GEA NEWSLETTER
April 14, 2022
President's Message
"If you want to change the world, go home and love your family."
(Mother Theresa)
To all our amazing teachers,
I want to first thank you all for the awe-inspiring work you do for our GPS students.
Thank you for your persistence, resilience, and your amazing ability to rise to the occasion, no matter what obstacles are placed in front of you, or collapses around you.
We show up, We do the work, We support each other and We do this not for ourselves but for the love of teaching and for our Students!
Now is the time for all of you to put yourselves and your family first. Please take a break from work and spend time with your family and friends. Share the love, joy and laughter so you can return to work refreshed and ready to go.
GEA has important work to accomplish and we will need all of you to do the same thing for your teaching profession:
to show up, come together and show our strength in numbers to support all our GPS teachers.
GEA has created our negotiations team and we have entered into the first phase of our negotiations process.
There will be more information to follow when we return from break.
Have a great week!
LILL
Greenwich Education Association Executive Board
Contact Us
Lillian Perone, President: president@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Lori Mulligan, VP Secondary: vpsecondary@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Melissa D'Amato, VP Elementary: vpelementary@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Chrissy Distel, VP of Communications: communications@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Jessica Punchatz, VP of Membership: membership@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Chuck Costello, PR&R Chair: prr@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Secretary: secretary@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Courtney Powers, Treasurer: treasurer@greenwicheducationassociation.org
PAC/BOE Chair, Aaron Johnson: pac@greenwicheducationassociation.org
WHO DO I CONTACT?
Questions about health insurance and retirement? Check out our GEA Website greenwicheducationassociation.org.
The CEA Retirement liaison is Robyn Kaplan-Cho. She can be contacted at robynk@CEA.ORG. She is a wealth of knowledge and the CEA Retirement workshops are incredibly detailed and helpful. Read below for the next workshop dates.
As always, your building rep is happy to assist you in answering any questions and should be your first contact for non-emergency concerns. If your building doesn't have a rep, feel free to reach out to any one of the amazing people on our Board of Directors. Click here for a list of all the reps throughout the district. Also, please consider filling an empty position. Strength in numbers!
GEA News
Greenwich Alliance Trivia Night
GEA Scholarship Program
To be eligible for a GEA award in 2022, a candidate must:
* be the child of a GEA member,
* have a minimum grade point average of 3.0,
* be accepted to a college/university,
Please fill out the 2022 Greenwich Education Association Scholarship Program form as soon as possible. Please email treasurer@greenwicheducationassociation.org with any questions.
Member Spotlight: Monica Ware
Biography
I have been teaching since 1996. Hard to believe! I originally began my professional life after college in advertising, but decided to change careers in 1994 to become a teacher, so since I lived in NYC I went to NYU to get my masters and began my transition to becoming an elementary school teacher.
I have been a 5th Grade Teacher at Riverside School since September 2017. I started working full time in GPS in 2016 at North Mianus as a long term sub and went to Glenville for the rest of that school year. Prior to that (while my children were young) I worked at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center Preschool from 2009 - 2016. I worked with 3 year olds and enjoyed working with preschoolers and outside in nature.
What would the students be surprised to find out about you?
In the summer I love to kayak and love to visit amusement parks to ride roller coasters!
What’s the best thing about being a teacher?
If you could pass on any wisdom to your students, what would you share?
Always ask “why,” question everything and always do your best!
Just for Kicks
Dunkin’ Iced Teas are my favorite!
Reminders!
- Class Coverage Data Form: If your administration requires you to cover another class/duty, please fill out this form. The GEA Executive Board uses this valuable data in our meetings with Dr. Jones and cabinet members, as well as negotiations. THIS FORM IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
- Quarantine Days Resolution Reminder:
Check your sick leave. You should have received back any sick days you took due to covid. If you have any questions, please contact Maria Bocchino Maria_Bocchino@greenwich.k12.ct.us or Susana Valenzuela Susana_valenzuela@greenwich.k12.ct.us in GPS HR.
NEA RA 2022
General Information
Date: Tentatively July 3rd to 6th
Suggested travel days – July 2nd and July 7th
Location: Chicago, IL
With over 9,000 delegates, it is also the world’s largest democratic, deliberative body. The NEA RA convenes every July during the Annual Meeting. The first two days are devoted to discussions, conferences, and exhibits, but the highlight is the Representative Assembly itself. During this important event, delegates debate issues that impact American public education, elect top officers, and set policy for the 3.2 million-member Association Learn more about the NEA RA Here
Greenwich has 6 seats allocated for this RA.
If you are interested in attending the convention please contact Lillian Perone: president@greenwicheducationassociation.org
Please include a short reason why you want to attend and a brief response of how you will use that experience to become more active in your association. This information will be used for an election vote if we have more than 6 GEA members that apply.
SUBMISSIONS DUE BY APRIL 21ST.
Teachers and the Law Workshop
Covid Relief Program for Teachers
If you contracted COVID-19 and experienced financial hardship due to lost wages or out-ofpocket medical expenses, you may be eligible to receive reimbursement from the Connecticut Essential Workers COVID-19 Assistance Program.
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- You can also find us by searching Greenwich Education Association, or just click below.