Good morning Franklin families, 

It’s a little hard to believe it is August already! I hope everyone is enjoying summer and finding time to relax and refresh. If you are new to Franklin this year, this is the first of your weekly newsletters. During the school year I send a newsletter every Sunday morning. If you skim it regularly, you’ll keep up with all the events and activities at school. The newsletter is posted to our website weekly where it can be translated and read in multiple languages. I hope you find this helpful! 

We’ve been busy here at school all summer but we have also been modeling self-care so we are ready to serve our students and staff when the school year begins!  We’re about at that point in summer where the summer work gets boring and we’re ready for everyone to return.  We have one more quiet week and then our new faculty will join us for Orientation. We are excited to have all our teaching positions filled with an exceptional group of educators – I look forward to getting to know them better and introducing them to our community. We are still looking for more substitute teachers, so please pass the word along if you know anyone interested in serving in that way. It’s hard but incredibly important work! We need a strong pool of substitutes so that teachers can take time off without worry. 

As we move into August people are starting to think more about school. If you have friends or family members who are considering a change for this school year, we have a few spaces open in 5th grade and 9th grade. With growing wait lists at our other grade levels, this is the time to get enrolled!  We’d love to serve as many students and families as possible and continue growing our school community. 

As you think about school I’m sure you are eager to know and see your students’ schedules. One of our biggest summer projects this year is the transition from PowerSchool to a new student information system, Infinite Campus. This is a statewide change and we are in the first round of schools going through the transition. It is a huge change! It means that we are currently a little behind on scheduling because we did not have access to either PowerSchool or Infinite Campus for June and most of July. But we are making rapid progress and schedules will be ready before school starts. There are some great new tools available in Infinite Campus and we think this will be a good change, but there is a lot to learn. Please be patient with us through this transition. It has been pretty disorienting to not have access to our student information for so much of the summer.

We are also hard at work on our application to the National School Lunch Program. While this also is a big change, it will provide much-needed funding to make our school nutrition program more sustainable. We’ll have more information coming soon on how to get registered in MySchoolBucks, apply for free or reduced lunch, and get funds in your students’ accounts so they can purchase breakfast and lunch here at school. 

Get your calendars out and keep reading for upcoming events and important dates! 

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Beginning of School Events

Thursday, Aug 15, 6:00 pm: Family Orientation (virtual): Join us on Zoom for important back-to-school information! We will review our school mission and values, schedules, drop-off and pick-up information, behavior expectations, bus schedules, lunch options, afterschool programs, and more. We are holding just one session this year. It will be recorded and we will post it for anyone who is unable to attend. 

Zoom link to join: FSI Family Orientation Passcode: https://zoom.us/j/94198706395?pwd=jI4JXqi2u9jKOMv7NxPtXHhUUfABk4.1

Thurs, August 22: Meet the Teachers! 

• Middle School: 3:30 – 5:00 pm

• High School: 5:00 – 6:30 pm 

Come visit classrooms and meet teachers! This is a casual event as our teachers will just be getting into their classrooms. We will also have information and a chance to meet staff members to learn more about Beyond the Bell, Bolts Athletics, Parent Crew, Bus Transportation, MySchoolBucks, and School Nutrition. You can pick up Welcome Packages during Meet the Teachers. If you are unable to attend, Welcome Packages will be available in the office any time during the week. 

Monday, August 26: First Day of School! 

Note that Wednesday, August 28 IS an early release day.  

Parent Crew

If you are new to Franklin, you might not know about Parent Crew! Parent Crew is our parent organization and it is a great way to get involved and meet other families. Join  Parent Crew on the following dates:

• August 30 in person for coffee with the parent crew (time TBD)
• Sept. 19, 6:00 pm virtual meeting
• Sept. 22 fundraiser event at Mod Pizza
• Oct 17 at 8:30 am for an in person meeting at the school
• Oct 21 Breakfast for FSI staff on teacher workday

To join, or to be notified of upcoming parent crew events – https://bit.ly/24parentcrewform

Fall Sports Information – Get Your Physicals Now! 

I was definitely that parent rushing out to get physicals for my kids the day before practice started- save yourself the stress and schedule them now! Physical and Concussion forms are available on our website (same form for middle and high school) and are required before your student participates in practices. Coach Burke will be sending more information about fall sports soon- watch for her email! Go Bolts! 

Bus Rider & Carpool Information

It’s great to see action happening on the carpool page! No matter where you live, you’ll find FSI families nearby. You need to join the Franklin Carpool Facebook page. Find your carpool friends here: Franklin Carpool Facebook Page

You should have received the bus sign up information from Deeana Bennett, Director of Operations. You must complete the Bus Rider Form if you want your student on the bus – even if they rode the bus last year! Please click here to fill out the Bus Registration Form. We will review registrations and do our best to accommodate all requests.  We have added about 40 spaces on our buses this year with the purchase of 3 larger buses – but space is still limited. Priority will be given to students who live in lower wealth households and under-represented demographic groups. We will also consider family hardship in determining placements. Please note that last year there was a waiting list for the buses. After a couple of weeks we were able to accommodate all riders – but it takes a little while to work through the individual student schedules. 

School Lunch Options

We offer a daily cold breakfast and hot lunch for students. Students can apply for free or reduced lunch, or opt into our paid meal program. There will be some changes to our program as we get ready to join the National School Lunch Program, but our program will still emphasize student choice as a way to limit food waste and we will keep many of the student favorites.  Examples of lunch choices could include: 

• Sandwiches
• Mac & Cheese
• Pastas
• Bean & Cheese Burritos
• Burgers (beef and vegetarian)
• French Toast or breakfast biscuits as a Wednesday “brunch” option

Families will purchase lunch items using the online payment platform, MySchoolBucks. You will be able to use the MySchoolBucks platform to pay for meals, Beyond the Bell, and athletic fees. 

Beyond the Bell Before and After School Program

Before and after school care and activities are provided through our Beyond the Bell program. Ron Scott is returning as Director of Afterschool Services and Damon Scott is returning as Afterschool Coordinator. Beyond the Bell will be offered from 7:15 – 7:45 am and after school until 6 pm daily, Monday through Friday. Families will register and pay through MySchoolBucks online payment platform. 

Important change for this school year: All students who are at school after dismissal will be placed in Beyond the Bell. This includes students staying for afterschool clubs. Students will register and sign in to Beyond the Bell. Club sponsors will pick students up from Beyond the Bell and return them to Beyond the Bell when the club is finished. The daily BtB fee will apply for afterschool clubs. This does not include athletics or rehearsals for music or theater, but it does apply to all after school clubs. 

This change is important to improve student safety. Last year we found many students were staying at school for late pickup, but they were not checking into our programs. This creates a real safety risk for students! Program fees will also allow us to provide stipends for club sponsors, honoring the time and talents of our staff. 

Summer Reading Suggestions, Supply Lists, and Welcome Letters

There is something undeniably appealing about new pencils and fresh notebooks. You will find grade-specific Supply Lists, Summer Reading Suggestions, and Welcome Letters posted on our website under the “Students” tab. Check them out here! Supply Lists & Summer Reading

That’s it for today! Thanks for taking the time to read all the way through. Informed and engaged families are key to student success! 

With appreciation,

Michelle Vruwink, Executive Director