did you know? - reasons to celebrate!...2014-15 august 4th—3:00-7:00 p.m. registra-tion august...
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![Page 1: Did You Know? - Reasons to Celebrate!...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](https://reader035.vdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022071217/604ddfea88d2aa3ed8755be1/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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
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
LE
AN
C
OU
NT
Y U
NI
T
DI
ST
RI
CT
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!
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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!
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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!
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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
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.
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Benjamin Elementary School
6006 Ireland Grove Rd
Bloomington, IL 61705
Phone: 309-557-4410
Attendance: 309-557-4459
Fax: 309-557-4511
E-mail: [email protected]
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.
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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