12-19-2014

What a great tradition I was able to take part in today for the first time.  It was very special to see everyone make it down for breakfast and lively conversation.  The West Chicago A capella group was awesome as well.  You can really tell that this school district is like a family and a very special place to be.

3 things to stop doing at work!  http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2014/12/17/stop-doing-when-you-work/

I was able to talk to Lurana's husband this morning at breakfast and she is doing well after her surgery.  I know we all wish her a speedy recovery.


18 EPIC Productivity Apps!  This is really good!  http://www.coolcatteacher.com/best-productivity-apps/  I use Evernote, #1 on the list and I didn't realize all that I can do with it.


In case you haven't heard...Danielle's beautiful baby girl is named Lucia Maria Rose DeChristopher.  We are very happy for this special time in the DeChristopher family's life.

!0 things Middle school students wish you knew:  http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/12/03/top-10-things-middle-school-students-wish-you-knew

Your newsletter article is due today....or the Monday we get back after break....whichever works for the schedule your brain is functioning on at this moment.
The word masters word wall Jill put up with her students is awesome...stop by it if you want to expand your vocabulary!

51 of the most beautiful sentences in literature...a gift of words.  If the link comes up blocked let me know.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/i-am-i-am-i-am

The Christmas Piano in Union Station.  Awesome!

ahhhhh.....you made it.  A well deserved break.  Thanks for keeping the learning at a high level leading up to break.  Please accept the Benjamin soup cup as a very small token of my appreciation for everything you do for kids.  If you did not receive one, let me know.  Mine will most likely be filled with soda not soup.

Some Christmas Humor!

12-12-2014

What a great feast we shared yesterday.  Just as good as the food, was seeing so many people share a meal filled with conversation and laughter.  Thanks to Ellen and Pat for all of the work they did to organize and put together the meal.

Usually I get all of my web resources from twitter, but today they are from your fellow teachers:  The first is the Tween Trib from Alex A.  This is a great link to current news articles that list the lexile level of the article and gives a critical thinking question(s) at the end.  You can search different grade bands for your lower or higher level students and articles can be read in spanish as well.  This is a free resource from the Smithsonian.  http://www.tweentribune.com/

Melissa and Mark put on a wonderful concert Wednesday Night.  The audience was standing room only and the kids sounded great because of the practice and hard work of students and staff.

The second staff link comes from Linda Calvo and it is a website called Kahoot.  This allows you to input quiz or test questions into a game type format and then the kids compete to answer questions on their devices as the questions appear on the board.  It keeps score based on how fast they answer and gives updates on the top 5.  The greatest part of Kahoot is when the quiz is over it gives the teacher a printout of every students score and what questions they got right or wrong.  When I saw the students using the program you would of thought that they were studying pop culture and the prize was a million dollars instead of world history and bragging rights on the line.  https://getkahoot.com/

Thanks to Michelle F for working with the 7th grade students on their national parks research project and 5th grade students on internet safety.  We appreciate the great resource that you are to students and staff.

Didn't I just say that?  Teaching and reteaching:  http://blog.classdojo.com/post/104289707150/didnt-i-just-say-that-teaching-and-reteaching


Thanks to Nicole and Todd (and Jessica E) for presenting on our referral system at our last Learning Meeting. The presentation and the discussion from everyone showed that we are all working together to help the kids with the most needs.

5 questions to encourage student voice:

As you finalize your eligibility list this morning, please make sure that you are calling parents if anyone in your class is failing(winter athlete or not).

Give the Gift of Words:

Thanks to John, Jen and Lynette for agreeing to open up their gym on April 24th for a great opportunity for Benjamin students.  Medical students from Midwestern University will be coming in to present a Mini-medical school.  This will run all day long in the students PE classes and will not interfere with anyone's schedule.

Thanks to Melissa F for adjusting her schedule to allow her students to watch the Orion spacecraft make it's approach back to earth.  Watching current events as they happen will make a lasting impression on what could be history in their furure.

Be great in act, as you have been in thought.

William Shakespeare

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.

Sydney J. Harris

12-5-2014

 
I want to thank Gus, Frank, Manny and all the custodians for all of their hard work in maintenance and cleaning over Thanksgiving break.  We appreciate it.

Don't forget the newsletter was due to Ellen yesterday.  Please get your articles in.

Thanks to Melissa and Lynn and the seventh grade team for bringing the 7th grade students to the Art Institute yesterday.  They had a very successful trip and saw some of the world's greatest paintings which sometimes gets overlooked with the Museum of Science and Industry and Field Museum close by.

 7 free flipped classroom creation apps you might not know about:  http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/12/02/flipped-classroom-apps-891/?utm_content=buffer76e46&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

more on flipped....give it a try for a lesson...

Thanks to Angela for helping me to go around to different departments on Wednesday after school to check in on people's discussion on meaningful technology integration.  

Write About may be the best educational site of the year...article and video

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/11/24/write-about-may-be-the-education-site-of-the-year/

Interesting article on HW...

http://pernillesripp.com/2010/12/23/so-whats-my-problem-with-homework/

Thanks to Nicole for helping me this week with various small fires that needed to be put out and giving a lot of assistance to students in need.  I appreciate your willingness to lend a hand.  

40 inspirational speeches in two minutes:  or Inspiration for the audience with a short attention span.

Betty as been able to readjust her schedule with extra assistance that has been provided at Evergreen.  This also means some of the students in your classroom have different schedules, Betty sent an email detailing these changes.

A beginners guide to Personalized Learning:  

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/beginners-guide-personalized-learning/

Thanks to Sandy and Joe for running this weekend's Chess Tournament and we will have lots of custodial help to keep the place clean.  Still take time to put away classroom valuables.  

This was one of those great weeks when I was able to put on my instructional leader hat and get into a lot of classrooms.  I was able to see many different teaching styles reaching students  in different ways.  The one common component was engaged students in active learning.  Thank you for being so Awesome.  

Powerful cover of this week's New Yorker

11-21-2014

The 5th grade students put on some awesome presentations yesterday. Using a program called Togul they were able to create maps of a country related to their heritage.  The maps were made of words and each word is a link to more information about that country.  Creating these projects took a lot of effort from the students and the teachers.  Special thanks to Michelle Fiorini for providing major support.

Here is a primer for teachers on Minecraft, so you can have a conversation:
http://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?article=Minecraft+A+primer+for+teachers&articleid=218&category=ISTE-Connects-blog

Thanks to Dr. Ehrhardt and the school board for providing the awesome lunch for us on Tuesday.  The subs were enough to feed an army and almost enough for our staff!  jk :)

Interesting graphic differentiating between "on Task" and "engaged":

Thanks to the 5th and 8th grade teams for organizing the reward trips today.  This is a great way to reinforce the positive behavior and academic performance displayed by most of our students.

Interesting article on Homework:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/debunking-homework-myths-ben-johnson?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-debunk-homework-myths-blog-image

Basketball is in full swing, thanks to Dan, Matt, Tim and Nicole for working hard to help our student athletes grow and learn, showing great sportsmanship and athleticism.

6th grade put on some spectacular poetry presentations yesterday.  Who would have thought that Johhny Salazar and I would have shared an affinity for "Ickle me, pickle me, tickle me too"  Robert Frost has nothing on Shel Silverstein.

Since I am talking about 6th grade, how great is it to have Lauren Dunne back at Benjamin!  Welcome Back!

Thanks to Pat for working on getting all of our Parcc data set-up in the computer, it is a tedious thankless job, but necessary  and much appreciated.

Malcolm Gladwell interesting talk on why you might NOT  want to go to Harvard, Princeton...it's 20 minutes but interesting look at data if you want to watch something over break.

I want to thank everyone for the hard work you have put into helping students, I hope you get to relax and spend time with family and friends, you deserve it.  I am thankful to be working with so many wonderful educators and support staff.  Happy Thanksgiving!

At the beginning of the year I mentioned that you would have access to supplementary materials from our Project"Words of" Wisdom resources.  I didn't want to overwhelm anyone so I am sending out the instructions to sign up for an account now:  If you sign up you will be able to look at supplemental materials/activities that go with the announcements and you will be sent special individual announcements from time to time:  Here are the Instructions:

Hello Benjamin Middle School staff member,

We are excited to inform you that our school recently became part of one of the nation’s oldest and most respected character education programs. Project Wisdom has been helping students make wiser choices since 1992 and has been implemented in more than 19,000 schools across the nation.

Results from a third-party evaluation

With proper implementation, the Project Wisdom program creates:

·        More positive school climate.

·        Fewer incidents of bullying.

·        Fewer discipline referrals.

·        Improved teacher morale.

·        More focus on issues of character.

·        Increased social-emotional competencies.

Please register for this exciting online resource that has already been purchased for you.

You will have online access to all these resources:

·        Professional support sent by email. Includes a weekly Just For You message: a concise message written to foster professionalism, promote ethical and caring leadership, boost morale, and improve classroom management.

·        Featured easy-to-implement lesson plans that build character and social-emotional competencies. Great discussion generators, plus literature-based activities for elementary and follow-up activities for each core academic area for secondary.

·        Best practices and uplifting stories shared by educators for educators.

·        Access to the daily messages that will be broadcast over our school’s PA or in-house television system.

·        Student journal pages that work well for discipline referrals, classroom management, and advisory.

·        And much more . . .

Here’s how you register. It’s quick and easy.

·        Go to ProjectWisdom.com
Click on register

·        Key in the following:

o       Your Project Wisdom School ID: 22593

o       School Zip code: 60185

That’s it! As per the license agreement, this invitation is extended only to educators at Benjamin Middle School. Please honor this license agreement.

Questions: Team2@ProjectWisdom.com

11-14-2014

Three ways to improve student writing:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/3-strategies-improve-student-writing-ali-parrish?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-3-strategies-to-improve-student-writing-list-image


Thanks to Melissa for running a wonderful Veterans Day Assembly.  What a great way to get the students to think about why we honor the men and women who fought for our country on this day.

Also thanks to Melissa and Mark for the outstanding work of the Choir and Band students.

Next week in honor of American Education week the Board of Education will provide a lunch on Tuesday the 18th, the PTA will be providing a breakfast on Wednesday the 19th, and parents will be visiting on Thursday the 20th.  Thanks for putting the "education" in American Education Week, we couldn't do it without you.

70 Best Apps for families(there are three pages) click on the bottom
http://www.parents.com/fun/entertainment/gadgets/best-family-apps/

Because you can never have enough food, we are also having Birthday Treats for November and December birthdays on Thursday.

Thanks to Melissa L and Nicole for putting together the smoothie and cupcake sales this week.  One supports Honor Flight Chicago and the other our Pom Squad, both took a lot of time and effort, which is appreciated.

9 tips for using you tube in teaching:
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/teaching-with-video-9-tips-teaching-youtube/



A huge thanks to Lauren Sarno for all of the hard work she has done in the 6th grade, thanks to her hard work the 6th grade students have not missed a beat.  Now she will be helping assist students in different grade levels before taking over for Danielle in 8th grade.

Lynn is an Art Production Factory!  In addition to these awesome dessert ceramics, she has student shoe sketches in her hallway.  Lynn has also been using "green screen" technology in her classroom, ask to see some of her videos!

Thanks to the everyone for helping to organize the computer updates with Greg and Ellen.

Daniel Pink on what really motivates us.  11minute running time:

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Oscar Wilde

"When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that's when passion is born.” -Zig Ziglar

11-7-2014

I want to thank Nicole for going into the classes for Second Step.  Teaching the whole child including SEL is especially important at this pivotal age.

Here is a free math game that is getting good reviews for students in grades first through sixth that mixes game-play and math skills.  It is based out of Canada, but could be used for extra practice.
https://www.prodigygame.com/Login/

Thanks to Michelle S for putting together the Staff Spirit Wear Order.  Orders are due a week from today. I will be sporting these looks:

Good luck to our Chess Team as they compete in one of their big chess tournaments this weekend.  Pat has the list of rooms that will not be used, which consists of the art, science and computer rooms along with a few others.  

Thanks To Colleen, Alex and Student Council for providing the Teacher Survival kits before parent teacher conferences last night.  They were a great idea and a great pick me up.  I probably shouldn't have eaten the trail mix, cough drops, mints and Tylenol all at once.  :)

Speaking of student council I look forward to attending my first Benjamin Dance tonight!  Chaperon spots are still available.

Here is a great book recommendation website.  It works like netflix, you type in the name of a book that you really like and it spits out other similar books based upon your taste.  

http://www.yournextread.com/us/

Make notes come alive with Notability:

http://www.gingerlabs.com/

I wanted to thank Laura and Steve for doing a great job in the Directions Classroom.  The students are really flourishing under their guidance and will be more integrated into our school soon.  

Don't forget to pre-order your $1Smoothie and help send veterans to a Chicago Honor Flight.  Thanks to Melissa L for organizing this and our Veterans Day Assembly for Tuesday.  

Great Poster for Digital Citizenship:

I want to say thanks to all of the teachers for pushing forward with all of the tech initiatives this year.  It has been exciting watching the discovery process as students and teachers see what is possible once problems are overcome.  Thanks for your persistence!

Let the cooking begin!  We will be getting an oven to make cooking for our celebrations and other occasions cheaper and easier.  Please let us know if you prefer Melissa's choice, Pat's choice, or Ellen's choice for our new appliance:

On Tuesday night the PTA will be hosting a meeting and a session on internet safety at Benjamin.  Details below:

How You and Your Family Can Use The Internet Safely.

Presented by: Dave Chiesa, DuPage County Sheriff Detective

Tuesday, November 11
7:00 to 7:30 p.m. PTA Meeting
7:30 to 8:30 Internet Safety

Kid President's Pep Talk Specifically for Teachers

Thanks to everyone for the outstanding job that you have been doing with parent teacher conferences.  The overwhelming majority of parents that I have talked to have been extremely positive about the high level of teaching and professionalism shown by our staff.  Keep up the great work.  

If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great.

Tom Hanks 

10-31-2014

Thanks to Keriann, Bill, Rich, Abby Adams, Matt Tylk and Mrs Thill for doing a great job at the Fall Sports Awards on Wednesday Night. Their speeches showed their care and concern for the student athletes as well as highlighting the accomplishments for the season.  I came away impressed with the fine example they set for our students.
30 techniques to Quiet a Noisy Class: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/30-techniques-quiet-noisy-class-todd-finley?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-quiet-noisy-class-question-text

Thanks to Ellen and Pat for organizing our Oktoberfest yesterday and to everyone who brought in food to share.  With the decorations and German music I felt like I was in Munich!

How do schools get tech R.I.G.H.T.  Inside the article is a slideshow when you have time:
http://www.angelamaiers.com/2014/10/how-do-schools-get-tech-r-i-g-h-t.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AngelaMaiers+%28Angela+Maiers+-+Putting+Learners+First%29

How about the Tiger Times?  It is hard to believe this is a junior high newspaper.  From their qr code surveys, informative articles on asthma, book, movie and music reviews to their investigative piece on Benjamin's water fountains, it looks more like it was done by high school aged kids. A big thank you to Jessica Erickson for pulling all of this together.

100 year old teacher teaches passion:

Mark and Lynette are putting in overtime at the Student Growth Committee meetings as they are helping to formulate how we can use authentic, reliable assessments to help measure student growth.  In many cases, we are hoping to use measures that you already are using and find valuable in your daily assessment of students.  We will have more information and resources coming to you soon.

How museums are embracing technology:  The Known Universe:

Who knew that putting on a Talent show required so much work?  Today we get to enjoy the results of Jill and Lynette's Herculean efforts as the 5th and 6th grade battle for Benjamin's Got Talent.  Don't forget we are on a double assembly schedule.


Please don't forget that we are hosting the Wellness Screening starting early Monday morning in the small gym.  Thanks to Shelley for organizing this event.

6 Principles to the Genius Hour:

Thanks to Angela for putting together an evaluation rubric for our science team as we look at new resources. It will definitely come in handy.

I was able to see some 6th grade presentations in Lauren G's room.  The students used great critical thinking and evidence to hypothesize answers to a death mystery.  Future CSI's in the making!

Innovation in Education Today:  http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/4847

Thanks to Alex and Colleen as they organize the student council dance for next Friday.  Please let them know if you can chaperon, costumes optional!:)

Star Wars Pumpkin:

The moms prayer group will be bringing in dinner on Tuesday November 4th.  The menue will consist of: chili, 2 soups, veggie and fruit trays, rolls, dessert and drinks. The dinner will be ready by 3:00pm so you will not be rushed.  

Scariest Pumpkin Greg Martin Ever Saw:

As you prepare for parent teacher conferences, please let me know if there are any conferences that you want me to sit in on or if I can help out in any way.  Thanks to the special teachers who will be making calls to our unscheduled parents that evening.

Pretty Neat Video even if it is Cleveland:

10-24-2014

Thanks to Nicole and Melissa L for all the hard work they put into Red Ribbon Week, between the Banner, the Hearts, Mix it up Lunch, and Tunes Tuesday, it was a huge success.

16 Conversation starters for struggling students:
http://edge.ascd.org/blogpost/16-conversation-starters-with-struggling-students

Today we will finish off Red Ribbon Week with a 3 Screen Assembly.  5th and 6th will watch Be More Awesome at 1:00pm, and 7th and 8th will watch Piercing the Darkness at 1:45pm.  Because of the tight time frame I may call the 5th and 6th grade a few minutes early.

Thanks to Adrienne who served as a Mixologist at Menchies last night for PTA's Chef's Night Out, its great to have our teachers working with the PTA in such a way when the profits raised goes back to our school.

Flashcard tool for learning:
http://flashcardstash.com/

I'm looking forward to my first fall sports award night this coming Wednesday, what a great way to honor all of our Fall Athletes.

I was able to see Shakespeare come alive in Mr. Wadman's class as the students really got into their introduction of Macbeth, also students started discovering simple machines in Mrs. Adam's very hands on lesson in Stem.  I am also looking forward to watching some of the Outsider's movies that Danielle's students have made.  Thanks to all of the teachers for bringing the content to life and having students meaningfully engaged.

6 google scholar tips that every teacher should be aware of:
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/10/6-google-scholar-tips-every-teacher.html?utm_content=buffer334b2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Thanks to Mark, Colleen, Jim, and Melissa F for staying after hours for a science presentation from Discovery Education.  In addition to the science materials we learned all about some great tools that everyone can use already with the subscription service we already pay for.  More information to follow.

Parent Teacher Conference resource Page including Student Led:
http://cybraryman.com/ptconferences.html

10-17-2014

I want to thank everyone for the Boss's Day gift.  It has been amazing this year to work with such a dedicated staff.  I look forward to serving your needs by getting you the resources you need and strengthening our relationship as the years go on.

Thanks to Mark, Colleen, Jim, Jill, Alex, M.J.,Rich, Linda, and Lauren for giving up some of their personal time to supervise the outdoor ed trip.  In the few hours I was there, I was able to hear about the Black-hawk Wars, see the eternal statue, participate in weapon throwing and fire building along with having a great lunch.  It is easy to see why this ends up being one of the great memories of our students when they are looking back in 8th grade.

Check out this 4minute video on working together to stop bullying.  It also emphasizes students working together on complicated concepts and learning.

Good luck to our Cross Country, Volleyball and soccer teams as they compete in their championship tournaments tonight and Saturday.

Anybody running in the Monster Dash on Sunday?  I will be starting off the runners and then heading to the Fall Fest Parade.  Thanks to everyone who brought in baked goods for the PTA to sell at the Fair.

Think you are not creative...think again, how daily life brings out your creativity:
https://disneyinstitute.com/blog/2014/10/think-youre-not-creative-think-again-how-daily-life-can-drive-business-inno/305?CMP=SOC-DI-Blog-HowDailyLiveDrivesInnovation-10162014



Keriann and Mike are the proud parents of  Mariella Elise Moore, 8lbs, 2oz.  Everyone is doing well, and are resting.  We are so happy for you Keriann!

Calling all science teachers  Discovery education will be presenting on their Tech-book and other online resources on Tuesday, October 21st after school.   If you can make it we will be meeting in Melissa Falkos's room.

Here is a discovery education activity about sustainability and farming.  Give it a try.
http://educationstation.discoveryeducation.com/scwdgt/index.cfm

Thanks to Nicole and Melissa for organizing Red Ribbon week.  We have great activities capped off with a Three Screens Production Assembly on Friday.  We will be on the Double Assembly Schedule with 5th/6th grade watching at 1:00pm and 7th and 8th watching  at 1:45pm.  In addition while the one group is watching the movie, the other group will be reading in honor of  Read Across America.  Yes we are 5 months early, but that's how we roll.  Grade level teams are working out the reading schedules.

Congratulations to Jessica Adams for securing a Lego Grant that she will be using towards solar powered cars in her Stem Class.

Thanks to Mike Droste for his wonderful tech tips that he sends throughout the week.  I have found more than a few to be helpful and informative.

Don't forget we have a fire drill at 10:30am on Wednesday.

Thanks to Jen for coming up with a new activity for PE classes, after talking with one of her 8th grade students, they are enjoying Rugby this week and will even have a professionally trained Rugby player coming in to work with the students for a day.  We will be taking a vote on if you want to play Rugby for the staff /student game instead of softball at the end of the year.  :

I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), The Painted Veil, 1925 

Committee--a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.

Fred Allen (1894 - 1956)