Benton Weekly Update

Week 9: October 12-16, 2020

The 2nd Quarter Begins Today!

Progress reports will be mailed home this week, parent conferences are next week, and links to schedule a virtual conference with your child's teachers will be posted on Bentonms.org on each teacher's page in the Staff Directory by Thursday morning. We will be on a different learning schedule next week, a photo of next week's schedule is posted below.


Have you joined the Benton PTSA yet? The PTSA does a lot to support our students, and your support of them is vital! Coming up soon we will have Benton Restaurant Night fundraisers, but we're currently engaged in a Battle of the Schools for clothing donations. If you've cleaned out your closets and are looking for someplace to donate them, look no further than the green and white USAgain bin located near the big sliding gate in the school parking lot.


Speaking of contests...

There are several opportunities for students, see links below:


  • PTSA Reflections, this year's theme "I matter, because..."
  • LA County Public Library Bookmark Contest
  • Benton ASB Candy Jar Guessing Game
  • WRD Calendar Art Contest (6th Grade Only)
Art Contest ~ 6th Grade Students Only

Art Contest ~ 6th Grade Students Only

Art Contest ~ 6th Grade Students Only
Please click this link for more details.

Hispanic Heritage Month September 15-October 15

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America Ferrera ~ Actress/Activist

America Ferrera ~ Actress/Activist

America Ferrera ~ Actress/Activist
This week's artist of Hispanic Heritage is America Ferrera, an award-winning actress and producer known for her breakthrough role as Betty Suarez on ABC's hit comedy Ugly Betty. Of Honduran descent, Ferrera has been awarded a Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards. She currently produces and stars in the NBC workplace comedy Superstore, which is in its sixth season. In addition, America Ferrera is an advocate of the arts and an activist for social justice. She and her husband co-founded HARNESS, a community of artists, influencers and grassroots leaders that provides education and engagement opportunities to promote the work of organizations and individuals working on behalf of social justice. She has published a book, American Like Me, and gave a great Ted Talk, My Identity is a Superpower - not an obstacle. In addition, she and actress Eva Longoria have joined with other Latina leaders to start a new digital community called She Se Puede designed to help Latinas realize and act on their own power.

What's up this week?

Indigenous People's Day/Columbus Day

Indigenous People's Day/Columbus Day

Indigenous People's Day/Columbus Day
NO School Monday, October 12


Tuesday, Oct. 13 will be a B Day.

East Coast Trip for 8th Graders

East Coast Trip for 8th Graders

East Coast Trip for 8th Graders

We will be holding a virtual East Coast Interest Meeting on Tuesday, October 13th at 6pm for all interested 8th graders and parents. Click here for the Zoom link.

Wednesday this week is Period 1A 9am-10am.

Wednesday this week is Period 1A 9am-10am.

Wednesday this week is Period 1A 9am-10am.
Log into your period 1A Zoom 9-10, then work on other assignments, projects, homework, reading from 10am-3pm.
Great Shake Out!

Great Shake Out!

Great Shake Out!
Thursday, October 15th.

A good day to think about how your family can prepare for an earthquake and be ready to respond safely. Click here for resources.

Spotlight on Learning: 7th Grade History

The 7th grade history group has been up to quite a bit! The students have analyzed 13 reasons why the Roman Empire fell from power. They began by reading and annotating a text, wrote a rough draft, edited and revised their writing, and published a final analysis in Google docs. Students progressed through the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) writing process that will help them develop as critical, analytical thinkers. Sentence starters such as, "According to the reading it says" and "this proves" were used to assist students in the writing process. Students learned how to use MLA (Modern Language Association) format which is used in college. Please ask your 7th grader to share their interesting paragraphs with you!
Weekly Wellness

Weekly Wellness

Weekly Wellness

Hello Students, it's Ms. Allie here!


I am so glad to see all your participation and responses for last week's question on how you all de-stress!

With that being said, have you all had the chance to check out the virtual calming room site? If so, what have you tried out on the website and what do you like about it so far?


I look forward to hearing from you!

Have a great week! (:

Coming Up Next Week:

Make-Up Picture Day

Make-Up Picture Day

Make-Up Picture Day

Wednesday, October 21

10:30am-12:30pm

In the MPR


Wear a mask, and practice Social Distancing.

NLMUSD College & Career Expo

NLMUSD College & Career Expo

NLMUSD College & Career Expo

October 20th & 22nd 6-8pm

Parent Conferences

Parent Conferences

Parent Conferences

October 19-23

Via Zoom.

Modified schedule for Parent Conferences.
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Join the Benton Dance Club!

Join the Benton Dance Club!

Join the Benton Dance Club!
Dance Instructor Miss Toni will be offering dance instruction Monday-Thursday from 2:30 to 3:30 via zoom. We know many students' regular activities have been cancelled in this time of COVID-19 and the school wanted to offer some additional recreation to students in the afternoon. All students are welcome to join and it is completely free for the students. If you are interested in joining the Benton Dance Club, please use this link.

Distance Learning Support

Family Support Portal


These links might be helpful.


They can be found under the new tab on our website, bentonms.org

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About Us

About Us

About Us
Benton Middle School is a Visual & Performing Arts Magnet school
15709 E. Olive Branch Drive, La Mirada, CA 90638 rridgeway@nlmusd.org (562) 210-2500 bentonms.org