5-26-2017

Congratulations to Mr. Tylk, Mrs. Milner, Mr. Wadman, Mr. Anderson, Ms. Adams and Mrs. Moore for presenting the sports awards last night to our track and soccer athletes.

Im very excited for the all school picnic and the recess relay today.  Huge thanks to Lauren and Jessica for all of the work that went into today's event and working with our NJHS students to support a very worthy cause.

Great List:  43 websites to learn something.
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-43-best-websites-for-learning-something-new-2017-3?IR=T

Great 11 minute talk on time management in work and life:
http://blog.leecockerell.com/time-magic-course/

Thanks to Greg, Chris F, Mr. Johnson, and Sherry for working our summer stem camp.  This will give a new and exciting experience for our students.

Thanks to MJ, Betty and Jenny for working summer school this year.

Talk about a life long learner  Howard Gardner starts a new blog called " Life Long Learning: A Blog in Education
https://howardgardner.com/2017/05/15/introduction-to-life-long-learning-a-blog-in-education/

Really Great Article on life and creative integrity from the creator of Calvin and Hobbs:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/05/20/bill-watterson-1990-kenyon-speech/

Thanks to Michelle and Chris for presenting the summer math and reading programs to the 4th graders over at Evergreen.

Thanks to all of the 8th grade and special teachers who helped with graduation practice yesterday.


Neil Gaiman Commencement Speech.  Make Good Art.

5-19-2017

The kids must be exhausted, because I know the adults are!  Thanks to Melissa and Matt for putting on the awesome musical  performances Thursday afternoon at the assembly, Thursday night at the concert and Friday morning at Evergreen.  I cannot recall a time that both staff and parents came to me with as much frequency to tell me how awesome the performances were.  They also could not have been done without the work of Danielle on the sound board and Mrs. S. (Sophia Johnson's mom) on piano!



Great writers on the power of music.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/03/15/writers-on-music/



Thanks to Lyn for arranging the Leonardo DaVinci performance today for the 6th grade.  This dramatic and interactive assembly is the definition of hands on, engaged learning!

Great article on finding the truth and the interdisciplinary approach to teaching critical thinking skills in the classroom.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/uk/blog/finding-whats-true


Thanks to Jen, Lynette,and Cody for organizing and supervising the 8th grade sports fest at WCHS today.  This fun event lets them compete with each other and other students while making ground with their transition to the high school for next year.

Megan P shared with me this awesome article and Rubric for a students to develop a healthy reading life.
https://threeteacherstalk.com/2017/05/16/rubricks-part-ii-a-follow-up-guest-post-by-julie-swinehart/

Congratulations to the girls track team who actually took first place in the conference meet after Courtney and Keriann realized their were some mathematical errors in the point tabulation at the conference meet.  Also best of luck to our girls soccer team as they prepare to take on Timothy Christian on Saturday in the conference tournament.

Yale launches an archive of 170,000 pictures documenting the Great Depression
http://www.openculture.com/2014/09/yale-launches-an-archive-of-170000-photographs-of-the-great-depression.html
 

Hat's off to Bill and April as their 8th grade students performed their class debates with precision and energy this past week.  These debates are always one of my highlights of the year to observe and judge. Well done!

8 things I know for sure about middle school kids!
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/middle-school-kids/


Thanks to Bill, Megan, Lauren, Colleen, Adrienne, Jessica, Courtney, MJ and Alex for participating in the Pearson My Perspective's training starting today.

No such thing as a "math person".
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/well/family/trying-to-add-up-girls-and-math.html?_r=0

The highlight of my day was getting to teach 10 minutes of Mark's social studies class yesterday when he was solving the Case of the Double Dominos Pizza delivery! I'm so jealous of the student interactions teachers can make everyday as they deliver meaningful content instruction.  I used my time to go over the federal government  rights vs state government rights as listed (or not) in the constitution.  This resulted in many students input, discussion  and laughter as we uncovered the answers together.  Keep up the great job you are doing all day, everyday,  with these students. You are making a difference!



I cannot wait for Barb's retirement party today after school.  I am so thankful for the many years of service and dedication that Barb has shown to the LMC and students of Benjamin Middle School!

Summer Reading List on youth development from the John W. Gardner Center.
https://medium.com/@gardnercenter/youth-development-summer-reading-list-65baffc8b477

5-5-2017

Thanks to Lauren and Bill for giving a great presentation to the board on Monday.  My Perspectives will be our new ILAR curriculum resource to help our students.

A different definition of Innovation focusing on what won't change.
https://www.inc.com/jeffrey-phillips/what-jeff-bezos-gets-right-about-innovation-that-so-many-others-get-wrong.html

Good luck to our Track Team as they have their final home meet tonight.  If anyone can help out and work the meet please see Courtney today.

The teenage brain is wired to learn.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teenage-brain-is-wired-to-learn-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Congratulations to Mr. Tylk, Mr. Anderson and the girls soccer team who are pushing through bad weather and absences to play hard and be competitive.

Are fidget spinners a threat to America?  Yes.  Thanks to Mr. Feffer for sharing.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-fidget-spinners-schools-huppke-20170501-story.html


Two great experiences for the 8th graders, Lyric Opera and the Cubs Game back to back.  I have heard great reports about how our students have conducted themselves while having these great experiences.  Thanks to Melissa and Mark for organizing these experiences.  Looks like some people got their world series ring.


I hope everyone enjoyed the awards and food celebrations this week as our celebrations continue next week I want to thank you for making coming to Benjamin everyday an enjoyable experience.  You guys are the best!

Thanks to all staff for the superman cape and McD's gift card for Principal's Appreciation Day.  I will try to live up to the S.  

Pistol Pete's Homework Basketball...kind of about basketball...kind of about life
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-pistol-petes-homework-basketball.html?ref=todayspaper

Thanks to Dr. Ehrhardt for sharing the insurance and project updates as well as the news that he will be our superintendent through the 2019 school year.  We know we are in good hands through the changes and construction in the next two school years.

I'm looking forward to the Poetry Jam in Adrienne's room today.  Poetry by lamp light and bongo drums...yeah man I can dig it.