Events

Dr. Emily Caruso-Parnell will facilitate a session on interview skills. As a past Vice-Principal with the Rainbow District School Board, she has been involved in the hiring of Long Term Occasional assignments. Use this resource to learn about things to consider when you are doing LTO or permanent interviews.

 Join us in exploring UFLI Foundations. Through this hands-on workshop, you will develop your understanding of how to deliver this explicit and systematic phonics program to teach beginning readers, and learn how it addresses many areas of the new Language Curriculum. Armed with this knowledge, experience, and a UFLI manual, you can go confidently into your daily OT, LTO, or future permanent teaching assignments and teach UFLI.

ETFO RAINBOW OT MEMBERS will receive a copy of the UFLI manual.

Sudbury Meeting

No registration required! Show up and get some important information about what to expect in this upcoming round of bargaining!

Manitoulin Meeting

No registration required! Show up and get some important information about what to expect in this upcoming round of bargaining!

Any elections required for our local executive team will take place at this meeting. Register by Monday, May 11, 2026.

The Teacher Local is offering free PD for both FI and Core French Teachers. This workshop is geared to Core French Teachers and Primary FI teachers, but anyone who may have an interest.  

The famous influencers @ATFrenchies call him “the GOAT of French!” Join your fellow teacher-rockstar ÉTIENNE online as he shares reading strategies that springboard students into higher-level French speaking and writing! Experience 29 research-based reading strategies that will immerse students of all grades and abilities in authentic, spontaneous, and fun reading. Every attending teacher receives a digital copy of the IC READERS’ PLAYBOOK. BONUS! The first 20 teachers to sign up receive a hard copy of a best-selling Interactive Comprehensive (IC) READERS  book (title: Je me présente)!

This is a virtual workshop 

A zoom link and reminder will be sent out prior to the workshop

This workshop is designed for ETFO members who want practical tools for navigating workplace conflict, harassment, and difficult professional interactions. Participants will explore how conflict develops, how power and roles influence outcomes, and how to respond in ways that protect professionalism, personal well-being, and collective agreement rights. Through real-world scenarios and guided discussion, the session will focus on recognizing early warning signs, choosing effective responses, setting boundaries, and knowing when and how to seek support. The emphasis is on practical strategies members can apply immediately in school-based situations. 

This workshop is open to all ETFO members

This workshop will be facilitated by Greg Weiler, PRS Staff from ETFO. 

Strong classroom management is about clarity, consistency, and intentional teacher moves that set students and teachers up for success. 
In this interactive virtual workshop, teachers will explore proven classroom management 
strategies drawn from the book Teacher Moves: What Great Teachers Do. The focus is on what works in real classrooms, with real students, on real days. 

Teachers will leave with concrete strategies they can use immediately, plus a clearer framework for making confident decisions when classroom challenges arise. 
This session is designed to support teachers at every stage of their career, from early-career educators building their classroom foundation to experienced teachers refining their practice. 

Join us for our second general membership meeting for this school year. The Google Meet link will be emailed to you before the meeting.

Are you a teacher in their first 5 years? The Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) is running focus groups with beginning teachers. 

Participants will engage in an appreciative inquiry process described below:

o   What was the most meaningful learning experience you had as a teacher-candidate?

o   What issues and challenges are you currently encountering in your classroom?

o   What advice would you offer to faculties of education and school boards as they seek to best prepare and support beginning teachers?

A light dinner will be provided

March 24, 2026

4:30-6:00

ETFO Rainbow Teacher Local office (174 Douglas Street)

Are you in your first five years of teaching? Register for a Virtual Townhall to learn more about ETFO services and ask any questions that you may have. 

This workshop is being hosted by the ETFO Rainbow Teacher Local. For more information, please email Meredith Coulas at mcoulas@etforainbow.on.ca.

This workshop is being hosted by the ETFO Rainbow Teacher Local. For more information, please email Meredith Coulas at mcoulas@etforainbow.on.ca.

Join us for our first General Meeting of the year! Get updates on what is happening in the education sphere, as well as in our local.

“Literacy is essential for success: it affects all academic achievement and is associated with social, emotional, economic, and physical health. The Ontario language curriculum is designed to support students in developing the language and literacy knowledge and skills they need to succeed in education and life, and to encourage students to experience the joy and possibility that literacy learning can ignite” (Ontario Language Curriculum: Vision and Goals). Evidence-based, explicit, and systematic instruction in foundational reading skills is essential to creating proficient readers. 

What does this mean, and how can we teach it? Join us in exploring UFLI Foundations. Through this hands-on workshop, you will develop your understanding of how to deliver this explicit and systematic phonics program to teach beginning readers, and learn how it addresses many areas of the new Language Curriculum. Armed with this knowledge, experience, and a UFLI manual, you can go confidently into your daily OT, LTO, or future permanent teaching assignments and teach UFLI.

ETFO Rainbow OT members will receive their own UFLI manual at the training. Only those who attend will receive a manual.

Registration closes May 16, 2025

Join us for our Local Annual General Membership Meeting!

We will be joining the Teacher Local for a social and buffet dinner. Raffle prizes will be available, and tickets will be available for purchase (cash or e-transfer).

We will go to a separate room for our business meeting after dinner.

Registration closes April 30, 2025

Hosted by ETFO Rainbow Teacher Local

Dr. Emily Caruso-Parnell will facilitate a session on interview skills. As a Vice-Principal with the Rainbow District School Board, she has been involved in the hiring of Long Term Occasional assignments. Use this resource to learn about things to consider when you are doing LTO or permanent interviews. 

Registration closes April 25, 2025

Are you an occasional teacher who feels overwhelmed, stretched thin, or burnt out at work? Do you struggle to prioritize your well-being and put everyone else first? From an anti-oppressive lens, we will challenge the status quo when it comes to personal and collective well-being and explore what it means to use rest as a revolutionary act of self-care. Informed by holistic wellness principles, through engaging discussions and practical exercises we will explore ways to prioritize your mental health and wellness, set boundaries, manage stress, and cultivate a balanced lifestyle within and outside the classroom. Participants will learn how to create a toolbox of meaningful practical self-care strategies that can be implemented immediately in support of their well-being.  

Registration deadline: March 20, 2025

International Women’s Day Event

​Special International Women’s Day screening of Analogue Revolution:  How Feminist Media Changed the World. 

The first 30 tickets are free!  Members can access up to 2 tickets so you can bring a friend. Each participant will receive a ticket for a free beverage and snack at the concession stand.

Come get some updates about what has been happening in our local.

Register by March 3, 2025

Hosted by ETFO Rainbow Teacher Local

Are you an occasional teacher who feels overwhelmed, stretched thin or burnt out at work? Do you struggle to prioritize your wellbeing and put everyone else first? From an anti-oppressive lens, we will challenge the status quo when it comes to personal and collective well-being and explore what it means to use rest as a revolutionary act of self-care. Informed by holistic wellness principles, through engaging discussions and practical exercises we will explore ways to prioritize your mental health and wellness, set boundaries, manage stress and cultivate a balanced lifestyle within and outside the classroom. Participants will learn how to create a toolbox of meaningful practical self-care strategies that can be implemented immediately in support of their well-being.

Our Provincial First-Vice President, David Mastin, will be facilitating this meeting. Come and have conversations about concerns and successes in your workplace.

Register by Thursday, November 7

Join OT members from Rainbow, Algoma, and Lambton-Kent to learn some invaluable skills for your career, in our ever-changing classrooms.

Register by Wednesday, November 13

Hosted by ETFO Rainbow Teacher Local

What Every New Teacher Really  Needs to Know

Veteran teacher Shannon Hazel shares the lessons she learned from more than two decades in the classroom to help prepare new teachers for the realities of a career in education. If you’re new to teaching and want to save yourself time, frustration, and sleep–then New Teacher: Confidential is for you.

Register by Wednesday, October 30.

Join us for our first general meeting of the year! Get union updates and a chance to win some fun prizes!

Dinner will be provided.

Bocce Night hosted by the Rainbow Contract Teacher Local

E-Transfer mcoulas@etforainbow.on.ca to pay for registration.

Join us for our ratification meeting. We will go over the tentative changes to the Collective Agreement. You will have some opportunities to ask questions.

If you are unable to make it, you will still receive the information as well as a voting link (if we have your personal email address).

OTIP will be doing a workshop in Sudbury on May 14 at the Caruso Club to help you prepare for this new phase in your life.

The meeting will take place on May 30, 2024. If you are unable to make it to the dinner, but can make it to the meeting, please join us. You can indicate your choice on the registration form below.

We have our last Professional Learning Opportunity for 2023-2024

Wednesday, June 5

4:30 to 6:30 on Zoom

“Flourish with French,” is based on a resource created by several Occasional Teachers. The workshop description can be viewed on the registration form.

CANCELLED

This workshop will take place at the ETFO Teacher Local office (174 Douglas Street) at 4:30. Dinner will be served. The poster is attached.

This session is for teachers/members who are in their first 5 years of the profession. Come learn about ETFO and how your union works for you. Local leadership will be there, to connect with you and give you a chance to ask some questions! 

DATE CHANGED TO April 10, 2024.   

This workshop will take place at the ETFO Teacher Local office (174 Douglas Street) at 4:30. Dinner will be served. The poster is attached.

Participants will have an opportunity to see how coding can be integrated into the math curriculum and how to assess student knowledge. Teachers will leave the workshop with an understanding of coding terminology, plugged and unplugged coding, and ways to create student-centered tasks with a CRRP lens. This will be a hands-on session that can be tailored to meet your members’ needs. This workshop is for Kindergarten to grade 8 teachers.

Our Teacher Local is hosting an International Women’s Day Event that you are welcome to join. If you have any questions, please reach out to Meredith at mcoulas@etforainbow.on.ca.

We will be having a general membership meeting on February 20, 2024, at 4:30 pm. This meeting will take place virtually (see invite attached). We will be approving our 2023-2024 budget, as well as presenting and ratifying our preliminary submission, as our Collective Bargaining Team prepares to begin bargaining locally. Please attend and have your voice heard. The Zoom link will be sent to those who register for the meeting. You must be a current member of the local to vote on the preliminary submission.

Saturday, November 18, 2023

1:00-3:00

Virtual Session In this two-hour Saturday session Martha Kovack, MEd, OCT will provide OTs with an introduction to the science of reading and what structured literacy looks like in the classroom. Participants will be introduced to the importance of connecting the sounds, spellings, and meanings of words, and how Orthographic Mapping supports efficient storage of words in memory. The emphasis will be on practical activities for the classroom. Participants will leave with ideas for games/activities that will ensure effective practice with decoding, learning new vocabulary, and mapping words onto the brain!

Please register with your personal email address. Union business should not be done over the Rainbow Schools system.