srta newsletter december 2012

7/30/2019 SRTA Newsletter December 2012

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/srta-newsletter-december-2012 1/18

PresidentSuzanne Moore , DTS

Vice-PresidentPat Liss , DTS

Secretary Jenn Seesahai, ESNI

TreasurerChantal Tytgat, CLC

Collective BargainingPat Liss, DTS

Professional Development Jonathan Waite, ARB

Health & WellnessColleen Kachur-Reico,

EIDCS

Equity & Social JusticeRebecca Sheffield, DO

Education Finance Jason Sparling, CSNC

ResolutionsSuzanne Moore, DTS

Employee BenefitsWendy Chase, SAC

Public RelationsRebecca Brown, EIDCS

Workplace Safety &Health

Kathy Dubesky, CSNC

Contact Information:

204-270-0215

[email protected]

http://seineriverta.weebly.co

December 201

Volume 8.2

My Dear Colleagues:

Report Cards There was a collective, palpable exhale and release

tension across the division once the first round of the provincial

report card was completed. A discussion with the superintenden

confirmed that the late release of the final template of the

provincial report card exacerbated attempts to have timely train

for all teachers in Seine River. A letter from Curriculum and Instruction Assistant-

Superintendent Simon Laplante highlighted the work teachers put in to comply wi

the provincial guidelines for reporting and offered continued support and thanks o

behalf of the Seine River School Division.

Want to Receive the Newsletter in Your Inbox?

Please send your personal email address to

[email protected] and you will be added to the mailing

list. We will not send the newsletter to work emails, as

this domain belongs to our employer.

Not sure if you need help?

Give me a call or send me an email and I will help find the proper resources uniqu

your situation. Don’t wait until the situation worsens; be pro-active.

Until we meet again, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Ch

mas holiday, full of laughter, warmth, rest and good cheer.



Workplace Safetyand Health

ravo to Rob Beal, SRSD’s new Safety and

ealth Officer, and the Workplace Safety

nd Health committee who drafted the

ew SRSD policies around Violence in the

Workplace and Harassment in the

Workplace. As part of the review

ommittee, it was our mandate to

ritique and recommend possible

hanges to the policies and their

eporting forms. With permission, Inlisted the help of Andrew Peters, then

taff officer for WSH at the Manitoba

eachers’ Society to critique the

ocuments; his finding was that they

were among the best in the province.

Andrew then joined us at the December

council meeting, and educated the reps

nd executive members about the

mplications of these two documents.

The WSH bulletin board at your worksite

will be updated shortly to include the

wo newest documents. It is important

hat you become familiar with the

egislation and the importance of

reporting incidents of violence and/or

harassment from staff and students alike.

Without your help, working conditions

for teachers in our schools cannot

improve. If you are not sure if you

should be reporting an act of violence

and/or harassment, give me a call and we

will find the right answers for you.

Reporting forms can be found on

Sharepoint under WSH.

Girls’ Provincial Volleyball Tournament

esponding to a request for funds, the SRTA donated $200.00 to the girls’ provincial volleyball tournament that was held November 22-24

ollege Lorette Collegiate. Our banner was displayed on the sponsors’ wall that overlooked the fast-paced, exciting volleyball games feat

uring the three-day event. Congratulations on a job well done, Tony Fiorentino, JF Godbout, Melanie Layton and the staff of CLC!

MTS Workload Survey

n order to plan for the next round of bargaining, MTS is compiling

bi/tri annual paper survey for all MTS members, including

dministrators and non-classroom teachers. Reps will hand out

he one-page, two-sided survey in the new year and members are

sked to return the anonymous surveys back to the reps for

mailing to me. I will then forward all the responses to MTS.

Budget Consultation

Jason Sparling, Education Finance

Chairperson, Chantal Tytgat, Pat Liss and

prepared and presented recommendatio

to the board forconsideration to its 20

2014 budget. Some o

recommendations incl

increased counselling

personnel for the thre

collegiates, financial

support for peer helpe

an automated sub-find

system, and beautifica

of divisional property.

Please look for me as I travel arou

the division visiting worksites in t

new year, bearing goodies and

snacks. I would especially like to

meet with the teachers who are n

to our division, but I certainly loo

forward to seeing familiar and de

faces again.

Health & Wellness ForTeachers

� Available from the SRTA

Health & Wellness Budget

� Amount per Worksite in-

creases by $100.00 this year

� Due January 31, 2013

� Go to Sharepoint under SRTA

for info and forms



Bill C-377

he federal Conservatives are

n the brink of passing

rivate Members Bill C-377.

he purpose of this Bill is to

quire unions to make their

nances public, including

ssets, liabilities, andxpenses. The Bill targets

nions and not other

rganizations or corporations.

nions already provide this

formation to their members

rough financial audits,

ports, and regular

embership meetings.

Why should you care about

ll C-377?

this Bill passes personalformation about you (name,

ddress) will be posted on a

overnment website for all to

ee if you receive benefits of

ore than $5,000 related to

our membership in MTS,

cluding:

Employee life and health

trusts;

Group sickness or

accident insurance plans;

Retirement compensation

agreements;

Death benefits;

� Counseling services

(including counseling for

mental or physical health

of themselves or

a family member, and re-

employment)

Additional human and

material resources will be

required for organizations to

do the necessary paperworkmandated by the proposed

law?

There are concerns that any

organization will be able to

access the most competitive

proposal for services when

the names of suppliers and

winning contract bids over

$5,000 will be made public.

There will be added costs forunions to comply with the

legislation.

There will be millions of

dollars in federal costs to

advertise the new

requirements.

Doctors, lawyers and other

professionals who have

similar individual tax

exemption provisions will not

be subject to the samescrutiny.

mbteach.org

Development of the teacher

contract form

Before 1928, teachers were hired on the basis of oral

contract or the exchange of letters.

Boards and teachers were free to decide when they

chose to terminate the agreement between them, ex

as restricted by the common law, although the norma

period of engagement was considered to be for the

school year, The result was that teachers might decid

seek a position elsewhere, or boards might decide to

dismiss the teacher in the middle of the summer.

Frequently boards waited until the examination resu

were out at the end of July before deciding whether o

not to retain the teacher.

As a result of this unsatisfactory situation, the Manito

Teachers’ Federation took the initiative in drawing up

form of contract which it encouraged teachers and

trustees to use. It proved popular and in about 1928,

Department of Education had a modification of it ma

into a statutory agreement form.

MTS Presidential Election

Deadline: April 16, 2013

Ballots will be sent to all schools

Want to nominate someone?

Need nomination form and signature

of 25 members in good standing

Forms available from Ken Pearce

204-831-3078 or 1-866-494-5747

[email protected]

by 4:00 p.m., Friday, February 15, 201



Lunch at Arborgate

On October 11, I was privileged to deliver

a catered lunch to the staff of Arborgate

chool, in recognition of their

professionalism and hard work in bringing

education to the students under adverse

conditions. Many classrooms in the new

chool were not ready for the beginning of

he school year, and teachers had to share

classrooms, move between classrooms for eaching, and do without library and multi

purpose room facilities for quite some

ime. EA’s and caretakers pitched in to

make the situation smoother and the support staff lent a hand wherever they could. Bravo on a job well done, Arborgate!

Province agrees to

change legislation to

allow increase in

penalties for

unprofessional conduct

v. 27, 2012

e Manitoba government has introduced

gislation which would improve the

ocess by which the Manitoba Teachers'

ciety investigates complaints, conducts

ernal disciplinary procedures and

cuperates costs in cases of proven

professional conduct by a teacher.

We are committed to working with the

anitoba Teachers' Society to continue to

sure all teachers adhere to the highest

ofessional standards," Allan said. "This

l help ensure our students receive the

ality education they need to succeed."

e amendments come following the last

TS annual general meeting. The society

quested an increase in the range of

nalties for members found to have

gaged in unprofessional conduct or

conduct unbecoming a teacher. Following

an MTS internal disciplinary review panel

hearing, the society would be able to

suspend or terminate a teacher's

membership in the society or impose a

fine to help offset the costs of hearings

related to investigations.

"Any profession worthy of the name is

one that holds itself to the highest

possible standards of conduct. Teachers

recognize the need to work together

professionally and effectively, and never

forget our duty to

remain worthy of the

public's trust. This

legislative change isintended to provide

our Professional

Conduct and Review

Committees with a

greater and more

nuanced ability to

uphold those

standards in those

rare cases when

infractions occur,"

said Paul Olson,

president, MTS.

"Along with initiatives, like the

standardized report card and class s

reductions for kindergarten to Grade

this legislation is part of a broader

framework to work with teachers an

parents to improve the overall quali

the education system in Manitoba a

move the province to the top tier of

educational achievement in Canada,

Allan.

http://www.mbteach.org/news/

news12_13.html#province



Employee Benefits:

What’s New?

Dental Implants: Added to the plan July

, 2012 at no cost: Covered up to the

east expensive cost of a three-unit bridge

ab fees covered up to 50% of the cost of

three-unit bridge

estoration on top is then reimbursed at

ormal charge

Changes to SRSD Dental Plan

effective January 1, 2013

Due to a dental plan surplus Singles will

et a refund of $57.75; Couples $31.50.

ased on current information, premiums

will decrease by 21.6% and might changen about three years. The proposed rates

or 2012-2013 are as follows: Single

25.00, Couple $51.25 and Family $82.75.

n addition coverage will increase from

1200 to $1500 per year.

n SRSD, Short Term Disability

Benefits plan will take effect January 1,

013. All sick days must be exhausted

efore accessing Disability Benefits Plan

Manitoba Public Schools Employees Life

nsurance Plan Terminates on retirement,

an apply for a plan until age 70 New

September 1. 2012 – administered as 90

days before or after a Life Event

(marriage – including common-law, birth

or adoption of first child or death of

spouse). This is aimed more for new

parents instead of waiting until returning

to work

Extended Health Benefits:

The following motion was passed at the

last meeting of the Provincial

Executive. The motion sets the premiums

for the Extended Health plan effective

January 1st

2013, and increases coverage

for some service categories. Essentially

the premiums decrease, 1.7% for

mandatory plans and 4.0% for voluntary

plans with no change to the retiree

premiums and non teacher premiums.

That the monthly premium rates,inclusive of the three plan amendments,

� Increase the annual maximums for all

paramedicals to $850.00 per calendar

year

� Increase the maximum for eye

examinations to $75.00 once every

two years

� Increase the dispensing fee cap to

$7.00 per script

� If you would like to opt into the

Extended Health Benefits plan or

Dental plan, here is what happen

� Extended Health Benefits: during

first year you pay no premiums a

receive no coverage

� Dental Plan: you pay the premium

but you are limited to $250 covefor the first year

� If you would like to save $$$$,

consider buying a 3 month suppl

maintenance prescription drugs

you will save on the dispensing fe

Wendy C

Employee Benefits

Law and Education:

En-CAPSLE-ating

Human RightsAPSLE is pleased to invite presenters

nd participants to the 2013 conference,o be held from May 5-7 at the Fairmontotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Theonference will be of interest to allhose interested in how the law canffect leaders in education, includingducators, lawyers, school boardfficials, board staff, faculty, students,arents and representatives of rofessional organizations, academia and

government.Nancy Kerr and George Coupland,Conference Planning Committee Co-Chairs Presenters and participants willbe invited to explore educationalleadership and law by examining such

concepts as:� privacy rights

� freedom of expression

� special education

� school board governance

� occupational health and safety

� human rights

� student rights

� safety in schoolsand how each of these affect the abilitof various stakeholders to be the best

possible educational leaders, for todayand tomorrow.If you have any questions about theconference, please contact CAPSLE.Fax: (905) 873-0662E-mail: [email protected]



Elections for SRTA for 2013

The following positions are up for election

this year:

� President

� Secretary

� Public Relations

� Workplace Safety and Health

� Employee Benefits

� Education and Finance

� Professional Development

Is it time you got involved?



I am substituting for a teacher for

two weeks. This week there is an

in-service on Friday. Do I have to

start over counting days on the

following Monday in order to receiv

retroactive full teachers’ salary?

No. According to our collec

agreement,

4.07 a) Effective July 1, 2007

substitute shall be paid 1/200 of

her salary under Article 4according to the substitute teach

classification beginning on the s

day of continuous substitution w

the Division. On the sixth day

continuous substitution in the sa

assignment the substitute shal

entitled to be paid 1/200 retroac

to the first day of the assignment

32.07 In-service, Administration, Inclement Weather days

paid sick days taken as per 32.03 shall not constitute a brea

substitute teaching.

If there is an in-service day on Friday, you do not

continuity, so starting on the following Monday, you sho

start receiving 1/200 of the teaching salary, retroactive to

1 of this particular assignment.

At what point can a substitute

teacher become a term teacher?

According to our collective agreement:

CA: 32.04 LIMITED TERM TEACHER- GENERAL

CONTRACT (FORMERLY FORM 2 A CONTRACT)

A substitute teacher who has been employed for at

least twenty (20) consecutive days of

substitute teaching in the same assignment

shall on the twenty-first (21st) day, be

signed to a limited term contract unless the

return of the regular teacher or conclusion

of the assignment is expected to occur within 5 working days.

Can substitutes receive

benefits under Short-term

Disability or Long-term

Disability plans if they are

injured on the job?

Unfortunately, substitutes injured on the job have no

recourse to income supplements under the collective

agreement.

I want to opt back into our

Extended Health Benefits.

What can I expect?

If you would like to opt back into the Extended Health

Benefits plan, your application will be approved, and

you will pay the premiums for one full year before you

will receive any of the benefits. This safeguard was put

into place to ensure that members pay into the plan

before receiving immediate benefits.

I would like to opt back into ou

Dental Plan. What’s going to

happen?

If you opt back in, you will pay regular premiums, but will b

limited to only $250 in benefits during th

first year. Keep in mind that if you opt

again, you will never be allowed to

back in again.



Why don’t I have to submit

receipts for food and drinks

when on an out-of-area PD

event as sponsored by the SRTA

PD fund?

n order to streamline the payment of expenses for

out-of-area PD events, the PD committee has agreed

hat a per diem rate of $40.00 would be allowed for

participants. That per diem covers all meal and drink

expenses for the day and no proof of expenditure is

required.

Do I have to accept a student’s work right u

to the last day of the school year?

According to the document, Provincial Assessment Policy

Kindergarten to Grade 12 — Academic Responsibility,

Honesty, and Promotion/Retention, teachers may establish

Why are non-classroom

teachers being charged $195.00

per day for a sub cost on their PD

applications when they don’t

need a substitute?

he PD committee saw an inequity in the

imbursement of funds between teaching and non-aching members. Two members could both go to the

me out-of-area event, for example. The teaching

ember would have to claim two sub days @ $195.00

er day, or $390.00. Therefore, the most

imbursement that member could receive would be

1110.00. The non-teaching member could receive

imbursement of $1500.00 because there was no sub

quired.

Why was there only one spot on the

provincial report card for a signature

and that was for the

principal?

According to the

Education Administration

Act: 28(3) The principal

is responsible for placing

pupils in classes and

issuing statements of

their standing, subject to the approval of the superintendentwhere one has been appointed. 29(2) A principal must ensure

parents are provided with information on their children's

individual achievement on a regular basis.

Therefore, it is the principal’s responsibility to ensure that paren

receive regular report cards; therefore, that is the only signatur

that the province requires on the report card.

One of our permanent teachers retire

last year, and yet her position was fille

by a term teacher. Why couldn’t it be

permanent position?

In the present employment climate of all school divisions, there

a plethora of qualified, eager personnel looking for permanent

employment, but there are not as many people leaving their

posts. So, divisions are taking their time to evaluate and hire t

teachers that suit their needs. They have the freedom and tim

‘test drive’ new teachers without making a commitment to the

Once these teachers have proved themselves, the division then

tries to offer them a permanent position. However, a division

only so many full-time-equivalent permanent positions on the

payroll. When that particular teacher retired, her permanent

position may have been given to a term teacher from another

school who has proven him/herself. So, in the grand scheme o

things, the permanent position went to another school, but is s

one position in the pool of a select number. No one can get apermanent position until a permanent teacher resigns, retires o

dismissed within the division, not just a school.

Can I be forced to resign?

teacher should never resign under pressure. In a legal

nse, a resignation is a voluntary act. Once a teacher

signs, all rights under the agreement are forfeited.

here a board (or superintendent or principal)

emands, requests or advises a resignation, the teacher

ould consider the matter carefully before complying.

efore making any decision in response to the request,

emand or advice to resign, the teacher should contact

he Manitoba Teachers' Society for consultation and

vice.



Best practice:

Translating or

Bridging?

Chantal Tytgat CLC

n mid-October, I had the opportunityttend a conference in St-Paul, Minnesota

bout how best to help our immersion

tudents’ succeed in both their first

anguage as well as their second language

alled immersion 2012: Bridging Context

or a Multilingual World. At this

onference, we (Melanie Layton and I)

were able to attend many seminars over

he course of three days. We were also

ortunate enough to also do some

etworking with various teachers,dministrators and support staff members

hat teach French all over North America

hat will hopefully become a useful

ometime in the near future.

ne particular seminar that we both

ound particularly useful spoke about the

ower of bridging two languages rather

han simply translating one language to

he next. This seminar was hands-on and

ractical which was different than some

f the other seminars which were simply

bout a research paper on various studies

one with students and teachers. They

tarted off explaining a little about their

ast experiences in the classroom and

heir new role at the Illinois Resource

enter. They then continued the seminar

y explaining the importance of Spanish

nd English in the United States of

merica which was a little less relevant to

ur particular case in Immersion schools

n Manitoba since Spanish is a minorityanguage within a majority culture. What

his means is that although many of their

tudents come from Spanish families, the

nly language that is valued in the States

English.

he second part of the seminar was an

ctivity where both Karen Beeman and

heryl Urow took the group through what

ridging would look like in a classroom.

What I found brilliant is that they did not

explain to us what bridging is but rather

they started the seminar by completing

the activity and then showing us by

example some of the key concepts of

bridging. The activity was done

COMPLETELY in Spanish and despite me

having minimal understanding of the

language, I was still able to understand

the lessons and I learned new vocabulary

in a new language without having to dothe translation in my head.

The first key concept was to begin the

activity with a highly comprehensible,

concrete and interactive activity focused

on preparing the students to understand a

text. The presenters started by going

through a pro-activity which spoke about

the cycle of a butterfly and was done with

images rather than words to showstudents what they were about to learn.

This allows the students to understand

the topic without bringing in the

maternal language and without

translating any vocabulary. The

primary goal is for the lesson to be

done completely in the desired

language without any support of a

second language to allow the brain to

process the information directly

through one language. Once the

students have mastered the basic

vocabulary which was also associated

with gesture to maximise the students’

comprehension, the teacher went

through the text that talked about

butterflies. By this point, the students

have mastered the basic vocabulary

which would then allow them to

understand what they are reading

again, without the support of a second

language.

Once the students have mastered the

vocabulary through a series of differe

activities, the teacher will then make

connection with a second language. T

important aspect of this concept wou

to make sure the students’ are makin

connection between the Spanish wor

and the English word without having

translate it in their minds but to rath

put the two simultaneously togetherthe image of a butterfly in their mind

Studies show that the students will

a much better success rate if they do

always have to translate a word or

sentence from one language to anot

as both languages are different and

to be taught in a different way.

In general, I found this confe

to be very useful to my professional

development and I have every inten

on continuing my studies on the bespractices for acquiring a second

language. I would definitely recomm

to anyone interested in going to not

attend the general conference but th

workshops that are offered on the da

before as my article is based on a

workshop we attended the day befor

actual conference. I felt that they we

generally more hands on and practica

the classroom.



Closing the Gap

Conference

- by Gisele Charr

The Closing the Gap

conference is an annual

Assistive Technology

conference that covers a

broad spectrum of technology as it is being

applied to all disabilities

and age groups in

education, rehabilitation,

vocation, and independent

living. The conference was

held from October 17-19th

with 20 preconference

workshops held on the 15th

and 16th of October, 2012.

I attended the

“Implementing

Proloquo2go : How to

Customize Vocabulary and

Teach AAC Use”

preconference on October

16th, 2012. This full day

workshop provided by the

AAC Institute provided in-

depth training on the

programming of the

communication app and

strategies on how todirectly teach AAC use.

There were several

presenters including the

creators of the app, Speech

-Language Pathologists and

Directors of Assistive

Technology. The lab

component of the training

provided hands-on

activities that were

conducted on iPads(provided by CTG)to try all

of the strategies that were

being discussed. Although

the training on how to

program the Proloquo2go

2 for students was

invaluable and I have had

opportunity to implement

this training on several

occasions for students in 3

different schools since my

return, the information

how to implement AAC

was the highlight of the

days of sessions. Sever

books in addition to the

key vocabulary that cou

be targeted in each boo

and how to program th

core vocabulary pages w

shared with participant

We then had an

opportunity to work wi

partner and use the

Communication Partne

Training techniques wit

the resources we had ju

reviewed. Two pages o

resources were shared

both In-app help and on

line help for the

Proloquo2go 2. Teach

AAC Resources were alsshared and these includ

sites for general AAC

resources, Assessing AA

skills, Aided Language

Stimulation, Functional

Communication Trainin

Curricular activities and

variety of other teachin

models.

During the 3 days of the

conference I was able t

select from over 200

presentation hours

covering a variety of to

I attended 8 hrs of sess

daily in the areas of

literacy, professional

development, assessme

autism, early childhood

development and

augmentative

communication. The

sessions on literacyfocused on shared read

for students with

significant intellectual,

communication and

physical challenges. Th

2.5 hour session focuse

on the interactive

component of the litera

process and shared

(Continued on pa

FEBRUARY

2013 MTS

WORKLOAD

SURVEY

All MTS members,

egardless of their

osition in schools, are

ighly encouraged to

ll out their workload

urvey which will be

mailed out to schools

uring the month of ebruary 2013. The

urpose of the survey

s to provide objective

ata collected from

members like yourself

o help inform your

Association’s collective

argaining committee

bout your workload

ressures (i.e., time,

lass or case size,

xceptional students,

nd stressors). This

data is used by your

local teachers’

Association in two

ways. It providesinformation which

assists:

(1) Collective

bargaining by providing

data which is useful in

preparation of your

Association’s opening

negotiations package

(note: Associations will

generally start

negotiations in the Fall

of 2014); and

(2) In the event of a

bargaining impasse,

this information can be

used at interest

arbitration.

The bottom line is that

this information is used

to help improve your

collective agreement

and obtaining as many

responses as possible

from your Association

is extremely important

to ensure reliable

results.

The survey is paper

based and should takeabout 15 minutes of

your time to complete.

The surveys are

completed

anonymously as your

Association only

requires aggregate

research data. If you

have further questions

about the survey,

please do not hesitate

to call your Association

President for

clarification or

additional information.

MTS and your local

Association executive

thank you in advance

for participation in this

very important activity!



merous accessible

ok sites (. http://

kbuilder.cast.org/, http://

f.prairiesouth.ca/

sidy.kathy/browserbooks/

x.htm, http://

w.literactive.com/Download/

ies.asp?Sub=READ, http://

eelreader.org/ . ) These

a few of the key sites

ave been able to share

h colleagues.

sessment tools, rubrics

d developmental

eeners to work with

dents with significant

allenges were reviewed

d shared.

ategies to facilitate

cial interaction and the

ulation of behavior for

dents on the Autismectrum and other

velopmental

abilities was another

a of focus that I

ended. The technique

video modelling was

ofiled and AT such as

ovie, Pictello, and

veral windows based

ograms were reviewed.

ill be working jointlyh Dianne Bulloch, who

o attended the

nference to use the

eo modelling

hnique with some

dents who we share

our caseload.

gmentative

mmunication sessions

h Symwriter a

tware that we

rently have licensingin

e

division was reviewed in

terms of how to design

environments for

students to help them

access the curriculum and

a project on how this

program is being used in

the UK state wide for a

UDL model in education

and both the medical and

judicial systems. An ICEcard that was created

was shared with

participants and is a

resource that will be used

for many non-verbal

students who will now be

able to share and express

personal health

information in an

emergency or other

medical situation.

The conference also

afforded the time to

network with many

vendors who provide

software that we are

currently using in the

division. We were able to

discuss our concerns and

look to possible trial new

software programs. A

variety of text to speech,

literacy, andaugmentative

communication software

and materials could be

trialed and hands-on

demonstration were

provided which will

greatly assist in providing

informed decisions when

looking to add to

materials in the division.

ntinued from page 10)

New anti-

bullying

initiatives

announced Dec. 4, 2012

The provincial government

has announced an action

plan aimed at protectingstudents from bullying in

school, on the street and

on the Internet.

“Our government is

committed to supporting

schools and communities

in providing safe and caring

learning environments for

our students," said

Education Minister Nancy

Allan. "We all share a

responsibility to work

together to provide safe

schools where all students

feel respected and can

reach their full potential.

Our anti-bullying plan will

further protect students

and provide a safe

environment while

fostering understanding

and inclusion.”

The broad anti-bullying

strategy includes:

� help for teachers

including expanded

training supports,

workshops and other

professional learning

opportunities, and ongoing

support for the Respect in

School initiative;

�

help for parentsincluding new online

information and resources

online on how to

recognize, deal with and

report bullying; and

help for students including

strengthened anti-bullying

legislation and the Tell

Them From Me Survey to

allow schools to hear

directly from students

about bullying.

The minister also sa

province will move f

with strong legislatio

would further suppo

students, broaden

reporting of bullying

respect diversity.

“New legislation wil

address the role of s

media in bullying an

student-supported

initiatives at schoolsat promoting an incl

environment such a

and activities that p

gender equity and re

for people of all sex

orientations and gen

identities, anti-racis

respect for people w

disabled by barriers,

Allan.

The minister said, in

months ahead, she wmeet with schools,

students, teachers, p

and principals acros

province to discuss f

bullying prevention

measures and creat

safer environments

students in and out

school.

Global Conference on Education

Submitted by Melinda Roy, Resource Teacher, CSNC

I attended the “Global Conference on Education” hosted by Riverside

University in Ontario, California. When I was looking for an “out of are

conference to attend, I came across this one. The website stated abou

different topics in education that included ones I was very interested in

Special Education, Autism, Community Living and Cross-disciplinary are

Education to name a few. And the fact that it was “global” sounded re

appealing and interesting.

Well, it was not at all what I expected!! I

envisioned several break-out sessions

could choose to attend. But the whole

conference was in one room, with 30 minu

sessions on each of the topics. Talk about a

enriching experience. The presenters wer

from all over the world including countries

South Africa, Australia, South America, Sau

Arabia, Turkey, Nigeria, South Korea, and m

more. By the end, we all felt like a global

family. There was never a chance for the mind to wander, as the

(Continued on p



Connect.

Engage.

Learn—

Learning

Forward

Conferenceston, MS

ecember, 2012

has been my

easure to network

th colleagues from

ross the world over

e past several days.

y experience at the

arning Forward

nference in Boston,assachusetts was

paralleled. The

nference

ganization and

ssions truly modelled

e “Connect, Engage,

arn” theme of this

ar’s conference. I

und time to connect

th colleagues from

nada and the United

ates, to engage in

discussions with some

of the most innovative

practitioners and

thought leaders in our

field and to learn from

other conference

attendees as we

explored the most

effective ways to

support studentsuccess.

Specifically, I attended

the following sessions:

� Breaking Through

Conflict and Hard

Conversation

Barriers to School

Improvement (R.

Garmiston & J.

Abrams)

� Support Staff:

Important and Not

Forgotten (C.

Adams, K. Leeser,

& P. Mueller)

� The Data Toolkit (R.

Hess & P. Robbins)

� Imagineering

Tomorrow:

Redesigning

Schools Through

Artful Professional

Learning (S.

Biancaniello, C.

Russo, S. Bennis)

� Educurious –

Learning thatConnects (J.

Chadsey)

I also spent time

reviewing the

publisher’ displays and

presentations.

I would be willing to

discuss my learning in

more detail.

Respectfully,

Shannon Corbett

formation and discussion was always fresh and motivating.

ad several “ah-ha” moments

roughout the conference. The

eynote Speaker was addressing

e group and made a statement,

f you ask anyone who has been a

udent in school what they

member the most about their

acher, they will usually forget

hat they taught but will never forget how that teacher made

em feel.” I have heard this several times before but being in a

om with educators from all extremities of the planet made it

ry valid and real. Many of the struggles that educators are

cing around the planet are the exact struggles that we face

ere in Manitoba such as government funding, motivating

udents, parental support and making experiences relevant to

e learner. On the opposite side of that, I also realized as I

tened to some of the struggles other countries were having,

ow very fortunate I am as a teacher in Canada. And further to

at, how very fortunate our children are to be given this gift of

education, and that we really do “measure-up” on a global s

Another “ah-ha” was this session c

“ Thinking Together” by James Han

of Australia. He presented the the

of how grouping people together w

always seen as an advantage and h

we perceive that “two heads are be

than one”. His research was so

interesting. It showed how “group

are less likely to receive opinions

outside of the group as they may feel pressure within their

group as well as influences from other members of the grou

They can in fact be less tolerant in a group then when makin

judgments for themselves. As an educator, it made me awa

how all concepts and approaches should be looked at with a

balanced methodology. And that all teaching approaches h

advantages and disadvantages. This conference allowed m

look at some of our practices through different eyes and the

experience was very enlightening.

ontinued from page 11)

45thANNUA

MANITOBTEACHER

SOCIETBONSPIE

February 22, 23 & 24 , 2013Hosted by the Western Tea

ers’ AssociationMorden Curling Club

327 2nd StreetMorden, Manitoba



Daily 5 & Café Workshop

November 13th -14th, 2012Kelly Baker, DTS

n November 13th

and 14th

, I attended

he Daily 5 and Café Workshops in Las

egas, Nevada put on by Gail Boushey

nd Joan Moser, the 2 Sisters. My

terest in the 2 Sisters began after a

acher at our school attended the

nference last year and shared

formation with me. My goal was to

arn about how The Daily 5 and Café

should look in a classroom and how it

should be implemented.

Over the two days, the 2 Sisters

explained The Daily 5 and Cafe

while backing up their strategies

with research as well as many

examples of how to implement

the strategies in the classroom.

The Sisters explained the

importance of the Daily 5.

Various tools were introduced to

assist teachers with their record

keeping of their students’

progress while using the Café

strategies, and numerous videos were

shown demonstrating how The Daily 5

and Café could be u

in various types of

classes. The Sisters

also gave little hints

that could assist

struggling readers,

several of which, I h

not heard before. I

looking forward to

trying some of their

(Continued on pag

he History of Appropriate

ducational Programming

egislation

ll 13 allowed the Minister of Education,tizenship and Youth to developgulations regarding appropriate

ducational programming and disputesolution.

ppropriate Educational Programming

November 2003, Bill 13 - The Public

hools Amendment Act (Appropriate

ucational Programming) was introduced

the Provincial Government. The Bill

ade an amendment to the Public

hools Act.

n May 12, 2004, Bill 13 received

ncurrence and third reading in the

anitoba legislature.

n June 10, 2004, the Bill received Royal

sent to come into effect on a yet to be

etermined date fixed by Proclamation.

n October 28, 2005, the Bill and

pporting regulations were proclaimed.

hat is the purpose of the legislation?

e Amendment to the Public Schools Act:

ppropriate Educational Programming

ovides the regulation to guide policyd programming for all students,

rticularly those with special needs, in

ceiving the appropriate educational

ogramming they require.

e regulations confirm in legislation that

students in Manitoba are entitled to

ceive appropriate educational

programming that fosters student

participation in both the academic and

social life of the school. The legislation

supports Manitoba’s philosophy of

inclusion.

Student Services

Philosophy of Inclusion

The Public Schools Acts supports

Manitoba's philosophy of inclusion, which

states:

Inclusion is a way of thinking and acting

that allows every individual to feel

accepted, valued, and safe. An inclusive

community consciously evolves to meet

the changing needs of its members.

Through recognition and support, an

inclusive community provides meaningful

involvement and equal access to the

benefits of citizenship.

In Manitoba , we embrace inclusion as a

means of enhancing the well-being of

every member of the community. By

working together, we strengthen our

capacity to provide the foundation for a

richer future for all of us.

What is Manitoba’s philosophy of

Inclusion?

Inclusion is a way of thinking and acting

that allows every individual to feel

accepted, valued, and safe. An inclusive

community consciously evolves to meet

the changing needs of its members.

Through recognition and support, an

inclusive community provides meaningful

involvement and equal access to the

benefits of citizenship.

In Manitoba, we embrace inclusion a

means of enhancing the well-being o

every member of the community. By

working together, we strengthen ou

capacity to provide the foundation fo

richer future for all of us.

What does inclusion mean to a stude

with special learning needs?

Students with special needs shouldexperience school as much as possibl

their peers without special needs.

To make inclusion applicable in Manit

schools, educators will:

Foster school and classroom commun

where all students, including those w

diverse needs and abilities, have a se

of personal belonging and achieveme

Engage in practices that allow studen

with a wide range of learning needs t

taught together effectively.

Enhance students’ abilities to deal wi

diversity

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/aep/inclusion.html



nts!

hat I was excited about the most

as how the students on the videos

ere engaged in their learning and

ere involved in their learning

ocess. Students are allowed

oices with respect to activities

hich increases their level of

engagement. Students

were also aware of

where their strengths

and weaknesses lie and

why they needed to

work on certain

strategies more than

others.

I enjoyed listening and learning with T

Sisters and appreciated how they

incorporated humour into their

workshops. I enjoyed the opportunit

attend the workshop with colleagues

our division and have already had

conversations around what I learned

some of the teaching staff at Dawson

ontinued from page 13)

For a

country as

big as

udi Arabia there has to be at

ast some sort of flowing

ater. Well, there isn’t. Most

their fresh water comes from

salinization plants or

derground reservoirs. Therenot a single river, creek or

ook in the entire country.

enerally the world’s youngest

untry is determined by

lculating the portion of the

pulation that is younger than

. Presently it is Niger that

lds this distinction with

ughly half of its population

ving barely reached puberty

49 percent.

th a natural increase in

pulation of minus .8%

nually, Ukraine is in danger

becoming an empty nation.

cause of its extremely low

rth rate and high mortality

te, between now and the

ar 2050, Ukraine is expected

lose around 30% of its

pulation.

r a variety of reasons,

cluding a poor economy, the

and nation of Malta has had

e highest emigration rate of

y other nation. There are

w more Maltese living

road than those who reside

thin the country itself.

e world’s two smallest

tions, Vatican City with .17

a square mile of territory and

Monaco with .8 of a square

mile, they are the smallest

permanently inhabited nations

in the world and would easily fit

into Manhattan’s Central Park.

Singapore is just one big city. It

has no farms other than the

occasional window-box garden.

Monaco and the Vatican lackfarms, too, but Singapore is the

largest of the three city-

nations.

Although English is the official

language of the island nation of

Papua New Guinea, only 1-2

percent of the population

actually speaks it. Over 820

languages – 12 percent of the

world’s total – are spoken

there.

With 50 percent of its

population having graduated

from high school and then gone

on to at least one semester of

college, Canada easily has the

most educated population of

any nation on Earth. It is

followed by Israel at 45 percent

and Japan at 44 percent.

With 99% of its vast territorycountry covered by the Sahara

Desert, the oil-rich nation of

Libya is one of the most arid

places in the world. In some

regions, decades may go by

without a single drop of rain.

A nation with no government

and on-going conflict between

the many warlords that rule

over its ruined cities, Somalia is

a land of constant war. There is

no law, no police, no army. It is

basically dominated by street

gangs who constantly compete

for control of ever-shifting turfs

– and who send out pirates to

terrorize shipping off the

African coast.

Producing a whopping 95

percent of the world’s opium,not even 10 years of occupation

by American forces have

slowed down Afghanistan’s

illegal drug industry.

Siberia is home to

approximately 25 percent of

the world’s forests – filling an

area larger than the continental

United States, making Russia

the largest converter of carbon

dioxide into breathable oxygen.

Surpassing even the United

States and famously devout

Poland, a higher percentage of

citizens of the Philippine

Islands regularly attend church

than anywhere else in the

world.

If, indeed, global warming

increases, the country most

likely to disappear beneath thewaves is the Maldives Islands.

With an average height of

around six feet above sea level,

their nation is the lowest on

Earth.

With over 95 percent of its

population overweight, the

small island nation of Nauru is

by far the most over-weight

country on Earth. Its obesity

epidemic is primarily attributed

to the importation of wes

fast food that coincided w

increased standard of livi

the 20th century due to t

global popularity of its

phosphate

exports.

Because Guam

doesn’t haveany natural

gravel, this island, which

actually a territory of the

United States, makes asp

for its roads using a mix o

and ground-up coral. Som

kinds of coral are conside

semi-precious stones, but

not the coral used for Gu

gravel.

With only about 3,000 hu

inhabitants, the Falkland

Islands, a British territory

the coast of Argentina, ar

home to approximately a

million sheep. Not surpris

wool is the major export.

China might dispute this c

but Egypt is the oldest co

in the world. Its existence

nation goes back to 3100

the time of the formation

first dynasty of Pharaohs.

yes, the pyramids appare

were ancient even back t

With over 3 million lakes,

percent of Canada is actu

fresh water. Canada is the

home for over 60 percent

the lakes in the world.

Sounds a bit strange doesn’t it?



Closing the Gap

on Assistive

Technology – By

Dianne Bulloch

Thanks to the SRTA PD Fund,

was able to attend the

Closing the Gap conference

n Minneapolis this past

October. Closing the Gap is

an international, annual

onference with

presentations on the latest in

assistive technology. As an

Occupational Therapist in

SRSD, I use assistive

echnology with many of my

lients in order to help them

achieve a variety of different

occupations, includingearning, leisure, mobility,

and communication skills.

attended a full day, hands-

on presentation to learn

about free and low cost

echnology. As a take-away

rom this presentation, the

presenter created a website

sting all of the research he

eviewed and links to the

ree technology we learned

about. I would encourage

everyone to check out his

website at

www.udlresource.com

Some of the links that I really

liked included:

� Wordtalk: a fre plug-in

toolbar for MS Word that

adds text-to-speech forany text in a Word

document. It creates

audio files from text (wav

or mp3), and includes a

talking spell checker.

� Free NaturalReader 11:

can read aloud any text,

able to adjust the speed

and change the voice,

and it comes with a

floating bar to read anytext in other applications.

� Simple English

Wiktionary: Online

dictionary with

definitions that are easy

to read and understand,

and entries provide audio

files for pronunciation.

� Microsoft Mathematics

4.0: Free stand alone

program for Windows. It

allows the user to create

equations and

expressions, solve

equations, plot graphs

(2D/3D), etc. and insert

their work into word

processing documents.

For the next three days I

attended over 15presentations covering a

variety of topics related to

assistive technology. Some

of the topics included: High

tech assistive technology for

individuals with intellectual

disabilities; Using technology

for self-regulation for

individuals with Autism

Spectrum Disorder; Motor

cognitive learning; Switch

assessment for type and

location and switch

mounting; Seating and

positioning for success in the

classroom; and Accessible

science equipment and labs.

The learning was invaluable!

In addition to the

presentations, I visited the

vendors’ exhibition hall

where I had the opportunityto actually see, work and play

with the latest switches,

computer programs,

communication devices,

accessibility furniture, and

sensory regulation

equipment. It was fantas

to talk face- to-face with

certain vendors, and prob

solve together student

specific assistive technolo

related issues that I had.

One of the presenters use

this quote from Seth God

and it has really stayed wi

me… “The usual mantra i

try harder. Trying harder

impossible when you’re

already trying as hard as y

can. But you can always t

DIFFERENT.” Digital tools

facilitate flexibility, offerin

multiple ways of presenti

information to learners, o

engaging learners, and fo

learners to express

themselves and show wha

they know. Sometimes u

a “digital tool or assistive

technology” can be the

“different” approach that

may be needed to help

facilitate access to learnin

EDUA 7010By Georgina Dyck-Hacault

This fall, I had the

opportunity to participate in

he master’s level course

Educational Administration

as a Field of Study and

Practice, which focussed on

the

main intellectual traditions in

educational administration

and on the analysis of the

forces which shape

administrative practice.

During thepast

twelve

weeks, our

class

looked: 1)

at the

theoretical

frameworks which guide

research, 2) how educational

practice is affected by theory,

3) the strengths and

weaknesses of the theories

studied, and 4) the processes

administrators use to

accomplish their work.

Perhaps the most beneficial

part of this course was the

opportunity to dialogue with

and learn from my

colleagues. In small groups,

we each taught part of the

course, which allowed us to

research, digest, and present

our understanding of the

topic. For example, my

group explored the concept

of schools as instruments of

domination. We research

the theory of domination,

applied it to the school

setting, and then examine

the effect the theory had

staff/pupils and the healt

statistics behind it. Each

theory examined by the

groups, contained languawhich, when applied to th

school, shaped our

understanding of the scho

as well as our individual a

collective behaviour withi

the organization. An

understanding of our

individual behaviour is ke

working effectively with

students, staff, and

community.



Inclusive

Classrooms,

Respecting

Diversity

Today’s classrooms have

increasingly diverse students

with diverse needs. Teachers

have to plan with everyone’sneeds in mind. Students may

have physical special needs,

academic special needs,

behavioural needs, and

social/emotional needs.

Manitoba Education has

an expectation that all

students have a right to a

complete and inclusive

education. The systemic

structure of education

historically has not been

very open to inclusive

education for all students.

Over the past 30 years,

education policy has been

slow to change, but it is

now law that every

student receives a

universally accessible

education in mainstream

schools. As evidenced-

based brain researchproves that each child is

special and unique; we must

adapt our learning strategies

and teaching styles in order

to support all our learners.

Adapting our learning

strategies and teaching styles

requires recognition of

different learning styles and

multiple intelligences of

students. It requireseducating and training

teachers in order to adapt

curricula that ensure

students’ success. Universal

Design for Learning (UDL)

and differentiated instruction

are designed to support the

diverse needs of our

students in an inclusive

environment.

Differentiated instruction

(DI) is defined as varying

instruction in order to meet

the needs of individual

students (Landrum &

McDuffie, 2010, pp. 6-7). It is

a ramp for brain-based

instruction which includes

multiple intelligences (MI)

(Katz, 2012, p. 16).

MI recognizes the differentways in which the human

brain processes information,

solves problems, and creates

products (Katz, 2012, pp. 21-

22). MI is the instructional

framework for differentiated

instruction. When MI and

multimodal learning and

assessment are respected, all

of the brain’s major areas

and methods of processing

are stimulated.

DI is based on therecognition that same aged

students are at diverse states

of school readiness (Landrum

& McDuffie, 2010, p. 9).

Students learn at a different

pace. Students learn best

when they can make relevant

connections between their

learning, their interests, and

their life experiences.

Differentiated instruction is

rooted in assessment.

Students are more successful

when they receive objective,

positive feedback, which

increases perceived

competence and intrinsic

motivation (Yeh, 2010, p.

173).

A truly inclusive classroom

not only recognizes thediversity of its learners; it

celebrates them. This is the

focus of universal design for

learning (UDL).

Universal design is rooted in

architecture, whereby

instead of retrofitting an

addition to a building it is

included in the design, in

order to benefit all users.

UDL is based on research and

best practice from many

domains, not justarchitecture (Rose & Gravel,

2011a, p. 2).

UDL is an approach to ensure

the means for learning, and

its results are accessible to all

students, not just those with

special needs. UDL creates

curricula that include

learning outcomes, methods,

materials, and assessments

that are flexible to

accommodate learners’

diversity (Meo, 2008, p. 2

UDL requires that teache

focus on planning for suc

by assessing where stude

requirements and intere

lie (Stanford, 2009, p. 4).

Instead of waiting for

students to fail because t

do not fit the teaching st

instruction is planned so

needs are met when

students begin the learni

process.

The diversity o

classrooms tod

requires think

outside the

tradition

curriculum box

To have inclus

classrooms,

students need

be centre stag

Their needs

require teache

adapt the

curriculums to

ensure studen

success. Stude

success needs

be the goal wh

planning lessoin order to sup

the diversity of learning

needs.

Brain research supports t

need to have students le

using their strengths and

foster a safe learning

environment wherein the

can develop their skills to

become expert learners.

socially inclusive classroo

will also foster positive

growth of the whole child

diverse learning climate

nurtures an environment

wherein all children feel

respected, and valued fo

what they have to

contribute.

Submitte

Sandy Tur



By Francine Lepage-Lemoine

ast January I took my

rst course toward my

Master’s Degree in

ducation. This Fall, I

ave taken my fourth.What an enlightening

ourney it has been so

ar! The course I just

ompleted was

Introduction à laecherche en Éducation” .

is a mandatory course

hat provides the basic

nowledge of all aspects

f the research process.

he steps necessary toomplete a research

roject are: identification

f the research problem,

terature review,

pecifying the

urpose of

esearch,

etermining

pecific research

uestions or

ypotheses, data

ollection,

nalyzing and

nterpreting the

ata and

eporting and evaluating

esearch. The course

ontent enabled me to

repare for my eventual

omprehensive exam.

he course load was

eavy: 6 critical analysesnd one final project. For

he final project, we had

o develop all aspects of

he research but not

ollow through with it.

he topic of my research

was the Immersion

rogram: specifically

what factors motivate

rench Immersion

tudents to speak French

at the Grades 5 to 8

levels.

In the Literature Review

section of my project,

according to Turnbull,

Hart and Lapkin (2001),

on the Ontario English

Provincial exam, French

Immersion students had

similar or better scores

than the anglophone

students in English

schools. According to

Statistics Canada (2004),

15 year old students

demonstrated higher

reading levels than otherstudents not in French

Immersion. According to

Lazaruk (2007), students

who are taught all

subjects in French have

similar or better results

than students in English

schools even in Math,

Science and History.

Baker (2006) states that

bilingual children benefitfrom cognitive

advantages. They

possess a developed

linguistic awareness, a

great flexibility of

reflection and a greater

internal capacity to

examine language.

The Immersion program,

however, is not without

its’ challenges. Only 10%

of eligible students are

registered in the

Immersion program. The

greatest dropout rate

from the Immersion

program occurs at theGrade 8 level. Some

Immersion high schools

have difficulty offering

their students certain

courses due to lack of

enrollment in those

courses or lack of

qualified French speaking

specialists.

The purpose of the

project was to see if something could be done

at the junior high level

that would inspire

students to continue

their education in

French. I elaborated

a survey whereby

students at the

Grades 5 to 8 levels

would have to rate

the importance of certain activities in

motivating them to

speak French. Lucille

Mandin, professor at

the University of Alberta,

Campus Saint-Jean, gives

a course entitled “Moi comme apprenant delangue” in which students

must complete a portfolio

identifying key moments

in their academicexperience that

influenced their choice to

continue in French. Here

is what some of her

students reported as

being instrumental

factors: participating in

student exchanges to

Québec and/or France, a

good Immersion

(Continued on page 18)

Introduction

to Inclusive

Special

Education

Lori Gauthier

Introduction to

Inclusive Special

Education is a core

course towards a Post

-Baccalaureate in

Inclusive Special

Education. It is

fundamental to

teachers who want to

understand how to

program for ALL the

students in your

classroom. Before the

course began, Ithought it was

essentially to educate

teachers on how to

work with our

children with special

needs. It turned out

to be much, much

more.

The course talked

about SocialDevaluation and how

imagery, society and

media make us

consciously or

unconsciously

judge people

whether it is in a

negative or

positive way.

We devalue

people for many

different

reasons; not

only those with

disabilities but those

who are different

from what society

views as normal. It

has made me more

aware of how we

influence our children

whether it is in the

classroom or at

home. Understa

what Social

Devaluation is m

us not only bette

teachers, but be

people.

The assignments

included 2

presentations anwritten essays. O

presentation wa

show how chara

in movies or boo

are devalued. So

of the characters

studied were: Ne

Edward Scissorh

Maggie Fitzgeral

and Little Orpha

Annie. Learning fmy peers was a g

experience. It wa

interesting to se

hear other peop

views on social

devaluation. The

other presentati

was a group effo

called a “Change

Project”. Some t

presented were:

Anxiety in Childr

At-Risk Students

Multiple Intellige

Our group decid

create a teacher/

parent friendly

handbook for he

children with FA

the classroom an

home. We offere

tips for teachers

(Continued on p

ntroduction to Research in Education – Motivating students in

French Immersion



program, the fact of having a job

where the student needed to be

bilingual, and having the

opportunity to interact with

Francophones.

The students also reported where

mprovements could have been

made: having pronunciation

corrected more often, having manyoccasions to learn more

vocabulary, having a safe place to

make mistakes, and having

ncreased chances for oral

communication. Finally, the

tudents revealed that the ultimate

decision to continue studying in

French belongs to the learner.

These students were in University

when they came to this realization.

It is imperative that all junior high

French Immersion teachers stay

the course. Together, students,

teachers, administrators and

parents, must commit to creating a

rich academic milieu where theFrench language and culture is

perpetuated and where students

become impassioned and inspired

to continue the lifelong learning of

a second language.

Continued from page 17)

including children with FASD in their classroom

more effectively and provided coping skills for

parents as well.

The class was very rewarding and useful to my

professional learning. It gave me more insight o

how to better program for ALL students, not ju

students with special needs.

Inclusion is not just having a child with special

needs in the classroom doing their own thing; b

having that child actively engaged in what the

other children are doing. I’ve learned how to cr

a classroom that respects the diversity of all

students. It is so important to have a communi

learners who respect each other and recognize

gifts and talents each person has to offer; this

includes our children with special needs.

(Continued from page 17)

srta newsletter december 2012

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