Benton Weekly Update

There are just two weeks left of the first semester. It's hard to believe we are almost halfway through the school year. 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.

Are you in a Holiday Mood yet? We can help with that!

It was a pleasure to welcome students and families last Wednesday evening for Holiday Cookie decorating. Hosted by our Benton PTSA, we enjoyed hot chocolate and decorated cookies to look like reindeer and wreaths. Cute and yummy!

The holiday spirit continued on Friday with our Winter Concert at the Excelsior Auditorium featuring our Advanced Music and Chorus Ensembles. It was a spectacular night of beautiful music, singing, and definitely inspired a holiday mood. If you missed the concert, you can click on the link below to hear each of the numbers. Thank you to Mr. John Szeplaky for recording and uploading all the videos! The holiday music making continues this week with our Beginning Ensembles Winter Concert on Wednesday at 6pm in the Benton MPR - don't miss it, tickets are available on bentonms.booktix.com!

On Tuesday this week, our Benton PTSA is hosting Coffee with the Principal (me) in the MPR at 8:45am. Please stop on by for coffee, donuts, and conversation.

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 and Wednesday 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 officially opens on Monday. 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.

Make it a great week!

Nai'a Larson earned 1st Place in the L.A. Country Mock Trial Courtroom Artist competition. Here's Nai'a receiving her award at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles.

Last week we recognized students with Perfect Attendance as well as our November Students of the Month. Students are chosen by their teachers and recognized for exhibiting Benton's P.R.I.D.E. characteristics of Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Excellence. Well done, Wolverines!

Open Enrollment in NLMUSD officially opens on Monday. 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!

Only 10 more days to enroll on the East Coast Trip. After December 15th you will be enrolled on the wait list. There are only 5 MORE SPOTS AVAILABLE! so enroll now with only a $95 deposit to secure your spot! Click the link to enroll! https://enroll.efexploreamerica.com/2782313XM

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 1A – 4A on Wednesday. This Wednesday, like all Wednesdays, students are out at 1:45pm.

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