About Jacob Martens

HS Teacher temporarily in a district position of P2P Support

Accessing TC2 Resources

The process of accessing the online resources has been greatly streamlined and simplified from previous years – it now takes less than a minute and there are no confusing codes to worry about.  Go to http://shop.tc2.ca/index.php?main_page=create_account, provide your name, work email and a couple of other details, make up a password, and you’re signed on.  (Note: the website will recognize you as a VSB employee and allow you into all the resources on the site.)

Extras

Visual instructions for the registration process.
Flyer describing the collections.
Slide show that describes the three main online teaching collections that are available.

Helpful videos introducing the collections

Monthly notice of “The Thinking Teacher” digest, highlighting particular resources
(for all teachers who have registered with TC2)

Tip sheet on suggestions for using the resources

Library Training for TTOCs

Are you a TTOC who may be working in a VSB school library?

You may be interested in these two after school sessions which will help familiarize you with the basic operations of VSB school libraries.

  • The first session will deal with circulation – checking books in and out.
  • The second session will briefly review circulation and then deal with other library matters – understanding Dewey, shelving, searching the catalogue, databases, types of classes and teaching, etc. There is a lot to learn!

For more information contact Mary Locke mlocke@vsb.bc.ca or visit the registration page.

Dates:

Thursday November 28th
Thursday December 5th

Note: This workshop offering usually fills up very quickly. If anyone is turned away from this first one, please note there will be another pair of sessions in January or February.

 

Classroom Management for TTOCs

On Tuesday Oct 29th Tobey Steeves, a VSB TTOC and a BCTF Facilitator, led a Classroom Management workshop (one he is leading throughout the province in his BCTF facilitator role).

The workshop had three objectives.  That participants would:

  1. Understand the goals of student misbehaviour.
  2. Review strategies for effective classroom management from prevention to intervention.
  3. Work on a plan of action to deal with challenging behaviours.

Tobey identified that in classroom management the levels of intervention were approximately 80% prevention, 15% action, 5% dealing with challenging behaviours.

Participants were given a “Know what you’re comfortable with” handout which they could use to self-identify their comfort level with:

  • Background Noise
  • Individual Volume
  • Interruptions
  • Background Movement
  • Ability to multi-task without becoming flustered

The purpose being that “Knowing yourself helps establish what kind of classroom you expect.  Understanding your own comfort levels will assist you in developing classroom expectations.”

Participants also explored several classroom procedures the ways in which a TTOC can address them with the purpose of “creating a safe and positive learning environment”.

The four goals of (student) misbehaviour were introduced and, in groups, participants identified what they would look like and how a TTOC might respond to them.

Classroom Management for New Teachers

How do you create that dynamic, engaging, safe and respectful learning environment you want for your classes? On Tuesday October 8th Mary and Jacob hosted a session sharing the fundamental elements of a well-managed classroom. Emphasis was on problem prevention through teachers’ careful planning, instruction using a variety of activities and the cultivation of warm relationships based on respect and high learning expectations. Structures, routines and proactive strategies were also presented.

Workshop Slides
Workshop Handouts

Note: On Tuesday Oct 29th Tobey Steves will be leading a classroom management workshop specific to the needs of teachers teaching on call (TTOCs).

Living With Balance Series

Living with Balance is co-sponsored by Vancouver Secondary Teachers Association (VSTA), Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association (VESTA) and the Vancouver School Board (VSB) and taught by BCTF’s qualified occupational therapists and/or trained consultants in mental health.  Living with Balance will provide the participant with practical skills and strategies to attain goals toward work-life balance.

It is a six (6) week workshop held every Wednesday from 4-6 pm beginning on October 16, 2013 at the VSTA/VESTA offices (2915 Commercial Drive).

Please review the poster for more information and registration details.
Participants must pre-register, (space is limited to 15 Teachers), and commit to attending all six sessions.  There are three ways to register:

  1. Online at www.bctf.ca/forms/LWB-registration.aspx
  2. Email your registration to lwb@bctf.ca
  3. Fax your registration to 604-871-2287

Questions?
Contact Heather Allison at VESTA 604-873-8378 or Sylvia Metzner at VSTA 604-873-5570

The above information was sent by:
Lorelei D. Russell, CHRP, Employee Wellness & Benefits Manager, Human Resources
Vancouver School Board, 1580 West Broadway  Vancouver BC V6J 5K8
phone; 604-713-5131  fax; 604-713-5328

Applying for Current VSB Postings

Teachers are able to apply for Continuing and Temporary positions in the VSB using the  Online Application Management System (OAMS).

Note: the VSB has three different posting periods in the calendar year:

The first is the Spring Transfer Process which involves a significant number of postings and extends over a month long period.  The 2013 Spring Transfer Process had the following three posting periods:

  • Posting Period 1 open:    2013 May 21 to May 27, 4:30 pm
  • Posting Period 2 open:    2013 June 11 to June 17, 4:30 pm
  • Posting Period 3 open:    2013 June 18 to June 24, 4:30 pm

The second is the Summer Posting Period.  In 2013 the Summer Posting Period was open from 2013 August 13 to August 19, 4:30 pm

The third is the Regular Posting Rounds which are ongoing between September and March.  These are weekly posting periods of positions which open on a Tuesday and close the following Monday.  The first posting week for 2013/2014 opened on Tuesday September 03 and closed on Monday September 09, 4:30 pm.

If you have questions regarding the post-and-fill process please contact the VSTA office at 604.873.5570 or the VESTA office at 604.873.8378

If you require assistance with OAMS please contact VSB Human Resources at 604.713.5170 or 604.713.5171.

 

 

 

New Teacher Community & Twitter Chat – Sat April 13

From Classroom 2.0

Date: Sat., Apr. 13, 2013
Time: 9:00am PST/10:00am MST/11:00am CST/12:00pm EST
Location: http://tinyurl.com/cr20live (http://tinyurl.com/cr20live)

Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini and Peggy George will be hosting another Classroom 2.0 LIVE show. As an extension to the Classroom 2.0 Ning community, Classroom 2.0 “LIVE” shows are opportunities to gather with other educators in real-time events, complete with audio, chat and desktop sharing.  A Google calendar of upcoming shows is available at http://live.classroom20.com/calendar.html.

Join us Saturday, April 13th, when Lisa Dabbs will present ”New Teacher Community and Twitter Chat”. Lisa is the innovator of the weekly new teacher Twitter chat and helps to foster strategies for teachers new to the profession to engage in communities designed to strengthen their teaching practice.

More information and details are at http://live.classroom20.com.  If you’re new to the Classroom 2.0 LIVE! show you might want to spend a few minutes viewing the screencast on the homepage to learn how we use Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate), and navigate the site. Each show begins at 12pm Eastern (GMT-5) and may be accessed in Blackboard Collaborate directly using the following Classroom 2.0 LIVE! link at http://tinyurl.com/cr20live.

On the Classroom 2.0 LIVE! site (http://live.classroom20.com) you’ll find the recordings from our recent “Technology and Music Eductation” session with Kyle Pace. Click on the Archives and Resources tab.

When tweeting about Classroom 2.0 LIVE, be sure to use #liveclass20. Special thanks to our sponsors Weebly, Web 2.0 Labs and Blackboard Collaborate!