Dear Franklin families,
Yesterday I stepped out into my garden and found myself surrounded by a flock of monarch butterflies. It was a moment of simple magic. I hope everyone can find small moments of joy and hope in the middle of your busy lives! These tiny experiences give us surprising resilience if we accept them.
Tomorrow is a teacher work day. Teachers will begin planning Learning Expeditions, one of my favorite student experiences in EL Education schools. At their best, Learning Expeditions produce those “aha” moments in education that lead students to the joy of learning. Expeditions are complex. Each expedition must be based on learning standards, center on a “big idea”, incorporate field work, and end with high quality student work, ideally focused on a solution or service related to the expedition topic. They are a lot of work! Tomorrow is a small investment of time to support expeditions across our grade levels.
We’re also looking forward to hosting the Blue Ridge Athletic Conference (BRAC) high school volleyball tournament. We are proud founding members of BRAC, a conference within the Carolina Athletic Association of Schools of Choice. Joining a state athletic association provides our student athletes with the opportunity to compete at a higher level and ensures that our program meets high standards. Our athletic program offers many students the opportunity to practice our Habits of Scholarship of leadership, collaboration, and ethics outside the classroom. Plus – it’s fun! We’ve enjoyed the bigger crowds in our gym and on our field this year. Our volleyball team plays tomorrow. Cross country and soccer are in action this week as well. Come on out and support the Bolts!
A quick reminder: Early pick up of students ends at 2:45 pm. If you need to pick up your student early – you must arrive before or by 2:45 pm. After that you will need to wait for your student to be dismissed at the regular time. We understand the occasional need for an early dismissal but frequent early dismissals are disruptive to other students and overwhelm our front office.
Thank you for choosing Franklin and working with us to create a school where all students find joy in learning. It takes a whole community to build something special. We appreciate your participation!
Upcoming Events
Monday, Oct 6: Teacher Work Day – No School
- 5:00 pm: BRAC Volleyball Tournament @ FSI
Tuesday, Oct 7
- 4:30 pm: BRAC Volleyball Tournament @ FSI (2 games)
- 5:00 pm: HS Soccer vs ICI @ FSI
Wednesday, Oct 8
- 4:00 pm: MS Cross Country @ Christ School
Thursday, Oct 9
- 4:30 pm: HS Cross Country @ Reynolds High
- 5:00 pm: BRAC Volleyball final @ FSI
Saturday, Oct 10
- 1:00 – 3:00 pm: FSI Meetup at Eliada Corn Maze
Keep up with all our school events!
FSI Community Calendar – add our events to your google calendar
2025-2026 Yearlong Calendar – year at a glance
Bolts Athletics
Reminder! The admission fee for home athletic events is $5 for adults and $3 for students. When there are two home events, one admission covers both events.
Athletic updates are delayed this morning – we’ll add information to next week’s newsletter. Lots of Bolts action – come out and support our students!
Parent Crew
Parent Crew is your organization! It’s similar to a PTO or PTA, and it’s a great way to get involved, be engaged, and meet other FSI families. Fill out this form for more information and to get involved!
Apple Nacho Bar for our teachers is tomorrow, Oct 6!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090848A5AA22ABFF2-58791769-apple
“Tat the Teacher”
The Parent Crew has found a creative and fun way to raise funds, and we’re seeking your assistance! It’s called “Tat the Teacher”, and students will have the opportunity to choose and purchase small ($1), medium ($3), or large ($5) temporary tattoos for participating teachers or staff members to wear.
We will have a booth set up to sell the temporary tattoos before school and during lunch for a week before the culminating event on the final day of spirit week, 10/24, when staff will wear all the temporary tattoos purchased for them. This should be so much fun!
Please use the sign up genius below to sign up to help us sell tattoos during lunch and before school that week. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090848A5AA22ABFF2-58952819-tatthe
Join us at our upcoming meetings:
Parent Crew Meetings (open for everyone to join, we need your help!)
- Thursday, October 16th at 6pm, Virtual Meeting – Join here
- Thursday November 20th at 8:30am In-Person Meeting
Upcoming Events
Fall Community Meetup at the Corn Maze – Saturday, October 11th @ 1pm
Eliada hosts an awesome Fall Festival every year, and they were kind enough to extend our community a discount on tickets for $3 off of each ticket. Use the code “FSI” when purchasing the tickets! https://eliadacornmaze.mazeplay.com/
The Parent Crew will be facilitating this and will meet there at 1pm – so meet up at that time if you’d like to socialize but the tickets are good all day.
Dine Out @ Panda Express Tunnel Road, Sat, Nov 1: To participate, mention the fundraiser at checkout. If ordering online, use the code 3847643 in the fundraiser box. https://community.pandaexpress.com/fundraiser/events/promotions/a1bbc191-3f03-ef67-6bfa-7e9ff5b7e5cd/en/landing
Pulsera Project @ FSI
The Pulsera Project is a Fair Trade nonprofit organization that supports artisans & communities in Central America through the sale of their colorful hand-woven bracelets, or “pulseras,” in schools across the U.S.
Each pulsera costs only $5 and comes tagged with the photo & signature of the artisan who made it. On sale during HS lunch/brunch Oct 2 – 13.
We look forward to your support of these communities in Guatemala & Nicaragua as we lead our pulsera sale in the coming days!
College Corner
Students have a new way to apply to many North Carolina Institutions. NC College Connect is a program that provides a simpler and faster way to get admitted to college in North Carolina. The NC College Connect program offers North Carolina public high school students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 and above who meet NC College Connect requirements direct admission to select colleges and universities participating in the NC College Connect program. (Click on the link to learn more and see a complete list of participating institutions.)
FAFSA is open. Here are the details as shared in EdWeekly by EdNC:
The 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid form is now open. The application will be open until June 30, 2027, but colleges and states often award aid on a first-come, first-served basis. Completing the form makes current and prospective college students eligible for need-based financial aid, including federal Pell Grants, work-study programs, and student loans. Anticipated in July 2026, Pell Grants can also be used to cover tuition, fees, and other expenses for short-term workforce training programs. Many states, including North Carolina, also use the FAFSA to award state grants, and colleges use the FAFSA to award their own scholarships. In North Carolina, submitting the FAFSA is a prerequisite for receiving the Next NC Scholarship, which covers full tuition and fees for all North Carolina community colleges and more than half the cost for public universities for most families making $80,000 a year or less.
Here’s EdNC’s guide to completing the FAFSA form.
Thank You to our Sponsors!
A huge thank you to our community sponsors, who have helped us build this community over the years. We’d like to recognize four of those current sponsors, BrightStar Care, Jen Yuson Photography, Arroyo Research Services and Mountaineer Metals. We appreciate you! If you would like to become a sponsor, email Micah Usher, musher@thefsi.us for more information.
Reminders
Infinite Campus Parent Portal
This year all parents must be in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. With the State’s shift to this new student information system, there is action required by parents. The Parent Portal is where you can find information on student grades. Take time today to check it out!
If you have an Infinite Campus Parent Portal
Step 1:
- Open your internet browser and go to https://11d.ncsis.gov/parent
- Or download the Campus Parent app from the App store/google play.
Step 2:
- Enter your username and password
- Forgot login or username? Please copy and paste this link https://forms.gle/Ug3ZRcmktEH9Zfwk7 into your browser and complete the form in order to receive your username and a new temporary password. This is a NEW form. If you submitted a help request and have not received a response, please use this new form. Previous forms have been discontinued and are no longer being monitored.
If you do NOT have an Infinite Campus Parent Portal
Please copy and paste this link https://forms.gle/KKtMHfwEVMsQczzU6 and complete this form, so that we can create a portal for you. If you try to use the app, the link above, or if you click “new user”, you will be required to input an activation key, which we do not use when setting up accounts.
Free Online Drug Prevention & Education Workshops
Prevention Resources and Education for Caregivers: Do you feel ready to talk to your child about drugs, alcohol, and vaping? Do you know the warning signs that may indicate your child is experimenting with substances? What steps can you take now to help prevent risky behaviors in the future?
Join Caron’s Education Alliance for an informative workshop on current youth drug trends, including vaping, and learn effective communication strategies to talk with your child about substance use. They will also discuss key resiliency factors that help protect youth from elementary through middle and high school. Register today to gain valuable tools for supporting your child’s well-being! Feel free to listen in with cameras on or off. Presented by Caron’s Education Alliance – this is not offered by FSI or only for FSI families. We are passing along information about a free resource.
Register HERE for the session on Wednesday, September 24th at 6pm, or
Register HERE for the session on Wednesday, October 22nd at 6pm
Student Clubs
There are several different types of Student Clubs at FSI! It may be confusing but we’ll help you sort it all out.
Some student clubs meet during the school day. We’re making a big push in high school this year with the goal that 100% of our students will participate in a student-led club of their choice! These clubs will meet during school. There is no cost. Clubs have begun forming and will continue to meet on Wednesdays.
Other clubs meet after school. Most of these clubs have a fee which helps us pay adults to coordinate the clubs and provide supplies. Students sign up for these clubs through Beyond the Bell. Some of our afterschool clubs – such as Drama Club – are provided with no fee. Clubs are provided without a fee when they are an extension of our academic program. You can find more information about clubs on our website, or contact Ron Scott, rscott@thefsi.us.
Get Involved! Parent Crew, School Improvement, or Board Memberships
Charter schools offer great opportunities for parent/guardian involvement and engagement. In addition to participating in our Parent Crew, you can join our School Improvement Team or our Board of Directors. If serving on the Board feels like too much to take on – you can join a Board committee and learn more about what it takes to be an active Board member! We’re currently recruiting Board members. While we are always looking for people with some specific skills (lawyers, financial advisors, community leaders), we also need parents who bring different perspectives and are willing to engage and contribute! For more information, reach out to Board Chair Al Glicksberg, aglicksberg@thefsi.us.
TEDx Youth – You Can Do a TED Talk!
Would you like to do a TED talk? The theme for FSI’s TEDX Youth 2026 event is Time. This word can evoke many emotions through its association with both hope for the future and grief of the past. We invite speakers to explore the idea of change across time, and the lessons that come with those experiences. Similarly, they can look at the concept of time itself and how the ways that we use it have changed in recent years. If you’re interested, please contact tedxyouthfsi@gmail.com!
FSI is proud to sponsor the only student-led TEDX event in Asheville. Come see what student leadership looks like!
Traffic Reminders
All traffic on campus is one-way. There are no exceptions. Form two lines when you enter campus and stay in two lines to the school entrance. We’ll help you merge into one line to exit. Turn right at Sardis Road for safety and to keep the line moving. More information is available in our Family Orientation presentation
Do not park near the entrance and wait for your students to walk to your car. Follow the road to the pick up location (awning).
Thanks to everyone who followed the traffic expectations this week! The line went pretty smoothly and 99% of our families followed our requests. Let’s make it 100% this week!
Who Do I Go To When….
Whether you are new to FSI or returning, we know you have questions and want to help you find the best answers! This handy guide can help you connect. We do our best to respond to questions within 24 hours. We do not expect school staff to respond outside of school hours. It may take longer right now or when the email load is especially heavy. Click here to access the guide: Who do I go to when…
Free & Reduced Lunch
Did you know that Franklin participates in the federal school lunch program? We are so pleased to provide this service for our families. Our kitchen staff have been trying out some new recipes and treating us all this summer – we can vouch for the delicious meals! You can sign up here: Free and reduced lunch application
Beyond the Bell (BTB) Before & After School Program
Before School: 7:15 am-7:45 am: Mon-Fri
After School: 3:15 pm-6:00 pm: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, and 1:00-6:00 pm Wednesdays
This is a fee-based program. Financial aid is available for qualifying households, upon completion of application. More information is available on our website. https://www.franklinschoolofinnovation.org/parents/beyond-the-bell-btb/ Contact Ron Scott, rscott@thefsi.us, for more information.
Please note that afterschool clubs also run through Beyond the Bell.
