7.01 a) School Year
The school year shall be as set out by Manitoba Education and Training. Students shall commence their school year after the Labour Day weekend. The teachers’ work year shall be the school year.
The next school year calendar shall be planned and stated in writing to the staff and community prior to the end of each school year. The next school year calendar shall be administered by the Employer in consultation with the Association. The teachers’ work year shall be calibrated and reported to Professional Certification and Student Records Unit of Manitoba Education and Training and shall reflect the requirements of Manitoba Education and Training.
7.01 b) School Holidays
School holidays shall be all official holidays as provided in the Employment Standards Code, Education Administration Act and Regulations, the Remembrance Day Act and other such holidays as are designated by the Employer.
7.01 c) Professional Development
Ten days shall be Professional Development and Administration days.
The next school year calendar of Professional Development days shall be administered by the Employer in consultation with the Association.
7.01 d) Staff Meetings
Staff meetings must be called a minimum of twenty four (24) hours in advance. No Staff Meeting shall extend beyond 3:15 p.m. The school day, for students, shall be shortened to accommodate an appropriate amount of time for the meeting.
Emergency and special staff meetings may be called without advance notice, to deal with urgent matters affecting the operation of the school. If possible, no emergency staff meeting shall extend beyond 3:15 p.m.; if possible, the school day, for students, shall be shortened to accommodate the staff meeting.
7.02 a) Work Day
The school day shall be five (5) hours and thirty (30) minutes, not including the mid day intermission (lunch period).
The teachers’ work day shall be from ten (10) minutes prior to the opening of the school day, to the close of the school day.
For teachers on bus supervision duty, the teachers’ work day shall be from twenty (20) minutes prior to the opening of the school day, to when the students are either transported from the school grounds or safely placed in the care of an appropriate authority. Supervisory duties shall be provided by teachers and other staff on a rotational basis. In the event of an early school day closing, the teachers’ work day shall end at that school day’s closing time.
7.02 b) Preparation Time
Within the instructional day the Employer shall provide a minimum of two hundred and eighty (280) minutes of preparation time for each full time teacher per 6 day cycle, excluding recess and the mid day intermission (lunch). Preparation time shall be scheduled in blocks of not less than thirty (30) minutes. Part time teachers shall be provided preparation time on a pro rata basis based on their percentage of contract.
Preparation time may be scheduled in blocks of twenty five (25) minutes, when the total preparation time per 6 day cycle exceeds the minimum time requirement by a mutually agreed upon amount. Such scheduled preparation periods shall be included into the calculation of total preparation time.
Preparation time in the nursery-kindergarten teaching area shall be a minimum of 180 (one hundred eighty) minutes per 6 day cycle. Nursery-kindergarten scheduling shall facilitate one 30 (thirty) minute preparation period per day. The teachers’ work day shall be from 10 (ten) minutes prior to the opening of the nursery-kindergarten instructional day, to the close of the nursery-kindergarten instructional day. Bus supervisory duty shall be provided by the teachers in only their teaching area; bus supervisory duty shall be part of their instructional obligations.
7.02 c) Mid day Intermission
An uninterrupted lunch period (mid day intermission) of 45 minutes shall be provided to each teacher between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
An uninterrupted lunch period (mid day intermission) of less than 45 minutes may be provided to a teacher(s), between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., when the reduced time is scheduled into that day’s preparation time. Such preparation periods shall be understood as containing a lunch component; the lunch component shall not be included into the calculation of total preparation time.
7.03 a) Incidental and Early Closures
This agreement recognizes the authority of the Employer to act in the place of the Minister of Education and Training for the province of Manitoba in regards to the approval of Incidental School Closures.
Such closures may include, but are not limited to:
- road conditions affecting school and or private transportation equipment;
- local customs, local traditions, and local activities;
- closures for respect;
- death in the community;
- weather conditions, both existing and predicted;
- inability of teaching personnel to report for duty, which might result in inadequate supervision of students;
- actual occurrence or imminent possibility of any emergency condition which would make the operation of the school difficult or dangerous;
- a day declared as a special day or First Nations Holiday;
- unacceptable outdoor conditions.
7.03 b) On days with unacceptable outdoor conditions, the mid day intermission and recesses shall be indoors, and the school shall close at 2:30 p.m. The mid day intermission may be shortened to thirty (30) minutes. Although not all students and staff are directly affected by indoor recess/lunch, this agreement recognizes the general level of stress the entire school population (students and staff) experiences on such days. Staff meetings and other activities shall not be planned for this time.
7.03 c) The Employer shall inform the community that the school shall close early.