Bennett Beacon – Winter 2021

BY CARLOS ALVAREZ, JR

News From Our Principal

February 26, 2021
By CARLOS ALVAREZ, JR.

The 2020-2021 academic school year has been unprecedented. In our current remote learning setting, educators must reinvent themselves to meet the needs of our students. Teachers at Lewis J Bennett provide an alternating schedule of synchronous instruction, through Microsoft Teams, as well as asynchronous work to deliver instruction.

It is more important than ever to provide engaging, meaningful instruction to focus the attention of our students. Programs, such as Nearpod, allow teachers to make lessons interactive by providing a host of options such as embedded questions, games, matching, interactive videos, Flocabulary videos and the ability for students to record themselves answering questions verbally. Games, such as Gimkit, are also employed and allow for repetition and engagement with a competitive component.

Our teachers continue to provide extracurricular activities such as Yearbook, Events Club, Diversity Club, Mock Trial, and National Honor Society.

Working tirelessly to utilize every tool to meet the needs of all learners and develop relationships through this unique setting, we will continue to innovate student success and growth!

We continue the work of planning for the implementation of our P-Tech grant, which begins in the 2021-2022 academic school year. We meet on a bi-weekly basis with our partners, which include IBM and Erie Community College. We are very excited that Rich Products and M & T Bank are interested in working with our students as well. We produced a video to present our great programs during a virtual High School recruitment event.

Our school continues to benefit from the generosity of the Bennett Alumni Association, Inc. in countless ways during this challenging school year, including the following:

  • Purchasing headphones and microphones for all students to make it easier to communicate with their teachers in a remote setting.
  • Yard signs for students that earned Honor Roll and High Honor Roll status.
  • Gift cards for attendance incentives.
  • Instructional programs such as Kami and Nearpod to allow for seamless remote instruction.
  • National Honor Society membership and awards.

On behalf of our faculty, staff, and students, I would like to thank the Bennett Alumni Association for their continued support!

Optima Futura! The Best is Yet to Be

Article Headlines

  • From Our Principal’s Office
  • Alumni Honor Roll to Resume in 2021
  • News From Our President
  • What Your Bennett Alumni Association REALLY Does
  • Class Notes
  • The Legacy of the Class of 1960
  • A Zooming Class of 1961 Reunion
  • In Memoriam
  • Love Finds a Way with Two Bennett Graduates
  • Caveat Emptor… not every website that calls itself “Bennett Alumni” is a not-for-profit!
  • Mission Statement
  • The History of Bennett High School
  • rootedinblk is Sweeping Nation with Wonderful Planters
  • Phillip Dabney, Jr., Esq. Class of 1987 Appointed Buffalo City Court Judge
  • Remembering Donald Ogilvie 1945 – 2021, The Man Who Saved Bennett
  • Redesign Update! Preparing for the Return of Students Amid Covid