Benton Weekly Update

This is the final week of the first semester. The last day of school before Winter Break is Friday, December 19th which will be a minimum day with dismissal at 1:15pm. Students will return from Winter Break on Tuesday, January 6th.

To kick off this last week of school before the holiday, our ASB Leadership students have organized a Spirit Week. Join the fun and dress out all week. We're looking forward to our Dance Students performing on Wednesday at lunch, and we will close out the week on Friday with our Cheer team performing.

Is your student missing a hoodie, shoes, or water bottle? Our Lost & Found Rack is FULL of an assortment of hoodies, water bottles, shoes, and a pair of jeans. Please encourage your student to check for those missing items before we donate all of it over the holiday. Do you need a new hoodie? Our PTSA is selling hoodies with Benton's "Old School" Wolverine logo. See the post below for a preview and information about how to purchase your new, old school Benton hoodies!

Shout out to Mr. Martin Strauss and Mr. John Medina our Benton Employees of the Year! We are proud to honor our Teacher of the Year, Mr. Martin Strauss who teaches Algebra I and 6th & 8th Grade Math. Mr. Strauss always goes above and beyond for Benton and our students. Our Senior Custodian, Mr. John Medina is our Classified Employee of the Year. Mr. John is always making sure that our campus is clean and in tip-top shape. Thank you to both for your dedication and service to Benton!

Last week our Advanced Drama students attended a Theatre Workshop at Disneyland. This was a great opportunity to experience first-hand what it’s like to be a Disney entertainment professional. Students were treated as working professionals while learning from real working artists in the industry, both at Disney and beyond.

This week, Advanced Drama students will be performing A Christmas Carol during the school day for Benton students and invited guests from our La Mirada elementary schools.

On Wednesday last week, our Beginning Music and Vocal Ensembles had their Winter Concert. Links to both the Beginning and Advanced Winter Concerts are posted below. Thank you to Mr. John Szeplaky for recording and uploading all the videos!

Benton will be forming girls' and boys' competition teams for Basketball and Soccer; regular Wednesday games will start in mid-January with the NLM Middle Schools tournament in late February. We have tryouts this week after school on Tuesday for the Girls' Basketball team. When we return from Winter Break, we will hold tryouts for the Boys' team as well as for the Soccer teams.

Open Enrollment in NLMUSD continues through January 31st. If your 8th Grader (or 5th Grader!) is thinking about attending a school that is not your school of residence, make sure you complete the Open Enrollment Application to attend the NLMUSD school of choice!

Have you heard? Our Spring Musical will be Mary Poppins, Jr.! All students are able to submit auditions to be in the musical. Auditions are due on December 31st. See the blurb below to find out more about auditioning for this show.

As we close out the semester and get ready for our two week Winter Break, from me and all of the Benton Staff, I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and joyous holiday.

Make it a great week!

Click on the links below to view recordings of our Beginning and Advanced Winter Concerts.

Open Enrollment in NLMUSD continues through January 31st. If you have a 5th Grader and Benton is not your school of residence, make sure you complete the Open Enrollment Application to attend Benton.

Do you know a student who would be interested in attending a nationally recognized award winning arts school? Be sure to tell them about Benton's Showcase on Wednesday, January 14! Prospective students and families can tour our campus, see our programs, and learn more about Benton's exceptional Visual & Performing Arts classes!

Please note the times and locations of the different activities. The hours vary from one activity to another. All students must sign in each day for attendance using the QR code.

The next season of Sports will be Basketball and Soccer. Tryouts for Soccer will be after we return from Winter Break.

Students will attend periods 5B – 8B on Wednesday. This Wednesday, like all Wednesdays, students are out at 1:45pm.

School will be out at 1:15pm on Friday. Please make sure students are picked up at this different time.

Students will have 2 weeks for Winter Break. The last day of school, Friday 12/19 is a minimum day with dismissal at 1:15pm. Students will return to school on Tuesday, January 6.

On Wednesday, February 4th from 8:40-9:30am we will have our Semester 1 Awards Ceremony. Students will be recognized for Honor Roll 3.5-3.99 GPA, Principal's Honor Roll 4.0 & above GPA, and Perfect Attendance for the first semester. As well, we will be awarding our Movers & Shakers, students who have significantly improved their GPA from last semester.

Mark your calendars and plan to join us at Barnes & Noble in Fullerton from 5pm-7:30 as students showcase their talents on an open mic. Benton receives a percentage of all purchases made that night!

8th Grade Students and Families, we have a newsletter curated just for you! The 8th Grade newsletter contains information specific to you, 8th Grade Students and Families, to help you make the most of 8th Grade, and to plan for the end of the year.

You can now purchase the 25-26 Benton Yearbook on our Webstore. The Yearbook is produced by Benton students and is delivered the last week of school. It's important to purchase your yearbook in advance, as we only print the number of books we sell in advance. Don't miss out, secure your yearbook now!

The Benton Yearbook needs your photos! Do you have any Back to School photos you would be willing to share with us? This includes photos you may have taken at home holding "1st Day of Middle School" type signs. If you would email a digital copy to me at rridgeway@nlmusd.org, that would be appreciated. We hope to create a collage of Back to School photos in our yearbook.

The PTSA is a huge support to students and Benton's programs, and we hope all families choose to join, support, and get involved at Benton. Join the Benton PTSA online at this link or by scanning the QR code below.

Parents, please help us by checking your student's outfit before they leave for school. If students are out of dress code, the students will be asked to change into P.E. clothes or a loaner shirt or shorts.

As you can see below, we have A Days and B Days. Students have periods 1A-4A on A Days, every Monday and Thursday, and periods 5B-8B on B Days, every Tuesday and Friday. On Wednesdays, we alternate between A Days and B Days.

Benton Middle School is a nationally recognized, award winning Visual & Performing Arts Magnet school. Follow us on Instagram @Bentonwolverines.

Email: rridgeway@nlmusd.org
Website: benton.nlmusd.org
Location: 15709 E. Olive Branch Drive, La Mirada, CA 90638
Phone: (562) 210-2500
Facebook: facebook.com/bentonmiddleschool

Instagram: @BentonWolverines