OMLTA/AOPLV ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Friday, March 21, 2013–11h45 – 1h15 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton - Toronto Airport
Montreal Room A and B
MINUTES
- Welcome...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
Karla opened the OMLTA Annual General Meeting at 12:05pm.
- Call to order...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
Karla began with the Call to order.
- Adoption of the agenda...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
On a motion duly made by Jenn Rochonand seconded by Jillian Warring Birdand CARRIED it was resolved that the agenda be adopted as revised.
- Presentation of process...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
Karla presented the process and introduced Bob Abrey, who is the parliamentarian.
Karla spoke about the initiatives, achievements and challenges of the 2012-2013 year. Karla welcomed everyone to the AGM and introduced the members of the board of directors for 2012-2013.
- Minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting...... Christina Schilling
There were no changes noted.
On a motion duly made by Christina Schilling and seconded byLinda Pletzer and CARRIED it was resolved that the minutes be accepted as printed.
- Business arising from the minutes...... Christina Schilling
There was no business arising from 2012 Annual General Meeting.
- President's report...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
Karla spoke about the many events that have happened during the year. She referred members to the website for more information about specific upcoming events. Members applauded the announcement that Projet Québec will continue this summer.
The President’s Report is attached: Appendix A
The President’s report was accepted as presented.
- Treasurer's report...... Helen Griffin
Helen walked the members through the financial statements, explaining each page. She noted that members can see where the organization has been diligent in trying to reduce costs. The cost of business is increasing, and Helen assured members that the board is aware of this and cautious of spending.
The financial situation for the OMLTA is very secure. The organization is aware of financial challenges.
Helen explained the financial statement notes and grant funding for upcoming expenses.
Membership enrolment and member documents are now communicated electronically. At this time, it would seem that upfront investment for these changes is financially positive as well as efficient time-wise and environmentally.
On a motion duly made by Helen Griffin, seconded by Heather Henkeand CARRIED, the Treasurer’s report was accepted as read.
- Appointment of auditors...... Helen Griffin
Helen Griffin called for the appointment of auditors. On a motion duly made by HelenGriffin, seconded by Janet Smith and CARRIED, that firm of Bolton & Dignan, Chartered Accountants, be appointed the auditing firm of the OMLTA/ AOPLV for the coming year.
- Standing committee reports
a)Membership...... Christina Schilling
Report attached: Appendix B
b)Advocacy...... Jimmy Steele
Report attached: Appendix C
c)Professional Development/Curriculum...... Geoff Collins
Report attached: Appendix D
Reports were accepted as presented.
- Other business...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
The report from Communications has been filed and will be posted on the website.
- Motions from the floor...... Karla Torrente-Lepage
There were no motions from the floor.
- Report of the nominations and awards committee...... Linda Hendry
Linda spoke about the process of nomination and encouraged members to become involved in the OMLTA as great networking and professional development. Linda encouraged members to consider colleagues for awards, as good work can sometimes be overlooked. This year, there was a healthy number of nominations.
- Nominations...... Linda Hendry
Linda Hendry read the names on the slate for next year and introduced the new directors.
OMLTA Slate for 2013-2014
Wanda West, President
Karla Torrente-Lepage, Past President
Jayne Evans, 1st Vice-President
Jennifer Rochon, 2nd Vice-President
Christina Schilling Secretary (2013-2014)
Sally de BruynTreasurer (2013-2015)
Current Directors- New assignments
Pina Viscomi Communication (2013-2016)
Jimmy Steele Webmaster (2013-2015)
Current Directors:
Geoff Collins(2011-2014)
France Dupuis (2011-2014)
Nicole Czaja (2012-2015)
New Directors:
Michael Green (2013-2016)
Deilyn Berdichevskaya (2013-2015)
Olga Rubino (2013-2014)
Laura Dursley (2013-2016)
Claudine Fenard (2013-2014)
Linda Hendry invited nominations from the floor, three times, as per our constitution.
On a motion duly made by Linda Hendry, seconded byLorraine Richard, and CARRIED, it was resolved that the slate of Directors as proposed by the Award and Nomination Committee be accepted.
- Awards...... Linda Hendry
Linda invited everyone to the Awards breakfast tomorrow.
Life Membership: Maureen Smith
Helen B. St. John: Melissa Brown
Honorary Member: Dr. Jennifer Adams
Helen Griffin presented the award to Jennifer as Jennifer is unable to attend the Awards breakfast tomorrow.
Dr. H.H.Stern:Stefanie Muhling
Helen G. Mitchell Awards – all faculties of education are invited to submit the name of one student. Nine faculties submitted names.
Linda turned over the chair of the Awards Committee to Karla.
16. Recognition of Directors……………………………………………Karla Torrente-Lepage
Karla recognized directors who will be leaving the board. Karla thanked Linda Pletzer for her creative flair during the past 2 years of her term. Karla thanked Janet Smith for her leadership on the board for the past 4 years. Karla recognized Linda Hendry’s contributions to the board for the past 14 years. Linda’s unlimited support and expertise have been appreciated. Karla thanked Helen Griffin for her dedication in her various roles on the board of directors over the past 12 years.
Karla introduced Wanda West as the incoming president for 2013-2014.
17. Incoming President's message…………………………...... ……….… Wanda West
Friends, colleagues, Chers amis, Estimados amigos, cari amichi, liebe freunde . . .
I would like to thank you all for the occasion to be able to serve as the president of the OMLTA/AOPLV for the 2013/2014 year. What an amazing opportunity to partake upon.
It has been my pleasure to be a part of the OMLTA since 2004. Wow! The people I have met, the things I have been involved in and the changes that I have seen over these last 9 years I hope will allow me to serve in this role for the upcoming year.
First, I would like to thank our outgoing president Karla Torrente-Lepage for her leadership in what has been a very interesting and somewhat challenging year for the organization. We have survived! She has laid the path for which we will continue to follow. I look forward to her guidance over the next year!
Secondly, I would like to welcome the new directors to the board who will be joining an amazing team that is truly dedicated to their profession and to this organization.
And finally, I, along with the board of directors will be challenged this year as we hope to embrace a new curriculum, follow through with the many remarkable projects that we are involved in and support and advocate for Modern Language teachers of Ontario.
I congratulate Jayne Evans for an inspiring conference and look forward to the remaining day and half full of workshops, entertainment and time to make Connections with colleagues.
Je suis vraiment très fière d'être élue votre nouvelle présidente. C'est une expérience incroyable qui me touchera pour toujours... Merci beaucoup.
18. Adjournment
On a motion duly made byWanda West, seconded by Bob Abreyand CARRIED, it was resolved that the OMLTA Annual General Meeting be adjourned at 1:06 pm.
Appendix A
OMLTA AGM-President’s Report 2012-2013
It’s been an honor and pleasure to serve as OMLTA/AOPLV President for the 2012-2013 year.
This year has been a very busy year filled with a variety of initiatives and achievements and some changes. It has also had some challenges with the current political situation in this province. Despite that challenge, the OMLTA/AOPLV has continued to participate in, provide feedback, plan for new professional learning opportunities and advocate for our members, in addition to the holding our two annual conferences, OMLTA has worked to increase our membership base, enhance our newsletter Communication, and as well as our website . The commitment to serve and support our members can only be achieved by a dedicated team. OMLTA is extremely fortunate to have such great team of directors, from across the province, on the board assisting in a variety of ways. Could I please ask the current Board of Directors to stand.
Office Staff
In December, we hired Hélène Tardif-Ross. With the association moving more towards the use of technology, streamlining some of the tasks to avoid duplication of work between the Directors and the Administrative Assistant, as well as a good knowledge of French, were characteristics that the Board felt are important for the future of the role. We sought the professional services of an Employment Lawyer, as well as the services of Bilingual One, a company specializing in finding skilled French speaking individuals, to assist with the hiring process of the new administrative assistant. Hélène has been making the transition of our new office location and dove right in to working on the Spring Conference. We welcome her to the OMLTA.
OMLTA would like to thank Heidi Locher for her nearly 5 years of service to the OMLTA and wish her well in her future endeavours.
Membership:
To borrow a famous slogan “membership has its privileges.” Promoting the positive benefits to membership is important. We have continued and expanded our visits at the Faculties of Education with teacher-candidates and AQs with experienced and new teachers. We began this a few years ago, and have actively continued to make connections with the faculties to promote the benefits of belonging to OMLTA. Visits this year have included: OISE, York, and a summer session at the University of Ottawa. Teacher-candidates continue to receive one year free membership. Experienced teachers, who registered to become a member in the fall, received a discounted 3-4 month membership to see the benefits of belonging to the organization. Many of these educators renewed their membership at the beginning of January. The Board has determined that these outreach promotional visits are vital to growing our membership base.
In addition to faculty visits, over the year, OMLTA has been proud to attend various events, including the Golden Horseshoe symposium, OECTA New Teachers’ Conference, and the Languages without Borders, CASLT conference in April. At many of these events, participants were eager to sign up, right on the spot. At our conference, we are also encouraging existing members to visit out booths in order to foster personal connections. Our website, new promotional signage and items with our website on it, have been important in promoting the OMTLA name and benefits. Christina Schilling, Chair of the Membership committee, will provide further details with regards to membership.
Website
Our website is another vital tool to our organization. Both fall and spring conference now have registration on –line, and in addition membership receipts are now issued electronically, making it more convenient for our members and cost effective for the organization.
Using social media has also become a part of our means of communication. We have been using Twitter to provide quick updates of events, as well as notifications for when our website has been updated. There are more improvements planned for our members’ forum Jennifer Rochon, our Webmaster, has submitted a report on file and it will be posted on our website.
Communication-Newsletter
Our on-line newsletter has continued to evolve, and we are proud of the enhancements that have been made. First, through messages to members, our website and personal encouragement, we have seen more of our members contributing articles to the newsletter. This is exciting because Communication is also the voice of the OMLTA. Having representation from our members from across the province is so important. As well, our Editor is working with a graphic designer to assist with the formatting and design of each edition. This has dramatically improved the professional and visual quality of the newsletter, thus makes it more visually appealing to read. Pina Viscomi, our Editor has submitted a report on file and it will be posted on our website.
Supporting Curriculum Implementation:
FSL Working Group
OMLTA has been a part of the Provincial FSL Working group along with a number of other stakeholders including Superintendents, and Canadian Parents for French This group provides input and feedback on proposed high level initiatives related to student participation for the next Official Languages in Education (OLE) Action Plan. As part of the group, OMLTA received updates and offers feedback on the FSL Framework, retaining and recruiting FSL teachers, FSL curriculum documents and other Provincial projects. There were two meetings this year, as well as follow up correspondence. OMLTA is proud to have the voice of its members represented in this important group.
FSL & International Language Proposals Accepted
Your association has been working with the Ministry to provide support and training in preparation for the new curricula documents set to be released. In July of 2012, a two day workshop was presented by an OMLTA director at the OTF summer institute in Niagara Falls. The session focused on understanding and implementing the spirit of the CEFR into our language classrooms. There were over 40 participants from across the province who attended this session, and we have also received several other requests for it to be offered again.
We have been eagerly anticipating the release of the new FSL and International Language documents. In January, representatives from the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch, contacted the OMTLA to discuss ways that our association could further support the implementation of the documents. Two proposals were submitted, one for FSL and for International Languages, and we are pleased to announce that both were accepted. This fall, OMLTA will be offering workshops in a variety of locations across the province, for both FSL and International Language teachers. These sessions will highlight the revisions, and look at practical and effective strategies to support the implementation of the curriculum in each area, while embedding the spirit of the CEFR throughout. In addition, there will be support materials in the form of fact sheets, with quick ideas and strategies to support teachers and student achievement, as well as the development of podcasts. All of the resources will be available to FSL and International Language teachers. This is an exciting opportunity for the OMLTA to support its members and educators across the province. More information will be forthcoming, once the documents have been released sometime this spring.
World Congress of Language Conference Partnership with CASLT & FIPLV 2015
OMLTA is thrilled to announce an exciting collaboration with CASLT and the Féderation International de Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV) to bring to its members the World Congress of Languages Conference in March 2015 in Niagara Falls. This conference will feature FSL and International Language workshops, including research and practical classroom sessions. The World Congress will be our spring conference for 2015. This will be a unique opportunity for OMLTA and something we see as a real benefit to our members, and a means to increase our exposure in language education. We are proud to be working with CASLT and FIPLV on this endeavour. More information will be coming to our members soon through our website and general messages.
International Language AQ
We are working with Nipissing University to be able to offer Additional Qualifications in International Languages. The first AQ to be offered will be in Spanish. Work began on the course development this fall, and a first draft was submitted at the end of February. It will go through the review process with the university, as well as the Ontario College of Teachers, with hopes to offer the AQ in fall 2013.
Feedback for FSL Additional Qualifications
In addition, OMLTA was represented at the review session for FSL Additional Qualifications for Part 1, 2, 3/Honours Specialist. Representative included people from the Ministry, teachers and consultants. It was important for OMLTA to be a part of this process and we thank OCT for inviting us to be a part of this.
Projet à Québec
We are thrilled to be able to offer Projet à Québec to our members again this year. This marks our 5th year of the 12 day summer immersion program for Core French teachers. This year also marks the third year of a three year agreement with the Ministry of Education to offer the program. We know that the Ministry has been pleased with the feedback from participants, in terms of the benefits to meeting the government’s core priorities. We are excited to see what that means for the future of the program, and discussions will be scheduled to look into future options.
Once again, this year will offer the opportunity to 40 Core French teachers from across the province to immerse themselves in French and the culture of Quebec. Application deadline is April 12th, and the program will run from July 15-26, 2013.
Scholarships
Despite being initially told that the Embassy of Spain’s scholarship to student at a university in Spain had been cancelled, we were excited when the Embassy contacted us in January to inform us that a two week program at la Universidad de Salamanca could be offered to one member. We appreciated the applications that we received and will officially announce the recipient of the award at our Awards Breakfast on Saturday. Jimmy Steele will share further details in his Advocacy report.
Language Contests
OMLTA has been pleased to be able to offer sponsorships and support to a number of language contests this past year. A number of regional French contests, as well as Concours, Spanish, German, Portugese and Italian occurred in the spring of 2012. There are great opportunities for teachers to connect with other teachers, as well as to provide a valuable language learning experience for our students. Plans are underway for Concours 2013 on May 11 at Glendon College.