Hi MorethanReady
Congrats!
I am a teacher too (secondary) although on maternity leave now.
Your leave starts when you and the BoT agree on a date, so because you are due before the holidays, they will have to replace you for the teaching time you are not there. Hope that makes sense.
That means you will have to pick a date and have that as your last day, and first day of leave.
I don't know if you are primary or secondary, or how long you even want off, but my situation was:
I had to finish at 34 weeks due to complications and the BoT agreed to let me leave 3 weeks earlier than planned.
I had asked for one year off- so August 2012 to August 2013.
I have just asked and been given an extension so I return for Term 1 next year. This extension needed to be asked within 9 months of original leave, and up to the BoT's discretion.
Not sure if this helped at all!