4-29-2016

Thanks to the 5th grade teachers and Melissa L for preparing for the 4th grade student visit on Tuesday and the 4th grade Parent Night last night.  These events are possible only because of your extra hard work and effort.

I want to thank Ellen and Pat for everything they do to help our school.  Benjamin would not be the same without you.

Carnegie Melon's Article and Rubric for Assessing Group Work.
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/howto/assesslearning/groupWork.html

Rater’s Name: _______________________________

Assessment of: ________________________________

Rating		Comments, Examples, Explanations, etc.
Group Participation Attends meetings regularly and on time.
Time Management & Responsibility Accepts fair share of work and reliably completes it by the required time.
Adaptability Displays or tries to develop a wide range of skills in service of the project, readily accepts changed approach or constructive criticism.
Creativity/Originality Problem-solves when faced with impasses or challenges, originates new ideas, initiates team decisions.
Communication Skills Effective in discussions, good listener, capable presenter, proficient at diagramming, representing, and documenting work.
General Team Skills Positive attitude, encourages and motivates team, supports team decisions, helps team reach consensus, helps resolve conflicts in the group.
Technical Skills Ability to create and develop materials on own initiative, provides technical solutions to problems.
Scoring For each category, award yourself and each member of your team a score using this scale.	3 – Better than most of the group in this respect 2 – About average for the group in this respect 1 – Not as good as most of the group in this respect 0 – No help at all to the group in this respect

I want to thank Juan for getting off to a great start this week.  He comes to Benjamin after working hard at Evergreen and  while still working at Lou Malnati's. He lives in Melrose Park with his wife and 13 year old son. Most importantly he is a Cubs fan.  I have noticed his initiative and his drive to learn as much as possible about this building.  He has already pointed out to me several things that he feels will improve the cleanliness and appearance of the building!  I know we all welcome him to Benjamin.

8th grade students got to experience a little bit of HS life as they visited West Chicago high School yesterday.

Check out these cool third grade Election Videos, not only are they cute but the teacher explains the technology that was put into them including an app that turns students scripts into a sort-of teleprompter.
https://slate.adobe.com/cp/jLetu/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Thanks to Adrienne and the 7th grade team for organizing today's Career Fair.  What a great experience for our students to be able to learn from professionals in the field.  Special shout out to Jessica for stepping up again to showcase the teaching profession.

Thanks to Lyn and the 6th grade team for organizing the DaVinci Assembly for the 6th grade students. This interactive experience engages students in history and the arts.

Melissa L had Michael Miles here yesterday..he is an amazing musician and teacher of music history and style.


I'd like to thank Greg and Ellen for all of the set-up they did to make the Parcc Trial run as well as it did.  The special teachers and I learned a lot about some of the problems that we might encounter next week.  A huge thank you to all of the staff for preparing the students all year to take the PARCC next week.  Your concern and effort have not gone unnoticed.  Today we will be putting your testing tickets and reference sheets in you mailboxes.  If you need graph paper or scratch paper you can also get it from the office.

I'd like to thank Alex and Colleen for organizing tonight's Student Council Movie and Dance tonight.  These experiences enrich our students experience and require hard work and organization.  I look forward to seeing Nemo on the new big screen.  If you would like to help chaperon the dance tonight please let me know.

Social Studies Olympics:

In honor of Parcc testing...I mean teacher appreciation week next week, here is the schedule for our Foodapalooza:

Monday - Taste of Italy (lasagna and eggplant parmesan by Pat)

Tuesday - BOE & Admin providing BBQ pulled pork, pasta primavera, roasted new potatoes, toss salad, drinks, dessert

Wednesday -fast

Thursday - Cinco de Mayo (provided by office)

Friday - Pizza Lunch

Please make sure that you RSVP to Ellen for Pat's party on May 20th.  

4-22-2016

Thanks to Nicole and Adrienne for representing Benjamin at McTeacher Night sponsored by the PTA.  It was an UNBELIEVABLE turn out.  I had a great time talking to families, students and staff.


Thanks to Angela for setting up the field trip for the HOPE students.  They will be going down to UIC to see the Engineering Expo senior design projects.  What a great opportunity for these students.

Congratulations to Lynette, who applied and secured a grant for an amplifier system for the gym.  The extra time and effort spent to secure resources for our school is definitely appreciated.

Adrienne will be having poetry readings all day in her Beat Cafe.  Stop on by and hang out with these cool cats.  These Daddy-0 Beatniks will be cookin!

Once again, Red White and Beautiful was a huge success.  The Performances by John F., Melissa L., Jen V., and Lynette W were outstanding, Apple called me and wanted to see if they can improve their production process by studying the Art Factory that is Lyn Burkholder.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to a great evening!

Thanks to Jen V and Lynette for setting up the Mini Medical School today in PE classes. Having 40 college students in to talk and demonstrate good health habits and practices is a great way to get an important message across.

We were dominating at the home track meet last night.  Track meets are a lot of complicated moving parts that need to come together in order to have an event that runs smoothly.  Thanks to Courtney, Bill, Abby, and Valerie for all of their organization, leadership and patience to put this together.  Also thanks to all of the teachers who are working the events.

How to use Technology in all 4 Domains of the Danielson Framework.  Article and graphic.
http://technologytools4teaching.blogspot.com/2014/08/the--framework-for-teaching.html


I know that I speak for everyone when I say that Manny will be greatly missed.  His work ethic is matched only by his ability to smile and make people laugh.  We  all lose not only a great worker but a friend.

"I had a massive ego [at youth]. Massive. But that's not such a bad thing. Because at least you're aspiring to be something, you consider yourself great because you want to be great."

"Everyone has their own experience. That's why we are here, to go through our experience, to learn, to go down those paths and eventually you may have gone down so many paths and learned so much that you don't have to come back again."

Prince

4-15-2016

I will be taking the school board members and Dr. Ehrhardt around the building tomorrow around 9:45am.  It will be great to see the wonderful things you will be doing in the classrooms.

Coach Courtney, Bill, Valerie and Abby had their hands full with our large track team today.  It was great to see so many students involved in physical activity and competition with a ton of parents and relatives looking on.

The eighth grade teachers and students will be enjoying the confines of Wrigley Field today as they take the students on their reward trip.  Thanks for setting up such a great reward for these students.

The 6th grade team just finished a wonderful presentation from the San Diego that tied in with their endangered animal unit.  Having experts talk to the students helps to engage and reinforce the content!

Thanks to Ellen for manning the office solo in Pat's absence,  there are a lot of things that have to get done behind the scenes to make the school function smoothly.  Michelle has also done a wonderful job of helping out when needed, thanks!

A big thank you to Greg for doing the thankless job of communicating what we need to know to be prepared for PARCC.  A lot of time and effort went into this process and we appreciate it....and will give him full blame if anything goes wrong :)

Alex Anderson and Colleen Morgan are taking the student council to convention today and into the weekend.  They will be recognized as an honor council which is a reflection of the students and the sponsors hard work and dedication this year. Thanks for representing our school so well.

Jessica Erickson will be leading some of our enrichment students to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the Engineering Expo.  This will be a great experience for these students.  Special thanks to all of the staff members who are chaperoning these trips that go into evenings and weekends.  If it wasn't for your dedication all of these students would miss some great learning opportunities.

Thanks to Lyn, Melissa LaMantia and Danielle who all came to the school board meeting to recognize parents and students for their contributions to the arts programs at Benjamin.

Thanks to the 5th grade team for providing the scrumptious lunch yesterday for birthday treats.  It is great when staff can gather to laugh and bond over food and great discussion.


I am looking forward to Red, White and Beautiful Wednesday evening.  This will be a great showcase for our students talents.


Good audio/weblink on the importance of a network.
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/how-innovative-educators-observe-reflect-and-share/?utm_content=buffer2546a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer


For all my tech risk takers...this might be something worth exploring from Microsoft and Onenote which is on all of our devices.  Check out the link and the video.
https://blogs.office.com/2016/04/14/new-updates-for-the-onenote-class-notebook-add-in-including-lms-assignment-and-grade-integration/#0xG5bEAo8wogWz5I.97

4-8-2016

The 5th students are participating in the  Amazing Race as they travel around school getting information from different countries.  Seeing smiles and hearing comments like "this is hard" tells me that the activity is both engaging and a challenging for the students!  Nice job 5th grade teachers on  the extra effort for an innovative project.  

Great information and resources on Teen Media Use on Common Sense Media.  I've shared parts of this before but this is a good link to bookmark when needed.  

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=csm

Michelle Fiorini has been working hard organizing and preparing for the summer reading program.  This years program will have a few changes and will hopefully be more motivating for the students.  

Thanks to Lynette and Courtney for putting in extra Lunch duty hours to help cover for 5th grade.  It is appreciated.   

Huge resource list from a reliable source on Project Based Learning.  Take a minute....you do have one minute...click the link....go ahead...:)

http://cybraryman.com/projectbasedlearning.html

I was  listening outside his band door Tuesday morning and was very impressed with the formative instruction John F.was delivering throughout the period.  He is doing a great job of helping us out in Mark's absence.  

Interesting, short article on why sharing a screen in a 1:1 environment is important:  

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/sharing-screen-in-1to1-classrooms-monica-burns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Sherry Anderson did another great job working with the 3rd trimester students on their Ruth Goldberg projects.  Check out the video below.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0B2Oy3NVXM&feature=youtu.be

Thanks to Lynette, Lyn, Michelle F, Sherry and Melissa for serving time on the instructional load committee.  Working together to improve the overall student experience is an important goal.

A very Happy Birthday to Dr. Ehrhardt tomorrow.  I know we all appreciate the expert leadership he provides our district. Personally, I am grateful for his mentorship he has provided me in District 25.

Cool video on habits of original thinkers.  15 minutes long.

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." - Elbert Hubbard