Employment & Contract Info
Teaching Support and Tools
Payroll and Salary
Professional Development
From the Newsletter

OSSTF Book Club
Next years books have been picked! Don’t wait! Get your summer started with these awesome reads and sign up for our OSSTF Equity Book Club!
Hold onto your receipts for book club dates and you can get your purchases reimbursed for attending!
Date to be determined!


Update your Contact with us!
It’s important to have up to date contact information, and we know how important it is that your information be kept safe.
Below is a contact form to ensure we have the most up to date contact information for you before we roll out our Local Bargaining Survey next week! If you could take a moment to ensure we have the most recent contact information for you, it would be greatly appreciated! 😁
Your information will not be shared with anyone outside of this office.
Thank you for being a valued member!

Student Loan Forgiveness
There are requirements for eligibility for the new Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program. Please check the attached DBU and link for more information to see if you could qualify for student loan forgiveness.
To clarify some information – eligibility may vary. Your work location is a factor. The program is applicable to the educator job classes mentioned as of December 2025, and it is based on the amount of time you have been working for. If in doubt, please apply anyway!

Criminal Background Checks
Beginning in January 2026, employees of Boards will be subject to mandatory police record checks as a result of Ontario Regulation 298/25, filed by the provincial government on December 5, 2025, which significantly amends background check requirements for school boards.
The regulation introduces new terminology, timelines, expanded coverage, and stricter compliance obligations. School boards are required to collect police record checks for all employees, services providers, volunteers, and students on educational placements.
A reminder to all members: under the provincial requirement of Ontario Regulation 298/25, all school board employees are required to complete a Police Record Check, including a Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC), on a five-year cycle.
What you need to do:
– Wait to receive your Board email with instructions and
required documentation before starting the process.
– Request your Police Record Check through your local
police service using the provided documentation.
– Submit your completed Police Record Check by the
deadline provided to you (based on your birth month).
Important Note:
– Police Record Checks must be dated within six (6)
months of your assigned deadline to be considered
valid.
– Processing times can vary and may take several weeks –
please plan accordingly and submit your request as
early as possible once instructed.
– You are responsible for any fees associated with obtaining
your check.
– You must apply through the police service that has
jurisdiction over your home address. Please see the
reference chart below.
– If processing delays occur, ensure your annual offence
declaration is completed as required and submit your
Police Record Check as soon as it is received.
To support you, we have created a quick reference spreadsheet outlining timelines, estimated costs, and the appropriate police service for your area.
If you have questions after receiving your Board communication, please follow the contact information provided in that message.

Interview Feedback
Have you recently requested interview feedback and not received a response? Has this happened to you over the last school year for interviews for semester 1 and two?
According to Board Policy and PPM 165, if you request feedback from an interview, you are supposed to receive it. Also, according to the Letter of Agreement #21 in the Central Terms of our Collective Agreement, the employer is to provide feedback to you if requested within 30 days!
If you have requested feedback and have not received it, please reach out to let me know. I am hoping to find members willing to put their names forward to help get this recognized.
You should be getting feedback!

Assignment cancelled?
We are asking Occasional Teachers to assist by completing a new OT Assignment Cancellation Tracking Form.
This form is intended to document instances where OT assignments were cancelled, reduced, or altered – including situations related to bus cancellations, inclement weather, or being sent home or reassigned after reporting to work.
Thank you for taking the time to support this work and for continuing to share your experiences.

On-call Tracking
On-calls can be frustrating and often pushed onto OTs to cover last minute. These also take away work from other OTs. I am hearing from many of you that you are receiving many on-calls, and I’d like your help to keep track of this.
When you are working in a Daily Occasional job (in secondary), could you please fill out the form attached below. The more you fill this out the better data I will have to present to the school board and the more it will inform our bargaining committee when it comes to negotiating your contract next year! Please note that while I do ask for your name, names will never be shared with the Employer.
Lets work together to push for better working conditions.

OECTA PVNC delegate and Labour Council’s treasurer, Andy Butler reported at our general membership meeting last evening, that his provincial organization, Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) just-released a report on violence in the classroom.
Useful Links



