Maureen Muse

Biography:

As of July 11, my name officially became Maureen Muse.  I married my high school sweetheart, Dan,  and we relocated to Connecticut.  Dan took a position in the athletic department at Sacred Heart University last summer, so I moved down here this summer, which is how I find myself working in Clinton. 

I am from Canton, Massachusetts, a town about 12 miles south of Boston.  Most recently, I was living in South Boston ,"Southie", with some friends from home. I graduated from Providence College in 2006 with a degree in elementary/special education.  After Providence, I went directly to Lesley University to get my masters as a reading specialist. This will be my 3rd year teaching, but first time in 4th grade.  For the past two years, I taught 3rd grade in Milton, Ma.  Teaching 3rd grade in Milton was a great experience.  I co-taught with a special education teacher all day long. It was the two of us, 18 students(10 role models and 8 students on IEP's), and a SMARTboard.  We had a lot of fun together and met a lot of success over the course of the school year.

When I'm not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, going to Falmouth, and running. I am very excited to be here in Clinton and look forward to meeting everyone.

Colleen Bloom

Biography:

I was born & raised in Clinton, attended all the schools up until high school when I went to Mercy in Middletown. I attended Eastern CT State University for my undergrad & I am finishing up my thesis work at Southern CT State University to complete my Masters. 

I did my student teaching during my undergrad at Eliot under Laraine Scherban and I have substituted there in both short and long term positions for the last four years.

I think that my background of being from Clinton and my experience working at Eliot for the last four years can only help me during my first year of teaching there.

Tim Wininger

Biography:

I lived in Madison until I was six years old. We moved to Pennsylvania for about six months and then to New York for about three months. We moved from New York to Clinton where I went to school and eventually graduated from Morgan in 1974.

Cindy, my wife of thirty-three years and my son, Tim Jr., moved to Colorado for one year before moving back to Madison / Clinton area. We bought a house in Clinton in 1988 and have lived here ever since. I was slow to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up so I started with carpentry and owned my own business for about seven years. I went back to school for computers and worked in that industry for twenty-five years culminating with the purchase of a POS software/hardware business in 2003.  I went to college full-time while working full-time in 1993 and earned my masters in Environmental Science from the University of New Haven in 2001. I

 returned to school going through the ARC program in 2007-2008 and received a certification to teach math in May of 2008. I played baseball for Morgan and tried out for the Yankees in 1978. I continued to play baseball/softball (three leagues) until three years ago. I still attempt golf in my spare time and we love to hike, backpack and camp. We also like traveling and have been to many places around the world including Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America, and Europe.

Paul Beckett

My name is Paul Beckett and I have recently been hired at The Morgan School as an English Language Arts teacher.

I am writing to inform you that I will be attending the new teacher orientation on august 18th.

Some biographical info:  I was born in Tucson, AZ, but grew up in Clinton.  I went through the public school system and am a graduate of The Morgan School. I attended Quinnipiac University where I earned a BA degree in English and an MAT degree in Education.  My first teaching job was at a high school in Hawaii on the island of Oahu, the town of Ewa Beach.  From January '09 until the end of that school year, I was a long term substitute for Mike Meizies and Diana Rizzo at The Morgan School, teaching World History, Contemporary Issues and Teens & the Law.

An interesting fact about myself is that I have lived in Hawaii for one year, an experience that I am truly grateful for.  I will always remember my amazing experiences there!  Another interesting thing about myself is that I have had the opportunity to study mummies from around the world!  My father examines and analyzes mummies and I have been lucky enough to travel with him and work on mummies in Peru, Germany, and France, as well as other places within the United States.

Stephanie Pellegrino

I am originally from Avon Massachusetts which is about 20 minutes south of Boston and am now living in Westerly RI. I carried out my undergraduate studies at Providence College where I majored in Biology and Secondary Education.

I am currently seeking my masters degree in Secondary Ed. and Biology at the University of Rhode Island. I spent my first two years teaching at Duxbury High School in Duxbury MA. Duxbury is a coastal community much like Clinton. There, I taught grades 9-12 in Biology and Biotechnology.

I got married last September and moved to this area where I taught 7th grade science at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.

I enjoyed the experience at Old Lyme very much, but due to budget cuts within the town, my position was eliminated. I am very interested in physical fitness and health and almost changed careers to become a pediatric dietitian before beginning my graduate studies in teaching.

Lindsay Simkowski

I'm a newly hired Speech Pathologist from Niantic, CT (where I grew up).  I'm currently living at home with my mom and cat, Mitch. 

I did my grad work at Penn State and undergrad at UConn (Go Huskies!).  I did a semester of student teaching at two elementary schools in Pennsylvania as part of my grad program in Speech. 

This summer I worked for the Ridgefield Public School District's ESY program doing speech therapy and enjoyed the experience. 

I enjoy reading, watching Seinfeld (favorite show ever), UConn sports, Penn State football and I'm trying to quit the bad habit of biting my nails.

Wang Jianfu

Test Your Child's Lunch Box

Because it is not possible to tell by appearance whether a vinyl lunch box may contain lead, CEH is advising parents to avoid buying vinyl lunch boxes altogether as we cannot guarantee they are lead free. You can test vinyl lunch boxes you already own using a hand-held lead testing kit, often available at hardware stores. Two reliable and easy-to-use brands are PACE's Lead Alert (also available by calling 1-800-884-6073) and LeadCheck (also available online at www.leadcheck.com). For a visual demonstration of how to use LeadCheck, please visit www.testyourlunchbox.com.

If your child's lunch box tests positive please call CEH at (800) 652-0827. We can help you interpret the results and can use your product as evidence in our ongoing work get the lead out of our children's lunch boxes.

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Commonly Asked Questions

What products did CEH test?
CEH has only tested soft plastic lunch boxes. We don’t know whether lead may be present in hard plastic or metal boxes at this time. In most cases the lead is in the plastic lining of the box, although some also have lead in the exterior plastic. Products brands that have tested positive include Generation Sports, Loony Tunes, Frozn/Ingear, Roundhouse/Targus, Crayola, American Studio, Igloo, Sanford, Fast Forward, Arizona Jean Company, JC Penny, Lisa Frank and BVS Entertainment/Animations Brand/Accessory Network. However, we have by no means tested all lunch boxes by any of these makers and our investigation is ongoing.

How dangerous are the lunch boxes with lead?
The levels CEH found in the lunch boxes are not high enough to cause acute lead poisoning during normal use. However, if your child is exposed to lead from other sources, a leaded lunch box would add to their health risk. Because lead has been shown to cause developmental problem in young children at very low levels, CEH believes it is important to eliminate all controllable sources of lead exposure, including lunch boxes.

Does my lunch box have lead?
The majority of lunch boxes that CEH tested do not contain lead, so there is a good chance that your lunch box may be safe. However, because it is not easy to tell by sight, at this point the only way to know for sure is to test the lunch box yourself.

How do I test my lunch box?
You can test vinyl lunch boxes using a hand-held lead testing kit, available at most hardware stores. Two reliable and easy-to-use brands are PACE's Lead Alert (also available by calling 1-800-884-6073) and LeadCheck (also available online at www.leadcheck.com). For a visual demonstration of how to use Lead Check, please visit www.testyourlunchbox.com. Test kits cost less than $5 a piece, and come with instructions. Both of these brands will turn a bright pink color when they are rubbed on a surface containing lead. A clear or orange swab means there is not lead.

What do I do if my lunch box has lead?
If your child's lunch box tests positive, we recommend that you do not use it any longer. Please send CEH your positive lunch box so that we can add it to our investigation and notify other parents. Bags can be mailed to:

Center for Environmental Health
528 61st Street, Suite A
Oakland, CA 94609

Please include your contact information, when and where you purchased the bag when mailing to CEH.

What alternatives are there to vinyl lunch boxes?
CEH does not have enough information at this time to recommend any brand of soft plastic lunch boxes. Because it is not easy to tell by appearance whether a box may contain lead, CEH is advising parents to avoid buying vinyl lunch boxes altogether, and to test their lunch box if they are concerned it may contain lead. A reusable cloth bag or paper bag is a good alternative.

Where is the lead from?
CEH believes that the lead is intentionally added to the vinyl (PVC) plastic as either a stabilizing agent or pigment.

Should my child be tested?
Normal use of positive lunchboxes CEH has tested would not cause acute lead poisoning. However, if your child is also exposed to other environmental exposures to lead such as lead paint, the cumulative effect could be toxic. A blood test is the only definitive way to test for lead poisoning.
A child with lead poisoning may not look sick, but may experience stomachache, poor appetite, hyperactivity and headaches. Low level chronic exposure to lead can cause hearing problems, brain and nerve damage, stunted growth, digestive problems and reproductive problems (in adults).

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