There has been a follow-up meeting of facilitators. The chart paper notes have been collated and will be summarized and available to members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee shortly. I am a member of that committee, and will be monitoring the process closely. I would be happy to share the summaries of the small group sessions with any interested members.

Linda and I attended a meeting with Keith Johnson and Paul Anthony to go over concerns which have been forwarded to us from schools. We have been able to "solve" virtually all concerns in a satisfactory manner. The key factor in addressing 125 issues/concerns is to forward detailed information to the office.

3. STAFFING

The board’s calculations show that secondary enrolment is up by 232.4 students over the projected enrolment. 49 sections have been allocated across the system for semester 1 use. Our information is that teachers have already been hired to fill these sections. A meeting is scheduled in the next two weeks to allocate additional sections for semester two

Members may have seen some information about the fact that an agreement has been reached between the government and OTF regarding the Trade Libel Suit which had been filed following the broadcast of certain ads during the last provincial election campaign. The important thing to note is that OSSTF representatives opposed the agreement which was reached and wanted to pursue the suit.

I have discussed the timelines for the two early dismissal days (October 25 and November 1) with Kit Rankin. We have agreed that the second of the two days is a day that would normally be set aside for staff meetings and can therefore legitimately be scheduled until 5:00 p.m. (although as is often the case, the session may not go this late). The first of the days should not be scheduled past 3:30, as was the case last year.

Schools may, however, divide the time up differently if it is desirable. A school, for example, may choose to go until 4:15 on each of the two days. The amount of time is the same in this case, but the distribution is different. Both Superintendent Rankin and I agreed that an arrangement such as this might be desirable and the assumption is that there be some consultation (through heads as one example) as to what might work best in each particular situation. I also pointed out that if the first of the two days was extended beyond 3:30 in order to distribute the time more evenly, that some people might have already made commitments (appointments, child care, etc.) which would mean that they would have to leave prior to the end of the session. If this is the case, then members need to go to their administrators and make them aware of the fact that a previous commitment necessitates their leaving early.

Another issue which came up had to do with athletics. For the most part and with very few exceptions games have been rescheduled. Practices should not be held on these two days. As for field trips, only those which have been scheduled and cannot be changed may run. Again, notify your principal if you are unable to be present as a result of circumstances outlined above re athletics/field trips.

Larry Chud

President,

O.S.S.T.F. District 20