9-29-2023

 Thanks to Kerry for setting up the comfort dog visit for her students.  Stop by her room if you would like to visit.

Please make sure you encourage kids to contribute to the PTA sneaker drive and the Rotary Coat Drive.  We will be sending out an eblast to parents and we have bins in the vestibule if you want to contribute.

Maslow before Bloom.  

Congratulations to the Benjamin sports teams, I had a blast at soccer and Volleyball on Monday and Cross Country on Thursday.  I appreciate the coaches and all the staff that signs up to support our teams. 

Joe Hauser has a Go Fund Me Project happening for the wrestling club currently.  Thanks to Lisa and Janice for getting this up and running.  Don't forget to take advantage of these grant opportunities as well as the funding opportunities through the PTA and Foundation.

Collaborative Conversation Bingo.

I will be sending out the October meeting schedule this weekend, but we have our Learning Meeting on Wednesday of this week:  2:45-3:30pm.  

On Thursday October 5th we will have Audrianna Biggers our PD rep from HMH in our building to work with our ELA teachers.  I appreciate the time they are putting into implementing our new curriculum.  

Please make sure you get your personnel forms into Kim asap, also just a reminder to finish up your health trainings.

Save the Date October 17th is EL Family Night and the theme is celebrating our cultures. This night is not just for EL staff  and families but for everyone.  If you would like to volunteer or just come as a guest we would love to see you there.  Thank to Dr. Salamone and the EL team for organizing this great event.  

Thanks to Sherry and the BEA Leadership team for allowing me to come to their monthly meeting on Wednesday.  It was great seeing the leadership team work together  with Dr, Woell to discuss concerns in a productive way.  

 Dr. Filas will be hosting some Finance 101 sessions in the near future.  Keep your eyes peeled for this opportunity to learn and grow.  

4 practices that help teachers navigate change.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/maintaining-your-core-values-teacher

I want to thank the RTI math teachers for being flexible with their schedule and helping the newly identified students. 

Here is the new STEM Parade video.  Please watch!

"Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." -- M. Scott Peck

"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month."

-- Theodore Roosevelt

"If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?"

-- George Carlin

9-22-2023

 I want to thank everyone for their participation in the data meetings.  The discussions we have, even when people disagree all have the end goal of helping students. Thank you for doing your best to help these students including communicating regularly with their parents.  

Why students are forgetting things and what you can do about it.

Improving student Memory

Public service announcement:  When using the translation services that Dr. Salamone sent out, teachers will almost always want to use the phone call option.  The document translation is not for emails but more for official documents and there can be up to a week delay.  The phone call is instantaneous.  Let me know if you have questions.

4 ways classroom design impact executive functioning

classroom design's impact on executive functioning

I am looking forward to walking around the building with Dr. Woell and members of the school board tomorrow morning.  

Student growth goals are due October 1st which is coming up fast.  Let me know if you have questions.  I am also open to having first formal observations.  Please reach out as I want to have the first round completed by the end of October if possible. 

Thanks for meeting in subject area meetings yesterday.  I am following up on my to-do list from ELA and will reach back out to math on our discussion topic as well.  

Please read the email and attachment from Greg yesterday about the funding opportunities from our grant writers Janice and Lisa.  These are definitely opportunities to take advantage of.  There are also classroom $ benefits tied to your PTA membership.  You will also have information coming soon about grant opportunities from the Benjamin 25 foundation.  So many ways to help your students!

Become a slide expert

It was great to see the Bengal Cafe back in action in their new time slot Monday morning.  My coca cola order is always the same no cream ...heavy on the caffeine...heavy on the sugar.

I am looking forward to seeing the Volleyball and Soccer team on the 25th and the cross country team on the 28th for their home competitions!  Go Bengals!

Spirit Wear!  Get your Bengals on!  The link will be live tomorrow morning with brand new spirit wear offerings from the PTA.  You can order from the general selection or the Teacher/Staff selection.  

Scaffolding for your EL Students in content heavy classrooms

scaffolding for your EL students

I believe half the unhappiness in life comes from people being afraid to go straight at things.  

                                                                                                    William J. Lock

The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.  

                                                                 James A. Garfield

Genius is the infinite capacity for taking life by the scruff of the neck.

                                                                 Katherine Hepburn 

9-15-23

 The BB300 sounds great.  Please make sure you play it for your homeroom each day and make sure they are quiet and listening.  Thanks to Chris for doing a great job with the kids.  

Thanks to all of the Math Teachers for attending the Math Curriculum Adoption Presentation from Savvas. Also thanks to Danielle and Angela for assisting with the Zooms for both the Evergreen and Benjamin meeting and for all the work they are doing to assist with the ELA and math adoptions.  

Yays, Nays and Hip Hip Hoorays!

Yays, Nays and Hip Hip Hoorays

The PTA meeting was very well attended by parents.  Thanks to Jessica for being our teacher rep and for talking about the opportunities for partnership that our NJHS students can offer at PTA Events.  

I appreciate all of the time that Josh is putting in to make the makerspace ready for his after school club.  Once the after school club is up and running we will have information on  the maker space for use by students during the school day during study skills classes.  

I appreciate everyone looking at the IAR data from the spring on Wednesday.  Taking the extra steps to break down data to the student level will allow us to identify and help student learning.  I will come to team next week to discuss the scores further along with other data as we develop the school improvement plan.  

Please make sure that we do not have unsupervised students in the hallway.  The LMC provides a supervised alternative to kids working on a project or that need to catch up on an  assignment due to absences.

"Teacher Tip: Enlarge and laminate your writing paper and use it to display a sample piece of writing! Either one you model for your class or a shared writing piece that students can refer back to."

Congratulations to Megan P, Joe and Morgan for being recognized for achieving tenure at Monday's board meeting.

Megan D, Kerry  and the Bengal Cafe student helpers were also recognized for the work they do helping students and getting our staff their tasty beverages each week.

Proven classroom strategies for winning over reluctant readers

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62154/proven-classroom-strategies-for-winning-over-reluctant-readers

Please remember to turn in your student growth goals and set up your first observation with me if you are on cycle.  Also, please let me know if you need any help with your growth goals.  

Thanks to the Team Leaders for meeting with me on Monday.  I could not do my job without their outstanding leadership each day!

"A person is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." -- John Barrymore

"When you’re happy you enjoy the music, but when you’re sad you understand the lyrics." -- Frank Ocean

"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead." -- Benjamin Franklin

"I wake up every morning thinking . . . this is my last day. And I jam everything into it. There's no time for mediocrity. This is no damned dress rehearsal." -- Anita Roddick

Bengal Blog 9-8-2023

 Thanks to Danielle and Angela for their learning meeting presentation on Coaching cycles and other ways they can help in the classroom.  It is always great to be able to benefit from our own staff and their support can assist you and your students in so many ways.

A daily practice that students can use for self-regulation.

self-regulation

If you are on cycle please submit your student  growth goals  and schedule your initial observation with me.  

Thanks to everyone for problem solving this week when I had a super busy personal PD schedule.  Special Thanks to Melissa for her support and extra time dedicated to admin responsibilities.  

Mark and Colleen presented to 6th grade parents about the outdoor ed trip on Wednesday night.  I appreciate their effort at this well attended meeting.

How extroverted teachers can help introverted students.

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62119/how-extroverted-teachers-can-engage-introverted-students

I appreciate the staff taking extra time to help our new students and  looking at their student records.  The extra effort is appreciated by the new students the most as they transition to our awesome school.

Thanks to everyone for their participation in the fire drill and police supervised lockdown.  Feedback from the DuPage County Sherriff was very positive.  

I am submitting the scholastic order today.  I know this is later than previous years.  I had a road block at the end of last year, hopefully we will have online access soon and the physical copies in a couple weeks.  

I appreciate the flexibility in teaching assistants and teachers as we make changes to cover student needs.  I am still looking for a TA that will help make the coverage smoother.  

Please remember that the first PTA Meeting of the year is next week, Tuesday September 12th at 7pm.  Thanks for those that have signed up to attend a meeting.  Don't worry there are still open spots available!

“Don’t just teach your children to read…
Teach them to question what they read.
Teach them to question everything.”

― George Carlin

"The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' -- Charles Dickens

Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories. 

Steven Wright