Joel School's New Staff

Jillian Amato is our newest kindergarten teacher and comes to us from Guilford, CT. She graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a degree in elementary education and a concentration in mathematics. She is currently pursuing a masters degree at SCSU with a cross endorsement in middle school mathematics. She is a devout Yankee fan and enjoys music and volunteering in her community.

Jacqueline Bonner comes to Lewin Joel School from working 9 years in the
Orange school district as a school psychologist.  She has also been
employed as a school psychologist in the North Kingstown, Rhode Island and
Woodbridge, CT school districts. This is a second career for Jacquie as
she was employed with General Dynamics and The Travelers Ins. Co. as a
computer programmer/analyst. Jacquie received both her Associate and Bachelors
degrees from Eastern Connecticut State University, and her Masters Degree
and Sixth Year Certification from Southern Connecticut State University.
She resides in Guilford with her family and is the step-mother of 5
children.  Interests include boating, alpine skiing, reading and spending
time with her family.

Heather Cannata was raised in Middletown, CT. Her family includes her parents, younger sister and her dog, Maggie. She graduated with honors from Central Connecticut State University and majored in early childhood education with a dual concentration in mathematics/human growth and development. She lives in New Haven and her hobbies include reading, crocheting, traveling, and enjoying the outdoors. She will be teaching third grade.

Another new teacher to our 2^nd grade is Barbara Schmidt. She graduated from Sacred Heart University with a BS and MS in elementary education and a focus on emergent literacy. She was also a member of Sacred Heart’s volleyball team. 

New to our 2^nd grade team is Letitia Viemeister. She graduated from Long Island University and has experience working PK through sixth grade with an extensive background working in Joel’s guided reading program during the 2006-2007.

Pierson School's New Staff

Katie Bondonna is a new fifth grade teacher at Pierson School.  It is her first year working in Clinton.  She grew up in Old Saybrook and is currently a resident of Clinton.  Katie finished her graduate work form the University of New Haven studying Elementary Education.  She has also been a swim coach at the Valley Shore YMCA for the past five years.  Katie stated, “I look forward to a fantastic year at Pierson.”

Jill Davidson is a new fifth grade teacher at Pierson School.  She recently graduated from the University of Connecticut, receiving both her Bachelor’s degree and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education/Curriculum and Instruction.  Jill student taught in a second grade classroom in Glastonbury, CT.  Her Master’s year internship took place in Mansfield, CT where she helped create and facilitate a guided reading program in grades one through three.

Jill is originally from Terryville, Connecticut and recently moved to Clinton.  When she is not teaching, she enjoys traveling, going to the beach, watching the Yankees, and reading.  Jill stated, “I’m honored to teach in the Clinton district and look forward to working with parents and staff to meet each student’s needs.”

Gina Neddermann is the new music teacher at Pierson and Joel Schools. She holds a bachelors degree in piano performance from the Hartt School of Music, as well as a music education certification from Central Connecticut State University.  Gina’s teaching experience comes from two schools, Rochambeau Middle School in Southbury and Amity Junior High in Bethany.  In her previous schools, she taught general music, chorus, musical theatre and a guitar class.

Gina has lived in Clinton for 10 years and has also taught private piano lessons and preschool music at the Red Barn Children’s Center.  She has two children, Mitch who is a fifth grader at Pierson School and Claudia who is a third grader at Joel School.

Eliot School's New Staff

Although he spent most of his four years in education teaching Physical Education and Health, Jeffrey Duda is excited to begin his journey as a sixth grade science teacher.  He is looking forward to a successful first year at the Jared Eliot Middle School.

He currently is a resident of Westerly, Rhode Island, where he enjoys hobbies such as golf and triathlon training. In October, he hopes to complete his first marathon in Washington, DC.

Katherine Godiksen is thrilled to be at Eliot Middle School and beginning her 15th year of teaching.  She taught grades three and eight in Darien, Old Saybrook and Madison.  She has a Masters in education and a 092 certification in educational leadership.

She has two sons, Ethan and Tucker, ages 12 and 5, and lives in Madison.  Katherine spends a lot of time running, biking, playing tennis and reading.

Alina Gonzalez became a college graduate in May, 2001.  She was the first person in her family to do so and thus, celebrated by taking a five-month backpacking trip through Central America in January, 2002.  For the next five years, she would travel to Central America three more times expanding her knowledge of Spanish, and receive a Master’s Degree in TESOL.

Always curious about other cultures, Alina has practiced Capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) and dances salsa. She loves to visit other countries and hopes that she will inspire students to travel and learn about cultures that are not their own.

Jodie Dauria Haupt is very excited to be teaching seventh grade math at Jared Eliot Middle School.  She is certified to teach math and physics for grades 7 – 12.  For the past two years she taught physics and physical science at Guilford High School. 

Jodie's undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Buffalo.  After graduation, she spent 12 years working as an engineer for Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, and at the Lee Company and Westbrook, Connecticut.  During those years, she traveled aboard a United States submarine and was named on a United States patent for medical instrumentation.

She lives in Madison with her husband and two children. They enjoy living in the area and spend most of their summers waterskiing and sailing at Twin Lakes in Connecticut. They also enjoy snow skiing in the winter.

Morgan School's New Staff

Peter Gersz – Physical Education.  This is Mr. Gersz’s second time teaching at Morgan and he is glad to be back.  He student taught here two years ago and taught full-time in New Haven last year.  In New Haven, he organized and ran an after-school program for inner-city children.  Students were allowed to participate in a safe and fun-filled environment using sports and games to build healthy lifestyles.  Mr. G graduated form SCSU and has received his bachelors in Exercise Science.  Along with his teaching certification, he is also a certified coach and lifeguard.  These certifications allow Mr. Gersz to partake in a few of his favorite hobbies:  teaching, track and field, and swimming.  Other hobbies include hiking, fishing, and biking.

Keri Hagness – Assistant Principal.  Keri Hagness is the new assistant principal.  Although a CT native, Keri began her career in education in Texas.  Her time in Texas afforded her opportunities to work in two very diverse high school settings.  In 2003, she and her family returned to CT.  At that time, Keri was hired to teach in the social studies department at Guilford High School.  While at Guilford, she began to take an interest in administration and enrolled in the UConn Administrator Preparation Program.  For the past 3 years, Keri served as the social studies department chair at Guilford High.  Outside of school, Keri enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children, Kate and Connor.  Keri is excited about her new administrative role and is pleased to be a part of the Morgan community.

Michael Ladd – Computer Instruction.  Mr. Ladd graduated from CCSU and began his first teaching assignment at Lyman Memorial High school. He has taught business education and technology classes at several schools as well as worked in central offices as a district technology coordinator for several school districts.  He has spent time coaching basketball, football and baseball as well as youth soccer and AAU basketball.  Mr. Ladd lives in Lebanon, CT with his wife and tow college-age children; one a senior at LaSalle University in Philadelphia and the other a sophomore at UConn.

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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