Noon Hour Supervi-

sors Needed!

We are in need of a

couple more noon hour

supervisors to help

supervise students

during lunch and re-

cess. This is a paid

position, where the

hours are 11:15-1:15.

If you are interested,

please contact Mrs.

Bennington at (309)

557-4410.

Have a wonderful holiday season,

and enjoy your time with your family!

Sincerely,

Marlys Bennington

Marlys Bennington

Principal

benninmm@unit5.org

Dear Benjamin Families,

Happy Holidays to you and your

family!

As always, with the break, this edi-

tion of the Benjamin Broadcast

covers both December and January.

Be sure to read carefully, as there

are many things going on this time

of the year. Also, hold onto the

calendar portion, as it covers

events through the end of January.

When we return from break, stu-

dents will take the computerized

MAP test to measure their growth

in reading and math since the early

fall. This is our winter benchmark.

Students will take their final MAP

test for the year at the end of April/

beginning of May.

W E L C O M E , B E N J A M I N F A M I L I E S

MC

LE

AN

C

OU

NT

Y U

NI

T

DI

ST

RI

CT

5

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 4

B E N J A M I N B R O A D C A S T

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

L A T E S T A R T S 2

D R E S S I N G F O R

R E C E S S 2

W I N T E R W E A T H -

E R 2

G R O W L W I N -

N E R S 3

C A R N I V A L V O L -

U N T E E R S N E E D -

E D

3

H E A L T H G U I D E -

L I N E S 4

C A L E N D A R 5

Student Council News

Candy grams will be on sale Thursday, Dec. 12th

through Tuesday, December 17th before school in

the lobby. This year’s Candy grams are ring pops

shaped like Christmas lights, available in fruit fla-

vors, costing $1.00 each. They come attached to a

holiday greeting. Send them to your

friends! Parents may download a form from the

Benjamin website and send them to their favorite

Benjamin Bears. The form will be available on our

website by Dec. 11. Print the form and send it to

the office in an envelope with your payment. Pro-

ceeds go towards Student Council projects for our

school. Thank you for your support!

Special "Jingle" Spirit Sticks will be on sale for $1.00 Dec. 16 - 20 before school in the lob-

by. Spirit Sticks and Spirit Rings make great stocking stuffers! Order forms for these special

sticks will be available online, or email Mrs. Aper at aperma@unit5.org, and she can arrange for

pick up in the office.

Student Council donated $75.00 towards the Festival of Trees raffle baskets last month.

*December 16th-20th will be Spirit Week. More information is coming soon.

Mrs. Aper & Mrs. Lee

Again this year, Unit 5 will implement 14

Late Start Wednesdays, which will have

all students arriving one hour later than

regular school start times. Elementary

schools will start at 9:45 A.M. on these

days. Transportation pick up times will

run one hour later on these days than on

regular days.

During the November Late Starts we

focused on response journals, the district

writing assessment, and completing our

on-line mandated reporter training.

Thank you to all families who help with/

contribute to our Late Start breakfasts,

sponsored by the PTO. We always enjoy

these delicious foods and beverages on

Late Start mornings!

Late Start Dates:

Dec. 11th

Jan. 15th & 29th

Feb. 26th

Mar. 19th

April 9th & 30th

May 14th

L A T E S T A R T S D U R I N G T H E 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4 S C H O O L Y E A R

As we head into winter, the possibility exists that school may be closed due to inclement

weather. To find out about school closings or early dismissals, please listen to WJBC or

WBNQ. You may also check out the district website at www.unit5.org or access the WJBC

or WBNQ websites. A School Reach call will most likely be launched, but it can take

awhile for the system to make all of the calls needed to contact everyone in the district.

The decision to dismiss early is made before 11:00 A.M., and the media will be notified at

that time. If nothing has been announced by 11:00 A.M., it will be a full day of school as

usual.

Please remind your child(ren) of your family’s plan for early dismissal days. It helps when

the students know in advance how they will get home or who will pick them up from

school, prior to the occurrence of an early dismissal. During an early dismissal, it may be

difficult to get through to our office, due to the high number of calls. So it will help your

family if your child knows your plan. We will do our best to assist your child(ren) in any

way we can.

A special thank you

to Ms. Traynor for

her collaboration

projects in art for

our 3rd grade

students around

Veteran’s Day and

for our 2nd grade

students around

being a unique

individual for our

“Hats” concert!

Page 2 B E N J A M I N B R O A D C A S T

Student Council Spirit

Days are coming De-

cember 16th-20th!

Check out our website later this

week for theme days!

Dressing for the Weather

During the winter we do go outside for recess unless the temperature with

the wind chill factored in is below 20 degrees. Please send mittens,

gloves, hats, scarves, and other winter clothing to keep your child warm

during this time. Thank you.

Have a Target REDcard?

Register your card for “Take Charge of

Education” and designate Benjamin

Elementary to receive 1% of every

purchase.

https://www-secure.target.com/

redcard/tcoe/home

Winter Weather/School Closings

Congratulations to our 2nd and 3rd grade students for

a great job at their recent

concerts!

Upcoming Musical Performances:

All performances will be

held in the auditorium at

Normal Community High School (not West) on Raab

Rd. From Benjamin, go

west on Ireland Grove Road. Turn right and go

north on Towanda Barnes

road. Take a left on Raab Rd. The High School will be

on your right.

Thursday, January 9,

2014 6:15 p.m. 5th Grade Pro-

gram - “Snow Biz”

7:30 p.m. Chorus Concert

Thursday, May 1, 2014

5:15 p.m. K/1st Grade

Program

6:15 p.m. 4th Grade Pro-gram

7:30 p.m. Chorus Concert

M U S I C N E W S

O C T O B E R G R O W L W I N N E R S

(2V), Ruth Oliveros-Gallardo

(3LC), Hunter Redman (3LC),

Shria Chauhan (3HC), Logan

Wilson (3HC), Owen Gruener

(3G), Nina Claire Osborne

(3G), Hailey Hasty (3P), Noah

Schafer (3P), Amaris Boore

(4C), Evan Lowder (4C), Olivia

Checchi (4G), Jackie Speirer

(4G), Reese Herrmann (4R),

Katie Svitchan (4R), Sam Hag-

garty (4S), Abby Kuebrich

(4S), Foster Baird (5G), Ivy

Vasquez (5G), Hayden Shaw

(5J), Mita Singh (5J), Jaden

Allensworth (5L), Reagan

Spaid (5L), Cole Adams (5S),

Aaron Carlock (5S), Alex Her-

nandez (PE Delveaux), Shawn

Sarmiento (PE Delveaux), Kelli

Crabill (PE Myers), and Ram

Pathi (PE Myers).

How does a Benjamin Bear receive a

GROWL? GROWLS are earned by

going above and beyond our expec-

tations in the areas of respect, re-

sponsibility, or safety. These are

important behaviors that will allow

them to become successful adults.

Each month, two students from each

class will be drawn from all of the

GROWL winners from that month.

These students will be rewarded with

a pizza luncheon with the principal.

They also receive a GROWL certifi-

cate. We hope to recognize quality

character in many of our students

throughout the year.

Congratulations to the follow-

ing students who were our

October GROWL winners:

Fatima Ahmad (KF), Ronak

Potnis (KF), Austin Rinken-

berger (KLL), Andrew

Sanchez (KLL), Holly Ames

(KPL), Michael Mavec (KPL),

Noah Groonwald (KW), Jacob

Smith (KW), Ryan Baxter (1A),

Sristi Ganta (1A), Ethan

Drzemala (1G), Blythe Hart

(1G), Erik Togay (1S), Zaria

Vinson (1S), Tanner Dowd

(2F), Blake Meyer (2F), Lau-

ren Fischer (2G), Kale Hunt

(2G), Sophia Stevens (2K),

Isabella White (2K), Archer

Alcozar (2V), Aubrie White

A big thanks to

Mrs. Mroz for her

collaboration

project in the IMC

with Pixie for the

3rd grade concert.

What a moving

tribute to our

veterans!

Page 3 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 4

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!!!

Planning is underway for the 2014 Benjamin Elementary Carnival! It will take place Friday, April 11, 2014.

To make this a success, we need EVERYONE involved. There are many ways to help & most work can be done right from

home! Our first planning session is Wednesday, December 4 at 6:00 P.M. If you cannot make it but would like to help, please

email us.

Thanks, Ebony Nebel, co-chair Dandenebel@hotmail.com Heidi White, co-chair

December/January Literacy Coach’s Corner….

Author Ray Bradbury once said, "Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed." The teachers at Benja-

min Elementary School know the importance of writing, and have spent professional development time deepening their understand-

ing of how to best develop the writers in their classrooms.

Writers’ Workshop is an approach to writing instruction that addresses the needs of all students in the class. Writers’ Workshop

begins with a focus lesson where the teacher explicitly models the process and conventions of writing. After the focus lesson, stu-

dents write independently for an extended period of time. During independent writing, the teacher confers with individual students

to assess progress and provides 1:1 instruction to help students grow as writers. Sometimes the teacher may work with a small

group of students who share similar writing needs during the independent writing time. Finally, Writers’ Workshop ends with a

group share, where students discuss and share their writing.

Instruction during Writers’ Workshop is organized around units of study (narrative, expository, opinion). During a unit of study, the

teacher may ask students to write in a particular genre, or practice writing techniques related to the unit of study, but specific writ-

ing topics are selected by the students based on their personal experiences and interests.

We use the Writers’ Workshop model for a number of reasons, including the following:

The Writers’ Workshop supports and complements Readers’ Workshop

Writing craft and conventions are explicitly modeled

Assessment drives instruction

Students have choice and ownership in their writing

Experiences foster self-expression and a love of writing

The students at Benjamin are busy, busy, busy developing their craft of writing. Novelist Ayn Rand said, “Words are a lens to focus

one's mind.” By putting their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions into writing, they are becoming thoughtful literacy learn-

ers.

Mrs. Lori Stevens

Benjamin Literacy Coach

News From the Nurse ~ From Unit 5 Elementary Handbook p.26:

Communicable Diseases

For everyone’s protection, sick children must be at home, not at school. When reporting the student’s absence, please

report the reason for the child’s absence. The school needs to be informed of any student having a special health problem

or communicable disease. Children with the following conditions should not be in school:

A fever within the last 24 hours

Vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours

A frequent or disruptive cough or other signs of an acute respiratory infection

Any contagious illness such as “strep throat” that requires antibiotic therapy. Once a student has been fever free

without use of fever-reducing medications and on antibiotics for at least 24 hours, he/she may return to

school.

Any undiagnosed skin rash. A student with a rash may attend school upon presenting a physician’s note stating

the rash is not contagious.

Pronounced lethargy or fatigue that interferes with participation in learning activities.

**Also, if your student brings cough drops containing MENTHOL, they will not be allowed to use them unless the Unit 5 medication

form completed by the physician is on file in the nurse’s office.

Have a healthy, happy holiday season!

Jan Murray, PEL-CSN, M.Ed, BSN, RN

Benjamin Elementary School

6006 Ireland Grove Rd

Bloomington, IL 61705

Phone: 309-557-4410

Attendance: 309-557-4459

Fax: 309-557-4511

E-mail: benninmm@unit5.org

Each Wednesday, students,

staff, and volunteers are

invited to participate in Ben-

jamin Spirit Days by wearing

their Benjamin Bear Spirit

Wear, or orange and black,

which are our school colors.

We will continue to have

Benjamin Spirit Days every

Wednesday for the remain-

der of the school year. This

will be a fun way to show our

school spirit and to cele-

brate our school!

M C L E A N C O U N T Y U N I T

D I S T R I C T 5

Dec. 3rd 3:30-4:15 P.M. Student Council

Dec. 5th 3:30-4:40 P.M. Chess

Dec. 9th 6:30 P.M. PTO in IMC

Dec. 11th 9:45 A.M. Late Start

Dec. 12th-17th Candy Grams for Sale Before School

Dec. 12th 3:30-4:40 P.M. Chess

Dec. 16th-20th Benjamin Spirit Days—More Information to Come Soon

Dec. 16th-20th Holiday Spirit Sticks for Sale Before School & On-line

Dec. 18th 9:00-2:15 3rd Grade Field Trip

Dec. 19th 2:30 P.M. Classroom Parties

Dec. 20th Last Day Before Break

Dec. 21st-Jan. 5th BREAK

Jan. 6th School Resumes

Jan. 6-17th MAP Testing

Jan. 9th 3:30-4:40 P.M. Chess

Jan. 9th 6:15 P.M. 5th Grade Music Concert

Jan. 9th 7:30 P.M. Chorus Concert

Jan. 13th 6:30 P.M. PTO Meeting in IMC

Jan. 15th 9:45 A.M. Late Start

Jan. 16th 3:30-4:40 P.M. Chess

Jan. 17th Progress Reports Sent Home

Jan. 20th No School—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Jan. 23rd 3:30-4:40 P.M. Chess

Jan. 29th 9:45 A.M. Late Start

W E D N E S D A Y S

— B E N J A M I N

S P I R I T D A Y S

I M P O R T A N T D A T E S

We are on the web! www.unit5.org

Thank you!

The Girl Scouts would

like to thank all of the

Benjamin families who

donated items for the

Washington Tornado

Relief. Your generosity

is greatly appreciated,

and we know that many

families will benefit from

your kindness and heart

-felt giving.