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Donate to FSI Hurricane Recovery Fund
Good morning Franklin families,
Welcome spring! In a really long year the warming weather, longer days, and the colors returning to our beautiful mountains are much-needed. The tiny early spring ephemerals are welcome reminders that our mountains will recover and though it will take time, we can also recover.
A quick note – you all have a lot of feelings about the newsletter! In an effort to provide the newsletter in everyone’s favorite format, I will continue sending the text in the email, attaching a PDF version in case the formatting gets messed up, or you can also read it any time on our website – where it can be translated into a variety of languages. I’m glad people stay engaged and connected through the newsletter.
This Wednesday is Spring Student Led Conference Day, and next Wednesday our 8th and 10th graders will present their Passages. Especially in this disrupted year, we know that these days without classes present yet another challenge. We believe that these parts of our EL Education model are worth the disruption. Learning to reflect on our goals, strengths, and areas for growth is hard. Building in time to practice these skills is essential. Thank you for helping us keep these practices at the center of our school. We look forward to seeing many of you on campus for these important rites of passage for our students!
Just as a reminder:
- Wednesday, March 26 is Student Led Conference (SLC) day. There are no classes on March 26. Students in all grades except 8 and 10 will attend school only for their scheduled SLC. Seniors will participate in Senior Presentations on the 26th. Students in grades 8 and 10 will have a remote learning day.
- Wednesday, April 2: 8th and 10th Grade Passages Day. There are no classes this day. Students in grades 8 and 10 will attend school at their scheduled Passage time. All other grades will have a remote learning day.
Summer Learning Recovery Program for Middle School Students
Last week we shared information about our Summer Camps. And this week we learned that schools will receive a small amount of funding to operate Summer Learning Recovery programs for students in grades 4 – 8. We are currently working to learn more about this program, including finding out how many students would participate. I sent a survey to middle school parents on Friday. If you would like your student to attend, please complete this survey by Friday, March 28. Summer Learning Recovery Program Survey. The program will be free and we will provide transportation and lunch.
Remember – Open Enrollment ends March 31 for new students, including siblings. If you know great kids and great families – invite them to check us out! We are still growing! Help us reach our growth goals and keep FSI thriving and moving forward. Families can check out our website or email Micah Usher, musher@thefsi.us., to schedule a tour or join an Information Session.
Keep up those calls! It is budget time in North Carolina. Did you know that North Carolina is 48th in school funding and 49th in funding effort? That means that we can afford to do better! We can’t have great public schools with minimal public funding – it just doesn’t work. Let our elected leaders know that North Carolina deserves great public schools and our teachers deserve living wages! Take Action! Education Call List. Let’s call our representatives in Washington as well and tell them to support the Federal Department of Education. Cuts to federal funding will have an impact on every public school – including FSI!
Thank you all for choosing Franklin and for your continued support through a challenging year. We are stronger together.
Upcoming Events
Tues, Mar 25
- 4:00 pm: MS Soccer vs Francine Delaney @ BCSP
- 4:00 pm: HS Girls Soccer at Asheville School
Wed, Mar 26:
- Student Led Conference – NO CLASSES!
Thurs, Mar 27
- 6:00 pm: Parent Crew meeting, in person at FSI. Come meet Ron Scott, Director of Afterschool Programs at FSI!
Coming Up
- Fri, April 1: TEDX Youth @ NC Stage: Tickets at the door
- Wed, April 2: 8th & 10th Grade Passages – Remote Day for all other grades
- Thurs, April 3: Blood Drive @ FSI
- Sat, April 5: Mini Model UN @ FSI for high school students
Calendar Change: Thursday, June 5 – Weather Make Up Day
Thursday, June 5 is a weather make up day. Wed, June 4 will be a full day (no early release) and June 5 will now be our last day of school and an early release day.
Keep up with our Community Calendar: FSI Community Calendar
Need to see the year at a glance? FSI 2024-25 Academic Calendar
Athletics Update
HS Girls Soccer battled to a 1-1 draw vs Trailblazers. Bolts took a 1-0 lead into halftime after a goal by E. Cruz-Macey. Trailblazers answered early in the second half to tie the score at 1-1. The teams would stay even for the rest of the way after some amazing saves by Bolts goalkeeper, V. Cypress. The team returns to action on Tuesday at Asheville School at 4:00pm. Middle school soccer kicks of its season on Tuesday vs. Francine Delaney at BCSP.
Join us for our 1st Annual Pickleball Tournament on Saturday, April 26th! See more information below in the newsletter and register today!
Go Bolts!
Parent Crew
Grade Level Baskets
Parent Crew is collecting new item donations and gift cards for themed grade-level baskets. A drawing will be held for these baskets on Monday, April 28, tickets for the drawing will be available for a $5 donation in early April.
- 5th/12th- Foodie Basket- Cards to restaurants or stores, jams, jellies, snacks, candies, drinks, cooking items anything a foodie would love.
- 6th/11th-828 Basket-local restaurant and store gift cards, items from the area, items that represent Asheville, anything 828.
- 7th/10th Outdoor basket- Gift Cards, gardening supplies, outdoor, sports, outdoors, hiking, anything related to outdoor activities
- 8th/9th Art Lover-art supplies, gift cards, adult coloring books, beads, paintings, jewelry, art, and anything related to art.
If you have an item to donate that doesn’t fit your grade level theme, and would go better with another basket, please send it in any way. We will find a space for it in another basket! Please bring the items to the school front desk by Wednesday 04/02 clearly labeled with the grade level, theme, your name, and contact information. We appreciate all of your generosity, help, and support!
Parent Crew is hosting a parent coffee social at the school on April 3 at 8:30AM in room 261. This is a great time to get to know fellow Franklin Families. Meet other parents, hang for a bit, have a coffee and a little nosh for a great start to the day! Please join us, everyone is welcome. To help us plan for supplies needed, let us know if you plan to attend here: Parent Coffee Social Attendance. It is not required to RSVP, you can just drop in the day of!
Mark your calendars for upcoming Parent Crew meetings!
- Thursday, Apr 24: 8:30 am school-more details about place closer to date
- Thursday, May 29: 6 pm online- check the school calendar for Google Meet details
College Corner – Virtual College Fair Today, 1 – 6 pm!
High school families – check this out today! NACAC Virtual College Fair happening on Sunday, Mar. 23 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The virtual fair provides a wonderful chance to connect with hundreds of colleges and universities, all from the comfort of your home. Plus, it is 100 percent free! This is a terrific opportunity to get students excited about postsecondary opportunities. There is a great fit college for just about everyone!
Author Robert Beatty (Serafina & the Black Cloak) Coming to Pack Square
Robert Beatty, the author of Serafina and the Black Cloak, is coming to Pack Memorial Library on Saturday, May 10 at 2pm. He plans to share about his latest book, Sylvia Doe and the 100 Year Flood, and talk about the filming of his book trailer. Malaprops will have books for folks to purchase at the event and there will be a signing afterward. This program is targeted toward tweens and their families, but of course all ages are welcome. What a fun opportunity to meet an author of a book many of our students have read! And if your student hasn’t read it – maybe this is a fun way to encourage them to read.
Reminders – So Many Great Things Happening!
Really Cool Student Led Events
As an EL Education school, FSI promotes student leadership in school and beyond. These upcoming events are great opportunities that are unique to our high school. You can’t get these experiences in any other local school!
- April 1st, FSI students will host the only TedX Youth event in Asheville. Mark your calendars for this great event! April 1, 6 pm at NC Stage, tickets at the door. High school students – if you need volunteer hours, please reach out to hazelwells@thefsi.us or lilakneile@thefsi.us to help out with the TedXYouth event.
- Saturday, April 5, 1st ever Model UN Conference at FSI. This fun event, led by students with the support of high school teacher Matt Reynolds, will be an in-house Model UN mini conference. Our goal is to host this conference for our students in preparation for hosting a local conference next year.
Pickleball Tournament and Spring Fair
Get ready to serve, volley and smash your way to victory in our FIRST annual pickleball tournament Saturday, April 26th from 11am ~ 1pm! There will be middle school, high school, adult and staff divisions, and we’ll try to match teams up by skill level, so everyone can play! Teams are made up of two people and registration is $20/team – so get out of the “kitchen”, grab your partner and register your team today!
Student Division – MS Division (5th-8th grades) and HS Division (9th-12th grades)
Adult Division – 18 and Up
Staff Division – For FSI Staff
Registrations need to be submitted by Friday, April 25th so that we can construct the brackets for each division. There will be no on site team registrations. The only surefire way to “bagel” at this tournament is to not register ahead of time.
The Parent Crew is organizing a spring fair the same date as the pickleball tournament to help raise funds for staff appreciation. There will be a fair with craft and market vendors made up of FSI students, parents and staff in the community room and courtyard, along with activities like face painting, temporary tattoos, carnival style games to play, basket raffles and possibly some music (tbd). This event is for the entire FSI community, to help support their community. Come, check out the crafts and some FSI family-owned businesses, have fun with the games and activities, or watch some pickleball! If you’re here for the tournament and you have some time between rounds, go explore. This will be a super fun day with a lot to do. Bring on the spring!
Have questions about pickleball? Contact Coach Burke at kburke@thefsi.us
Have questions about the fair? Contact Micah Usher at musher@thefsi.us
Next FSI Blood Drive – April 3!
Our first Blood Drive of the year was a great success. Our next drive is coming up and donors who gave last time are eligible to give again. We’d love to see some new faces as well! This is a terrific way to provide a much needed resource for the community AND help FSI raise funds for a Habitat for Humanity student home build. Appointments are encouraged!
Register for an appointment here:
https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/281491
If you are the ages of 16 or 17 and you would like to donate, have your parent or guardian fill out this consent form. https://thebloodconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/i011-NC_16-17Year_Old_Consent.pdf
FREE! Outward Bound Expeditions for FSI HS Students
We are excited to continue a partnership with North Carolina Outward Bound, and even more excited to announce that FSI high school students (aged 14 – 18) may be eligible for scholarships to participate in life-changing Outward Bound expeditions. You can learn more about the program here: https://www.ncobs.org/expeditions/classic-high/
These scholarships are available because FSI is an EL Education high school. Learn more: See Jessica Potter-Bowers, MK Hyche, or JaneAnne Tager for a flyer and get help with your application.
DV Awareness Workshop: April 24 @ FSI
We are excited to host an important workshop in collaboration with Our VOICE and Verbal Purple! Our VOICE Inc. is a non-profit crisis intervention and prevention agency that has been serving survivors of sexual violence, ages 13 through adult, in Buncombe County for over 45 years. Our VOICE also works to provide primary prevention education to stop sexual violence before it occurs.
In collaboration with Verbal Purple and Our VOICE, we will be facilitating SAFE, an Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention Education Workshop, informed by existing scientific evidence, that teaches on sex trafficking risk factors, recruitment dynamics, warning signs, healthy and abusive relationships, and strategies for seeking and providing help for youth.
The SAFE Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention Education Workshop includes sensitive content related to human trafficking and we understand this material may be distressing for some individuals. We also understand these conversations can bring up a wide variety of feelings and reactions, so reach out to Our VOICE if you need support or have concerns about the content.
Our VOICE website: Home – Our VOICE (ourvoicenc.org)
Crisis line: CRISIS LINE: (828) 255-7576
This workshop is intended for anyone in 6th grade through 12th grade and their parents. It is also available to the wider community, if you have friends that would like to join.
Join us on Thursday, April 24th at 6pm at the Franklin School of Innovation!
Please help us estimate attendance by filling out this short form
This form is optional but helps us prepare for how many people to expect!
Apply for Free/Reduced Lunch
FSI is now participating in the Federal School Lunch Program. Families must apply for the program every year. We will help you with your applications! Click to APPLY HERE!
If you need help, call the school office (318-8140), stop by the front desk for paper applications, or email Tammey Harper, tharper@thefsi.us for help.
Did you know: Now that our school is part of the National School Lunch Program, students with approved applications for free or reduced lunch may also be eligible for summer “Sun Bucks” program, offering $120 per student for summer food purchases? You can learn more here: https://www.ncdhhs.gov/sunbucks
Car Line Reminders
It seems that it is time for a reminder to be good citizens in the car line. No one loves the car line – we get it. But if we all follow the rules and work together, the line moves pretty quickly and we keep students and staff safe! Here are a few reminders:
- All traffic is one way during arrival and dismissal. There are NO exceptions. It simply isn’t safe.
- Students are to be picked up by the building – not in the driveway and especially not by the road.
- Turn right at Sardis Road.
- Watch your speed
Thank you to everyone who regularly follows these expectations!
Drivers Education – Summer Opportunity
Franklin will host a summer Driver’s Ed program July 14 – 18 from 9 am – 3 pm. Please note that we do not provide Driver’s Ed directly – all Driver’s Ed in WNC is provided by Mountain Pro. We are just the hosts. Registration is available at https://www.mtnpro.com/school-classes
Please see the attendance policy below. Again – this is not Franklin’s policy and we cannot intervene or advocate for any changes to the policy. You may want to wait until closer to the date of class to register to avoid any conflicts. Registrations are not transferable or refundable.
Attendance Policy: Students must pay a $65 fee for the classroom phase of Driver Education on or before the first day of their selected class. There will be no refunds if a student does not attend, drops out or fails The State mandates students attend 30 hours in entirety to receive credit. Voluntary medical or dental appointments and school-related activities such as tryouts, sports, field trips, concerts, etc. are not excused absences. Five Day Classes (Holiday Classes, etc.) and Summer classes: There are no makeup days for these classes. Students absent from one (1) of these classes will be listed as a Fail, and if allowed, will have to register and pay to attend another class in its entirety.
Donate Used, Broken, or Unwanted Electronics!
The Franklin School of Innovation Electronics Repair Club is accepting donations of used, broken, or unwanted electronics. Anything from small smart watches up to larger laptops (including PC, mac/apple and android devices). No printers, desktops, or monitors, please… we don’t have the space for them!
Please include the power supply(s), password(s) (if one or more things haven’t been reset) and what is believed to be wrong with the device via a bundled note. Label the donation “for ERC” and bring it to the front office. If we can’t find a second life for your donated item we will make sure personal data is securely wiped and that it is brought to an upcoming local e-waste collection event.
We may be able to repair items! If you are interested in a quote for repair, please include that in your note along with your contact information.
Yearbook Sales
Our yearbook class is busy capturing fantastic memories of this year! Get yours here.
MANNA Packs for Kids
MANNA Packs for Kids is a take-home food program that provides a weekly bag of food to students. Bags will contain items such as proteins, fruits, vegetables, snacks and/or breakfast items.The “MANNA Packs for Kids” program’s mission is to serve those families with children who are experiencing economic difficulty and could use assistance in providing food when school meals are not an option. To join the program, please fill out the Manna Packs google form here.
After School Clubs
We have updated our Club listing, which is also posted on our website. Many clubs are starting or resuming this week! You can check the listing and see which clubs are in session: 2024 FSI Clubs. Please remember that students need to sign in to Beyond the Bell for after school clubs.
