12-20-24

 I want to thank Dr. Woell for his years of service to Benjamin SD 25.  He has led us through some difficult times and has always been positive and encouraging of his belief in our ability to make a difference.  Also thanks to Sherry and the BEA for having a very nice reception for him after school on Thursday to give everyone a chance to say goodbye and thank you.

Sherry had a fantastic tamale party on Wednesday in her spanish classes.  The students enjoyed learning about the process of making the tamales but enjoyed eating them even more!  As usual parents were there helping out. Special shout out to Mrs. Perez for making all of the tamales for students and staff!

Short video on ways to boost retention.  

Mr. Lewis and the 5th grade team did a wonderful job of leading our 5th graders in caroling on Thursday to three different retirement facilities. As usual the residents loved it.  Giving back to the community during this holiday season is a great lesson for our 5th grade students.  

Thanks to Margaret for getting out the newsletter each month.  This is a great avenue of communication to our parents. Getting me to turn my article in on time is a major achievement in itself!

Kerri Snyder shared a "Staff Shout Out Link" earlier this week.  This is another avenue to recognize our great staff.  I am going to reshare the link below.  Basically, you fill out the form and pay a compliment forward to a fellow staff member.  If you don't want them to know it was you you can also do this anonymously.  We have already had shout outs for Lauren Dunne completed by a fellow staff member, and I just received shout outs for Joe Hauser and Mark Bradbury completed by parents for things that they have done for their students.  (I will pass them out later in the day on Friday) There can never be too many ways to recognize the hard work that each of you do.

Staff Spotlight Submission

I appreciate the team leaders meeting with me on Tuesday after school for our monthly meeting.  Leadership is not an island and I certainly could not run the school, without their leadership.

The 8th grade team took their trimester reward trip to the skating rink on Thursday and had a blast out on the ice.  Students also need many different kinds of recognition for a job well done, sometimes simple words of encouragement, sometimes a big celebration.  I appreciate grade level teams efforts to put together these special trips.  

Pretty Cool video.  

Kim and Margaret did a fantastic job of  treating the whole staff to some awesome charcuterie!  What a special surprise.  

Please remember to finish up your online  health trainings if you haven't done so already.  

April and I want to thank you for the generous gifts you gave us.  We put a small gift in your mailbox as a sign of appreciation for the great job you do everyday.  We hope you have a restful holiday with family and friends and we will see you back in January. 

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

"I don't know what to say, but it's Christmas and we're all in misery." —Ellen Griswold

12-13-2024

 Morgan, April and Stephen did a spectacular job of preparing their band and choir students for our assembly and their evening winter concert before a packed house on Wednesday night. The kids sounded great from beginning to end.

Big shout out to Tim, Frank, Isidrio, the night crew and even some help from the Evergreen custodial 

staff to help with all of our set-ups and take downs from the Board meeting, to the assembly, concert, holiday breakfast and Saturday's Chess tournament  they have gotten a real workout.  

16 variations on Think Pair Share.

16 variations on Think Pair Share

I am looking forward to today's holiday breakfast.  It is always nice to get together as a district and bond over food, conversation, laughter and some excellent music from the WCCHS Choir.

This Saturday we have a massive chess tournament right here at BMS.  This has been an annual tradition for many years.  I appreciate all of the work that Coach Wolski has done to get our students ready.  Thanks to Bill and Joe who are working the tournament and to Jessica for getting me NJHS volunteers for concessions.   Please remember to put away valuable/breakable items to be safe.  The rooms will have an adult supervisor and Bill will be checking on on rotations around the building.  

What ELA teachers should know about AI detectors.  

What ELA teachers should know about AI detectors.

Thanks to Michele Davis for putting out the underground teacher spirit week.  It was fun seeing so much participation and seeing if the students would catch on.....

I appreciate Colleen and Lauren going to a potential outdoor ed site this week to get prepared for next year so our students still experience a great trip despite Laredo Taft shutting down.  

I am trucking along with my formal observations!  I still have some open spots for next week if you want to get one done before break.  If you are doing an alternative evaluation please make sure you are making progress toward your goals and maybe plan for an observation after break that ties in with your project/plan.  

I hope everyone wasn't too bored with my school improvement plan presentation.  I did send the reunification document with roles to team leaders so they could share out. I also presented to our mentee teachers a presentation on Time/Management, self-care and focusing on the positive. I may share it with you as the week before break can be stressful. Check it out or not the choice is yours.  

Dr. Filas has been busy going to meet with different teachers about furniture possibilities for next year.  I appreciate his attention to detail and efficiency.  

Thanks to Colleen and Alex for putting together the Student Council Spirit week next week.  

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage." -- Dale Carnegie

"Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves." -- Swami Vivekananda

"The future is not fixed, it's fluid. The world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape. -- Bono

12-6-2024

 Congrats to Melissa Falkos and the 5th grade team for the wonderful Too Good for Drugs Ceremony they organized and facilitated on Wednesday of this week.  Thanks to Dr. Woell for covering for me when I was at my administrator academy and to Angela for all of the awesome pictures.

I enjoyed the Ripple article that Danielle, Angela and Allison put out in there  Coaching newsletter on Total Participation Techniques.  It is worth your time.  

TPT Ripple 

I am very excited  that Friday, a former student, Sabrina Echinberger, who now works at CodeHS will be presenting to students in Specials classes about careers in Computer Science. Stop by April's room 1st-5th and 7th period if you want to view part of the presentation.  Thanks to April for setting this up.  I love it when we can bring former students into the building for a chance to give back to our school.

Article from Sal Khan on the impact of A.I. on Teaching.  Has anyone further explored the Khanmigo since it was presented at a learning meeting earlier this year?  

A.I. and teaching

Thanks to all my morning and afternoon bus/lot/car duty staff.  I appreciate the job you do to make sure our students are dropped off, picked up and supervised safely before and after school.  

I am looking forward to the Holiday Bazaar at Evergreen this weekend.  Our band and choir will be performing around 10am on Saturday if you want to stop by. I appreciate Ms. Martin, Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Tepe's hard work to get them ready.  I was listening outside their doors this week and they sound awesome! There will also be a blood drive that I think is a great way to give back to those in need.  

I am also looking forward to the Band and Choir winter concert coming up on Wednesday.  Please remember that we will be on a assembly schedule during that day.  Here is the schedule that April sent out.  Here is the schedule

Congrats to Joe and the wrestling Bengals!  That's right Benjamin participated in its first wrestling meet ever yesterday and even came away with some individual victories.  

The basketball teams under coach Tylk and Baker played hard leading to some victories yesterday and the Dance and Cheer Team under Mrs. Colburn's tutelage performed two new routines.  Way to go Bengals!   

Coach Wolski has been working hard with our small but mighty Chess team Thursday evenings leading up to our big tournament we host on Saturday December 14th.  We have a LOT of students registered for this tournament and we will be using a lot of classrooms and the rest of the building.  Joe Hauser will send an informational email out with more details early next week.  

I know we all wish Greg a speedy recovery from his surgery next week!  Also please check out his email on STEAM Camp interest.  It is a great opportunity that our Benjamin Families love.  

How to support all types of readers

How to support all kinds of readers

I hope everyone will be attending the Holiday breakfast on Friday December 13th.  I know it is early but it is a great tradition and it is important for the whole district to get together, share food and laughs and hear some wonderful music from the WCCHS choir.  

“It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time. Give yourself permission to be a beginner.”​
— Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”
​― Jesse Carr

Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.

Fletcher Knebel

11-22-2024

 Thanks to the 8th grade team for working with the high school to make sure the pre-ACT testing went smoothly.  Special thanks to Greg, Vanessa, Angela and Danielle for their technology assistance as everything was online and functioned as it should.

34 ways to quiet a rambunctious class.  

edutopia ways to quiet a loud class

I attended the PTA meeting on Tuesday. They always do such a wonderful job of supporting us.  I appreciate the people that wrote thank you notes to them for various things (that they read at the meetings).  Please consider attending a PTA meeting this year and also joining if you haven't yet.  We have 27 members so far.  

Today (Friday Nov 22) is the last day to sign up for open enrollment for FSA/Flex spend.  Please refer to Leslie's email for details.  

Why think, pair share is important and how to do it.

https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/think-pair-share/

Please continue to promote the Veteran collection that April is running.  It ends on December 13th.  I look forward to drinking the strange concoction of the winning grade level classrooms for this worthy cause. 

Busy week for the  8th graders!  Thanks to Kim and April for their assistance in getting their height measurements and for making sure they looked their best for their graduation photos.  

Helping our EL students love reading.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/encouraging-love-reading-ells

The 7th and 8th grade band and choir kids went to West Chicago High School to work with their band and choir students and teachers.  I appreciate Ms. Martin and Mr. Lewis providing this opportunity that not only is fun but also educational and will assist with their eventual transition to the high school.

5th graders took their cultural field trip to the Paramount Theater on Thursday. These field trips are great because they help expose our students to experiences they might not always get to experience on their own.  Thanks to the 5th grade team who in conjunction with Mr. Lewis helped plan this specific trip.  

Jessica upgrade the intramural volleyball to Primetime when she had their end of season match and celebration in the Big Gym.  It was neat to see their excitement of getting to play on the big stage!

Teachers, want to create a more positive classroom atmosphere? Discover how to teach gratitude to your students with engaging activities that promote kindness and appreciation!

sbee.link/m6u9pnk7ef

Thanks to Margaret for organizing and collecting all of the information for our monthly newsletter. This is a valuable line of communication to our families on what is happening in your classrooms.

6 classroom management Mistakes (pretty fun video)

I had an awesome time at the fun run student lunches this week.  Eating pizza and cake was only half as fun as listening to their crazy stories (5th grade) as they tried to one up each other.  "I ate so many carrots one time my face actually turned orange!"   

Turkey anyone? I enjoyed carving turkeys with Dr. Woell on Wednesday for students and staff.  Truth be told Jim is way better at the carving part then I am.  Tuesday's feast was ridiculous and everyone went above and beyond in preparing their dishes.  Special thanks to Lauren and Michele D for bringing the main courses!

Team leaders will be sharing important information with you from our meeting this week. I am grateful for their leadership and thankful for the open communication our staff has with each other even when there are differences of opinion.  Being open and honest holds us together as a group!

I will be leaving in the morning on Friday to a conference I am attending Friday and Saturday.  April is available 1st, 2nd, 6th and 8th periods to handle situations that may come up. I will also have access to email.  I hope everyone has a great weekend and a restful Thanksgiving break.  I will stay off of the ladders and will see you all soon.  

"The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." — Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

• “If you start drinking now, Thanksgiving could be a lot of fun.” — Conan O’Brien

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

11-15-2024

 You made it!   Once again, thanks for your effort to make these conferences meaningful for our Benjamin parents and students! 

Thanks to Margaret and Kim for selecting and ordering our food, making desserts and possibly being our drink fairies!  You guys always take care of us!  

Get Everyone to participate in the discussion with a Scientist Circle.  

Veterans Day Assembly was spectacular.  Thanks to April, Stephen, Morgan, Danielle and Angela for their hard work to make this a powerful and respectful ceremony.  

I'm looking forward to the Institute Day Tomorrow.  Lots of Learning for our tired brains!  Thanks to Julie for setting up the ELtraining. Thanks to Jana and Todd for preparing our deescalation training.  Make sure you are at Evergreen by 8:00am sharp! Charge those devices people!

When Students feel safe they are more likely to learn.

Just a reminder to keep plugging away at the online trainings when you have time.  

Thanks to Todd for all he does for our school.  You are our Phycologist!  

I would like to thank Joe for the hard work and effort that he is putting into getting the wrestling club going this year.  Moving the mats alone has been an adventure but there are a lot of unique kids that are finding a new activity that fits their needs and builds new friendships. 

How to get students to think about their own learning.

How to get students to think about their learning about their

I presented some Illinois School Report Card Data for our district at the last school board meeting. The presentation shows some good results in both proficiency and growth.  Thanks for your continuous hard work to help our students make academic gains.  I have attached a link to the short presentation below:

State Report Card Presentation

The basketball team is on a winning streak!   Thanks to coach Baker and Tylk along with coach Colburn for cheering them on. 

Don't forget that Monday is the change of the trimester. New kiddos in specials classes. Grades are due to Kim by Tuesday at 10am.  

Please remember to bring your IEIN number tomorrow so you can sign in properly. 

 Teachers after the Institute Day on Friday.  

"It's not the strongest or the most intelligent who survive, but those most adaptive to change. Over the past 10 years, the need for, and focus on, adaptability has accelerated." -- Kenneth I. Chenault

There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on.

Robert Byrne

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Oscar Wilde

 

11-8-2024

 Sherry celebrated Day of the Dead with her spanish classes last Friday.  I love the partnership she has with parents and making them part of her celebrations while providing a helping hand. 

How fun is the baby/child picture contest student council is running!  Thanks to Colleen for putting this together and thanks to all of the staff that participated by turning in a childhood photo.  

Our Veterans Day Assembly is coming up on Monday.  April, Danielle, Stephen and Morgan have been working hard behind the scenes to prepare for an awesome assembly to honor our Benjamin Veterans.  Always one of my favorite assemblies.  

We concluded a second night of conferences Thursday evening.  Teaching all day, conferencing at night and coming back Friday morning to teach some more is definitely the hardest stretch of our three night conference commitment.  Thanks for putting in the time to have positive conversations with parents for the improvement of our students.  Special shoutout to Kim for working with parents each evening to get their schedules and to Kim and Margaret for putting together our menu for our delicious dinners.  

Thanks to Greg for working behind the scene to get certain data sources to our partner company Abre who will be helping to create a data dashboard for us.  Among other things this will help our ease of access to data making it easier to use for student improvement.  

13 formative assessments that inspire creativity.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/creative-formative-assessments?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Fall+24&utm_id=Fall24&utm_term=creative+formative&utm_content=feature

At the school board on Monday we will be honoring our school board members and all of the school and district secretaries for what they do for our schools/district.  Thank you!

I want to thank Michele D, Lauren, Nicole J., Jessica, and Danielle along with the rest of our 6th grade staff for working so hard to help gather curriculum and other tools, resources and strategies to help one of our  6th grade kiddos.  

On November 21st our 8th grade kids will be taking the Pre-ACT with our HS counselors and 8th grade staff.  Because of the new test and new HS staff, this date was put together quickly as the HS is behind schedule.  Mark will send out a schedule in the near future and we will notify parents of the importance of their child's attendance on this day.  

I have reached out to Principal Smith to find out what space they can provide for us on November 15th during the Institute Day. (during the 9:30-11am time)  

I appreciate everyone's continuing effort to recognize our students for positive actions and hard work with specific positive praise, student of the month recognition, fish slips and What is a Benjamin Student common language.  I was able to sit in on a couple student of the month conferences with students bubbling with joy as teachers heap praise on them.  I also love the 7th grade student shout outs posted on the 7th grade hall wall.