TSU's continuing relevance and success.You are the future of our unit! What better way could there be for you to contribute? Meet your BT colleagues and becoming involved in our various activities by joining this years BTC!


You can contact our TSU office at [416-633-5502] for an application or come to our next meeting to see what we are all about yourself, and fill out one there. More details will be officially forthcoming through TSU. I have distributed an email application for our BT's who would like to apply for our committee as well. I look forward to meeting and helping you on the Beginning Teacher Committee as your executive liaison.


You are the future of teaching! Consider getting involved in TSU with your BTC! I promise it will be very interesting, and a lot of fun!

Please continue to visit my informal blogspot for more teacher and union news and views, and don't forget to also pass on my link to your TSU friends who might be interested in it as well. We haven't received an updated TCDSB list off all our new hires from last spring on yet. Maybe you know who they are?

I can be contacted though the TSU office, by my gmail address at davechiarelli@gmail.com, or by using the comment bar below this post. Hope to see you soon!

Oh by the way! Check out the unofficial "According To Youtube: New Teacher Tips" at the bottom of my blog page....Could we do better on our own BTC made Webpage?


Our TSU 2010-11 BT'ers with their Toronto Elementary colleagues at the OECTA Provincial across Ontario BT Conference in Niagara Falls. We will be going again this year. Join our committee to learn more!

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