Allison McCaffrey
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Happy February!
This is the month of love and kindness and I wanted to extend my thanks to each of you for all you do in your schools and classrooms. One constant theme I hear in every call or message that comes to me is how appreciative your colleagues are of the support you offer each other as we push through this 5th wave of COVID. At the Local we continue to work on your behalf to advocate for fully funded public Catholic education. The unanswered concerns about the weak draft curriculum and the threat from the Ministry to break up our Association continue to be at the forefront of our work. Please see below some of the highlights from the last CSR as well as the ways you can help to vocally advocate for our profession and our Association. Conference and Workshop Funding – Please note that there is significant amounts of funding available to attend conferences, worshops and for tuition funding.
Teachers’ Convention- February 17th and 18th – Please remember that it is your professional and legal obligation to attend convention. The convention is fully on-line this year, so please ensure you have access to strong wi-fi during these two days and register for your sessions by visiting www.cctca.com Executive Assistant Job Opening The Local is accepting applications for the position of the Executive Assistant. Duties include (but are not limited to) providing full-cycle advice and assistance to members by responding to inquiries, informing members of their rights and obligations, conducting risk assessments of issues, identifying possible solutions as well as various other duties that may be assigned by the President and Executive. Applications must be submitted by 4:00 pm on February 18, 2022 and full details on the job description are available using this link. https://bit.ly/31zqmCY #RedForEdAB Merchandise – We see such solidarity when we notice more and more of our colleagues wearing red on Fridays and posting to the local’s social media channels using @atalocal55. This weekly show of support reminds this government that a new draft curriculum MUST include the voices of the experts…our teachers and that we demand class sizes that are manageable. Join your fellow teachers by donning your red apparel on Fridays. If you’re looking to buy a T-shirt, a mask, neck Buffs™, baby onesies or even coffee tumblers, we now have them available for sale. Go to: https://bit.ly/3lqEsxf to place your order. ONE PROFESSION UNITED – On December 9, 2021, Alberta’s Minister of Education announced a plan to remove professional regulatory functions related to discipline from the Alberta Teachers' Association, effectively changing the ATA from a professional association to purely a trade union. If implemented, this decision will dramatically change the culture of the ATA, the teaching profession and public education in Alberta. Thank you to all CSRs and teachers who came out to the Information Evenings to hear directly from ATA Provincial the concerns and background of why the Minister’s threat must be taken seriously and MUST be confronted head on. What can you do?
CSR Highlights – Members asked if they could have a summary of the items discussed at the Council of School Representatives (CSR) meeting. You can access this document for the January 25, 2022 meeting by following this link: www.atalocal55.ca/csr-highlights.html In closing please accept my sincerest thanks for all that you do for our profession each day. Your incredible dedication, compassion and love for your students and colleagues is not lost on me and you have the utmost amount of my respect. We are always available at the Local should you wish to reach out. Peace and blessings, |
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Allison McCaffrey
President Calgary Catholic Teachers’ ATA Local 55 |
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