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.