2-22-2019

I was able to see April's IMSA class give their invention presentations.  They did a great job of creating prototypes connected to the internet. 


22 diverse book choices.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/22-diverse-book-choices-all-grade-levels


Thanks to Jen H, Heather F, Jen P, Melissa R, Bill, Lynette, Courtney, Jen V, Jim, and Lori P for the job that they are doing with lunchroom supervision.  You guys are the best!

Understanding a teachers Long term Impact
https://www.edutopia.org/article/understanding-teachers-long-term-impact


Tim gave me the following link to send to staff.  It is for nominating a custodian for Custodian of the Year which could give one of our guys/ladies a chance to get recognized and earn some prize money.  Please consider submitting a nomination.  https://www.cintas.com/customer_applications/custodianoftheyear/

What Teachers and Coaches Can learn from Each Other.  (Great Article)
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52825/what-teachers-and-sports-coaches-can-learn-from-each-other


Team leaders were able to get your input and along with your feedback from the last learning meeting, we were able to set the new guidelines for E-Learning with Dr. Ehrhardt. He will share these guidelines with you today.

Huge study shows professors attitudes affect student grades.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/huge-study-finds-professors-attitudes-affect-students-grades/

In case you didn't hear from your team, we have some special education teachers that will be changing roles next year.  Alex will be teaching the 5th/6th grade resource class, MJ will be teaching the Core class currently taught by Kerry and Kerry will be teaching the Core class currently taught by Alex. Since they are all in the building together they will be able to learn from each other as this year winds down and bring their own new ideas to the programs next year!

Fake math vs Real math
https://blog.heinemann.com/fake-math-versus-real-math-411


As I am finishing up the non-tenure summative evaluations, just a reminder to tenure staff on observation cycle to please be completing your alternative evaluation or scheduling any final observations with me.



I am looking forward to Trivia Night on Saturday Night.  Thanks to Megan D for helping to organize Foundation/School related donations. 

Work before passion

“Offer me something I’m passionate about and I’ll show up with all of my energy, effort and care.”

That’s a great way to hide.

Because nothing is good enough to earn your passion before you do it. Perhaps, in concept, it’s worthy, but as soon as you closely examine the details and the pitfalls, it’s easy to decide it’s better to wait for a better offer.

What about considering the opposite?

“Offer me a chance to contribute, and I’ll work hard on it, with focus, and once I begin to make progress, I’ll become passionate about it.”

Work before passion measures our craft in terms of contribution, not in an idealized model of perfection.

Passion comes from feeling needed, from approaching mastery, from doing work that matters. 

The Varsity Basketball team played great last night cheered on by the outstanding Pep Band!  Special thanks to Lauren Dunne for supervising NJHS Concessions, Kerry and Megan for doing the scoreboard, Michelle for supervising and to Andrew for making his coaching debut with our Bengal 5th/6th grade team!



Thanks to all staff for the work you are doing to make sure your curriculum maps are updated and accurate for our website.  Having everything accurate and up to date by the end of this year would be great.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 


Thanks to Jen and Lynette for all of the work they are doing to prepare and execute their Healthy Cooking Units.  I'm exhausted just watching them prep.

2-15-2019

Melissa, Danielle, and April did a wonderful job on Monday night as the theater cast and crew performed two songs from Newsies for parents and the school board.  It was a wonderful sampler of what is to come in mid-March.



Betty always does a wonderful job teaching in our learning meetings.  Always informative and always engaging.  Thank you. 

Is social media hurting you?

https://www.tonyrobbins.com/health-vitality/social-media-hurting/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Editorial&utm_content=Social%20Media%20Hurting

Thanks to Colleen and Alex who with the help of student council kids brightened everyone's day yesterday with the Valentines Cart!

When dealing with difficult situations and stressful situations, the adult in the room needs to model appropriate reactions.


Jessica, Lauren Cathy, MJ, Megan P., and Melissa F were busy after school on Wednesday watching presentations from STAR and IReady testing companies.  Gathering information to make their recommendation on our future assessments. 

Decoding the Teenage Brain in three Charts.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/decoding-teenage-brain-3-charts?utm_source=Edutopia+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4ab871569e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_021319_enews_decodingtheteen&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f72e8cc8c4-4ab871569e-85034659


Ellen and Kim did a great job with "Everyday's a Party"  pasta celebration.  The staff enjoyed carb-loading to get through the rest of the day. 

Using psychological science to help children thrive.  Journal article by Angela Duckworth (Grit) 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691618804194

Thanks to Lauren and Melissa L for coming up with great ideas for Benjamin's 175th anniversary at the planning meeting on Tuesday night.  It will be a big celebration of our outstanding history!

Smithsonian Scholars pick their favorite 11 books of 2018. 
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/smithsonian-scholars-pick-their-favorite-books-2018-180970823/


Good luck to Matthew and our band students that are competing at the IGSMA solo and ensemble contest this weekend. 

The man at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there. – Vince Lombardi

2-8-2019

Melissa L had some 5th grade students showcasing their talent.  Make sure you watch both videos.  Something special.

I hope to see staff at the Foundation Trivia Night on February 23.  Registration is open for tables until February 15th.  Please consider a donation of time or talent if you have a conflict with the event.  I am trying to think of how I can top the Principal on the Roof  experience from last year!

Teaching is just like performing magic.  Please read.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/what-classrooms-can-learn-from-magic/425100/

Michelle F found this great flyer about the importance of reading. 



I am working on evaluations please make sure your student growth data is in. 

3rd time is a charm with the Benjamin NJHS induction ceremony.  Jessica and Lauren did a wonderful job putting on a beautiful ceremony.

I don't post political things in the blog but this 5 minute clip isn't pro democrat or republican it is just pro make sense about fixing the campaign process.

As I mentioned in the learning meeting all purchases using this years funds will be cut-off on March 21st.  This is a hard deadline and includes all purchases made through PO's and P'cards.  Please plan accordingly.

In jazz, there’s no script: You have to figure things out as you go along. Sometimes you need to sit back and let others drive things; other times, you blare it out yourself.

Thanks to all of the staff for the great input at Wednesday's learning meeting.  We will use this to make our E-learning days a valuable experience.  Ellen has the eblast announcement reminding Parents about the HW deadline that will go out Friday morning.  Thanks for giving extra effort to make sure as many students as possible complete these assignments.

Using Playlists as a blended learning strategy.
http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2019/02/blending-with-playlists.html


Please make sure that you have let Kim  know where you will be for the March 1st County Wide Institute. If you are at a conference that will cost $ you also need to fill out the proper paperwork.
If you are staying here you need to have an agenda that you plan on working on related to curriculum and instruction.  I am going to contact Laura P so that we have CPDU's available towards that topic.



Thanks to Angela who did a great job presenting to the ad council and new superintendent, Dr. Wools about the great things our students are doing with technology.  He was definitely impressed.

If you have ever been to a committee meeting this video might make sense.

The 6th grade will be heading to the Museum of Science and Industry today to explore STEM topics.  A big shout out to Lauren and Sherry for organizing this learning experience for our students.



Bill Wadman is putting the Blast in Winter Blast as he runs the halls supervising his energetic group. These students are happy and active!

1-25-2019

I want to thank Dan and Matt for the coaching job they did yesterday.  The Bengals were beat soundly, which makes their effort, positivity and good example they set for our middle school girls more impressive.

Great article Angela found on teaching students "how to think".
https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-ways-develop-creativity-students


Please make sure your review the E-learning day letter that Dr. Ehrhardt sent out yesterday.  I will make my way around teams on Monday and Tuesday of next week to answer any planning questions you have.  Please continue to plan during your team and plan time as this can go in effect starting Feb. 1. This also means that if we have a cold day next week we will have to make it up.




I'm getting a lot of 2nd round evaluations done this week and next.  Please make sure that you schedule your next observation if you are on the evaluation cycle and please check your alternative evaluation to ensure you are making progress.  Finally everyone on cycle, please make sure you are checking on your student growth goals.

Challenge Read of the week:  Science and Memory
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/same-neurons-may-map-physical-space-and-memories/580357/?utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=2019-01-18T12%3A15%3A17

The 175th Benjamin Anniversary committee met last night and came up with a lot of ideas to kick off the planning. Special thanks to Lauren Dunne and Melissa LaMantia who were the BMS representatives.

Cool library display and article BOOKFLIX
https://bookriot.com/?p=251910


Michael Miles was in to perform and teach our students again this week.  I know staff is busy, but I strongly suggest that when he comes back in the spring, you use your plan time to sit in Melissa's classroom.  This is really a special opportunity for our students.



Thanks to Jessica and Lauren for all of their hard work in getting NJHS off and running.  They will have their first full meeting on Monday morning and then hopefully get the new inductees confirmed that evening.  (pray for good weather)

How to cite sources without leaving google docs.  Good for your student research papers.
https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/cite-sources-google-docs/

Greg gave a new update on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness  (the artist formerly known as Prince...I mean PARCC).  It is pretty thorough so I will send out a detailed email next week.  Two takeaways are that Pearson will be delivering the assessment again this year which means there are a lot of similarities to years past.  Also, the test is shorter with two 90 minute sessions for ELA and three 60 minutes sessions of math for all grade levels.  More to follow.

Wisdom is the ability to see both sides and weigh them appropriately.


Thanks to Tim, Frank and Tony for being relentless in keeping up with the school grounds during this nasty weather.




Yesterday had a lot of challenges, but sitting in a PST meeting and having a mom tear up about how her son earning Student of the Month was such a powerful and positive event for him and their family, really Made My Day.  Please don't forget the impact that even the simplest things have on our students and their families. You are making a difference.

1-18-2019

Chris Fernandez was recognized at the school board meeting with her BB300 students for the outstanding job they are doing with their news broadcast. As you see from Chris's email she is also working to get the broadcast to 5 minutes or under and has changed the Pledge of Allegiance in the video to a shorter, more middle school age appropriate version.  Please make sure you have the link ready to go on time and that your students are listening while watching.


The 7th-grade team is heading to Main Event for their Reward Trip today.  I heard Jim talking trash to Cathy and Adrienne about how he was going to destroy them in laser tag!

Great Article Jessica found on relationship focused education.
https://www.ajc.com/blog/get-schooled/what-schools-focused-improving-relationships-rather-than-test-scores/EGWNqCQI3A5QeGH0QkUEtJ/



Congratulations to the JV boy's basketball team as well as to Mr. Tylk and Mr. Baker as they won the conference championship over the weekend.  They worked very hard to achieve this goal.  Nice Job!



Please remember to check on your progress if you are completing an alternative evaluation so that you know you are progressing towards your goal.  Teachers on regular evaluation please make sure you have scheduled your next observation.

Jim Thorpe, an American Indian from Oklahoma had his track shoes stolen while representing the U.S. in the 1912 Olympics. He found shoes in the trash, wore an extra sock due to size issues, & won 2 gold medals. Mindset matters. You can do it!




Congratulations to Mrs. LaMantia and Mr. Turek for the excellent job they did leading the band and choir students in the Music Fest at WCCHS.  This was a great experience for all of our students.

Turning Math into a Game.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/turning-math-game?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=twitter


Angela Anthony has put together some awesome Google drive/docs training videos for our students. I would not be surprised if Google starts recruiting her to come out to Silicone Valley!  Seriously, these are going to be a great tool to help students and teachers!



Please make sure that you use your plan and team time to start organizing your E-learning plans. The administration is also working on clearing some additional time for you to prepare properly for these new learning experiences.

Hack your Happiness.  How a middle school in Schaumburg is making gratitude part of the curriculum.
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/video/hack-happiness-learning-gratitude-changing-illinois-middle-school-59996985


The assessment planning committee is working hard to make a good decision on what testing company the district should use to accurately assess and progress monitor our students.  This includes viewing presentations, talking with surrounding school districts and talking to our current assessment provider. Thanks to Jessica, Cathy, Lauren, Melissa, MJ and Megan Peterson for their hard work.



PE will be roller skating starting on Tuesday.  I'm looking forward to watching Mr. Wadman doing his triple lutz!  Thanks to Jen and Lynette for setting up this opportunity.



I hope everyone enjoys their extended weekend.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - #MLK

1-11-2019

For the first Post of 2019 Here is a Video that I Created for our Benjamin Home Page.  If you have 10 minutes (9:35 seconds) please check it out.  It began with over 54 minutes of footage.  I hope you like it and please give me any input for improvement.

12-21-2018

I want to thank everyone for the restaurant gift card. It will be put to good use over break!

Thanks to Jen S. for setting up the wonderful breakfast this morning.  Hopefully, you enjoy/enjoyed it, depending upon when you read this.

I'm looking forward to the talent show today.  Chris and Lynette worked extremely hard to get the acts ready for their shining moment on stage.

Thanks to Angela for allowing us to use her room for the chair massages.  Also, she led the HOPE Group in this excellent podcast.  Her students talk about a variety of topics.  Definitely worth a listen.
https://benjamin.bendist25.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=780978&type=d&pREC_ID=1180158

Jessica has led the Tiger Times staff in another spectacular, hard-hitting, investigative edition of their newspaper.   I particularly like the article in which Natan takes a controversial stance on running being good for you!

I appreciate the effort and hard work that Michelle and Kathy put into running the bookfair this winter.  Despite some obstacles, they, along with some key parent volunteers, raised $2,000.  I thank you and Buddy thanks you.

6th-grade Team put on their annual Sock Hop on Thursday which correlates a unit of study they are completing in ILAR right now.  The addition of the video took it to the next level.

Thanks to Alex and Colleen for organizing the student council winter dance Thursday night and to Marcia, Bill, and Lyn for chaperoning. Students were excited and busily decorating after school. Speaking of decorating, Alex and Colleen should also be recognized for all of the excitement this past week with the kids trying to win the student council dec-a-door contest and dressing into the theme days, they made the school environment electric!

Melissa and Matthew put on the largest attended concert of my tenure here at Benjamin Wednesday Night.  The place was packed and the performances brought the house down.  Special thanks to Todd, Heather, and April for helping out and obviously to Melissa and Matthew for the work they did with their students.

Thanks to Jenny Harvel for working to provide home-bound tutoring to one of our 8th-grade students. This is a student that needs the little extras and leads me to my next entry.

 The following is a re-post, something I wrote in the past (November 5, 2010) that I am reposting now. It is a post I wrote about the loss of my father, how it affected my life, and how it relates to the job all of you do at Benjamin every day.  I am doing this for two reasons:

1.  I keep a lot of my personal feelings close to my vest, but after being in my 5th year at Benjamin I feel comfortable in sharing part of what makes me ...me,...with you. Since it is the original post, there are references to EJH (my old school).  I want to be clear that after the time I have spent here, I can 100% say that my observations about teachers behaviors hold true here at Benjamin.
 2.  After sitting through the data meetings yesterday I think the theme coincides to some of our conversations on students that are affected by circumstances.

One last note, this is not a downer, even though I start by talking about my father's death, the title of the post is Making a Difference...something you do every day. After re-reading this, I also think my grammar and punctuation has improved over the last 8 years, at least a little bit!  😀 Have a great holiday and I hope you spend time relaxing with family and friends.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SI3X04STR4YAXUTNbVh1Xk-t1HxWaEjL/view?usp=sharing