Important Dates for

2014-15

August 4th—3:00-

7:00 P.M. Registra-

tion

August 14th—6:00-

7:00 P.M. Back to

School/Open House

Night

August 18th—1st Day

of School—This is a

full day for all stu-

dents.

the carnival photos in this edition of

the newsletter!

Sincerely,

Marlys Bennington

Marlys Bennington

Principal

benninmm@unit5.org

Dear Benjamin Families,

It’s hard to believe that we are com-

ing to the end of another school

year. It has been a good year, and

we are excited about the learning

and growth that have taken place in

our students! They couldn’t have

done this without your support and

love. Thank you for partnering with

us as we work to help each child

grow up to be the greatest man/

woman possible.

We appreciate all of those who

volunteered at our recent Benjamin

Carnival. Thanks, also, to the Car-

nival Committee for their time and

efforts. It was a fun and memora-

ble evening! We hope you enjoy

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

MC

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AN

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NT

Y U

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5

M A Y 2 0 1 4

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 8

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

S C I E N C E F A I R 2

G R O W L W I N -

N E R S 3

5 T H G R A D E

R E C O G N I T I O N 3

P T O N E W S 4

Y O U N G A U T H O R

C E L E B R A T I O N 4

N E W S F R O M

T H E N U R S E 5

Did You Know? - Reasons to Celebrate! Each year we have staff members who write and receive grants or earn awards or special honors. We

thought we would highlight these accomplishments, as you may not be aware of them. Congratula-

tions and thank you to the following staff members:

Mary Aper—$500 Bridgestone/Pantagraph Grant and $200 Donor’s Choose Grant, which were used to

purchase non-fiction books for her class library, and a document camera for her classroom.

Todd Delveaux, Jo Myers, & Marlys Bennington—over $20,000.00 worth of outdoor and indoor cardio-

vascular health and fitness programming equipment through a Project Fit America Grant that was

funded by OSF St. Joseph Medical Center.

Carol Johnson—selected to attend the 2014 Mickelson ExxonMobil Math and Science Teachers Acade-

my in Jersey City, New Jersey for a week this summer.

Michelle Kraft—recipient of two State Farm Grants this year! Mrs. Kraft’s class was able to purchase a

large United States Map Carpet for the students and a Smartboard document camera for the class-

room! She and her class greatly appreciate the generosity!

Chris Sewell—awarded Beyond the Books Education Foundation Grant of $3300 worth of hands-on

math and science materials; also received $500 State Farm Grant—some of the items purchased

were an iPad and science equipment. Mrs. Sewell was also selected for the 2013 Mickelson ExxonMo-

bil Math and Science Teachers Academy one week camp in New Jersey, where she was provided train-

ing on the new science standards and inquiry based learning. Honeywell Inc., also provided training.

Marlys Bennington—selected as one of 26 female leaders throughout the state for the Leadership Illi-

nois Class of 2014.

** Several other staff members received State Farm Good Neighbor Grants and were able to purchase

resources for their classrooms. Thank you to all of the individuals who volunteer and donate their

grant money to Benjamin!

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. Transpor-

tation pick up times will run one hour later

on these days than on regular days.

During the first April Late Start, the teachers

chose three literacy activities from a menu

of nine choices. Many of the activities were

based on writing instruction. At the April 30th

Late Start, we took a Positive Behavioral In-

terventions and Supports (PBIS) self-

assessment to identify strengths of our pro-

gram and areas for improvement. We also

began work towards the development of our

2014-15 Literacy Plan.

Late Start Dates:

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

Before/After

School

If you need to leave

your vehicle for any

reason, please park

in a designated

parking place. The

Red Zone is

reserved for moving

traffic. Thank you

for helping to keep

our students safe.

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

Science Fair

We are so proud of all of the students who participated in the Science Fair. The higher

level thinking that took place with each project was impressive! We have great thinkers

at Benjamin! We were fortunate enough to have judges from both Illinois State University

and Illinois Wesleyan University. They shared how difficult it was to judge the projects,

due to the thinking demonstrated through the projects. Congratulations to the following

fourth grade winners: 1st Place—Somya Jha & Eleni Lockett—Does A Higher Amount of

Fat Lead to More Greasiness in Chips?, 2nd Place—Laynee Scheck—Can People Really

Taste How Sweet Drinks Are?, and 3rd Place—Jadyn Moline—Which Kind of Juice Cleans

Pennies Best?. Congratulations to our fifth grade winners: 1st Place—Ryan Schuster—

Which Grows Taller, an Apple Seed by Itself or an Apple Seed with an Apple Slice?, 2nd

Place—Connor Brothers—Does Runoff from Roads Affect the Growth of Corn?, and 3rd

Place—Grace Alcozar—Which Liquid Grows Beans Best?!

A special thank you to Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Sewell for planning and organizing the first

Science Night ever. They invited many special guests from our community, as well as

from the University of Illinois. Some of the favorite activities were making miniature

Legos and making two-way mirrors. Students and families enjoyed the special exhibits

and experiments. It was quite a success!

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, May 1, 2014

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

6:15 p.m. 4th Grade Program

7:30 p.m. Chorus Concert (The Chorus will also be singing the National Anthem at the May

21st Corn Belters’ game.)

M U S I C N E W S

M A R C H G R O W L W I N N E R S

Ashley Ames (2K), Maya Go-

pinathan (2K), Anish Desh-

pande (2V), Mariah Robinson

(2V), Lilly Bozarth (3LC), Janvi

Thottempudi (3LC), Anna

Kuntz (3HC), Sebastian Zarza

(3HC), Lexi Martin (3G), Aiden

Modine (3G), Isabella Cum-

mings (3P), Connor Henson-

Stroud (3P), Sharanya Rotte

(4C), Subhavi Somesula (4C),

Kyle Kowalczyk (4G), Holly

Tetzloff (4G), Nayonika

Banerjee (4R), Owen Osborne

(4R), Owen Parker (4S), Titan

Virgil (4S), Nishant Bhamidipati

(5G), Jacob Kann (5G), Payton

Goodman (5J), Myles Watkins

(5J), Devan Bishop (5L), Abby

Larson (5L), Rahul Darbhakul

(5S), and Ryan Schuster (5S).

How does a Benjamin Bear re-

ceive a GROWL? GROWLS are

earned by going above and be-

yond our expectations in the are-

as of respect, responsibility, or

safety. These are important be-

haviors 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 re-

ceive a GROWL certificate. We

hope to recognize quality char-

acter in many of our students

throughout the year.

Congratulations to the follow-

ing students who were our

March GROWL winners:

Piper Lowder (PE Delveaux),

Khadijah Shaikh (PE

Delveaux), Darasimi Oke (PE

Myers), Jansi Patel (PE My-

ers), Addyson Davies (KF),

Samantha Lakamp (KF),

Shreyash Koli (KLL), Reese

Michaels (KLL), Paige Bene-

dict (KPL), Joe Honzel (KPL),

Collin Lawyer (KW), Siri Yak-

kala (KW), Kiernan Newton

(1A), Nikitha Philip (1A), Lin-

coln Stambaugh (1G), Luke

Stephens (1G), Alyssa Hasty

(1S), Malik Kisitu (1S), Oviya

Panneerselvam (2F), Ryan

Reedy (2F), Caden Lovins

(2G), Travis Stanfield (2G),

Summer Contact

Information

Please remember

that our office is

closed for most of

the summer. If you

need to reach us,

please email us

directly. We look

forward to seeing

you again in August.

Page 3 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 8

5th Grade Recognition

5th Grade Recognition will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 2:00 P.M. Parents of 5th grade students are in-

vited to attend this event. We look forward to recognizing and honoring our 5th graders for their leadership and

successes this year. We will miss them when they head to junior high in August!

PTO News

It’s hard to believe that another year is nearly behind us! At our May 12th PTO meeting, we will be electing officers as well as

filling our committee chair positions for the 2014-2015 school year. Are you looking for ways to be more involved at the school

or getting started with the PTO? May is a great time to attend and get involved! We have many positions open for next year in-

cluding:

PTO Treasurer

Carnival Chair and Co-chair

Staff Hospitality Chair and Co-Chair

Student Hospitality Chair

Box Tops Co-Chair

School Directory Co-Chair

Our PTO is successful thanks to many volunteers, and we cannot do all that we do without your help. Please consider attending

the May PTO meeting and finding ways to help get involved in the rewarding activities we do for our teachers and students! If

you have questions or would like a detailed description of the chair positions listed above, please feel free to contact me at:

stephanie.checchi@yahoo.com

Stephanie Checchi

PTO President

On the morning of May 16th, our 5th grade students will visit Evans. They will be partnered with a current

6th grader and will visit that student’s classes. They will also meet with the Evans guidance counselors that

morning to hear a little bit more about next year. This experience helps prepare our 5th graders for starting

junior high in August.

Box Tops

We raised $1,179.70 in our last rally! The students celebrated our successful box top rally with an extra recess in April. Thank you so much for collecting, trimming and sending in the box tops. We will send in one more submission as the school year ends. You may turn in your box tops at any time - and save them over the summer! Please join us at a PTO meeting on the second Monday of the month or visit the PTO link to see how the money we raise with the box tops is spent. Your extra efforts are really appreciated!

Young Author’s Celebration

We will be honoring our Young Author participants and winners during special assemblies on Wednesday, May 7th.

Students in grades K, 1 and 3 will attend from 1:00-2:00 P.M., and students in grades 2, 4, and 5 will attend from

2:00-3:00. Our four winning titles have been transformed into original puppet shows by Clothespin Puppetry and will

be presented during the assembly. Parents of the 4 winning Young Author books are invited to attend the puppet

show and celebration. Thank you to our wonderful Benjamin PTO for their generous support of this project. If you

have any questions, please contact Mrs. Lee or Mrs. Mroz at (309)557-4410.

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

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

May 1st 5:00 P.M. Kindergarten/1st Music Concert at NCHS

May 1st 6:15 P.M. 4th Grade Music Concert at NCHS

May 1st 7:30 P.M. Chorus Concert at NCHS

May 5th 5:00-8:00 P.M. Barnes & Noble Night

May 6th 3:30-4:15 P.M. Student Council Meeting

May 7th Young Authors Celebration

May 8th 1st Grade to Children’s Discovery Museum

May 12th 6:30 P.M. PTO Meeting in IMC

May 14th 9:45 A.M. Late Start

May 14th 3:30-4:30 P.M. Chorus

May 14th & 15th 4th Grade Instrument Exploration Session at Normal West

May 15 Kindergarten Field Trip to the Zoo

May 16 9:00-10:20 A.M. 5th Grade Visit to Evans Junior High

May 21 Chorus to Sing National Anthem at Corn Belters’ Game

May 21 5th Grade Field Trip to Corn Belters’ Game

May 22 2:00 P.M. 5th Grade Recognition

May 23 9:00 A.M. Benjamin Talent Show—K, 2nd, & 4th

May 23 1:30 P.M. Benjamin Talent Show—1st, 3rd, 5th

May 26 No School—Memorial Day

June 2 8:45-11:45 A.M. Last Day of School

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

We are on the web! www.unit5.org NEW IMMUNIZATION REQUIRE-MENTS FOR ILLINOIS SCHOOL

STUDENTS!

Beginning with the 2014 – 2015 school year, Illinois law requires ALL students entering school at ALL grade levels (K – 12) to show proof of receiving:

2 (full) MMR vaccines

2 varicella (chicken pox) vaccines

The Hepatitis B series of 3 vaccine requirement moved from 5th grade to 6th grade.

The Tdap requirement also continues requiring ALL students entering 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades to receive:

1 Tdap vaccine

Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year students entering 6th and 12th grades will be required to re-ceive:

1 dose of meningococcal vaccine (6th grade)

2 doses of meningococcal vaccine (12th grade)

UNIT 5 STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO START SCHOOL WITHOUT THE REQUIRED IMMUN-IZATIONS!

The physical exam requirement is the same – a new exam dated within the past year is required for:

Early learner programs

Kindergarten

6th grade

9th grade

Make an appointment NOW for a physical and immunizations! Avoid the rush.

No appointment cards will be accepted in place of a completed physical exam form and immunization record.

The McLean County Health Department is now ac-cepting private health insurance for adult and child immunizations as well as Medicaid. Call today for an appointment: 888-5455.

Student Medications—End of the Year

If your child takes medication at school, you may pick up their medications by the last day of school. If you are not able to come to school

to get the medications, they will be sent home with your student the last full day of school, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014. Please check in your

student’s backpack for returned medications. Students with epi-pens may bring their epi-pen to school in their backback that last half

day of school on June 2nd. All medications need a new doctor’s order sheet each school year. Please visit the Unit 5 website to find the

Medication form for completion for next year at http://www.unit5.org/Page/252 . Thank you.

The Benjamin Annual Talent Show is Coming!

The 2014 Benjamin Talent Show, sponsored by Student Council, will be held on Friday, May 23, 2014, in

our school gym. There will be two shows, 9:00 A.M. and 1:30 P.M. Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 4th

grade students will be performing in the 9:00 A.M. show, and students in 1st grade, 3rd, grade, and 5th

grade will be performing at the 1:30 P.M. show. This is a fun event that celebrates the talent and leader-

ship in our school. It is also a great opportunity to showcase our school spirit! We cannot wait to see all

of that Benjamin Bear talent!!

2013-14 Benjamin Carnival Photos