St. JATA Strong

Spring Has Sprung!

Along with the allergy season comes the ‘staffing’ season. This is the time of year when school administrators are very busy with the challenges that come with organizing staffing and timetabling for 2012-2013. This is not a task many envy, so on your next trip by the office why not slip an anonymous treat or note into their mailbox to show your appreciation for the work that they do. Let’s show our support for all of our colleagues and make the work environment in St. James even ‘sunnier’!

One of the more frequent questions I get asked is about the posting of teaching positions in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division. Unfortunately we do not ‘yet’ have a clause in our Collective Agreement that deals with this issue. While there is no requirement to post positions, we have, in the past, had reassurance from the Superintendent’s department that all job openings are dealt with in a fair and equitable manner. As a member of STJATA, you can do your part by meeting with your administrator early in the year to discuss your career plans and any changes to your current assignment you may wish to have them consider. Follow-up your conversation with an e-mail or letter so that you have written documentation to support your conversation. Where appropriate, your administrator will likely pass this information onto the Superintendent’s department for their consideration.

If you feel you have not been dealt with in a fair and/or equitable way, please call me and together we will try to resolve the situation the best way we can.
Remember… when in doubt ask!

As always, should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me by phone (888-1314) or by email (stjata@mts.net or for non confidential matters through the Firstclass mail system rdesautels@sjsd.net)

Here to serve you,
Ray Desautels
President

Please note that the most recent information will always be found
towards the top of this page.

Did you buy a City of WPG Fitness Pass through STJATA?

If you purchased a fitness pass through STJATA please read this important information regarding the closure of the St. James Centennial Facility

Your Teacher Benefits

The Teacher Welfare section of our website is now up and running. Please visit it to get great information regarding your benefits. Check back often, as information will be updated as required and don't forget to let your colleagues where they too can find this information.

Your Benefit Information can be found here

STJATA 2012-2013 Executive

Your 2012-2013 STJATA Exceutive will be:
President - Ray Desautels
Vice President - Kent McPherson
Secretary - Leanna Crawshaw
Treasurer - Jennifer Doyle

Member-at-large
Moe Coss
Gary Fewer
Stacy Kent
Lindsey May
Wendy Memka
Danessa Poiron
Jerry Sereda
Joel Yerex

Woman of Distinction

Appreciation Dinner

The annual STJATA Volunteer Appreciation Dinner will be held on May 29th at the Qualico Family Centre (Assiniboine Park). Invitations will be sent out in May. Please advise your council rep if you have helped or volunteered with/for the Association and you do not receive an invitation by May 10th.

Retirement Celebration

The annual STJATA retirement celebration will be held on June 14th at 4:30 in the McMaster House Auditorium. Wine & Cheese reception is open to all retirees and their family and their friends. Invitations will be sent out in May.

Logo Challenge

STJATA would like to give its tired old logo a 'makeover'. We are issuing a challenge for students and/or teachers to redesign, reinvent or simply refresh the old logo. For more information visit:
http://www.stjata.ca/pdfs/logochallenge.pdf

Words of Our Own

(Click here to see a larger version.)

A Message From Your Provincial MTS

Dear colleagues: Starting on March 19th the Provincial MTS will begin conducting a telephone survey of beginning teachers in the province. This survey is directed to teachers in the first 5 years of their career. The survey is being done by Viewpoints research. Call display will show my direct line at MTS (831-3087) If you receive any questions concerning this survey, please let teachers know that it is legitimate and we are using the data we are gathering to improve programs and services for teachers. Thank you,

Young Humanitarian Award

Recognition for your students – and your school!
Nominate students for the Young Humanitarian Awards
Over 50 Manitoba schools have already won recognition for their Young Humanitarian – why not yours? Go to Young Humanitarian Awards and click individual schools in the “Schools and Projects” box. We’ve recognized students who’ve done everything from holding food and clothing drives to building dams in Africa. You know you have amazing students like these in your school. Why not give them a chance to win YHA medals, four prizes of $1,000 and some well-deserved media recognition. Deadline for nominations is 4:00 p.m. Monday, March 5.

MTS Hockey Tournament

(Click here to see a larger version.)

Your Pension Information

As a registered member of Online Services, you now have access to your August 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011 annual Benefits Statement. (Note: Statements are only produced for members who had contractual service in June 2011.)
Login at TRAFF here to access this statement or if you are not yet registered, you can do so at traf.mb.ca .
If you register before December 31, 2012, your name will automatically be entered in multiple draws to win a touchscreen tablet.
If you would like to receive future Benefits Statements in French, select French as your “Language Preference” through Online Services.
Si vous désirez de recevoir l'information TRAFF en français, assurez-vous de choisir "français" dans la section "On Line Services".

Family Reunion

On January 20th, a reception was held in honor of Judy Bradley. McMaster Square was officially dedicated and renamed “Judy Bradley Square”. Ms. Bradley is a former President of STJATA, a pioneer in the development of the Business Ed. Program in St. James-Assiniboia and was the first female General Secretary of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society. There were 8 past presidents of STJATA as well as the current president at this event. To mark the occasion a photo was taken. See how many faces you can recognize.

First Row L-R Ray Desautels Current President, Judy Bradley President 1984-1985, Bev Reeves President 1983-1984
Second Row L-R Norm Gould President 2008-2011, Dorothy Young President 1975-1976, Alison Logan President 2004-2008, Klaus Albrecht President 1991-1993, Jim Robertson 1995-2003, Wayne Copeland 1987-1989

Provincial Report Cards

As you are aware, the Province has announced a move to a standard Provincial report card. While our schools are not part of the pilot program, you can have a look at the templates. The sample templates can be found on the government's website here. http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/report_card.html

Council Meetings 2012-2013

At the last Council meeting, the Council voted to change the meeting times from 7:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for a trial period of 3 months beginning in September 2012. At the end of the 3-month trial period, Council will decide if the new time should be permanent or return to the previous time of 7:00 p.m..

Retirement Seminar

If you are thinking of retiring in the next few years or would like information on retirement, why not attend a pre-retirement seminar? These seminars are held throughout the year in various locations. Feel free to contact either Ray Desautels stjata@mts.net or call Glen Anderson at MTS 888-796.


(Older news items can be found in our "News Archives")