Benjamin Broadcast Dear Benjamin Families, We have many exciting activities going on over the next couple of months! Please use the infor- mation in the newsletter and the included calendar to stay in- formed. 1st-5th grade students are cur- rently taking their winter MAP tests. As a staff, we will be re- viewing student growth during our Data Day on January 14th. We look forward to seeing the pro- gress the children are making. Encourage your children to clean up after themselves, help others, and find ways to show kindness in all they do, both at school and at home. Please remember that our break is from December 22nd-January 7th. We wish your family a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy your time together. Please contact our of- fice at (309) 557- 4410 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Marlys Bennington- [email protected]McLean County Unit District 5 Winter 2018-2019 Volume 9, Issue 4 PE Shorts 2 Save the Date 2 Spirit Week Theme Days 3 Candy Grams/Hat & Mitten Drive 3 Calendar 4 GROWL Winners 5 Concert Photos 6 Inside this issue: Follow us on Insta- gram @BenjaminBears Join the fun! We cur- rently have over 265 followers to our new Instagram account. We hope to have 290 by next month. Help us reach our goal! Wednesdays are designated as Spirit Wear Days. Students & staff may wear Benjamin Bear clothing or orange & black. Yearbook group photos are scheduled for Tuesday, January 22nd, in the morning. All students will have their photo taken, as each classroom has a class photo taken, and the photographer usually takes some candid photos in the lunchroom that day. Other group photos, like Chorus, Student Council, Lunchroom Leaders, Business Bears, 5th Grade Band & Orchestra, and several other groups will also be taken that morning. Yearbook Group Photos Business Bears Update & the Harmony Park Project Our student entrepreneurial group, Business Bears, has begun! Students are working on making all of their products for the Business Bears sale, as well as creating their advertisement posters and logos. The students in Business Bears have selected the Harmony Park Project as the charity that our sale proceeds will be given to after our sale is completed this year. You can check out the Harmony Park Project at harmonyparkproject.org. Due Dates: Posters Due ~ Jan. 11th, Products Due ~ Jan. 22nd, Sale ~ Jan. 25th (Business Bears arrive at 7:00am; Open to Students, Staff, & Parents 7:25-7:40am) CAC Member Needed We are in need of a CAC (Citizens Advisory Council) member to represent Benjamin at these district level meetings. The CAC discusses important educational issues and makes recommendations for the district. The CAC meets 5 or 6 times a year. This is a great way for you to be involved and have a voice. It also provides an opportunity for you to learn more about other schools in our district and about our district as a whole. Please contact Mrs. Bennington at [email protected] or at (309)557-4410 if you are interested.
Join the fun! We cur-rently have over 265 followers to our new Instagram account.
We hope to have 290 by next month. Help
us reach our goal!
Wednesdays are
designated as Spirit
Wear Days. Students &
staff may wear
Benjamin Bear clothing
or orange & black.
Yearbook group photos are scheduled for Tuesday, January 22nd, in the morning. All students will have their photo taken, as each classroom has a class photo taken, and the photographer usually takes some candid photos in the lunchroom that day. Other group photos, like Chorus, Student Council, Lunchroom Leaders, Business Bears, 5th Grade Band & Orchestra, and several other groups will also be taken that morning.
Yearbook Group Photos
Business Bears Update & the Harmony Park Project
Our student entrepreneurial group, Business Bears, has begun! Students are
working on making all of their products for the Business Bears sale, as well as
creating their advertisement posters and logos. The students in Business Bears
have selected the Harmony Park Project as the charity that our sale proceeds will
be given to after our sale is completed this year. You can check out the Harmony
Park Project at harmonyparkproject.org.
Due Dates: Posters Due ~ Jan. 11th, Products Due ~ Jan. 22nd, Sale ~ Jan. 25th
(Business Bears arrive at 7:00am; Open to Students, Staff, & Parents 7:25-7:40am)
CAC Member Needed
We are in need of a CAC (Citizens Advisory Council) member to represent Benjamin at
these district level meetings. The CAC discusses important educational issues and makes
recommendations for the district. The CAC meets 5 or 6 times a year. This is a great way
for you to be involved and have a voice. It also provides an opportunity for you to learn
more about other schools in our district and about our district as a whole. Please contact
Mrs. Bennington at [email protected] or at (309)557-4410 if you are interested.
5Essentials Survey
5Essentials is a survey
done by the state of Illinois.
Our families and staff have
taken it for the last several
years. It is a great way for
you to give feedback about
our school. The survey will
be open this year from
Deember 3rd-January
18th. We will share the
link, once we receive it.
Please take a few minutes
to help us by completing
the survey. Thank you in
advance for your help!
Parents who complete the
survey will have the chance
to enter a raffle to win a
front row parking spot at
the carnival.
Page 2 Be n ja m in Bro a dca s t V o lu me 9, I s s u e 4
PE Shorts
Save the Date!
March 1st—5:00-8:30 pm Benjamin Carnival
March 12th ~ Kindergarten Pre-Registration
March 18th— 6:00-7:30 pm Art Show
As we enter the influenza season, I would like to remind you of the guidelines for school attendance when students are ill. The 2018-2019 McLean County Unit Dis-trict No. 5 Elementary Handbook (p. 23-27 outlines the times when children should not be in school. These times include when students are experiencing:
∙ A fever within the last 24 hours
∙ Vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours
∙ A frequent or disruptive cough or other sign of an acute respiratory infection
∙ Any contagious illness such as “strep throat” that requires antibiotic thera-py. Once a student has been fever free without the use of fever-reducing medica-tions and on antibiotics for 24 hours, he/she may return to school.
∙ Any undiagnosed skin rash. A student with a rash may attend school upon pre-senting a physician’s note stating the rash is not contagious.
∙ Pronounced lethargy or fatigue that interferes with participation in learning ac-tivities.
Also included in the handbook is the information for having medication at school (p.25). Remember, medication CANNOT be administered at school without a note from the prescribing physician completed and on file at school. This includes OVER-THE-COUNTER and PRESCRIPTION medications. Cough drops containing menthol also require a note from the doctor.
For further information on the influenza type and season, please click on the link below.http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for thinking of us and spoiling us with yummy treats and gifts. However, we feel that it is an honor to be able to work with your children on a daily basis and THAT is the best gift you offer to us. We are spending December having fun playing some holiday games as well as working our bodies and exploring ways to move and stay in shape. This month is especially fun to teach because the anticipation of the holidays, whether it be family vis-iting, Santa, or impending vacations, brings an energy like no other. When the rush is over and the house is put back in order, let’s not forget to take time to look around and take care of each other. Seek peace, be kind, and offer hope to those who have none. You just never know how powerful you can be. Do Good, Jo Myers Todd Delveaux Physical Education
Nurse’s Notes ~ Mrs. Reichard
Candy Grams/Mitten & Hat Drive
Vocal Music Concerts & Chorus 2018-19
Tuesday, April 30
5:00pm ~ Kindergar-ten
6:00pm ~ 1st Grade
700pm ~ Chorus
We are very fortunate to be able to use the auditorium at Normal Community High School (3900 East Raab Rd. in Normal) for our concerts. Their space provides the ease of parking, comfortable seat-ing where everyone can see their children, and a stage that fits all of our students and has good acous-tics.
Below are our performance dates for the upcoming school year:
Yearbooks
Yearbooks will be sold
this winter and will be
delivered in May. Flyers
will be sent home soon
and announcements will
be made each morning
for a couple of weeks. We
order a few extras, but
they sell quickly in May
when they arrive. If you
want to purchase a
yearbook, it is best to do
Page 3 Be n ja m in Bro a dca s t V o lu me 9, I s s u e 4
Student Council will be collecting new winter hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves for Unit
5 students in need. Hang your donation on the tree in the lobby before school during
the week of December 10-14.
Candy Grams will be sold in the lobby before school, from 7:25-7:40am, each morning
during the week of December 10-14. The suckers are fruit flavored, 2 inch penguins that
cost $1.00 each. Buy one for your friends, sibling, or yourself! Parents may also send
one to their child. Order forms can be downloaded from the Benjamin website. Parents
should send the order form and money in an envelope to the office. You may also pur-
chase a candy gram for a child who might not get one. Fill out the form, leaving the
“To” area blank, and filling in the “From” area with “A Benjamin Friend”. Candy Grams
will be delivered the last week of school before break.
Morning Duty Time
Please make sure your child has a
book, e-reader, journal, or other quiet
activity to do this time. We like to help
them get their day off to a good start!
Spirit Week ~ December 17-21, 2018
Monday, Dec. 17 ~ Holiday Hat & Hair Day
Tuesday, Dec. 18 ~ Candy Cane Day ~ Wear Red & White and Bring a Candy Cane to Eat
Dec. 18 Candy Cane Day ~ Wear Red & White and Bring a Candy Cane To Eat
Dec. 19 Holiday Lights Day ~ K - Red, 1st - Orange, 2nd - Yellow, 3rd -
Blue, 4th - Green, and 5th - Purple
Dec. 20 Holiday Clothes/Ugly Sweater Day
9:00-10:15am Chorus Sings at State Farm/1:30-2:30pm ~ Classroom Parties
Dec. 21 Pajama Day & Last Day Before Break
Jan. 8 School Resumes
Jan. 9 2:30-3:15pm ~ Student Council Meeting/Jan. 11 Business Bears Posters Due
Jan. 14 6:30pm ~ PTO Meeting in the IMC
Jan. 16 8:45am ~ Late Start/Jan. 21 No School ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan. 22 Yearbook Group Photos/Business Bears Products Due
Jan. 25 7:25-7:40am ~ Business Bears Sale (7:00am ~ Business Bears Arrive)
Benjamin Calendar
Phone: 309-557-4410 Fax: 309-557-4511
Benjamin Mission Statement The Benjamin Bear community will educate and empower all students to be proactive leaders.
McLean County Unit District 5
Late starts during the 2018-2019 school year
PTO Facebook
Page & Amazon
Smile
Did you know that
the Benjamin PTO
has a Facebook
page? There is a lot
of great and helpful
information availa-
ble on it. Be sure to
check it out! The
PTO also has an
Amazon Smile ac-
count. When you
purchase items on
Amazon, and mark
Benjamin PTO, a
donation comes
back to the Benja-
min PTO!
October GROWL Winners
Congratulations to the fol-
lowing students who were
our October GROWL win-
ners:
Richie Hagan (Delveaux),
Ryan Robinson (PE
Delveaux), Sundar Rajku-
mar (PE Myers), Sadie
Roeder (PE Myers), Valerie
Nwachakwu (KF), Diya
Philip (KF), Sreyansh Kinta-
li (KH), Nora Reiners (KH),
Taylor Francois (KK), Luke
Prentice (KK), Millie Kim-
ball (KL), Tej Shah (KL),
Sadhvi Arora (1A), Samarth
Singh (1A), Jack Barksdale
(1D), Marielle Olivares (1D),
Connor Friesen (1G), Rylan
Parola (1G), Anmol
Chaudhry (1S), Sophie
McGuffin (1S0,), Alexis Eck-
hardt (2Fi), Ethan Victor
(2Fi), Zach Eckhardt (2Fo),
Reagan Rudicil (2Fo),
Advaith Anand (2K), Mason
Lakamp (2K), Graham Max-
well (2V), Landon Trowitch
(2V), Hailey Deterding (3A),
Nick Rosenlund (3A), Ken-
nedy Barksdale (3C), Lan-
don Rustmeyer (3C), Fasee-
ha Bajulul Hak (3G), Liam
Vogelzang (3G), Elaina
Crowder (3H), Krish Tyagi
(3H), Ella Kolb (4G), Wyatt
Percy (4G), Maren Jimison
(4M), Marvin Martinez
(4M), Aditya Pericharla
(4S), Sri Puvvala (4S), Jalen
Allen (5AG), Kyle Hatcher
(5AG), Nysa Anand (5DG),
Collin Lawyer (5DG), Reith
Kohli (5L), Julia Lockett
(5L), Khadirah Muhammad
(5W), and Sydney Walker
(5W).
These students celebrated
with a pizza party with Mrs.
Bennington on November
14, 2018.
How does a Benjamin Bear
receive a GROWL?
GROWLS are earned by go-
ing above and beyond our
expectations in the areas of
respect, responsibility, 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
medal, as a special gift. We
hope to recognize quality
character in many of our
students through-
out the year.
In the IMC, K-5 classes talk about Digital Citizenship. Common Sense Media is an incredible tool that we use as a resource. I hope the family resources will help you, as we work together to create Benjamin Bears who are leaders in every area of their lives. Help Kids Balance Their Media Lives
From phones and tablets to streaming movies and YouTube, tech and media are everywhere. Kids love easy ac-
cess to shows, games, and information. Parents and caregivers love that kids can learn on the go (and stay busy
when dinner's cooking). But it's easy to overdo it when the phone never stops pinging and the next episode plays
automatically. Families can keep media and tech use in check by following a few simple practices.
Check out these 5 tips:
1. Create screen-free times and zones.
Help kids take breaks from tech by limiting screen time in bedrooms, during study time, or at the dinner table.
2.Try parental controls.
Set content limits that make sense for your family. Alongside conversations about healthy media habits, use fea-
tures such as content filtering, privacy settings, and time limits offered by the apps and platforms your family uses
to help manage access and exposure to media.
3. Establish clear family rules.
Decide together what kind of media and tech is OK -- and when it's OK to use it. A family media plan can help get
everyone on the same page.
4. Watch and play together.
Choose quality, age-appropriate media to enjoy with your kids. Vis-
it commonsensemedia.org to find shows, games, and more.
5. Help kids identify healthy behaviors.
Practice talking about feelings -- both physical and emotional -- during screen and non-
PTO Updates Benjamin Carnival 2019. Planning has begun for the 2019 Carnival! We need several volun-teers to help with putting on this event. Most of the work will be in January and February with a few hours needed this year. Please contact Dan Fischer, Carnival Chair, [email protected] if interested. Thank you!
Please join us for our November PTO Meeting on Monday, December 10th at 6:30 pm in the IMC at Benja-min. We discuss a variety of topics related to our school.
Dressing for Cold Weather
The weather has turned colder, and it’s a good time to remind everyone of the importance of
dressing warm. Unit 5 guidelines have students going outside for recess as long as the tempera-
ture is 20 degrees or warmer, with the wind chill factored in. Warm coats, hats, mittens/gloves,
and scarves help keep the children warm. Send what you know works best for your child. It is
very windy at Benjamin, so warm gear is really important.
We are now inside every morning before school. We will have inside mornings until spring,
when the weather is nice enough to be back outside again.
Lost & Found Items to Be Donated All Lost & Found items not claimed by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 21st, will be donated to The Mission Mart. There are many sweatshirts, jackets, hats, mittens, gloves, lunchboxes, and more. Please feel free to stop by school and look through Lost & Found. It is located in the lobby, by the north doors. Lost & Found eye glasses and tiny items are in the office.
