10-26-2018

I was able to get into a lot of classrooms this week and saw a lot of engaged students.  Thanks for "being there" for your students!

Take a minute to look this over:


Thanks to everyone who baked or volunteered at the Fall Fest last weekend. I had a blast being the costume judge and hanging out with District 25 parents, students and staff.

Fishbowl Method to spark student dialogue.
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol14/num04/Inside-the-Fishbowl-A-Tool-for-Student-Discussions.aspx?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=Social-Organic&utm_medium=social


Thanks to Dan Baker, Matt Tylk, Bill Wadman, Keriann Moore, and Kerry Kuhn for presenting the student awards at our Fall Sports Awards Wednesday Night.  It was a great cap to some very successful seasons.

The 5 second rule for a talkative class.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/5-second-solution/


Thanks to Gail for the great job she is doing with the "Check In / Check Out students.  Her thoroughness and consistency is a key component to help students that need some extra assistance.

I appreciate the 8th grade teachers efforts in organizing and helping to facilitate the HS PSAT Testing on Tuesday.



Congratulations to Melissa L, April and Danielle for running a very successful audition clinic and three days of auditions.  The stage is set for an awesome production. Now the hard work begins.



A big shout out to Michelle F for running our next book fair. It is such a great event for student reading and money maker for the LMC I appreciate the extra effort she will be putting into this event. It should be noted that she will not be working on her regular day to day duties during the book fair week ( 5th grade library skills as an example) so she can focus on putting on a great book fair.

Take some time to check out this website,  a lot of cool resources.  Search by subject, topic, teaching strategy.  https://www.teachervision.com/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=belinblank

Thanks to Colleen and Alex for providing student council kids with another great opportunity by taking them to their Leadership workshop today. Follow the Clues to the Leader in You!



Jessica Erickson and Newspaper Club put together another outstanding issue of the Tiger Times.  I am always amazed at the thoroughness and quality of the  paper.  I also confess that only got a 9 out of 15 on the PE Teacher quiz and had to google "Halloween Color" to get "purple" on the crossword!



In case you noticed the construction trucks in the parking lot yesterday.  We are having a sidewalk installed from the bottom of the outside stairs to the upper lot that will connect to the front sidewalk.  this will greatly improve student safety.



Thanks to Tim for working with our architect Andy yesterday and to Jim, Mark and Colleen for their continuous communication on the update of items to be completed in the science labs. 



Books saved me...Fairy tales are important not because they tell children dragons exist—they already know that. Instead they tell children terrible situations can be beaten, defied, or at the very least survived.” -Kate DiCamillo

10-19-2018

Thanks to Chris for putting together the BB300 Newscast Friday morning.  The kids had a blast and the mic issue will be fixed by next week.  Please make sure that you send any announcements you have for Friday to Chris and Ellen T by Tuesday afternoon because they film on Wednesday and edit on Thursday. I know it requires to plan ahead.  Thanks for doing this for the kids!

Building relationships with students. 
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2018/10/response_building_relationships_with_students_is_the_most_important_thing_a_teacher_can_do.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw




Huge thanks to Corey for all that he has done for our school and best of luck in his future.  Yesterday at Outdoor Ed Corey and I walked into the lunchroom at the same time and every table of kids had their hands up screaming "Mr. M"!  wanting him to sit at their table.  Needless to say I slinked away to a table that accepted me as long as I didn't talk to them😁

Thanks to Sherry and Marcia for all of the work they are doing to communicate to one of our families on a student medical issue.  Going beyond expectations is appreciated. 

Tips on the google products you use.
https://www.blog.google/products/search/tips-people-behind-your-favorite-google-products/

If you are on the regular evaluation cycle and haven't scheduled your first formal observation with me you should be asking yourself the following question "Why haven't I scheduled my first formal observation with Mike yet?"

Thanks to all of the staff who are chaperoning Outdoor Ed. It is a huge commitment of time and energy! Also, thanks to our awesome Substitutes!  We couldn't do it without you.


I want to welcome Andrew Hunter who will be taking over as the PE teaching assistant position on Monday.  He is subbing this week in PE so please stop by, say hi and welcome him to Benjamin. 

Thanks to the 6th grade team for setting up Dr. Ehrhardt and Sarah Phelan to come in and give an excellent talk to our 6th graders about the history of Benjamin on Monday.


I sent an email out earlier in the week to share the link Michelle gave me on Digital Citizenship. If you didn't check it out then.  Please do so now. 
https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship#digcit-program.%C2%A0


Randy Johnson who is volunteering in the Maker Space and supervising the Maker Space club stayed for 2 hours with the students on Wednesday's early release day.  Thanks Randy!

Congratulations to Todd who will be going to Bloomington on Saturday to pick up his Those Who Excel Award.  He is definitely deserving of the recognition.  I'm hoping he will let me sit at his table. 

Finding your Chord.
https://seths.blog/2018/09/in-search-of-your-chord/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+typepad/sethsmainblog+(Seth%27s+Blog)

Melissa and I want to thank everyone for the "Bosses Day" gift.  We appreciate the job that you do to make our life easier. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Ehrhardt on behalf of our entire staff for being the example to follow on how to do things right and walking the walk for us everyday.

Article on What are your Beliefs?  Good stuff.
http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2018/10/what-are-your-beliefs.html 


I hope to see some of you at the Fall Fest this Sunday.  It is a great event for your families and a way to support the Foundation who supports our schools. 

"If you have the guts to keep making mistakes, your wisdom and intelligence leap forward with huge momentum." -- Holly Near

10-12-2018

Congratulations to our Cross Country Team for a stellar job yesterday at our conference tournament at Harvest Christian and good luck to our Benjamin Volleyball and Soccer teams this weekend as they compete in the conference tournament. 

Thanks to Melissa for organizing the 7th grade field trip to the Art Institute in Chicago.  Mixing culture and fun is always a good combination.


How mistakes help students learn.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-mistakes-help-students-learn?linkId=100000003717532


April Tepe and her Medieval STEM 8th graders, made paper ...yes made paper and then analyzed and tested  it for drawing surface, flexibility and ability to be cut cleanly.  Students came away with some great understandings of ways to improve the process the next time.

20 ways to show your kids (the ones at home) that you are proud of them.
http://redtri.com/easy-words-of-encouragement-for-kids/?utm_source=commonsensemedia.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_twitter


Thanks to Tony and Frank for getting the Green Screen wall painted outside of Sherry's and inside of Angela's room.  One of many things that they do on a daily basis to keep our school running smoothly.

Even mild physical activity improves memory.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180924153424.htm


Thanks to Megan P, Betty and Megan D for starting an adult book club for Benjamin teachers!  What a fun idea.



I am looking forward to the reveal of the 2018-2019 theater production this morning.  Annie?  Wicked? Cats? Lion King?  Mary Poppins?  Spiderman; Turn off the Dark?

How to use the movie Black Panther in the classroom?
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/03/black-panther-classroom


Congratulations to Betty for receiving tenure at Tuesday's board meeting!

Please join the PTA if you haven't already.  Best $5 you will ever spend.

Why graphic novels belong in all libraries.
https://pernillesripp.com/2018/10/10/why-graphic-novels-belong-in-all-of-our-libraries/


Thanks to all of the SS teachers for meeting after school on Wednesday to discuss or new TCI product.  We were able to share  positive experiences, tips, ask questions and give me concerns.

Good article about teens being bullied on Instagram.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/teens-face-relentless-bullying-instagram/572164/

A huge thank you to Sherry Anderson for facilitating a conversation between Alex and one of his spanish speaking families.  We appreciate your expertise and your willingness to help.

When's the last time you were as happy as this dog?

Thanks to Alex, Jen H, Heather F and Lori for meeting with Claire from SASED to streamline some strategies.  Working together to meet the needs of the students is why we are here!

Drawing can help you think and focus better, even if you are bad at it.
https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/learning-draw-think-better-learn-smarter-and-be-less-distracted-


Thanks to Laura Morgan and Tim Morton for handling a difficult situation on Wednesday with one of their students.  Also, thanks to Todd and Nicole and Melissa for lending a hand.

Very cool writing prompt generator.  Hit "shuffle" and watch the magic happen.
https://diymfa.com/writer-igniter

10-5-2018

A big congratulations to Laura Pfanenstiel, Deb LeBlanc and the Evergreen staff on Evergreen being named a National Blue Ribbon School.  This is the highest honor and much deserved.

The self-reflection sandwich...see what's on it.
https://leadershipfreak.blog/2018/10/04/the-self-reflection-sandwich/


Thanks to everyone for turning in their student growth goals.   I will provide you a signed copy and let you know if I have any questions.  Most of you I met in a brainstorming session and had those worked out.

Our Benjamin Foundation Fall Fest is Sunday October 21st.  This is a great event to bring your family to (for young kids), volunteer at or to bake for.  Put it on your calendar.

Chris will be piloting a new news broadcast club.  This will basically take the place of Friday announcements.  Students will put together a small news show of a current event, our announcements the weather and the W.O.W.  This will require everyone's help to make this successful.  The basics are that they will film it Wednesday morning and you will be sent a link Friday morning that you will click on and play through you computer/interactive projector/Ben Q at 7:42am.  Please make sure you take the steps to have the link ready on time and make sure your class is quiet and listening/watching as they do for me everyday for announcements.  Since I won't be doing announcements on Fridays I will be able to walk around and watch them from a different classroom each week.  Thanks for your help and more detailed information will be coming from Chris.

Thanks to Matthew for taking some of our band students to Vandercook school of Music for a one day Band Fest last weekend where they were able to learn and compete.


Thanks to Greg and Betty for the excellent presentations they gave for our learning meeting on Wednesday.  I know that I came away with some knowledge that will help keep our computers safe and tools that will help our EL population  see success.

8 ways to reclaim a sense of joy when teaching.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/reclaiming-sense-joy?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=twitter

Ellen and Kim did a great job as usual organizing and setting up our Octoberfest. Nothing beats food, friends, and conversations.

4 teaching moves that promote a growth mindset in all readers. (has videos as well)
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/47856/four-strategies-that-promote-a-growth-mindset-in-struggling-readers


Just an FYI the new state testing company officially purchased the PARCC content.  So the questions will be exactly like they were previously.  We will just need to see how the new system delivers them electronically. More information will be provided as I receive it.

The big list of classroom discussion strategies.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/speaking-listening-techniques/


Thanks to Chris, April, Lyn, Sherry, Keriann, Melissa R and Bill for doing an outstanding job with their students when Dr. Ehrhardt, the school board and myself visited their classrooms on Wednesday.  We saw a lot of engaged and active student learning!



Lauren, Colleen and Melissa R are having Scarce come in to give the 6th grade students a presentation on the importance of recycling.  This is a great experience for these students.

Connected to that presentation Tim is working with all of the custodians to make sure that they are going to start properly recycling everyday.  From our standpoint we need to make sure that we as a staff are recycling and making sure the students recycle properly.  You will be receiving an email from me with the proper recycling information that is coming straight from our waste management company.  This will serve as a great reference guide and reminder on what can be recycled.  Let's commit to doing our part as we have a lot of garbage that can now be reduced by following this process.

A year from now you may wish you had started today." -- Karen Lamb

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." -- Walter Elliot