Read our News Posts below or check out the latest weekly Bobcat Bulletin! |
News
Ways to Get Involved
We hope you are having a great start to the school year. We have a fun year planned and there are many ways for our Bobcat Families to get involved. Whether you are creative or organized; outgoing or like to work independently; have a fixed schedule or some flexibility -- THERE IS A PLACE FOR EVERYONE! Check out these committees that need a helping hand: Scholastic Book Fair -- The Book Fair committee is meeting this Monday 9/17 at 10:30am. Any Ben Hem parent that loves books and loves having their children read books is invited to join us. The Book Fair is one of the BEST committees at Ben Hem. All the kids love the fair and parent volunteers jump at the opportunity to staff the fair. This year's fair is December 3-7. If you would like to join us and learn more about the committee, please email angimacdonnell@gmail.com. Monster Mash -- The Monster Mash is a highlight of the Halloween season for many of our Bobcats and we need many parents to bring this event together! Help plan games, arts and crafts, and other activities -- which you can do on your own time, any time! This year's Monster Mash is October 26. To help, please email vmcgrath@benhempto.org. Cultural Arts -- Come join the Cultural Arts Committee! The Cultural Arts Committee supplements classroom curriculum by bringing enriching performances in art, music, dance, puppetry and many other artistic endeavors to the students. We are so fortunate that our PTO has made a strong commitment to bringing Cultural Arts to Ben-Hem students and as a committee member you can be a part of it first-hand. The committee meets just a few times per year, usually Friday mornings right after drop off, and each member will get to organize one or two events throughout the year (daytime availability needed for your events). It is so great to see the excitement on the kids’ faces as they witness and participate in the many different Cultural Arts experiences. Interested? Please email djtuck@gmail.com. Holiday Fair -- During the month of December, Ben-Hem transforms into a winter shopping extravaganza with local artisans and our very own Bobcat kid vendors ready to help make your holiday shopping a fun and easy experience. Help coordinate this event! Main tasks are inviting and coordinating local artisans and Bobcat kid vendors and collecting vendor payments in advance of the event - all of which can be done on your own time. On the day of, help check-in vendors and assist where needed - it’s that easy. Email ktonelwong@benhempto.org if you're interested.An Evening Out (AEO) -- In the coming months, you'll hear more about the AEO to be held on March 23. AEO is the Ben-Hem PTO's adult only school social/auction that is held every two years. It is our single biggest fundraiser and is critical to the success of PTO programming. It's a fun event that will include food, cocktails, silent auction, dancing and entertainment. And we need your help to make this Ben-Hem tradition a success. Don't have a lot of free time? No experience with this sort of event? No worries! We've got something for everyone and plenty of support to go along with it! This is a fun way to make a big difference for Ben-Hem. Please email baarons@benhempto.org to learn more. Do you own your own catering company?? Are you a restaurant owner, chef, or baker?? Or know someone who is and would be willing to help with the AEO this year? We need you! It’s a great way to promote your business while helping out Ben-Hem. Please contact the PTO Board at theboard@benhempto.org. Thank you for your support in building a great community! |
Fall Family Picnic POSTPONED
With today's rain and the forecast for maybe more tomorrow, we are postponing the Fall Family Picnic. Look for the new date in the next weekly update. |
Kindergarten Parent Coffee - Friday (8/31) after Morning Drop Off
On Friday, August 31st, kindergarten parents are invited to stay for a cup of coffee out in front of the school after the children head inside. Generally there's not a lot of lingering at drop-off so we wanted to carve out some time on this one special morning. If you are able, please take this opportunity to meet a few fellow parents and celebrate the start of a new school year! Parents of kids in Grades 1-4, feel free to join us to welcome new members of our Ben-Hem community as you grab your morning coffee! Hint to new families: the parking lot is hectic in the morning. You may want to park on a side street.  |
Kindergarten Meet & Greet -- July 16 & August 9, 6-7:30pm
Incoming Kindergarten families -- join us on the Ben-Hem playground behind the school for our Kindergarten Meet & Greet. Join us for one night or both. Parents and siblings are welcome. Snacks will be provided. To help meet new friends, children should wear shirts in the following colors:
Questions? Please contact the PTO: theboard@benhempto.org Note that the flyer mailed with class assignments had the incorrect date. The correct dates are July 16 and August 9. |
Don't miss Ben-Hem's FIRST EVER Literacy Night TONIGHT, 6:30 - 8pm
Elephant, Piggie, Pigeon and the wide cast of Mo Willems characters feature in our FIRST EVER Literacy Night. Your kiddos will enjoy storytime with Ms. Ghilani and other Ben-Hem favorites. They’ll create stick puppets, put on a puppet show, laugh at MadLibs, have their drawings projected on the BIG screen, and create their own storylines. No sign-up required...just stop by and check out this fun and free event. AND...for our Bobcats who won Reading BINGO, come and get your BINGO pin. Also, Biography Night participants can pick up their display boards in the front hall by the cafeteria. Any boards not claimed by May 11 will be recycled. |
It’s time for our annual Spring teacher appreciation lunch!
On May 8, the Ben-Hem community will host a luncheon as a show of appreciation for all that our Ben-Hem staff does for our students and families. To make this a success, we ask for your support by either making a food/drink donation or monetary donation to be used to buy sandwiches. Please consider helping out on what is one of our teachers’ favorite events! |
Don't miss Ben-Hem's FIRST EVER Literacy Night!
Come join us on May 4, between 6:30pm and 8pm, to celebrate the work of legendary author Mo Willems. Design puppets and perform puppet shows with your friends, draw like Mo and see your creations projected on the wall, write up goofy Elephant and Piggie Mad Libs, and come hear your favorite Ben-Hem grownups read Mo favorites! Kids who attend discover who is Ben-Hem’s favorite Mo Willems character, and get a Mo Willems bookmark to take home! New families of kindergarteners especially welcome! |
Math & Science Night is TONIGHT at 7pm!
Stop by the Ben-Hem cafeteria tonight at 7pm to learn all about jellyfish, deep space, density columns, slime, Japanese multiplication, potato clocks and so much more! Bobcats from kindergarten through fourth grade have put together presentations for their classmates to learn from and enjoy. Visitors will be given a scavenger hunt to guide their way through the displays. No sign-up necessary...just pop in and check it out! |
Registration is open for Biography Night 2018!
Biography Night is special because our children learn about someone who they admire or find interesting. On April 6 at 7pm in the cafeteria, each child will “become that person” for the evening. It is a wonderful opportunity for our children to discover what/who is important to them, what qualities they admire in someone, and have fun too! Children in all grades are encouraged to participate. Click here to register by March 30. |
Sign up for Math & Science Night by Friday (3/2)
Didn't get enough of the Winter Olympics? Learn more about: the physics of snowboarding, the aerodynamics of bobsledding, or friction in curling. Ready for spring? Find out how flowers know when to bloom or why some animals hibernate and others don't. Or try a new experiment, from making slime to growing crystals to designing a balloon rocket. For more ideas, visit the Math & Science Night resource page here. Register here by Friday, March 2. Then, join us for Math & Science Night on March 9 at 7pm. We look forward to seeing what our Bobcats learn! |
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