9-26-25

 If you are on cycle please make sure you schedule your first observation with me and turn in your growth goals by October 1.  If you are doing an alternative evaluation then please go over forms 1-3 with me.  If you have any questions let me know.  Now that we are into the school year I will be getting into all classes more.  

Cross country was hosting a mega-meet on Thursday with about six other teams.  It was a great day for running and lots of friends and families were there for the races.  Joe and Megan did a great job hosting the meet and our runners gave their best.  

Elevating the turn and talk

elevate the turn and talk

I want to thank everyone for the great job  you did when we moved into "secure building and teach" on Wednesday.  The drill practice we have done and clear communication created seamless transitions with everyone following directions.  

The PTA fun run is coming!  There is going to be quite a bit more commotion around this fun run with many prizes, announcements and activities.  Thanks in advance to Kim, Margaret and homeroom teachers who will help promote, track and pass out prizes.  The ramp up will take place from October 1-9 with the Fun Run taking place on October 10.  Obviously huge props to Jen and Joe who will be doing most of the heavy lifting.

The latest edition of the STEM Parade has arrived.  Watch for the student floats.....stay for the staff sitcom theme song.  BMS Back to School Parade 2025 Thanks to Sherry, Angela and Megan P for the great work.  

I love that April and the Specials Team is working with Chris and the BB300 to do some "What is a Benjamin Student" Shout Outs.  Please refer to the google form in April's email to spread the positivity and reinforce our expectations.  

Eligibility has begun. Thanks for updating the sheet Margaret sends out.  Teachers are responsible for contacting parents and coaches of a student is ineligible I call down students and Friday to inform them.  Ineligibility is when a student in a club or a sport is earning  two D's or and F in their classes.  They are then out of that activity starting on Monday through the next week until eligibility is run again.  Being out the whole week starting on Monday accomplishes two things: It allows the student the week to get their grade up and their isn't pressure on the teacher to grade an assignment so the student can become eligible the next day.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  

I will put out the October meeting schedule on Friday.  With 5 Wednesdays in October that means there's one freebie!   

Dr. McGill and I will be spending two days (October 2nd and 3rd) in West Chicago 33 helping them with their Strategic Plan audit.  Where we are just starting our process, they are wrapping up their five years.  Obviously, April, Todd and Nicole will be here to help problem solve any issues.  Dr. Filas will also be able to help if needed.  

Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success.

Oscar Wilde

It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose.

Darrin Weinberg

If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it's another nonconformist who doesn't conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity.

Bill Vaughan

9-12-25

 Stephen and April are kicking off Choir season Friday morning with donuts and singing!  It was great seeing many clubs start this week.  Thanks to Marisa, Michelle F, Michele D, Kerry K,  and Angela, for their hard work in providing a fun and encouraging environment for students to explore their interests.  

If you did summer curriculum writing, Mrs. Smith and I are meeting to review your work and will get back to you soon.  

Next week we have a board meeting on Monday and a PTA meeting on Tuesday night.  You are welcome to attend these meetings. New and newly tenured teachers will be recognized at the board meeting.   Also please remember to join the PTA if you have not done so already.

Thanks to April who did a great job presenting at the staff learning meeting about an important topic, safety.  There has already been follow up on the good safety points that were brought up for improvement.  

7 Ways to get math students to show their thinking

It is great to have the BB300 start this week to take on some of the morning announcements.  Thanks to Chris for her work on putting these videos together.  Please make sure you are showing and ensuring the students are watching and listening to these videos in your homeroom each day.  

Thanks to Josh for taking the time to come over and help plan the layout and needed items for the Maker Space Club coming soon.

I appreciate the 8th grade team lesson planning and discussions with students about the events of 9/11/2001.  

Star Bengals is back and with more choices than ever before!  I appreciate Megan D working with Krissy and Lana to plan this great learning/life skills activity for their students.  

Please consider serving on the emergency day committee! Let me know today if you can serve, refer to my email for details. 

Lengthy but worthwhile read. The Power of Centering Student Exemplars

I love the partnership Morgan Martin and the 8th grade band have with WCCHS.  Performing at their  football game is an exciting event for our kiddos!

I am ready to start my formal observations, if you are on cycle please reach out to me to schedule. 

"Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better."

-- Ingrid Bergman

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy

Indecision may or may not be my problem.

Jimmy Buffett  

9-5-25

 Thanks to everyone for doing such a great job at curriculum night on Wednesday.  The parents I spoke with were impressed and well informed.  

All of our sports teams started off with games/matches/meets this week.  It is always great to see the students work together in competition outside of the classroom.  Thanks to our coaches for not only teaching them skills but teaching them sportsmanship!

Here is a great sketchnote on an important topic.  Selfcare is so important so you have energy to be the best you can be!

Lauren and Colleen did a fantastic job of running the outdoor ed meeting on Wednesday night.  They were not only able to provide parents with information, turn in deadlines but most importantly ease fears about having their kiddos away from home for the first time.  Nice job!

Michelle and Carrie did a great job of running our book fair this week.  The extra effort will be worth it with the funds to purchase more books.  I also appreciate bringing in parent volunteers to help out which strengthens our home and school partnership.  

Interesting article on how you can use colored index cards to bring out more participation from introverted students. (you can also listen to the article instead of reading if you prefer)

Introverted Students

Thanks to Megan S for facilitating the vision and hearing screening for our students.  

Please make sure you join the PTA (flyer I believe was in your mailbox)  The cost for staff is $7.  The PTA is also having a contest: the homeroom with the most parents signed up for PTA membership wins a donut party for their classroom.  

Just a reminder that we have a staff learning meeting Wednesday after school. 2:45pm-3:30pm  Safety will be the topic.  As a reminder, teaching assistants are always invited to our learning meetings and you can fill out a timesheet for staying. 

Speaking of safety, thanks to April for attending two district crisis safety meetings and for sending out the safety drill schedule.  Make sure you review this as we have three different drills next week.  

I appreciate Danielle and Angela meeting with me and attending team meetings to address instructional coaching topics and just being a helping hand to those that need it.

Thanks to Greg for working so hard to get all of the tech problems resolved in relation to teacher access of programs and beyond.  

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.

Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.

Christopher Reeve

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”

― Groucho Marx

8-29-2025

 Happy Friday everyone!  Your hard work has been evident in my informal pop ins throughout the last two days.  Students have been engaged and on task as you have been going through expectations and starting learning activities Keep up the great work!

I would like to thank April for all of her planning for the student assembly on Wednesday. It was fun seeing students getting excited and laying out the What is a Benjamin Student characteristics!   Also thanks to Dan B for being the only movie buff that realized I stole the Braveheart Speech when talking to the students about getting involved in Clubs and Sports.  As always thanks to Danielle for setting up the sound system.  

Congratulations to Vanessa for being our EOM. She definitely deserves it for how responsive she is and all of her creative problem solving. 

I appreciate Jen and Joe for allowing student pictures and my expectation talks to happen in PE classes during this short week.  I will be emphasizing our expectations while looking for student feedback on how to improve our school.

Special shout out to our new teachers, Marisa, Krissy and Kelly as they complete their first official week as Bengals.  As expected they are contributing to our already strong staff in spectacular fashion! 

I appreciate everyone's help with busses this week, everyone contributing make the end of the day so much more efficient.  Thanks to Nicole C for taking the lead.  

I appreciate the 5th grade team showing extra TLC to their students as they learn the ropes of Benjamin and still making sure they are TCB.  (as Elvis would say)

I know our Institute seems like a long time ago but it was just a few days ago.  Thanks to Solly, Marquita, Leslie and Dawn for organizing all of the great food, Tim and the crew for set-up, Dr. McGill, Dr. Filas and Dr. Salamone for their informative presentations and especially to Kristen, Chris, Danielle, Angela and Allison who not only gave great BenQ presentations but went through 16 hours of BenQ training to learn and prepare.  Please remember to fill out the PD survey for each Institute day if you have not done so already.  

Curriculum night is this Wednesday, September 3rd from 6:30pm-8pm.  Please make sure your homerooms fill out the student schedule form for their parents.  I appreciate the hard work you are putting into your presentations so parents are informed about your curriculum and expectations.  Working together with parents is the best way to ensure student success!

If you ever have time I strongly recommend the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi....or if you don't have time read this slide 

The PTA back to school night is Friday from 6pm-8pm in our upper lot.  Stop by if you can.  Also please make sure you join our PTA as they do so much for our school.  

Thanks to Dr. Salamone for setting up the Music Therapy for Mrs. Campbell's class.  Krissy has already expressed how enjoyable and impactful it has been for her students.   

I am looking forward to the Book Fair coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  I know Michelle and Carrie are working hard to make sure it is run efficiently.  

Thursday's Team/PST combined meetings were essential for sharing student information needed for  planning that will lead to student success.  Thanks to everyone for contributing their thoughts and ideas.  

Hats off to our teaching assistants, Lana, Holly, Michele S, Nicolette and Alyssa have been spectacular as they do their job of assisting students in the classroom, lunchroom and hallway transitions.  We could not do our job without you doing yours!  Thank you!

I appreciate Michele Davis and Margaret combining their powers for a great student of the month bulletin board.  

Dan, Jessica, Joe, Megan and Matt are kicking off the fall sports season strong with their tryouts and early practices in preparation for games/meets in the near future.  

I hope everyone enjoys their extended Labor Day Weekend!

"I learned that a friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." -- Maya Angelou

"If I could define enlightenment briefly I would say it is 'the quiet acceptance of what is.' " -- Wayne Dyer

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -- Anais Nin

5-30-25

 I appreciate all of the hard work that Kim puts into the award ceremonies we are having today.  Coming up with many different types of certificates and printing, spell checking, alerting parents ...It's a lot!  Thank you.

Thanks to Solly for organizing todays retirement lunch.  Putting together all the small details of an event like this takes a lot of planning and organization.  Thank you.  I am looking forward to the retirement celebrations and laughing with friends old and new.  

Speaking of celebrations, thanks to Michelle Davis for hosting the "after party" at her house on Friday after school.  Opening your home to this crew is a brave deed for sure!

Thanks to Jessica, Nicole, Todd, Margaret, April, Danielle and  Angela who all helped me get data for our School Improvement Plan school board update.  

It was great having Dr. McGill attend both our staff learning meeting and the BEA meeting this week so that we can start getting to know his vision and he can start building relationships with staff.  

I want to take a moment to thank John for his leadership and guidance this year as he has helped lead and organize the district for the future.  I know we all appreciate his hard work.  

The 8th grade team knocked it out of the park at Graduation this year.  Having such pros makes the night go smoothly and makes a beautiful ceremony seem effortless.  

I appreciate everyone keeping the kids engaged in different fun learning activities as the year closes out for our students.  I know at times it can be like bottling the sun and requires a little extra creativity and patience but.....

I know the end of the year can bring a lot of stress and anxiety(and packing) but also a lot of appreciation and celebration.  I am very proud of our accomplishments this year and in the work you have done individually and as a team of people working together to a common end.  I look forward to celebrating Lynette and Bill at the Luncheon this afternoon.  Have a great summer and reach out to me if you need anything.   

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost

1874 –

1963

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

5-23-25

 Stephen, April and Morgan put on a great concert last week before a packed house.  It is always great to hear the growth students make between the beginning of the year and the end and everyone was raving about how awesome everyone sounded.  

Margaret did a great job leading our All-School Picnic last week.  I appreciate her initiative and ability to learn from others and this big event was a great combination of both.

Jessica and Jen H did a spectacular job with the NJHS Recess Relay last week.  Combining fun team building activities with the message of helping others is a great combination for our students.  NJHS raising over $2000 for the year with 600 volunteer hours show that our students are both raising money for charity and giving back to the community.  BRAVO!

I appreciate the leadership Lauren and Colleen have showed with taking over the new Outdoor Education Trip to Camp Timberlee including running the parent meeting last week to give parents a head start on learning about the new facility.

Focusing on Follow-Up questions can lead to meaningful class discussions.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/follow-up-questions-classroom

8th grade is winding down and activities are winding up.  End of year assessments, labs and projects combined with the 8th grade picnic, Great America yearbook signing, graduation practice and ceremony means the 8th grade teachers are busy and providing our students with lots of memories to end their year.  

Colleen Morgan had her 6th grade students cooking marshmallows in their solar ovens.  Hands on projects build skills, knowledge and memories. 

Nicolett worked extremely hard the past couple weeks with our Success Track students and single handedly pushed them to the finish line.  All three students will now graduate on stage.  Thanks to Nicolett and the 8th grade team in their flexibility in allowing students to complete missing and late assignments.  

Matt , Dan, Joe, Bill, Marcia, and Carrie all did a great job of honoring our Spring Athletes at our Spring Sports Awards Wednesday night.  Their speeches included athletic accomplishments, sportsmanship examples and stories of a fun season.  

I look forward to seeing the 5th grade egg drop challenge.  Seeing the groups come up with different plans on how to best protect their egg is always filled with creativity and critical thinking.  

I appreciate everyone's hard work and patience as we wrap up the school year.  Your extra effort to keep students on task and engaged in learning activities is appreciated.  

"Don't forget to give up the good to go for the great." -- John D. Rockefeller

"You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending." -- James R. Sherman

“Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.” —Walt Whitman

5-9-2025

 Multi-Cultural Night was a huge success.  Thanks to the hard work of Dr. Salamone, a group of teachers including Mrs. Johnson from Benjamin and several parents and community members there were many cultures that were highlighted for people to learn from. We also had student volunteers.  It was a great night with lots of families in attendance.   

The PTA has really made staff appreciation week a great experience of food and decorations with their country themes.  Friday we have our lunch sponsored by our board of education.  April and I also left small tokens of appreciation in your mailboxes on Thursday.  

Coach Tylk, Hauser, Wadman, Liszka and Reavely have been working extremely hard with our spring athletes.  I appreciate the work that they do with our students to build skills and sportsmanship in wins and losses.  

Please remember to fill out the extra duty google spreadsheet for 2025-2026 school year.  We will have more openings than usually so I appreciate people's willingness to step up.  

5 A.I. tools that staff can start using right away. (worth a quick look)

https://www.edutopia.org/article/ai-tools-teachers-try

I appreciate Todd and Nicole and the work they are doing with our temporarily outplaced students,  Being the go-between between these facilities and the grade level teams is extremely important for a smooth transition back to our school. 

I appreciate the flexibility of my seventh grade hallway teachers and their temporary room sponsor teachers as we dealt with the flooded hallway right before students entered the building on Tuesday.  Your flexibility and ability to adapt to less than ideal circumstances highlights how special and tight knit our staff is as a whole.  Frank and Isidrio with the help of some Evergreen staff did an excellent job of quickly cleaning up the hall so we could get people back in their correct place by third period.  

Stephen took the time to nominate one of our 7th grade students for the Honors Performance Series  for music.  Stephen and Morgan then worked with the student on a vocal and instrumental  piece to perform for a tryout.   All that work paid off as she was selected!  Now she and her family will get to travel to New York City for a week over the summer where the student will work with great musical conductors/teachers to sharpen her skills, ending with a performance at Carnegie Hall!  What a great honor for our student and all due to teachers taking the time to go above and beyond to help a student. 

 

I will be out Wednesday through Friday next week to attend my daughters graduation in New Orleans.  I appreciate the work that April will do to keep everything running smooth as well as Mr. Langton's availability to pitch in when needed.  As always, the work you do to be proactive with students and parents in the areas of communication and problem prevention will always have greater benefits than dealing with things after the fact.  

Giving students the skills to spot fake news.

Next week is a busy week with the choir and band concert and assembly, the all school picnic and the NJHS Charity Fest  just to name a few of the events.  I look forward to hearing how great these events turn out and appreciate the tireless efforts of our staff to provide opportunities to showcase our students. 

I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.

Amos Bronson Alcott (1799 - 1888)

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.

Anatole France (1844 - 1924), 

 For every person who wants to teach there are approximately thirty people who don't want to learn--much.

W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman