“What a teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.”   ~Karl Menninger

The 3 Percent Salary Cap Was Repealed!

Thank you for the phone calls you made and emails you sent to legislators and for signing the petitions to repeal the 3 percent salary cap. Last week was an intense week which began with our IEA President, Kathi Griffin, along with members, delivering the 55,000 petitions to Governor Pritzker’s office. Both the House and the Senate have approve the repeal! The return to 6 percent salary threshold will take effect when Gov. Pritzker signs the budget package. Check out IEA’s Facebook page for a special thank you from IEA President Griffin.

8 Smart Things to Do During Your Summer Break

I’m sure you have your own personal to-do lists for this summer. I stumbled across this fun read on the NEA Member Benefits website called “8 Smart Things to Do During Your Summer Break”. Of course ‘rejuvenate’ is #1 on that list! Take some time to see what else NEA Member Benefits has to offer by visiting their website. Our representative, Justine Sallee, is wrapping up her rescheduled school visits to Einstein, Collins, Fox, Hanover, and Link.

This is it!

Can you believe you made it to the last week of school?!? Thank you for making this year a special one for your students. Your patience, your caring and kind words, and your dedication to all of your students is something that did not go unnoticed.   You’ve been a guide, a friend, a mentor, a leader…so many hats you have worn as an educator. Thank you for never giving up! One of my favorite ways to end the school year with my students was by reading the Dr. Seuss book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” So instead, I’ll end the year with you sharing some of it with you…

Oh, the places you will go!

You’ll be on your way up!

You’ll be seeing great sights!

You’ll join the high fliers

Who soar to high heights.

You’re off to great places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So get on your way!

~Dr. Seuss

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

June 3^rd: National Repeat Day – National Repeat Day

June 4^th: National Cheese Day

June 5^th: National Running Day

June 6^th: National Yo-Yo Day

June 7^th: National Chocolate Ice Cream Day…great way to kick off summer vacation!

Important Dates in May/June:

June 6^th: Last day of student attendance (half-day); ½ Day Teacher Work Day

June 7^th: ½ Day Teacher Work Day – Kick off to summer!

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell

Happy Memorial Day! Be sure to take a moment to remember the brave and heroic men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They deserve our lasting gratitude.

IEA Score Grants

The window is still open for early career teacher to apply for an IEA Score Grant. Score grant applications are not being accepted and are due by 11:59 PM on July 15, 2019. To apply or for SCORE highlight videos, visit the SCORE Grant page on the IEA Website.

Save the Profession: Repeal the 3%

The Illinois General Assembly gavels out May 31^st. Our petitions were delivered to JB Pritzker last week by IEA President Kathi Griffin and some members of the IEA. Make those phone calls to your legislators! Thanks to the building representatives for filling out the ‘Repeal the 3%’ postcards at last week’s building rep meeting.

Report Card Timeline

The report card website is now open. You will be able to post grades as of 10:45 AM on Thursday, June 6^th. Your comments and grades need to be completed by 5 PM on Friday, June 7^th. The website will close on June 10^th and parents will be able to access the report cards online as of June 11^th.

IEA Retired

If you would like to receive a packet of information about joining IEA Retired, please let me know and I can send you what you need via inter-office mail. If you have questions regarding IEA Retired, you may reach out to Linda Stolt, our SEA retired liaison, via her home email: lindast05@hotmail.com.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

May 27^th: National Memorial Day

May 28^th: National Hamburger Day

May 29^th: National Paperclip Day

May 30^th: National Creativity Day

May 31^st: National Smile Day

Important Dates in May/June:

May 27^th: Memorial Day – No School

June 6^th: Last day of student attendance (half-day); ½ Day Teacher Work Day

June 7^th: ½ Day Teacher Work Day – Kick off to summer!

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org

“Strong teachers don’t teach context; Google has content. Strong teachers connects learning in ways that inspire kids to learn more and strive for greatness.”
~Eric Jensen

We are amidst the busy time of year with many end-of-the-year events and activities happening in our schools and across our district. From Battle of the Books competitions to Young Athletes and Special Olympic Events to rocket launches and graduations. Enjoy these last few weeks with your students and the many celebrations and culminating activities starting to happen!

A Reminder to the Field Leaders

If you are a field leader and plan to meet with you district teams on the 3^rd Wednesday of the month send you list of dates and meetings for to Dr. Myers. Our contract says to send this information to Human Resources, but with Dr. Hannigan leaving, much of our HR contact next year will be with Dr. Myers or Diana Peters.

IEA Score Grants

If you are an early career teacher and have a great idea for a community service project or other school project, consider applying for IEA’s Score Grant. 2019-2020 Score grant applications are not being accepted and are due by 11:59 PM on July 15, 2019. Early career teachers may partner up with someone who is not an early career teacher and write the grant together. To apply or for SCORE highlight videos, visit the SCORE Grant page on the IEA Website.

Save the Profession: Repeal the 3%

It’s not too late to make a difference. Contact your legislator and tell your family and friends to contact their legislators to explain why it is important to repeal the 3% salary cap for educators. We will have postcards available at our Building Rep meeting today. For language on what you can say if making phone calls, check out our SEA Facebook Page.

Last day to contribute to NEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education

The SEA Building reps in the building will be bringing any donations to the NEA Fund to today’s rep meeting. Any last minute donations would be appreciated. Reps, please remember to bring the envelopes to today’s meeting.

Volunteering at the Community Closet

Thank you to the team of SEA members who served at the last Community Closet of the year: Cynthia Dressler (ELC), Steven Kitowski (MacArthur), Julia Morris (and her husband)(Enders-Salk), & Kara Zielinski (Enders-Salk). I witnessed a great team who worked hard to get as many of the clothing donations sorted, boxed, and/or on the shelves of the Community Closet. If you have never volunteered in the past, grab a team of your colleagues and sign-up together next year.

Last Building Rep Meeting of the Year

The last SEA Building Rep Meeting of the year is today. We will be celebrating our District 54 retirees and welcoming our new buildings reps at today’s meeting. Additionally, the Jason Eliasek Scholarship winners will be recognized at this meeting as well.

Volunteering at the District 54 Foundation’s Golf Outing
The Foundation still needs volunteers to work at the District 54 Education Foundation’s Golf Outing on June 10^th. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Jennie Waldorf at the RAC. Also, we are looking for a few volunteers who are interested in attending, but don’t play golf, to see at the hold sponsored by the SEA, SEEO, and Region 35. Email me if you are interested!

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

May 20^th: National Pick Strawberries Day

May 21^st: National Strawberries and Cream Day (makes sense after yesterday…)

May 22^nd: National Buy a Musical Instrument Day

May 23^rd: National Lucky Penny Day (look to pick one up…heads up of course)

May 24^th: National Road Trip Day (perfect for the long 3 day weekend!)

Important Dates in May:

May 20^th: SEA Building Representative Meeting 3:30-5:00 PM in the Board Room; current reps, newly elected reps, & retirees are invited to attend

May 27^th: Memorial Day – No School

Have a great three-day weekend just ahead.  Take some time to celebrate Memorial Day weekend by attending Patriotic events or local ceremonies, showing your respect and gratitude by flying a flag at half-staff, or take time to recognize anyone who has served honorably.

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org

“A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.” ~Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Happy Monday morning! The sun is shining this morning…a great way to start the week ahead!

NEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education

What you may not know, is every SEA and SEEO delegate sent to the NEA Representative Assembly each summer in July is asked to make a $200 out-of-pocket donation to NEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education. The donations our members make are brought to the NEA-RA to offset the cost of what the SEA and SEEO delegates are asked to contribute. So on behalf of our SEA and SEEO delegates, thank you! If you would like to make donation the FCPE Fund, the SEA building rep(s) in your building have an envelope and will be taking donations until the end of this week. Also, thank you to those people who elected to make the electronic donation which was reflected in last week’s paycheck.

Volunteering at the Community Closet Tomorrow

If you have signed up to volunteer at the Community Closet tomorrow, Tuesday, May 14^th, from 6-8 PM. Please send me a quick email just confirming you will be there. I do have a couple openings available if you are able to lend a hand at Addams.

Last Building Rep Meeting of the Year is NEXT Monday

The last SEA Building Rep Meeting of the year is next Monday, May 20^th. If you are a newly elected building rep you are invited to attend with your current building rep. Also, if you are a retiree who was unable to make it to the General Meeting, we will be recognizing you at this meeting as well. Please send me an email so we can confirm your attendance and add you to our guest for the meeting. As a reminder, any SEA member is welcome to attend our monthly building representative meetings. The Jason Eliasek Scholarship winners will be recognized at this meeting as well.

Volunteering at the District 54 Foundation’s Golf Outing
The Foundation needs volunteers to work at the District 54 Education Foundation’s Golf Outing on June 10^th. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here to fill out the Volunteer Interest Form. Did you know SEA, SEEO, and Region 35 make a donation to be a Hole Sponsor at this event each year?   Let’s start hoping for BEAUTIFUL weather for this event as it the Foundation’s largest fundraisers of the year. For more information, check the email sent out by Jennie Waldorf last week.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

May 13^th: National Frog Jumping Day (wonder if the frogs Orange?)

May 14^th: National Dance like a Chicken Day

May 15^th: National Chocolate Chip Day

May 16^th: National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day

May 17^th: National Bike to Work Day (who’s up for the challenge?)

Important Dates in May:

May 14^th: Volunteer at the Community Closet at Addams Jr. High 6-8 PM Click here to volunteer with the SEA.

May 20^th: SEA Building Representative Meeting 3:30-5:00 PM in the Board Room; current reps, newly elected reps, & retirees are invited to attend

May 27^th: Memorial Day – No School

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”   ~Michael Jordan

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Enjoy the extra special acknowledgments you receive this week in your buildings! Even though it is on the calendar once a year, remember the work each of you is appreciated on a daily basis. We all know it is NOT easy work…but it is IMPORTANT work!

NEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education

Some of you have elected to make a one-time donation to NEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education. This one-time union dues deduction for FCPE will be taken out of this Friday’s (May 10^th) paycheck. The NEA fund speaks on behalf of NEA’s three million members and supports pro-public education candidates. The NEA does NOT use dues dollars for this purpose.

If you would like to make donation to this fund, the SEA building rep in your building has an envelope and will be taking donations over the next two weeks from SEA and SEEO members. If you would like to be added for the 2019-2020 school year for the one-time donation in May, please let me know. SEEO President Kathy Jesuit and I thank you ahead of time for your donations.

Assignment Letters for Next Year

If you did not receive your assignment letter for next year on May 1^st, please reach out to Dr. Hannigan in HR. The district tried something new this year by sending it out electronically. I know a few people did not receive their letters so it was probably due to an electronic error.

Volunteering at the Community Closet at Addams

The SEA has one remaining volunteer opportunity at Jane Addams Jr. High’s Community Closet next week. We will have openings available. If you would like to join us on Tuesday, May 14^th, click here to let us know your availability.

SEA Executive Board Openings

There are a few open positions on the SEA Executive Board for the 2019-2020 School year: Historian, Jr. High Liaison, Membership Recognition, & School Board Relations Chair and team members. Attached is a description of each position and how to apply if you are interested in being appointed to any of these roles.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

May 6^th: The Kickoff to National Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7^th: National Teacher Appreciation Day

May 8^th: National School Nurse Day

May 9^th: National Lost Sock Memorial Day (I have hundreds of those!)

May 10^th: National Clean-Up Your Room Day (maybe the lost socks would be found?)

Important Dates in May:

May 6^th: SEA Executive Team Meeting 3:30-5:00 PM in the Board Room

May 6^th-10^th: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 14^th: Volunteer at the Community Closet at Addams Jr. High 6-8 PM Click here to volunteer with the SEA.

May 20^th: SEA Building Representative Meeting 3:30-5:00 PM in the Board Room; current reps and newly elected reps are invited to attend

May 27^th: Memorial Day – No School

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” ~Frederick Douglass

Hard to believe in just a few days it will be May, and we have probably had all four seasons hit us in the last week. This last full month of school definitely has the students EXTRA excited, as they start to think summer is right around the corner. Be sure to definitely find time for self-care, and take time to breathe in order to enjoy the weeks ahead!

May 1^st Happenings in Our District

May 1^st signals not just the start of a new month, but according to our contract all members will be given notice of their teaching assignments for the forthcoming year no later than this date. If this is not the case, be sure to talk to your SEA building representative.

Also, May 1^st will is our final staff in-service day. If you haven’t thought about what your plans are for lunch that day, consider ordering Lou Malnati’s to support the District 54 Education Foundation. Maybe it will be your dinner pick-up on the way home like I am hoping to do!  Attached is the flyer.

Building Trauma-Informed Systems Training

Last week, SEA sent a team of teachers to attend another three-day ‘Building Trauma Informed Systems’ training presented by the IEA. Joining the SEA team was Superintendent DuRoss, Dr. Knoll, and Dr. Goldberg for two of those three days. The SEA looks forward to partnering with District 54 to ensure our schools are trauma-sensitive schools in which all of our students are provided with caring relationships and positive experiences to cultivate the resilience necessary to move forward in despite any adverse childhood experiences.

We now have 60-70 members who have attended this training over the past two years, and SEA hopes to continue to provide opportunities to send more of our educators. One of the #1 takeaways we hear attendees share is the mind-shift that takes place and makes us think not “What is wrong with child?” but “What has happened to this child?”

Last Day of School

As Superintendent DuRoss shared, the last day of student attendance on June 6^th will be a half-day of school for the students. The remainder of the day will be considered the first half of what has been referred to as our “Record’s Day”. Friday, June 7^th, will now be only a half-day of staff attendance and is considered the second half of “Record’s Day”.   According to our contract, the purpose of this day will be completing required students related reports and teacher-directed activities.  Please note the revised time of the report card grade posting timeline as well.  I was able to get the time changed on June 6^th from 3 PM to 10:45 AM to reflect the half-day schedule.

Volunteering at the Community Closet at Addams

The SEA has one remaining volunteer opportunity at Jane Addams Jr. High’s Community Closet. If you would like to join us on Tuesday, May 14^th, click here to let us know your availability.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

April 29^th: National Peace Rose Day (it’s quite beautiful…I had to look it up too!)

April 30^th: National Honesty Day

May 1^st: School Principal’s Day

May 2^nd: World Password Day (is it time to update your passwords?)

May 3^rd: National Two Different Colored Shoes Day (go for it…you have a reason to!)

Important Dates in May:

May 1^st: Half-Day In-Service

May 6^th: SEA Executive Team Meeting 3:30-5:00 PM in the Board Room

May 6^th-10^th: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 14^th: Volunteer at the Community Closet at Addams Jr. High 6-8 PM Click here to volunteer with the SEA.

May 20^th: SEA Building Representative Meeting 3:30-5:00 PM in the Board Room; current reps and newly elected reps are invited to attend

May 27^th: Memorial Day – No School

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.”   ~The Lorax

Is spring finally here? I hope everyone had an enjoyable three-day weekend and had an opportunity to spend some time outdoors!

Thank you for attending the SEA/SEEO General Meeting

The leadership of the SEA and SEEO want to thank everyone in attendance at our Annual General Meeting last Monday afternoon. It was nice to kick-off one of many celebrations for the Class of 2019 District 54 Retirees. We appreciated having the following distinguished guests in attendance: IEA President Kathi Griffin, IEA Vice-President Al Llorens, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, and NEA Director Amy Biancheri, our key note speaker.

Continuing to serve as your SEA President

During the business portion of our General Meeting, Victoria Mikos was elected as your SEA Vice-President for the next two years. Additionally, I was elected to continue as your SEA President for the next two years. This first year as interim President has been quite a learning experience, but it is one that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our building reps and Executive Team members and supporting all of our members of the SEA!

Felicia Cichy Award Winner

Congratulations to Daniel Argueta from Stevenson School who was SEA’s 2019 recipient of our Felicia Cichy Award. At the local level, Dan has served as our ethnic minority representative to the Region 35 council as well as to the IEA-RA. At the state level, he has served as the Northern Vice-Chair for the IEA Minority Caucus and as a member of the Human and Civil Rights Committee. Previously, Dan was the Midwest Director for the NEA Hispanic Caucus and as Secretary after that. As an officer of the Hispanic Caucus, he also sat on the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee at NEA, which also monitors issues of race equity in the Association and advocates for racial and social justice in education and serves as an advisory board to the NEA President, Lily-Eskelsen Garcia. Dan is a great advocate for our students and for our members.

In Need of Volunteers

This Saturday, the SEA will be sending a team of members to volunteer at the Community Closet at Addams Jr. High 10 AM – 12 PM. We need a few more volunteers to fill up our allotted spots. If you are available, please click here to volunteer with the SEA.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate this week:

April 22^nd: National Earth Day

April 23^rd: National Picnic Day

April 24^th: National Administrative Professionals’ Day

April 25^th: National Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

April 26^th: National Pretzel Day

Important Dates in April:

April 27^th: Volunteer at the Community Closet at Addams Jr. High 10 AM – 12 PM; Click here to volunteer with the SEA.

Lori Mobley

Schaumburg Education Association President

lorimobleysea@gmail.com

Cell: (847) 344-5249

Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450

www.sea54.org