Category: Mobley’s Monday Message

Good Morning! I hope all is well.

Attached this week: Bargaining Committee explanation and application

 

• TSHIRT ORDERS!! Hurray enough members have ordered shirts so the shirts will only cost $6!! Please begin sending your checks made payable to SEA to LORI MOBLEY @ MacArthur. Or give them to your building reps on or before Monday – we have our rep meeting after school.
• I have heard some positive comments about winter break and the fact we had a full week after the holidays were over to rest, vacation, etc. I am glad that many are excited about the set up. It will be the same for next year. The calendar committee helps to make these decisions and meets in October for the following year. Although it is only January, if you have specific feedback and would like to email it to me, I will print it out and put it in the folder for the fall.
• Our contract ends at the end of the school year next year (2018) so bargaining information is attached today. This is a major part of what the union does for you so please consider getting involved in this process. You do not need to be at the negotiating table to be involved; we will have a large research team. The executive team wants to make sure that all areas of concern are represented and everyone’s input is heard. I wish I could give you a time allowance but it depends on how well we do our research and what we ask for from our school board and the district. The research team will begin before this school year ends and will work until bargaining ends. The negotiating team will be chosen from the research team and will begin in September and work until bargaining ends. If you have specific questions, please contact me.
• Rep meeting is on Monday and we have the final vote for our last rep and alternate to the IEA-RA in Chicago on Monday as well.

Enjoy the mild weather!

Chery

PS – Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon. I’m still not going to eat any of them!!!

Welcome Back! I hope everyone enjoyed their break and found time to rest, relax and gear up for the long push to the end!!

Attachments this week: Eliasek scholarship forms; NEA form to apply to win a car; Degrees not debt flyer for early career teachers, Performance group application for the IEA-RA, a flyer from TRS about an informational meeting at the Palatine office in February and early career teacher retreat form for Feb 10 and 11

As SEA/IEA/NEA members you may receive an email for a “CALL TO ACTION” to contact your legislators to ask them to vote NO for Trump’s current candidate for Education Secretary. Please check out the NEA and IEA’s reason as to why we do not want her as our Secretary of Education. Go to www.nea.org and there is information on the home page. It is, of course, up to you to decide whether you want to send the request or not. Please consider checking it out and make your voice heard if you so choose! You do not need to wait for the email to make some noise J

The IEA-RA (representative assembly) is looking for performance groups to perform at the IEA-RA in March. Attached is the form to apply.

The SEA will be holding School Board Candidate interviews with the possibility of an SEA recommendation before the election in April. If you are interested in being a part of this group, please contact me by Tuesday, January 17^th. If you need more info, you know how to find me!

There will be a run-off election on January 23^rd at every building to decide the final IEA-RA attendee and alternate. Please make sure you vote!

Enjoy the extra day this weekend!! Keep warm

Chery

PS -“Almost” is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

We made it!! Winter break is finally here.

• Eliasek scholarship information and paperwork is now available to every SEA and SEEO member’s families. If you have a child attending college, please look at the paperwork. I have attached it for your convenience.
• Attached are the elections results from Monday. Congratulations to all those who are attending the IEA-RA! And congrats to our newest SEA member on the Region Council – Michele Mogilinski J
• I have been asking you to care to confront but let’s also try to open to the “confrontation” as well. Open hearts and open minds can quickly heal the stress and tensions that others feel. If someone comes to you with a concern be open enough to listen and really hear what they have to say. Thanks.
• Finally, I wish everyone the most joyous of holiday seasons. Whether you are staying home or traveling, I hope your winter break is restful and peaceful. I wish that you will be able to be with those that mean the most to you even if only in thought. Be safe and be happy.
• Please try very hard not to take too much work home or any at all if you can avoid it. They call it Winter BREAK for a reason!!

Much love, peace and joy to you all from a very grateful friend!

Chery

 

·        PS – Holiday Blockbusters

Movies released during the holidays typically rake in big dough. The biggest one to date? Sherlock Holmes, which grossed about $24.6 million dollars on Christmas Day 2009 and set an all-time single-day record for Dec. 25. Avatar ranks first in New Year’s Day sales, having made nearly $25.3 million on Jan. 1, 2010. Also ranking high on the charts for both days is 2004’s Meet the Fockers, grossing $19.5 million on Christmas and $18.3 million on New Year’s Day. I’m excited to see a very cute movie called SING! but being a music teacher what can I say??

I hope everyone is handling the beginning of winter well. Technically it hasn’t even begun but you can’t convince me of that!

• Eliasek scholarship information and paperwork will be available to every SEA and SEEO member’s families beginning on December 19^th so expect an email from me with that attachment. I will also be sending it to every rep to post on your SEA bulletin board and will also include in next week’s SEAside. If you have a child attending college, please look at the paperwork.
• Gossip is Toxic! If you have an issue with someone, please talk to them. Take your building rep with you or a fellow staff member, but please try to refrain from talking to your admin at first. If the situation were reversed, would you want the person you offended going straight to the admin about you?
• SPARKS – for our newer staff – it’s a great overnight trip and a wonderful learning experience for everyone involved. Check out the attached paperwork – the form is due next Monday; please join us for a terrific time!!
• I will be out of the district tomorrow – Skunkworks – it’s a meeting with all the local area presidents – no idea why they call it skunkworks – I’ve asked and no one remembers! I will be available by phone so if you need me, please call – NO worries – we all walk in and out all the time – it’s actually a norm for this meeting.

Chery

 

PS – Holiday trees and the White House Holiday Traditions

Germany made the first fake holiday tress – they were made of goose feathers that had been dyed green. Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895 and the 1^st president to decorate the White House with a tree was Franklin Pierce. Oregon produces most of the holiday trees in the US and many parts of the tree are edible with the needles being a great source of vitamin C. Jimmy Carter was the first president to attend a menorah lighting ceremony and that tradition has continued. Bill Clinton began the tradition of placing a menorah in the Oval Office in 1993 and George W. Bush held the first White House Hanukkah Party in 2001. The past 3 commander in chiefs have acknowledged Kwanzaa, but the White House does not yet have an established set of customs surrounding the holiday. Here’s hoping your traditions are celebrated over Winter Break with family and friends.

 

 

Chery Anderson

SEA President

Schaumburg, IL

School District 54

Good Morning and Happy December!! Three weeks more until winter break. Hang in there and keep talking to each other with kindness. Please DON’T go to your admin with complaints and/or concerns about fellow staff members (SEA or SEEO) unless you have exhausted all other avenues. It will come much easier from you than from your admin especially if the staff member didn’t realize they have made poor word choices or been frustrated and spoken to severely. Care to Confront!!

• Ballot Counters Needed!  Are you looking for a risk-free way to get involved with SEA with minimal effort?  Are you looking for a way to beef up your domain 4?  Ballot counting is for you!  SEA is in need of ballot counters for our December 19th election.  Counters will meet from 3:30-5:30 at the RAC to count ballots for the day’s election.  Requirements: Must be able to count to 60 and know how to operate a pencil. Treats will be provided!

Attachments today:

• GNA Bargaining Conference-this would be a great conference if you are interested in being on the bargaining team at any level. Let me know if you are interested – the union/region can help with registration fee.
• The 2018 NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence Flyer and information
• SPARKS – for early career teachers – 10 years of experience or under
• Win a Car from the NEA!!! Open to ALL!
• NEA Leadership Summit in February – let me know if you are interested – there are a couple of ways to help get you funded if you wish to attend.

The Board of Education will (hopefully) approve our right to have our refund from TRS rolled over into our district 403b plans tonight. Ric King will then send us the necessary paperwork to make this happen. Please look at your emails carefully from TRS so you can make an informed decision. Please do not ask me what you should do – as much as I would love to help you, I am not a financial advisor and don’t know what is in your best interest. I can make suggestions on what to do with the money if you decide to take a cash payout (wink wink!!) Please check past SEAsides for detailed information or look for Ric King’s email in the next day or so for more info.

Ok – this is already too long. Have a wonderful day. You are ALL AMAZING!!!

Chery

TRS refunds are coming out – you will be notified through TRS that yours is ready to be claimed. You have options as to what you can do with the money unfortunately the one thing you can’t do in District 54 is roll it into your 403b. Our system in district does not allow “outside” funds to be put into the system. I understand that other school districts can do this but ours cannot. Please look at the other options that are available. I have not yet received my email but I know others have. As I receive more info I will share what I know.

• Please remember to log into the employee access account and update your choices for benefits – EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT CHANGING YOU MUST log in and make those choices. I have it on good authority that you will be “reminded” continuously until it is done. (wink wink)
• Care to confront your co-workers if there is an uneasy feeling – work out differences before they escalate to a higher level. If you need a mediator, contact your building rep, a fellow employee or call me! We need to work collaboratively to make each and every day as pleasant as we can – we are in this together!
• I will not be sending a SEAside next week so I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how thankful I am for each of you and for the excellent work you do every day. I know how hard you are working and the long hours you put in and please know that they do not go unnoticed. I hope you enjoy your small token of appreciation from Kathy Jesuit and I – we could never really give you enough to thank you for all you do. When I say my thank you’s at the dinner table next week, I will certainly be mentioning you and your dedication to our students and communities. Be well and enjoy your time away from school.

Happy Thursday!! Trimester 1 almost done 🙂

• Are those underwear boxes filling up? Don’t forget to help our Community Closet by filling those boxes with socks and underwear for all ages .
• Do you know an ESP that goes above and beyond? Please consider nominating them for ESP of the year. https://ieanea.org/members/esp/esp-award-application/ online form or paper form

Paper form attached J

• Hungry? Head to the Village Tavern this month with your school ID for 20% off your own meal!
• HAPPY AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK – you will receive a small token of appreciation from the SEA at the beginning of the next week. Thanks for all you do for our students!! YOU ROCK!
• Here is the link to our current board policy on the pledge – this has not changed since 2002 – the board revisited the policy in 2013 but no changes were made. Basically the stance is you can’t require a child to stand or to say the pledge, but you can require they be respectful for those that choose to do so. Click on the link below and go into “Instruction” –  policy number 6:390

http://www.boarddocs.com/il/sd54/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=9VLLAL543181#

• Are you looking for an amazing opportunity to expand your educational horizons AND add to your Domain 4?  Sign up to be a delegate for the upcoming IEA Representative Assembly!  This assembly meets March 30-April 1 in downtown Chicago with lodging and meal expenses paid by Region 35 and SEA.  The RA is your chance to be a voice for the district at the state level.  16 SEA members will be attending in addition to the hundreds of other IEA members from around the state.  Complete the attached nomination form and send it to Kara Zielinski at Enders-Salk. The deadline is Tuesday, November 15^th.
• Online Open Enrollment for 2017 Benefits –please read and follow the guidelines if you wish to change your benefits package – you received this email this past week from Nancy Rogers – this is your responsibility!!!

Monday, November 7^th – Tuesday, November 22nd – Closes before Thanksgiving break

• This is also a great time while you are in your employee access account to make sure everything else is up to date. If there are mistakes, contact HR asap to get it corrected.

BEST OF LUCK TODAY J I know that you will all be very successful today and your parents and students will benefit from your planning and care!

• A note from Hobbs for all Jr High and Middle level @ LP – “The collaboration piece is REALLY easy for Junior High teachers because you have Google now! You can make splitting up the workload and having access to each other’s materials way more efficient with Google! And if you need help with this, you can always contact me (Hobbs) or your building tech coach. (reply to Hobbs @ HabibBehrouzi@sd54.k12.il.us)
• Not having enough time in our day is the biggest concern I hear about in our district. Although personal plan time is laid out in our contract, it is up to you to ensure it is protected. If you schedule meetings of any kind during this time, it will become an expectation thus losing your most precious commodity…time! I understand that you have very full plates but please don’t give up what we bargained so hard for. Do your best to keep that time for you! If you need support in discussing this topic with your administrators or other staff, please enlist your SEA building rep’s help.
• For those that are “close” to retirement – there is a meeting next Wednesday, October 12^th for TRS @ Schaumburg High school, 4:30pm in room 200. This is a good time to come hear their latest news, find out the new rules and ask questions.
• Those that are interested in doing some political phone banking for a local candidate, please take a look at our webpage for information. You can rsvp to me and I will let the IEA know you are interested  www.sea54.org

Have a wonderful long weekend – you have all earned this time and MUCH MUCH MORE!!

Chery

PS – There’s a Mumbai-based pizzeria that now delivers pizza by drone – if I order one will it still be hot when it gets here?

Happy Fall!!

• There have been some questions about whether or not we can share lesson plans, common assessments, etc., YES, YES, YES! It is also more than ok to divide and conquer in your PLCs. (having a few members of the PLC split up the workload – one creates the low level plans, one the mid-level and one the high level) Not only is it ok, it IS ENCOURAGED!! According to our district office administrators, this is what makes us great – sharing the wealth of info and ideas we have. Set up a folder in sharepoint today and start loading it up so all may find these items. Send ideas and plans to other buildings. You can tailor them to your building and your class but why reinvent the wheel when we don’t need to. COLLABORATION IS THE KEY!!!
• Health insurance (THIS Fund) contributions – just in case you were wondering what this deduction was for J

o   (5 ILCS 375/6.6)

o   Effective July 1, 1995, all active TRS members, including substitute and part-time teachers who are not employees of a state agency covered by the state employees’ health plan, are required to make contributions to the Teachers’ Health Insurance Security (THIS) Fund.

Contribution Rates

Contribution Type	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
TRS Contributions
Member TRS retirement contribution	9.40%	9.40%	9.40%	9%
Employer TRS retirement contribution	0.58%	0.58%	0.58%	0.58%
Employer TRS contribution on federally-funded salary	35.41%	33.00%	36.06%	38.54%
THIS Fund Contributions
Member THIS (insurance) contribution	0.97%	1.02%	1.07%	1.12%
Employer THIS (insurance) contribution	0.72%	0.76%	0.80%	0.84%

 

• I have been asked to several buildings to learn about how PLCs are running nowadays and to hear about some inconsistencies from building to building and even from grade level to grade level within a building. If you would like to “weigh in,” please contact me; I would love to come over for a chat and gather more info and take suggestions on how to fix this issue.

 

That’s it for this week. If you need assistance from me, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Chery

PS – did you know that Dr. Seuss invented the word, “nerd?” Makes sense to me!!

Hello! I hope everything is going as you would like today J

 

• Care to confront – if you have an issue with a colleague, go to them FIRST before heading into the building admin’s office. It is better to talk it out and come to some kind of mutual agreement (even to agree to disagree) then one or both of you ending up with a reprimand in your file. Be professional and talk to that person and not behind their back. Nervous? Have your building rep help you, or your building mentor or even another staff member. You need to work together all year – try to make the working relationship what it should be – collaborative, cooperative, respectful and peaceful.
• Please invite our wonderful para-pros (SEEO) to supported ed meetings and to any meeting if you are making plans that involve specific students. It is part of their contract to be invited and SEA does not want to violate the SEEO contract. If there is no way they can attend, please, please make sure they are kept informed. Our para-pros spend much of their time one on one or in small groups with the kids and they need to know the expectations and have great insight on them. Ask for their input and pass it on to the parents as well. We are in this together!!!
• SEA will soon be on FACEBOOK and Twitter – I will send you more details as we “login”.
• And finally – please remember to take care of yourself. Get outside when you can, take a walk, watch a great movie, do something that is just for you.

 

Have a great day and an even better weekend!

Chery

 

1. No one really knows who invented the fire hydrant because the patent was burned in a fire!