4-26-2019

Congratulations to Ellen T who welcomed a new grandchild over the past weekend!  Everyone is doing well.  

Thanks to Namita for doing a great job filling in for Ellen T in the office this week.  She has been doing an outstanding job!

Choose your habits well.  

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/principle-43d-choose-your-habits-well-ray-dalio/

Grant presentations went well yesterday with a lot of teachers applying for grants.  We will definitely be looking for ways to fund as many of these great ideas as possible for student learning.  

Adrienne Moreno and the 7th grade team have the career fair organized and ready to go.  Lots of 7th grade parent volunteers with a wide variety of careers make for an exciting and educational day for our 7th grade students.  

Evergreen's National Blue Ribbon  Award parade on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ge1QS1O5Tw

4th grade student orientation and parent night was a great success.  It could not have happened without the help of a lot of people including Melissa L, Chris F, Melissa F, Danielle D, Alex A, and Matthew.  Also thanks to Ellen and Kim for helping with the parent communication and lunch portion of the day.  

Newsletters are due, please send your newsletter in sometime today. 

What a wonderful day for a Cubs game as the 8th grade teachers brought the 8th graders to Wrigley yesterday for their reward trip.  The score did not match the great time that the students had.  

A library full of virtual field trips.  Check them out!

https://newlearningtimes.com/cms/article/6157/a-library-of-virtual-field-trips-at-your

Dan Baker has been doing a wonderful job as the AD.  We appreciate his willingness to roll up his sleeves and jump in when needed.  

Here is the link that I sent earlier in the week for the great PD opportunity in Aurora for the SAMRi Teacher Camp.  Check it out.

 For more information, to register, or to submit a presentation proposal, please check out our website.

Thanks to Marcia who has been working extremely hard to meet the varied needs of our students and staff this week.  

Melissa L had an awesome cooking class for some students last Wednesday as they prepared gnocchi among other things, how fun!

Matthew and the BMS band played a gig out in the community last night, what a great experience for these developing musicians!

George Orwell's 6 rules for writing

Thanks to Tim, Tony and Frank who were among the staff members asking Megan P's students to read their poems to them  on "poem in your pocket" day.  

8 ways to encourage older students to develop a sense of imagination.  

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/50429/how-to-help-older-kids-develop-a-sense-of-imagination

Megan D helped two students get a picture of them holding their current book they are reading, signed by the author, pretty cool.  

Ted Talk on Vulnerability

“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet service to see who they really are.” - Will Ferrell

4-18-2019

Thanks to Jessica and Lauren for adding the NJHS Pizza Dinner experience to our Red White and Beautiful night, many grateful parents and teachers for the added convenience.


Lyn talked to me about having to go home and ICE her knee etc...from all of the artwork she hung throughout the last two weeks.  The halls look awesome and is a tribute to her wonderful curriculum.

Good article on how books can help (not fix) teens with mental health issues.  Including a list of books.
https://motherwellmag.com/2019/04/02/how-to-help-teens-tackle-mental-health-issues-with-reading/


The Wings of Hopes and Dreams was another wonderful addition that April Spearheaded.  Parents loved taking their child's picture with the wings to create a Kodak Moment.  (younger teachers, Kodak wasa camera and film company before cell phones and Instagram)



Michelle F and Kathy were working hard last night at the bookfair, it was a busy place and when one of the registers went down it was all hands on deck.  Having a lot of parents buying books is a good problem to have.



The Dynamic Duo of Melissa and Matthew put on a great show to a gym packed with parents and family members on both sides of the bleachers.


Jen and Lynette had the hallway smelling great with their healthy cooking samples last night. Having students help made a real difference.

Chris and Lynette are getting the talent show practices underway. I'm looking forward to the variety of acts and students displaying their talent.

The important role of teachers in technology integration.


Bill and Megan are busy with student "How To" Speeches, this is another great way to not only strengthen their academic writing but for students to display their knowledge, interests and skills.

Many people put in grant proposals for the Foundation!  I am looking forward to the presentations on Thursday, April 25th.

Teacher check-in chart for feelings goes viral.
https://www.boredpanda.com/students-health-check-board-erin-castillo/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic


4th grade students will be in the house on Tuesday, along with parents that evening. Thanks to Melissa L for organizing this day and to the 4th and 5th grade teachers for their participation.  This is a great day and evening to ease nerves and talk about our transition process.

Shout out to Laura P and our Evergreen brothers and sisters who will be celebrating their Blue Ribbon Achievement with a Community Parade on Wednesday. Great Job!


"For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned." --Benjamin Franklin

4-12-2019

Thanks to Courtney, Bill and Abby for doing a great job coaching the first home track meet yesterday.  Weather conditions weren't ideal but they got it in the books.  Also, thanks to Dan, Lori, Matthew and Marcia for helping time the meet and Jessica for running concessions for NJHS.


The 8th grade students were able to visit West Chicago High School on Thursday.  What a great event to continue the transition for next year. 

The role of metacognition in learning and achievement.
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/46038/the-role-of-metacognition-in-learning-and-achievement

Melissa, April and Danielle did a great job recognizing the Newsie volunteers at Monday's Board meeting. Showing appreciation for all of those behind the scene people that help make the theater club presentation happening.

There is no avoiding pain, especially if you’re going after ambitious goals. Believe it or not, you are lucky to feel that kind of pain if you approach it correctly, because it is a signal that you need to find solutions so you can progress.


Jessica and Allison also did a great job presenting the findings of our Assessment Committee to the school board on Monday.  It was a lot of work this year and is appreciated. 

Thanks to Michelle who is doing our IAR make-up testing today and early next week.  Our attendance during testing was pretty great so it should not take more than a couple of days. 




I am looking forward to Red, White and Beautiful next week.  Lyn has been putting up artwork all over the building band and choir are getting ready and Healthy Cooking will be making an appearance again from Lynette and Jen.  NJHS will also be selling Pizza prior to RW&B for teachers and families. 

Tips for teaching realistic optimism to students.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/tips-teaching-realistic-optimism


The Anderson book fair is happening next week as Michelle and Kathy will be running the fair to raise more money and books for our library.  Please check it out. 


Good luck to Colleen, Alex and student council as they head out to Convention this weekend. This is a great leadership experience for the students. 



Matthew Turek and the Band will be playing at the Chicago Wolves game on Saturday.  Our students sure have a lot of opportunities to attend great experiences and share their talents. 



Thanks to Ellen and Kim for organizing the It's Always a Party on Tuesday.  The spread was spectacular as usual.

Betty went out of her way to have Megan P meet one of her favorite authors...well almost.


MCDonalds was the place to be last night as  Adrienne, Jim , Matthew, Nicole, Mark, Sherry, Kerry, Kathy and myself all worked with the Evergreen staff to serve A LOT of Benjamin 25 families!  The place was packed.  Thanks to everyone for pitching in and raising funds for the PTA. 

4-5-2019

Thanks to everyone for doing a great job with testing.  It has run very smoothly.  Special thanks to Greg, Ellen B and Angela for their tech support. 

Ten guiding principles that make up Effective Success Plans for students from the Education Redesign Lab at Harvard Graduate School.  More information can be found in the link below.

https://edredesign.org/personalized-supports-and-opportunities/

Courtney, Bill and Abby are doing a great job getting the track team ready for their first meet next week.  Running inside relays and other exercises throughout the building due to rainy weather. 

70 places to publish teenage writing from the NY Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/learning/out-of-the-classroom-and-into-the-world-70-plus-places-to-publish-teenage-writing-and-art.html


Best of luck to Jessica as she leads a student trip to the Engineering Expo in Madison Wisconsin today.  What a great opportunity for these students. 

Sherry will be showing her 8th grade spanish class  movie projects today during 6th and 8th period.  I am looking forward to seeing their finished green screen projects. 

Continuous Learning Mindset


In all of the excitement of meeting the new superintendent at our learning meeting I forgot to announce Bill as the employee of the month.  I delivered his card yesterday for his stunning performance of Joseph Pulitzer in Newsies!

Looking forward to "It's always a Party" on Tuesday, don't forget to sign up!

Art as Text: Bridging Literacy and the Arts

Just a reminder that Red White and Beautiful is coming up on April 17th for all staff.  It is a great showcase of our student creative endeavors. 

April 11th is the PTA McDonald's fundraiser.  I have attached the link if you have time to help out. 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044babad2aaaf49-mcteacher

10 things to do when students say "I got nothing!"


Thanks to Alex and MJ for representing our school at Tuesday nights Technology Advisory committee meeting.  It was a good meeting with parents, students, teachers and community members giving their feedback on technology items like the students devices and communication possibilities. 

Grant applications are due on April 15th.  Please give me a copy when completed.