Johnson's winter concert showcased holiday traditions from cultures around the world.
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W.A. Johnson School's fourth and fifth graders donned their most festive outfits for their Winter Concert on Monday, December 18. During their show, the students sang, danced, and even strummed ukuleles while performing songs that showcased winter holiday traditions from cultures around the world.
The WAJ Chorus opened the concert by singing two numbers, the first a popular Canadian folk song titled "Land of the Silver Birch," and the second a well known Jewish folk song titled "Shalom Chaverim."
The WAJ Ukulele Club took center stage next, and played two more tunes. The club opened with a call-and-response folk song titled "Koomalama," then led a lively sing-along of "Feliz Navidad."
Next, all of the fourth- and fifth-grade students came together to sing. They opened with "Deck the Halls," a well known Welsh holiday tune, and followed that with a Liberian folk song titled "African Noel." Then they belted out two holiday favorites--"Up On the House Top" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
Dancing with the Johnson Stars then took center stage, as students showed off their best moves while dancing to Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas Is You."
To conclude the show, all of the fourth- and fifth-grade students came together once again to sing the popular Latin American folk song "De Colores."
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WAJ Ukulele Club playing 'Feliz Navidad'
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Dancing with the Johnson Stars
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WAJ Chorus singing 'Shalom Chaverim'
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WAJ Fourth and Fifth Graders singing 'Up On the House Top'
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A SWEET HOLIDAY TRADITION
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Decorating gingerbread houses with Tioga’s kindergartners.
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Every year, the kindergartners at Tioga School march from their classrooms to the cafeteria carrying undecorated gingerbread houses they fashioned from graham crackers, milk cartons, and globs of white frosting.
Awaiting them in the cafeteria are colorful plates of assorted candies, and -- in many cases -- grinning parents eager to help them decorate their little creations with all those sugary confections.
It is the sweetest of sweet holiday traditions at Tioga School.
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Blackhawk band and chorus students share musical talents with Bensenville seniors.
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Blackhawk Middle School band and chorus students visited Castle Towers and Bridgeway senior communities Monday, December 11, to perform a variety of holiday favorites for the residents.
Highlights included the chorus singing "Jingle Bell Rock" for Bridgeway Senior Living residents, and band students Isabella W., Yael M., and Xavier M. performing "Carol of the Bells" for Castle Towers residents.
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BMS Band Trio performing 'Carol of the Bells'
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BMS Chorus singing 'Jingle Bell Rock'
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Sing along with Johnson's ALS students and BSD2's Superintendent.
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Students in Cari Raymond's and Kristin Hamby's Academic Life Skills (ALS) classes at W.A. Johnson School invited Dr. Jim Stelter, Bensenville School District 2 Superintendent of Schools, to a special holiday sing-along on Thursday, December 14. With Dr. Stelter on guitar, the students and their teachers played rhythm instruments while belting out "Jingle Bells" and several other favorite carols.
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Giving Tree and Coats for Families efforts help BSD2 families in need enjoy a warm and happy holiday season.
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Thanks to the generosity of Bensenville School District 2 staff members, more
than 200 students received gifts this holiday season through the District’s annual Giving Tree program.
Each fall, school social workers and classroom teachers work together to identify students from families that may not be able to afford gifts and invite them to
anonymously share their children’s wish lists and clothing needs. Those lists are
displayed on paper ornaments hung from Christmas trees in each school’s staff
lounge, where staff members volunteer to choose different ornaments. They
spend about $25 purchasing gifts from each list they select, and return their donations wrapped and ready to deliver to BSD2 families in need before Winter Break.
This year, every student who had an ornament on the tree received a gift through the Giving Tree program, as BSD2 staff combined to donate more than $5,000 to this charitable effort.
In addition to the Giving Tree program, dozens of children and adults will be able to stay warm this winter thanks to the Bensenville Rotary Club’s 16th Annual Coats for Families event. Held Saturday, December 9, at W.A. Johnson School, the coat drive distributed new and gently used coats from the Bensenville community to local families in need. Thanks to fundraising efforts by the Rotary Club and District 2, the event gave away almost 400 coats to local children and adults in need.
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Author and Holocaust survivor
Marion Blumenthal Lazan
shares her story with Blackhawk's seventh graders.
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"Four Perfect Pebbles" author Marion Blumenthal Lazan visited Blackhawk Middle School on Tuesday, December 12. Mrs. Lazan is a Holocaust survivor and world traveling author, and she shared with BMS seventh graders her first-hand experiences as a 9-year old child interned with her family in the German concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen, the same camp in which Anne Frank died. She took students behind the barbed wire to describe in detail what life was like during those harrowing years. Titled “My Holocaust Story: A Message of Perseverance, Determination, Faith, and Hope,” her presentation emphasized the importance of tolerance and understanding in a still-troubled world.
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Tioga students treated to amazing tricks with a positive message.
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During his recent visit to Tioga School, Jim "Basketball" Jones amazed students with an assortment of basketball tricks. All the while, he encouraged them to be kind and do their best every day during his humorous and interactive presentation.
Mr Jones gave third grader Santiago P. "one shot" to sink a basket and win a ball, and Santiago--who Mr. Jones selected from among his classmates because he reached the farthest and gave the most effort while raising his hand to volunteer--made the most of his "opportunity."
(
Click here for video.
)
T
o wrap up the presentation, Tioga School teachers danced with Mr. Jones to show their students that their school is a safe place where they can take risks, be creative, and "fail forward" as they tackle new challenges and grow as individuals.
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Jim 'Basketball' Jones and his tricks
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Tioga Teachers dance with 'Basketball' Jones
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Traveling game show puts Johnson students and staff to the test.
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Johnson School's students and staff both had a great time today playing the "Wheel of Wisdom" game show. Thank you to Johnson's PTA for sponsoring the fun-filled assembly!
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BSD2 celebrates Computer Science Education Week.
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In celebration of Computer Science Education Week (December 4-8), students all across District 2 participated in "Hour of Code" activities. Led by the District's Instructional Technology Specialists, these activities explained to students the importance of coding in the creation of their favorites websites, apps, and software, exposed them to careers in computer science fields, and introduced them to the coding process through a variety of fun tutorials designed for all different grade levels.
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Blackhawk's fall musical looked and sounded terrific!
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Congratulations to the cast and crew of
Seussical JR.
, Blackhawk Middle School's fall musical.
After two months of hard work every day after school, students previewed the production for their classmates and for the District's first- and third-grade students on Wednesday, November 15, before staging three full performances of the show on Friday and Saturday, November 17 and 18.
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Bensenville School District 2
210 S. Church Street
Bensenville, IL 60106
630-766-5940
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