Some common sense approaches when working with students....

Keep the classroom door open, if possible.

If you must speak to a student alone after class, keep it short and professional. Stay in view of the hall. Stand by the door. Have another teacher nearby.

Maintain your “personal space”. Don’t let students crowd around you or your desk.

Do not spend time with students outside of your professional responsibilities. Participate only in school board endorsed activities with students.

Maintain professional communication and relationships with students, parents and colleagues. Think carefully about what you say, write, or post electronically. Your words
and gestures can be misinterpreted, to your detriment.

Do not share phone numbers, email addresses or personal websites with students.

Do not take photos of students, unless authorized by the Principal.

Do not befriend students on any social media websites.

Do not offer students rides in your private vehicle in contravention of the Board’s transportation protocols.

Be extremely cautious about touching students. Unnecessary physical contact with students is fraught with professional risks.

Call for assistance from the office before a situation gets out of control. Explain that you are concerned that the situation seems to be escalating and that you are being proactive in
heading off problems.

Document anything that happens during the day which seems even slightly out of the ordinary. Keep your notations to the facts and write down the essential W’s
- who, what, when, where, why and how & names of witnesses. Keep a copy of your notes. Email it to yourself - then it is time and date stamped!

Be familiar with the school's procedures governing student conduct, progressive discipline, office referrals, emergencies, and the like.

Raising your voice is not an effective classroom management
strategy.

Make these common sense strategies part of your daily routine!

In your position as an Occasional Teacher, your appearance and demeanour should present a
positive role model to students. You are responsible for the safety and education of the students in your care. Upon arrival to a school, it is important that you ask for and familiarize yourself with:

• the School’s Code of Conduct
• the School’s Emergency Procedures (fire drills, evacuation, lock down emergency number)
• Safety Plans / Procedures
• School Intercom System and/or Internal Phone System

You are to assume the duties of the teacher you are replacing.
These include but are not limited to:

• Arriving at the school no later than the time specified on the job.
• Reporting to the main office upon arrival at the school.
• Accessing your classroom and supplies in a timely fashion.
• Checking in the main office or in the classroom for keys, lesson plans, attendance procedures, office referral forms, student safety plans, identified emergency procedure processes, lockdown procedures and student health issues.

If these are not provided, ask & also request classroom keys.

Providing appropriate work when no lesson plans have been left. Seek advice from the main office if you have questions or concerns.
Maintaining the security of the classroom by locking unattended classrooms.
Providing supervision for the students in your care at all times. DO NOT LEAVE STUDENTS UNATTENDED ANYWHERE.
Taking attendance of students in accordance with the school’s
established procedures.
Following the lesson plans provided by the teacher.
Reporting student behaviour issues or incidents of concern to the main office.
Remaining in the school for the entire instructional day.
Leaving a note for the regular classroom teacher that summarizes the work you were able to cover with students and reports any concerns with respect to student behaviour, etc.
Before leaving school, return keys to the main office.
Reporting student or staff accidents/injuries and/or violent incidents to the main office immediately and ensuring that any necessary reports are completed.

Occasional Teachers are expected to manage a classroom in accordance with the duties of a
Teacher as outlined in the Education Act and Regulations, and Toronto District School Board
Policies and Procedures.
Good Classroom Management Includes:

• Greeting students as they enter the classroom.
• Placing yourself where you can see and be seen until the class has settled down (the first few minutes of an assignment are crucial in setting the tone for the day).
• Using the attendance procedure to establish a rapport with the class.
• Using appropriate proximity and eye contact strategies.
• Presenting a positive attitude including respect for students.
• Delegating simple tasks to students.
• Getting students’ attention quickly, and then waiting for them to listen actively to you before giving instructions.
• Limit movement of students, as appropriate, to complete the assignment while they are working - this is where the re-teaching occurs for students who need more help.
• Approaching students and situations in a problem-solving manner and positive tone of voice to avoid escalating a confrontational situation.
• Ensuring students are kept busy with constructive work related to their studies.
• Involving students in the lesson by encouraging active participation.
• Calling the school administration (Principal or Vice-Principal) before a difficult situation escalates into a crisis.
• Calling the office if referring a student to the office for discipline, describing the problem and advising the office that a student is on the way. Inquire about any school and/or Board forms required in such situations

Classtime is a mobile app for occasional teachers to keep track of their work schedule.

Classtime easily allows you to enter the date and school of each of your assignments. For each teaching assignment you enter, there is a box that can be checked-off to track whether or not you've been paid for that assignment.

Classtime is an app tailored towards helping you keep track of your work schedule. It will even store the names of the schools you work at and the teachers you replace each day, so you can easily find them when making a new entry.

The free app is available for Android and iOS devices through Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Work Log is a mobile app for re-employed pensioners to keep track of their re-employment days.

Simply record the days you work right in the app. It will automatically keep track of your days and indicate when you are getting close to the 50-day re-employment limit.
Why it will help

Under current re-employment rules, the onus is on you (the pensioner) to keep track of the number of days you work, which can be up to 50 days per school year. If you exceed the 50-day limit and continue to work in education the following month, you're required to call us so that we can suspend your pension until you're finished working. Worklog will help you keep track of the days you work to avoid pension suspension. In fact, the calendar within the app is colour coded green means you can keep working, yellow means you are getting close to your re-employment limit, and red reminds you to stop working to avoid pension suspension.

The free app is available for Android and iOS devices through Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Rules of membership


Under the OSSTF/FEESO Constitution, there are different categories of members.

Active members are the bulk of our membership. They are members who are currently employed by school boards or other agencies and who pay active member fees to OSSTF/FEESO

Newly organized members are active members who don’t pay OSSTF/FEESO dues. They start paying dues when their first collective agreement is ratified.

Casual or limited term members retain membership for a designated period of time after the last day worked as per Bylaw 2.3.”

Active Retired Members (ARM) are retired OSSTF/FEESO members who pay a fee of $50 for limited services.

R Rights


OSSTF/FEESO members have all of the democratic and human rights of Canadian citizens and union members. Some key professional rights featured in the OSSTF/FEESO constitution include:

the right to participate in the union, attend meetings, vote, stand for office, etc.;

the right to exercise professional judgment;

the right to fair and equitable treatment from employers;

the right to fair evaluation;

the right to fair representation by the union.


R Responsibilities


OSSTF/FEESO members must:

comply with the constitution, bylaws and policies of OSSTF/FEESO. These may be found in the OSSTF/FEESO Handbook and Policies and Procedures Manual, both of which may be found here.

uphold the OSSTF/FEESO pledge and statement of ethics

act in accordance with the Principles of Professional Conduct

support their negotiators and participate in all strike activities voted on by the majority of members

on making an adverse report on another member, give that member a copy within three days. This does not apply when reporting suspected child abuse under the Child and Family Services Act