This is How We Crew It FSI Fundraising Campaign
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Good morning Franklin families,
We’ve made it to the last quarter of the year with just one week left till spring break. The year seems to accelerate from here on out as we stay very focused on the learning left in this school year while also shifting our attention forward to next year. It’s a busy productive time of the year!
Thank you to everyone who came out this past week to celebrate student learning and growth in our Student Led Conferences. A special thank you to everyone who joined us as panelists for the Senior Last Word. This Wednesday we flip the schedule, with 8th and 10th grade Passage Presentations. Students in all other grades (5, 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12) will have remote lessons on Wednesday while 8th and 10th grade students attend only for their scheduled passage time. We appreciate your flexibility and support for these important rites of passage for our students!
Tuesday also marks the end of Open Enrollment. It is the last day to apply to be included in the lottery for the 2026-2027 school year.
- If you plan to enroll a sibling for next year – make sure you have submitted an application! Siblings receive priority for enrollment in the lottery. Sibling applications submitted after March 31 do not qualify for priority enrollment.
- Help us with a final push to recruit new students! Applications must be submitted by midnight March 31 to be included in the lottery.
This Wednesday at 6:30 pm we are excited to host a Multi-Lingual College and Career Night. Dr. Ramirez from College for North Carolina (CFNC) is the featured speaker, with representatives from local community partners and colleges will be on hand to share information about FAFSA, DACA, and scholarships. The event is open to the public and is especially useful for students and parents grades 8 – 12. Interpretation services are available for the event.
Join Us April 18!
On Saturday, April 18, Parent Crew and our Athletic Program are teaming up to offer a fun spring fair. There is something for everyone, from craft vendors, silent auction, food, music, and a pickleball tournament! More info is provided in the athletics and Parent Crew portions of the newsletter. This is a great way to get involved and support our school.
Call to Action
Keep up with the calls! We still need a budget! Governor Stein has released a Critical Needs Budget that prioritizes raises for state employees, higher raises for teachers, and continued funding for the state’s Medicaid program. All of these funding priorities are important to our school.
Phone calls are the best and easiest way to tell our elected officials what you want. Most of the time – you will just be leaving a voicemail message. If you get a live person on the phone, they don’t have time for complicated messages. Keep your call professional, kind, and brief. I’ve provided two short messages below. You can choose just the first message if you want!
- Pass Governor Stein’s Critical Needs. Our state is the ONLY state in the nation that has not passed a budget and it is hurting our children and our communities.
- My child attends a public school, like most other children in our state. Our state ranks 50th in public school funding. Our elected officials should be embarrassed to put our children dead last. Invest in their futures!
I’ve included the three most important people to call. Our local elected officials already consistently vote to support public education. You can call them to just say thank you and encourage them to keep up the good work! But these three calls are critical:
House Speaker Destin Hall
Phone: 919-733-3451
Email: Destin.Hall@ncleg.gov
Senate President: Phil Berger
Phone: (919) 733-5708
Email: Phil.Berger@ncleg.gov
Michael Lee, NC Senate Majority Leader
Phone: 919-715-2525
Email: Michael.Lee@ncleg.gov
As always, thank you for choosing Franklin and for partnering with us to prepare students for the futures they create. Our school is stronger with your participation.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, March 31
- 4:15 pm: MS Soccer vs New Classical @ FSI
- 4:30 pm: HS Girls Soccer @ Veritas
- 5:45 pm: HS Ultimate Frisbee vs Fern Leaf @ FSI
Wednesday, April 1
- 8th and 10th Grade Passages – Remote Learning Day for all other grades. Students in grades 8 and 10 will attend school only for their scheduled appointment.
- 6:30 – 8:00 pm: Multilingual College & Career Fair
Thursday, April 2
- 4:15 pm: MS Soccer vs Rainbow @ FSI
Mark Your Calendars
April 6 – 10: Spring Break! School will be closed all week
April 16: Next Blood Drive at FSI, 9:30 am to 2:30 pm.
- Register here: https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/295089
- Parent consent form (for donors aged 16 & 17): https://epcf.thebloodconnection.org/
April 18, 10 am – 3 pm: Spring Fair & Pickleball Tournament (pickleball is 11 am – 1 pm). You don’t want to miss this fun community event!
Keep up with all our school events!
FSI Community Calendar – add our events to your google calendar
2025-2026 Yearlong Calendar – updated
Bolts Athletics
HS girls soccer went 2-0-1 on the week. The Bolts tied with Hendersonville, 3-3 and defeated Veritas Christian Academy, 7-0 and earned a huge conference win vs Mount Pisgah, 5-1. Leading scorers for the week were E. Telford, E. Cruz-Macey and C. McBrayer. E. Telford recorded back to back hat tricks and M. Carter earned her first shutout!
Lots of Bolts action this week – join us Tuesday for back to back action on our field with MS soccer followed by Ultimate Frisbee!
Pickleball Tournament – Sat, April 18, 11 am – 1 pm
Adult & Student divisions, MS and HS. $25 per team. Register Now!
Bolts Summer Sports Camps
June 15-19 and June 22-26
Rising 5th-8th grades
9:00am-1:00pm
$125 per week
Featuring multiple sports, great coaches and amazing facilities.
Directed by Coach Burke and Coach Ron Scott
Register Here: Bolts Summer Sports Camps
Sponsorship Banners to Support Bolts Athletics
Do you have a business or know of a business that would be interested in purchasing a sponsorship package that supports the Athletics Program? It is great advertisement for a business as the business name and logo will be displayed on banners in the gym and/or field depending on what package is purchased.
Sponsorship Levels:
Thunder ($500)
1 Banner displayed in either the gym or field area (your choice)
Lightning ($800)
2 Banners. One banner displayed in the gym and one in the field area.
Bolt ($1,000)
Includes everything in the Lightning package plus logo displayed on printed materials (game programs and possibly team gear (practice and travel gear).
Banners are 72×24 inches and will be displayed for one full year with an opportunity to renew. Please contact Coach Burke (Athletic Director) for more information or questions. kburke@thefsi.us
Parent Crew
Can you dedicate three hours or more on Saturday, 04/18, to help raise funds for FSI? High School students are welcome to sign up and earn Service Hours! These funds support all the things we love about Franklin, including our amazing staff, fantastic arts programs, sports, county-wide transportation, and the lunch program.
If you can help the Parent Crew raise these essential funds during the 04/18 Spring Fair, please sign up here.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090848A5AA22ABFF2-62640459-spring
Next Parent Crew Meeting: Wednesday, April 15, 8:30 am. This will be a working meeting to finalize all preparation for the April 18 Spring Fair.
Spring Craft Fair: Call for Vendors!
The Parent Crew is organizing a spring craft fair and celebration to complement the upcoming pickleball tournament on April 18th, in collaboration with the FSI Athletics department. We would like to offer the opportunity to our enterprising kids and FSI family businesses to join this event and really make it a fun celebration of our community. This opportunity is being released first to our families before we open it to the wider community. There will be live music, food, inflatables and more, but this isn’t the official announcement! If you or your student are interested in a booth space to sell your crafts, artwork, wares or other self-made products please fill out this form – Spring 2026 Craft Fair & Festival FSI Community Vendor Interest Form
Spring Fair – Call for Musicians!
Calling all musicians! We are also seeking performers for the Spring Fair. Open to students, family members and community members: https://forms.gle/yDwjsRvZeJwRBH7j8
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
You can find our menus online: https://www.franklinschoolofinnovation.org/parents/nutrition/
Bolts Summer Sports Camps
We are excited to announce our summer sports camps! Featuring multi-sports training with amazing facilities and coaches. Learn and experience a variety of sports and have fun! Directed by Coach Burke and Coach Ron Scott
5th-8th grades
- June 15-19 and/or June 22-26
- 9:00am-1:00pm
- $125 per week
Email for more information:
Register Here: Bolts Summer Sports Camps
Volunteers needed to help proctor AP exams
We are in need of community members to help with proctoring AP exams. AP Exam Proctor Community Volunteer Have questions? Contact Chelsea Curtis at ccurtis@thefsi.us
Summer Driver Education Class
We are pleased to announce that we will host a summer driver education class at FSI. The class is provided by an instructor from Mountain Professionals Driving School. Our role is to provide the space and to share the information with our families.
The class is scheduled for the following days: July 9 and July 13-17, 9-3 pm The class is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The following are requirements and rules from Mountain Professionals. There are no exceptions:
- Students must attend all 5 days for the full time (9 – 3 pm)
- Students must be aged 14 1/2 (and under age 18) to attend
- There are no refunds once you have registered – no exceptions for vacations or illness or change of plans
- This is the education portion of the class. Students will schedule the driving portion with Mountain Professionals after they have passed this portion of the class
Register here: https://www.mtnpro.com/fsiform.
FSI Junior/Senior Prom 2026: May 2, 7 – 10 pm
Step into the mystery of Midnight Masquerade and celebrate a magical evening of music, dancing, and unforgettable memories. Enjoy refreshments, snacks, and fun times with friends. Prom is Saturday, May 2nd from 7-10pm at The Venue in downtown Asheville. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased in person and online starting March 27th. Use this link to purchase tickets online. After April 26 tickets are $45 and available only in person. Tickets will be available at the door on prom night for $45. To invite a non-FSI guest you need to complete this form and return to Ms Gretchen before April 27th. Questions? Contact gkehrberg@thefsi.us.
Student Summer Volunteer Opportunities
We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym has volunteer opportunities for middle and high school students.
- Middle school: Junior Counselors in Training will work in teams to build life skills while having fun! These skills will prepare them to become counselors in recreation programs with leadership skills and sensitivity to children.
- Highschool: Second Recess is our elementary school aged children who join us for summer camp and afterschool. Ms Annette McDonald is a licensed and experienced teacher and director of the program. Counselors in training will learn leadership and team building skills while working with kids of all abilities, and help with cool art and science projects.
See attached flyers for more information.
Middle School Student Council Meeting Wed, April 15
All middle school students are invited to join us Wednesday, April 15 from dismissal till 1:45.
- Finalize our plans for our Fundraising Booth at the April 18 Spring Fair
- Make Slime to sell on April 18!
- Continue planning our Student Council Lock In (coming later this spring)
Reminders
School Improvement Team Volunteers
We are re-organizing our School Improvement Team to meet a new state requirement. The School Improvement Team will meet monthly on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, from 5:00 – 5:45 pm, right before our scheduled Board of Directors meetings. We are seeking a few members to join the team and serve through the 2026-2027 school year.
Our first meeting will be Tuesday, April 14 at 5 pm. Please email mvruwink@thefsi.us directly if you are interested in serving.
Substitute Teachers Needed!
As we enter Quarter 4, we have a true need for substitute teachers. Many of our teachers are entitled to days off but are reluctant to take them if they don’t have good coverage lined up! Substitute teachers are increasingly difficult to find. Across the state, schools are filling temporary positions or vacancies with people who used to serve as substitutes. You do not need a teaching certificate. You do need a love for students and a flexible open mindset! Cover letter and resume to jobs@thefsi.us
We are posting positions 2026-2027 school year on our website. If you know an excellent teacher who would be a good fit for our school, let us know! We will reach out and invite them to apply if we have a position available.
FSI Business Directory – submit your business to be included
We are compiling a directory of our family owned businesses. If you would like to be included in the directory, submit your business information here. The directory will be available on our website and in the newsletter. Let’s keep it local!
Free Resources for Resilience Community Events
Passing this along from our friends at Resources for Resilience!
Resources For Resilience is an Asheville-based nonprofit sharing practical tools and educational trainings to help individuals and teams manage stress and prevent burnout in themselves and others. They are currently offering FREE programming for WNC residents and professionals, now through June. Many of our offerings also include CEU professional credit through Area L AHEC! Space is limited for these no-cost opportunities, so interested participants are encouraged to register early to secure their spot. Learn more here: https://conta.cc/3NBqYiU
Order Your Yearbooks & Ads
The 2025-2026 Yearbooks are on sale! Purchase via this link
Parents/Guardians of Seniors and 8th Grade Students can purchase ads to be featured in the back of the yearbook – just click this link to create your ad!
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. Click here to access the guide: Who do I go to when…
