2-26-2016

Thanks to Karen and Pat for taking care of the majority of the paperwork and organization in preparation for our Compliance visit.  It is a thankless but important job, so.....thank you!

Julie Seeman did a masterful job of taking over Lauren's class during her maternity leave. It was a seamless transition.  Thank you.

Millions of Dollars of Ebooks available on App for title one and special ed teachers
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-02-24-the-white-house-and-michelle-obama-release-250m-open-library-app-for-title-i-and-special-education-teachers


In case you didn't see her yesterday, Lauren's back!  We are very happy to have you back at Benjamin.

Rich, Matt and Dan are doing a great job teaching the girls BB players skills, confidence, sportsmanship and teamwork.  Special shout out to Rich for hosting 4 home games this week.

Using two cool apps together Fluency Tutor and News ELA...we have talked about news ela before and then I included a video for Fluency Tutor.  The article talks about how you can use them together.
http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2016/02/08/using-fluency-tutor-for-google-with-newsela/

Thanks to Melissa L for organizing the School evacuation Drill for March 2nd.  We will be on a PM assembly schedule. The drill will start at 1:55pm and we will end the day with DEAR. Please read the memo carefully and let Melissa or I know if you have any questions.

April Tepe is tearing it up in the tech lab; Racing cars, smashing bridges, and that is all before she gets to school, JK ;) she is doing a wonderful job of engaging students as Mike rcovers.

Tim Ferris is a best selling author, podcast host and blogger.  He often pushes the boundary on human limits and possibility.  Here is an article on how to learn any language in 3 months.
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2009/01/20/learning-language/

Going through my 7,000 emails I found this great link from MJ for grammar that we shared in 2014. Thanks again MJ.
https://www.noredink.com/

Stephanie Incrocci did a wonderful job of turning some of our unused lockers into literature novels.  Special thanks to Todd for assisting her with this artwork.


A big thank you to John F who has been awesome in helping our band students in Mark's absence.

Greg and Angela did a great job of showcasing some of the document cameras that we might be using in the future.  Special thanks to all of the teachers that gave them a trial run.

Excellent resources for students on the election;
http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/2016-presidential-election/


Michelle F is having a Caudill book celebration topped off with a Skype at 1:30pm from author Nancy Cavanaugh.  She wrote a book that was the favorite book of my daughter's this summer.  "This Journal Belongs to Ratchet"

2-12-2016

Congrats to Sherry who continues to rock the stem projects with her students.  See Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8rMws0ABo&feature=youtu.be

Please don't forget to apply for a district Foundation Grant.  I can resend the link from Dr. Ehrhardt if needed.

40 seconds to a better memory.
http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/3-science-backed-ways-to-improve-your-memory.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter



Melissa, Danielle and the Cast of Fiddler did an outstanding job Monday night in their performance for the school board and parents.  I can't wait to see the finished product on March 18th and 19th.

Please remember to fill out the 5 Essential survey(Staff and Students)

Gravitational Waves detected, confirming Einstein's Theory...geek out science people!
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/science/ligo-gravitational-waves-black-holes-einstein.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0

another link from CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/11/us/gravitational-waves-feat/index.html


Anna Bell will be meeting with the UIC design students this Saturday to test out the new crutch clip they designed for her.  Thanks to Angela for working with her Hope Group to make this possible.

Thanks to Michelle F for sending out the Ozzy Reading Club vouchers and for running the program.  If you have never gone to a Kane County Cougar game you should check it out.  Great Fun!

Thanks to Barb for working the book fair on Wednesday night with the PTA.

Innovators Mindset:  Teaching Students to be problem finders:  Interesting audio and visuals.
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/george-couros-problem-finders/



We will be running a school evacuation drill on March 2nd in the afternoon, more details to follow.  Mark your calendar.

Please do your best to donate your time, talent or experience to the foundation as they are in the need of raffle items.  Also please consider getting a teacher table together for the March 5th Trivia Night.  It will be good to have the admin table give you a beat down!  #official challenge

Great Website overall:  Student News Daily... great current event articles for teachers and students.  Also every Friday they post a political cartoon with a lesson plan...Great Stuff
http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/


Thanks to Chris, Melissa F, Julie S and Melissa L for running a great Too Good For Drugs Ceremony on Monday.  I was told the genuine connection between Officer Seward and the students was really evident.  Great Job!

Thanks to MJ and Debbie for everything they do to make sure that Dylan and Kevin get home safely.  The extra effort is appreciated.  Special shout out to Cheryl L, the queen of transportation, who has handled all of our bus, Septram and cab needs without complaint.

I have shared the Newseum Website before but while at the conference I learned of the fact that they put every front page of every newspaper online everyday.  Lost of uses, teacher talked about having students compare front pages coverage of primaries and what they could deduce from the photos. You can sort by country, alphabet etc...
check it out:
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/



Thanks to Pat and the 8th grade Team for organizing and facilitating the HS counselors this week.

Special thanks to Ellen T for handling the announcements and the Words of Wisdom everyday. You make my life easier by being so efficient.

Currently better than the current tardy notes we are receiving in the office.

2-5-2016

Please do not forget to take the 5 essential survey and 6th and 7th grade tea,m leaders please respond to Pat as to how your classes are going to take the survey so she can divide the student id's appropriately.

I have been impressed with Megan D since she has been sharing time between Benjamin and Evergreen this year.  Her knowledge and expertise really comes through in PST and parent meetings.

Big list of Class Discussion Questions: (Lots of ideas here)
http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/speaking-listening-techniques/?utm_content=bufferdbd18&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer


Starting on Monday all students will be asked to leave through the front door as they exit the building at dismissal.  This will improve our safety procedures, but I'm sure there will be a learning curve until it becomes habit.

Don't forget to submit your Foundation Grant and also give consideration to participating and or volunteering an experience for the Trivia Night on March 5th.

Parent's Guide to helping their child study  Good advice(not sure about the super hero letter)
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/good-study-habits-minute-by-minute-heather-lambert?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow



It was very nice for the PTA to send out the teacher items needed letter, they do so much for our school.  At the same time they should be re sending the McDonald letter where they are giving you a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of working behind the counter at a McDonald's, just like those cool kids on TV!

If you have not checked out our students Bookface entries yet, they are in the LMC window and are pretty spectacular.  Thanks Michelle for being creative to engage students in books.

A collection of Project Based Learning End Products
http://learninginhand.com/blog/pbl-collection?utm_content=buffer88c30&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer



To everyone who has been piloting student growth, Feb 1 was the deadline for turning in your data, but no worries, that is why it is a pilot, no penalty.  Please set up an appointment to turn it in.  I also attended a worthwhile conference on student growth this week.  I will bring back that information to our student growth committee. By bringing back this information and what we are learning through the pilot we will be well prepared when we implement this model for real next year.

The book fair is next week!  Thanks to Pat for putting the schedule together and to Michelle for putting organizing the event.  Michelle is also starting a "Change Wars" contest for homerooms to get additional books for charity.



What differentiation is and is not.
http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/the-definition-of-differentiated-instruction/?utm_content=569e87ee04d3015d7ec405a1



Just a reminder that Wednesday is department/subject area meetings with a focus on curriculum.
I will need to be with science, so please let me know ahead of time questions I can answer.

If you are doing an alternative evaluation and you have not set up an appointment with me, you need to do so soon.

It takes a village, Melissa and a bunch of parents were here Wednesday night until 10:00pm building the "roof"(and attached house) for Fiddler on the Roof.  How lucky we are to have parents that will dedicate their time and talents and a teacher willing to put in whatever it takes to make sure the musical experience for kids is at the highest level.  thank you.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the Podcast Learning meeting on Wednesday, many teachers were able to connect something valuable to their teaching.  Also big thanks to Lauren D and Chris for putting together the movie which was entertaining and filled a need with our new universal pass.  I heard that the film is under consideration for the Sundance film festival under short documentary category.