Here are some pictures from a very busy morning at Bennie! Enjoy!

Bennie’s Academic Support Team

Our Bennie Instructional Aides

Happy Halloween from some of our staff!

The year began with servicing students who were in the program last year while grade level benchmark testing was taking place with all students. After the fall testing was complete, the results were analyzed to determine who did not make the benchmark goals and select those most in need of extra support to add to the program. Letters were sent out informing parents if their child was receiving reading support, math support or both.

Students receive literacy help in their classrooms from Bennie’s instructional aides. Students in grades 3-5 who receive math support are using the Reflex Math program in the computer lab to build fact fluency. Later, other math skills will be addressed. At times, students work with or are checked by me, Mrs. Artman, in order to set target goals for their learning and give direction to the aides on how best to help them achieve their academic goals.

In October, teachers have been assessing students using Fountas and Pinell’s Benchmark Assessment System which replaces the DRA reading assessments used in Allen Park in the past. Results from these assessments will also be used to target students’ needs and provide interventions to help accelerate their growth. Once the building team meets to look over all data, parents will be contacted if their child received service last year but won’t receive it now.

Arno and Bennie Title I Programs will be hosting an evening workshop for parents featuring presenters from Eastern Michigan University’s Family Literacy Program. Please join us at Arno to hear valuable tips about how to help your children improve their writing skills. The program will run from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Arno. Enter through the main door. Details are in the flier in the link below. If you are unable to attend and would like to send another adult in your place to get the information for you, that’s fine. We look forward to seeing and learning with you! Click on link below for registration:

Title I Parent Writing Workshop _ November 15 2018 PDF-2m8cnep

September PTA Meeting

Parent support is valued and appreciated at Bennie. This group of dedicated parents & staff attended the first PTA meeting of year on Thursday, September 6. They are busy planning activities that will benefit all our Bennie Bobcats such as Scholastic Book Fairs, Bingo for Books, and assemblies.

You can also be involved by attending the Title I Annual Meeting, Meet the Teacher Night, and Parent Teacher Conferences.

We welcome your input at Title I Parent Advisory Meetings and School Improvement Meetings in addition to PTA meetings! V.O.I.C.E. volunteers are also needed to help students with various activites throughout the year.

Please sign up and participate as much as you can for your child’s education!

The school year is off to a fabulous start, despite the heat! A new reading program called Journeys has been purchased for Kindergarten through Fifth grades. More information about it will be available from your child’s classroom teacher.

The Title I Annual Meeting will be held in the Media Center at 6:00 p.m prior the start of Meet the Teacher Night at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 13th.  We will discuss program design and ways that parents can be involved at Bennie Elementary and in the Title I Program. All are welcome!

We are fortunate to have six instructional aides at Bennie this year. They will be working with some of our students in the classrooms under the teachers’ direction to help students achieve their academic goals.

There will be a Title I Parent Advisory meeting in November. Stay tuned for the date and time. All are welcome!

Remember to look at the links at the top of this blog to find important documents and parent and student learning resources.

This summer students were given an opportunity to select books to take home to read and bring them back to exchange for new ones throughout the summer break. Mrs. Metzger and staff members were available to greet the Bobcats and help them exchange their books.

Bennie’s PTA supports literacy throughout the year by running Book Fairs, Bingo for Books and even by putting up great bulletin boards like this recent one. Thank you to all our Bennie parents for supporting and participating in PTA events.

Sandy Artman and Cathy Gorski working on program evaluations and the Targeted Assistance school improvement plan.

Continuous improvement is important for success. Parents, teachers and children all have opportunities to evaluate the programs and offer suggestions and feedback regarding program design and implementation. Stakeholder input is used every year to make changes to improve the quality of our Academic Support Programs. Parents are encouraged to attend Advisory Team Meetings as well as completing surveys throughout the year.

Bennie Instructional Aide Maureen Page is retiring this year after 15 years of service in Allen Park. Mrs. Page has helped many lower elementary children improve their reading and writing skills over the years. Mrs. Page plans to spend time with her grandchildren and has offered to come back next year to visit and volunteer at Bennie. Best wishes for a long and happy retirement!

Happy Retirement, Mrs. Page!

Mrs. Page enjoys cooking and will have more time to read and try some new recipes.

Click on the link below for details about the upcoming parent workshop on literacy strategies you can use with your children. There will be a guest speaker presenting to parents of Title I students. Please join us for this informative event!

Title I Parent Workshop Literacy April 23, 2018-14bvkn7