The PD Day on February 12, 2021 will be a self-directed PD day. The TTBU Professional Development Committee offers the following options if members wish to incorporate as part of their self-directed PD. Please note that the schedule for the day will be from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. All workshops will take place virtually.
Registration begins: Fri. January 29, 2021 @ noon.
Registration ends: Mon. February 8, 2021 @ 4:30 pm.
For some workshops spaces are limited as noted in their description.
For more information contact Executive Officer Rony Masri at rmasri@osstftoronto.ca.
Engaging BIPOC Members within OSSTF Toronto and Beyond
Time: 9 to 11:30 am
Register HERE
This workshop is designed to engage members who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or People of Colour, in authentic conversations and strategies for support within OSSTF Toronto, in areas such as building leadership capacity, navigating union spaces, combating Anti-Black Racism and maintaining mental wellness.
Feeling Your Best Even When You’re Stressed: Shift Your Energy to Create More Calm
Time: 9 am to 3 pm (lunch break included)
Register HERE
Are you feeling stressed from living and working in a rapidly changing world? Are you looking for new ways to deal with stress, recharge your battery, feel more calm, and more at ease in your body? This workshop will offer you the opportunity to learn about ways you can manage your most precious resource – your energy. You will learn how to shift from stressed to serene by expanding your holistic awareness of yourself as an energy being. You will learn about your chakra system and then explore this new awareness through a moving meditation practice called Chakradance – perfect for you if you are tired of long days sitting at a computer screen and want to meditate with less sitting. Workshop is limited to 15 members.
Pathways to Green Sector Careers
Workshop Part 1: 9 am to 11:30 am – Register HERE
Workshop Part 2: 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm – Register HERE
The workshop will be provided by Relay Education, a TDSB partner that provides education about green sector career pathways. The workshop will provide information and resources to teachers of different subject areas who will be able to bring this information and these resources into their classrooms.
The morning workshop (part 1) will consist of a guided workshop with activities and breaks incorporated.
The afternoon workshop (part 2) will consist of a more freeform set of activities tied to the morning workshop.
Note: Attendance to both workshops requires you to register to each one separately.
Neo-liberalism, Teachers and Education
Time: 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm
Register HERE
The OSSTF Toronto Communications and Political Action Committee (CPAC) will host a panel discussion on neo-liberalism, education and teaching. This discussion will draw on the recently published book titled “Public Education, Neoliberalism, and Teachers” in which author Paul Bocking looks at these themes across the geographic regions of New York, Mexico City and Toronto. Panelists from these regions will join Paul in this discussion that will look at the commonalities shaping public policy and the work of teachers across North America in an era where neoliberalism is the dominant trend influencing the realities in these local contexts, including under the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion will further include an understanding of the role of the resistance movements to neoliberal education policy led by teacher unions. A Q&A will follow the panel discussion.
Walking into Retirement with a Plan (OTIP)
Time: 9 am to 10:15 am
Register HERE
Learn about retirement planning from the comfort and safety of your own home. OTIP’s experts will discuss how to smoothly transition your current health, dental and travel coverage into retirement as well as the flexible plan options available to you. This is a great information session for educators that may be early in their careers who are looking for information to add to their long-term financial planning strategies.
Note: The Educators Financial Group workshop below will follow immediately after if you wish to attend. Registration for each workshop is separate.
Stepping Stones towards Retirement (Educators Financial Group)
Time: 10:30 am to 11:45 am
Register HERE
Taking you through the stepping stones to create a solid financial plan. We will begin with managing your cashflow and taking control of your expenses, touch on strategies to become debt free faster, educate you on investment options and explain how these all tie into your pension and retirement goals. Click here for system requirements to attend the virtual meeting.