This past Saturday, we held a Public Health Panel with medical experts, community and faith leaders about the COVID-19 vaccine. Thank you to all who joined! If you missed it, you can watch a recording of it on our YouTube channel. We have also created an FAQ on the vaccine mandate policy, but please note that some of the questions are still subject to impact bargaining. Please contact your Field Rep if you have any further questions in the meantime. We are looking into scheduling more impact bargaining sessions soon.
February is Black History Month! We are kicking off the month with Black Lives Matter at School Week. The BLM at School committee has compiled a toolkit including a list of movies for each grade band that we’ve matched to the 13 guiding principles of the BLM movement; a discussion guide to help educators facilitate critical conversations connecting the media they’ve engaged with to the movement; an essay contest; and a door decorating contest. Student winners of the essay contest will win a free BLM @ School shirt and have their essay published in the Boston Union Teacher newspaper. Class winners of the door decorating contest will receive a free field trip in the spring with support including chaperones from the BTU.
On the educator end, we’re launching a workshop series in partnership with the Telescope Network where educators can join 1.5-hour sessions to earn PDPs. Participants will receive a free shirt, but for folks who want to purchase shirts, we’re selling them for $11. You can order them through Venmo (@BLMatBTU) – make sure to include your full name, shirt size, and school site, so they can be mailed. The new shirts feature a student art contest winner on the front and the BTU logo on the back.
Our next membership meeting is next Wednesday, February 9 at 4:30 p.m. It will be virtual on Zoom. As always, registration in advance is needed to verify BTU membership and to receive the link.
Quick reminders for registering:
- Please remember that you must register at least one hour in advance, or you will not receive a link.
- Each link is unique and cannot be shared.
- Links are sent after your registration and membership status are verified – please do not register multiple times if you do not immediately receive a link.
- Remember to include your exact BPS ID# in order to expedite approvals. If you are retired or don’t have an ID# for another reason, please enter “000000″.
- If you still have technical difficulties after registering, you can email zoom@btu.org.