9-5-25

 Thanks to everyone for doing such a great job at curriculum night on Wednesday.  The parents I spoke with were impressed and well informed.  

All of our sports teams started off with games/matches/meets this week.  It is always great to see the students work together in competition outside of the classroom.  Thanks to our coaches for not only teaching them skills but teaching them sportsmanship!

Here is a great sketchnote on an important topic.  Selfcare is so important so you have energy to be the best you can be!

Lauren and Colleen did a fantastic job of running the outdoor ed meeting on Wednesday night.  They were not only able to provide parents with information, turn in deadlines but most importantly ease fears about having their kiddos away from home for the first time.  Nice job!

Michelle and Carrie did a great job of running our book fair this week.  The extra effort will be worth it with the funds to purchase more books.  I also appreciate bringing in parent volunteers to help out which strengthens our home and school partnership.  

Interesting article on how you can use colored index cards to bring out more participation from introverted students. (you can also listen to the article instead of reading if you prefer)

Introverted Students

Thanks to Megan S for facilitating the vision and hearing screening for our students.  

Please make sure you join the PTA (flyer I believe was in your mailbox)  The cost for staff is $7.  The PTA is also having a contest: the homeroom with the most parents signed up for PTA membership wins a donut party for their classroom.  

Just a reminder that we have a staff learning meeting Wednesday after school. 2:45pm-3:30pm  Safety will be the topic.  As a reminder, teaching assistants are always invited to our learning meetings and you can fill out a timesheet for staying. 

Speaking of safety, thanks to April for attending two district crisis safety meetings and for sending out the safety drill schedule.  Make sure you review this as we have three different drills next week.  

I appreciate Danielle and Angela meeting with me and attending team meetings to address instructional coaching topics and just being a helping hand to those that need it.

Thanks to Greg for working so hard to get all of the tech problems resolved in relation to teacher access of programs and beyond.  

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.

Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.

Christopher Reeve

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”

― Groucho Marx

8-29-2025

 Happy Friday everyone!  Your hard work has been evident in my informal pop ins throughout the last two days.  Students have been engaged and on task as you have been going through expectations and starting learning activities Keep up the great work!

I would like to thank April for all of her planning for the student assembly on Wednesday. It was fun seeing students getting excited and laying out the What is a Benjamin Student characteristics!   Also thanks to Dan B for being the only movie buff that realized I stole the Braveheart Speech when talking to the students about getting involved in Clubs and Sports.  As always thanks to Danielle for setting up the sound system.  

Congratulations to Vanessa for being our EOM. She definitely deserves it for how responsive she is and all of her creative problem solving. 

I appreciate Jen and Joe for allowing student pictures and my expectation talks to happen in PE classes during this short week.  I will be emphasizing our expectations while looking for student feedback on how to improve our school.

Special shout out to our new teachers, Marisa, Krissy and Kelly as they complete their first official week as Bengals.  As expected they are contributing to our already strong staff in spectacular fashion! 

I appreciate everyone's help with busses this week, everyone contributing make the end of the day so much more efficient.  Thanks to Nicole C for taking the lead.  

I appreciate the 5th grade team showing extra TLC to their students as they learn the ropes of Benjamin and still making sure they are TCB.  (as Elvis would say)

I know our Institute seems like a long time ago but it was just a few days ago.  Thanks to Solly, Marquita, Leslie and Dawn for organizing all of the great food, Tim and the crew for set-up, Dr. McGill, Dr. Filas and Dr. Salamone for their informative presentations and especially to Kristen, Chris, Danielle, Angela and Allison who not only gave great BenQ presentations but went through 16 hours of BenQ training to learn and prepare.  Please remember to fill out the PD survey for each Institute day if you have not done so already.  

Curriculum night is this Wednesday, September 3rd from 6:30pm-8pm.  Please make sure your homerooms fill out the student schedule form for their parents.  I appreciate the hard work you are putting into your presentations so parents are informed about your curriculum and expectations.  Working together with parents is the best way to ensure student success!

If you ever have time I strongly recommend the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi....or if you don't have time read this slide 

The PTA back to school night is Friday from 6pm-8pm in our upper lot.  Stop by if you can.  Also please make sure you join our PTA as they do so much for our school.  

Thanks to Dr. Salamone for setting up the Music Therapy for Mrs. Campbell's class.  Krissy has already expressed how enjoyable and impactful it has been for her students.   

I am looking forward to the Book Fair coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  I know Michelle and Carrie are working hard to make sure it is run efficiently.  

Thursday's Team/PST combined meetings were essential for sharing student information needed for  planning that will lead to student success.  Thanks to everyone for contributing their thoughts and ideas.  

Hats off to our teaching assistants, Lana, Holly, Michele S, Nicolette and Alyssa have been spectacular as they do their job of assisting students in the classroom, lunchroom and hallway transitions.  We could not do our job without you doing yours!  Thank you!

I appreciate Michele Davis and Margaret combining their powers for a great student of the month bulletin board.  

Dan, Jessica, Joe, Megan and Matt are kicking off the fall sports season strong with their tryouts and early practices in preparation for games/meets in the near future.  

I hope everyone enjoys their extended Labor Day Weekend!

"I learned that a friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." -- Maya Angelou

"If I could define enlightenment briefly I would say it is 'the quiet acceptance of what is.' " -- Wayne Dyer

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -- Anais Nin

5-30-25

 I appreciate all of the hard work that Kim puts into the award ceremonies we are having today.  Coming up with many different types of certificates and printing, spell checking, alerting parents ...It's a lot!  Thank you.

Thanks to Solly for organizing todays retirement lunch.  Putting together all the small details of an event like this takes a lot of planning and organization.  Thank you.  I am looking forward to the retirement celebrations and laughing with friends old and new.  

Speaking of celebrations, thanks to Michelle Davis for hosting the "after party" at her house on Friday after school.  Opening your home to this crew is a brave deed for sure!

Thanks to Jessica, Nicole, Todd, Margaret, April, Danielle and  Angela who all helped me get data for our School Improvement Plan school board update.  

It was great having Dr. McGill attend both our staff learning meeting and the BEA meeting this week so that we can start getting to know his vision and he can start building relationships with staff.  

I want to take a moment to thank John for his leadership and guidance this year as he has helped lead and organize the district for the future.  I know we all appreciate his hard work.  

The 8th grade team knocked it out of the park at Graduation this year.  Having such pros makes the night go smoothly and makes a beautiful ceremony seem effortless.  

I appreciate everyone keeping the kids engaged in different fun learning activities as the year closes out for our students.  I know at times it can be like bottling the sun and requires a little extra creativity and patience but.....

I know the end of the year can bring a lot of stress and anxiety(and packing) but also a lot of appreciation and celebration.  I am very proud of our accomplishments this year and in the work you have done individually and as a team of people working together to a common end.  I look forward to celebrating Lynette and Bill at the Luncheon this afternoon.  Have a great summer and reach out to me if you need anything.   

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost

1874 –

1963

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

5-23-25

 Stephen, April and Morgan put on a great concert last week before a packed house.  It is always great to hear the growth students make between the beginning of the year and the end and everyone was raving about how awesome everyone sounded.  

Margaret did a great job leading our All-School Picnic last week.  I appreciate her initiative and ability to learn from others and this big event was a great combination of both.

Jessica and Jen H did a spectacular job with the NJHS Recess Relay last week.  Combining fun team building activities with the message of helping others is a great combination for our students.  NJHS raising over $2000 for the year with 600 volunteer hours show that our students are both raising money for charity and giving back to the community.  BRAVO!

I appreciate the leadership Lauren and Colleen have showed with taking over the new Outdoor Education Trip to Camp Timberlee including running the parent meeting last week to give parents a head start on learning about the new facility.

Focusing on Follow-Up questions can lead to meaningful class discussions.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/follow-up-questions-classroom

8th grade is winding down and activities are winding up.  End of year assessments, labs and projects combined with the 8th grade picnic, Great America yearbook signing, graduation practice and ceremony means the 8th grade teachers are busy and providing our students with lots of memories to end their year.  

Colleen Morgan had her 6th grade students cooking marshmallows in their solar ovens.  Hands on projects build skills, knowledge and memories. 

Nicolett worked extremely hard the past couple weeks with our Success Track students and single handedly pushed them to the finish line.  All three students will now graduate on stage.  Thanks to Nicolett and the 8th grade team in their flexibility in allowing students to complete missing and late assignments.  

Matt , Dan, Joe, Bill, Marcia, and Carrie all did a great job of honoring our Spring Athletes at our Spring Sports Awards Wednesday night.  Their speeches included athletic accomplishments, sportsmanship examples and stories of a fun season.  

I look forward to seeing the 5th grade egg drop challenge.  Seeing the groups come up with different plans on how to best protect their egg is always filled with creativity and critical thinking.  

I appreciate everyone's hard work and patience as we wrap up the school year.  Your extra effort to keep students on task and engaged in learning activities is appreciated.  

"Don't forget to give up the good to go for the great." -- John D. Rockefeller

"You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending." -- James R. Sherman

“Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.” —Walt Whitman

5-9-2025

 Multi-Cultural Night was a huge success.  Thanks to the hard work of Dr. Salamone, a group of teachers including Mrs. Johnson from Benjamin and several parents and community members there were many cultures that were highlighted for people to learn from. We also had student volunteers.  It was a great night with lots of families in attendance.   

The PTA has really made staff appreciation week a great experience of food and decorations with their country themes.  Friday we have our lunch sponsored by our board of education.  April and I also left small tokens of appreciation in your mailboxes on Thursday.  

Coach Tylk, Hauser, Wadman, Liszka and Reavely have been working extremely hard with our spring athletes.  I appreciate the work that they do with our students to build skills and sportsmanship in wins and losses.  

Please remember to fill out the extra duty google spreadsheet for 2025-2026 school year.  We will have more openings than usually so I appreciate people's willingness to step up.  

5 A.I. tools that staff can start using right away. (worth a quick look)

https://www.edutopia.org/article/ai-tools-teachers-try

I appreciate Todd and Nicole and the work they are doing with our temporarily outplaced students,  Being the go-between between these facilities and the grade level teams is extremely important for a smooth transition back to our school. 

I appreciate the flexibility of my seventh grade hallway teachers and their temporary room sponsor teachers as we dealt with the flooded hallway right before students entered the building on Tuesday.  Your flexibility and ability to adapt to less than ideal circumstances highlights how special and tight knit our staff is as a whole.  Frank and Isidrio with the help of some Evergreen staff did an excellent job of quickly cleaning up the hall so we could get people back in their correct place by third period.  

Stephen took the time to nominate one of our 7th grade students for the Honors Performance Series  for music.  Stephen and Morgan then worked with the student on a vocal and instrumental  piece to perform for a tryout.   All that work paid off as she was selected!  Now she and her family will get to travel to New York City for a week over the summer where the student will work with great musical conductors/teachers to sharpen her skills, ending with a performance at Carnegie Hall!  What a great honor for our student and all due to teachers taking the time to go above and beyond to help a student. 

 

I will be out Wednesday through Friday next week to attend my daughters graduation in New Orleans.  I appreciate the work that April will do to keep everything running smooth as well as Mr. Langton's availability to pitch in when needed.  As always, the work you do to be proactive with students and parents in the areas of communication and problem prevention will always have greater benefits than dealing with things after the fact.  

Giving students the skills to spot fake news.

Next week is a busy week with the choir and band concert and assembly, the all school picnic and the NJHS Charity Fest  just to name a few of the events.  I look forward to hearing how great these events turn out and appreciate the tireless efforts of our staff to provide opportunities to showcase our students. 

I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.

Amos Bronson Alcott (1799 - 1888)

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.

Anatole France (1844 - 1924), 

 For every person who wants to teach there are approximately thirty people who don't want to learn--much.

W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman

5-2-2025

 I am looking forward to the PTA Staff Appreciation Lunch on Friday that will unofficially kick off our week of appreciation of you for next week.  As always I express my gratitude for the hard work you do everyday for our students.  Please make sure that you are following the articulation schedule for our meetings before and after lunch.

I also appreciate Margaret's coordination of our chair massages this week.  Hopefully that provided a little stress relief.  

How to get kids thinking in math class.  

Get kids to think in math class

Congrats to Stephen and Meg on their marriage this weekend.  Your Benjamin family wishes you a lifetime of happiness! 

Hats off to Michele Davis on her awesome student of the month bulletin board.  A long time ago in a galaxy far......

I appreciate Jessica and Sherry attending the extra duty stipend committee and for all of the work they did pre and post meeting to follow up on club details.

Please make sure you read Leslie's Open Enrollment email and Greg's end of year tech email as each have important information for you to follow up on.  

I really enjoyed the Illinois Principal Recognition Breakfast this week.  Honoring two of our 8th grade students with their parents at this event was a great experience for our students.  Thanks for filling out the other recognition forms at each team so that Kim can get certificates completed for our end of the year awards.

Thanks to Jessica for coordinating and completing our fast bridge testing with our 5th grade students. Working together with Evergreen staff makes testing much more efficient.  

April did a masterful job of running our Cardiac ERT meeting this week.  I appreciate her taking on this responsibility.  

Interesting article on tech integration in the classroom.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/model-implementing-technology-classroom

Thanks to Lynette and Chris for putting together Friday's Talent Show.  I'm sure their hard work will pay off with a great performance from our students.  

Thanks to Bill and Michele D for getting students ready for our 8th grade debates.  I was able to judge a few and was impressed with the student preparation.  I also appreciate Danielle and Angela's tech support to record the debates for parents to view.  

I was able to see students build and test out their catapults in the Medieval Stem class.  History, engineering, stem ...learning with hands on projects can be fun and engaging!

Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both.

John Andrew Holmes

In heaven all the interesting people are missing.

Friedrich Nietzsche 

My Grandmother is over eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.

Henny Youngman

 

4-25-25

Ms. Martin is on a roll!  First she hosted a very successful  Band Instrument night that was well attended by 4th grade students and parents where WCCHS students worked with students to pick their favorite instrument.  Then she had the WCCHS Band director and students in to practice with the 7th and 8th grade band this week.  This articulation and promotion of our band in both directions makes our band program stronger.  

The Learning Meeting this week was a good time.  First getting to honor Lynette and Bill for their service to our district and then who knew that our ABRE presentation would lead to a fun interactive dialogue around data.  Thanks for always being willing to "play" while at work.  

I appreciate the 8th grade team's willingness to expand their school day and take students on reward trips like the cubs game.  It is such a memory maker for our students!

Thanks to the 5th grade for working hard with CogAt  testing this week and to Vanessa for all of the hands on tech support. We could not do it without you!

End of the year activities for an ELA class.  

https://www.edutopia.org/article/ending-school-year-ela-student-interests

Melissa Falkos and Kristen Higgins went to a school in Downers Grove to watch our new science curriculum in action and talk with the teacher afterwards.  I appreciate their dedication and look forward to hearing how their experience went.  

Obviously this week is the time to give Kim and Margaret their props for keeping our school up and running at its optimal level.  I appreciate their work ethic, willingness to share their opinions and ideas and for everything they do to help keep me on top of what is happening in the building.  Thanks to Lauren for running the Social Committee and helping to get their lunch covered today.  Please stop by the office today to say thank you to these two great individuals!

Emotional Intelligence is a superpower!

I appreciate Superintendent Langton who with Solly's help made sure that we did not forget about our bus drivers this week and put together gift bags for each of the drivers.  I have been impressed with First Student this year and their attention to service.

Hopefully everyone is getting into the ABC countdown this year.  Thanks to Kerry and April for pushing it through.  

Fish Philosophy Alert!

Chris and Lynette have been working hard with the talent show kids...I am looking forward to their performance in one week!

It was fun bringing around superintendent Langton and the board members on the school tour this morning...mostly because I get to bring them in your classes and  show off how great our teaching and support staff are!  I liked it so much....lets do it again Friday morning!

Let’s stop confusing fairness with sameness. True equity starts when we ask, “What does each student need to thrive?”

"It is never too late or too soon. It is when it is supposed to be." -- Mitch Albom

"I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. . . To be yourself. To cut yourself out of stone." -- Henry Rollins

"The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said." -- Peter Drucker

3-21-2025

 I am so excited to see the Bye Bye Birdie musical today!  The Benjamin Musical is always a cumulation of hard work from staff, students and parents.  Thanks to Stephen, Danielle and April for going above and beyond to put on a great show.  We are on a double morning assembly schedule today.

Speaking of hard work and a combined effort.  Thanks to everyone for the effort put into executing the IAR testing this week.      Obviously, beyond this weeks test execution is the hard work everyone has put in all year teaching the content  and supporting our students to help them learn and grow!  Special shout out to Greg for all the work he did on the back end to get testing ready, Kim for entering accommodations and to Vanessa for preparing student devices and on the spot tech support.  

We have another fantastic parade video from Sherry and her STEM students.  Of course her trusty sidekicks Megan P and Angela are there to join in the fun along with other staff and students in the after parade film roll.  Thanks to Angela for her film/editing expertise.  

https://youtu.be/Qpm7m7cCGkY

I want to thank the team leaders for always being there to help me guide our school in a positive direction.  Being able to bounce ideas off of them along with their problem solving and communication skills are a big reason why we work together as a solid team.

Great ideas to keep students engaged when they finish early.  

https://www.edutopia.org/article/fast-finishers-school-keeping-students-any-grade-engaged

I appreciate Mrs. Smith giving my principal report at The PTA meeting on Tuesday as well as Jen V's  kind gesture of providing some "healthy cooking" food  for people to eat.  The PTA also provided a fun event on Monday with Lynette and Kerry K being crowned the Rock, Paper Scissors Champions!

I appreciate Jen and Joe's flexibility in working around the musical for tech week.  With bad weather coming in this week it required extra planning.  

Thanks to Tim, Frank and Isidro for all the help with the set-ups required for this busy week.  

Thanks to Dr. Salamone for helping to get the DLM testing up and working. 

 This is your weekly reminder that the deadline for spending out of the district accounts is March 28th.  

Please make sure that you get your news articles into Margaret for the newsletter.  

Thanks to Lauren and Colleen for their hard work in getting a new Outdoor Ed plan put together for approval. They are almost at the finish line.  

Better to look weak and be strong than to look strong and be weak.

Laura Moncur (1969 - )

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

Colette (1873 - 1954)