Join our Annual Fund Drive on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28th
Give to our Annual Fund Today!
Good morning Franklin families,
It’s just two days till Giving Tuesday! If your social media looks anything like mine, you’ve been bombarded with ads for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday – all with the message that buying stuff will make your life better. Giving Tuesday promotes a radically different idea. We can make our lives better by investing in our communities.
Our goal for Giving Tuesday is to raise $45,000. All funds raised directly support our school – keeping our buses on the road, providing meals for students, supporting our arts programming, funding scholarships so all students can participate in field work and adventure trips, and keeping our athletics program afloat. These are critical parts of our school program that are not funded with public dollars! Share the link with family, friends, and maybe even your boss – remind them that strong schools are the building blocks of strong communities!
Click here to give: Growing Together 2023 Annual Fund
Click here to learn what students love about FSI: What Makes FSI Great?
We have some fun incentives to celebrate our success on Giving Tuesday. Join us live on Facebook every hour on the hour, from 8 am – 6 pm, for live updates and to shine a spotlight on each of our grade levels:
- Executive Director for the Day! If we meet our goals for $15k, $35k and $45k – three students will have the opportunity to run the school for a day.
- Dye Mr. Tromba’s hair if we meet our $45k goal!
- Join us at noon for a Lightning Donation Round – our sponsor Arroyo Research Services will donate an additional $100 for every free throw made by our basketball team. They’ll take a shot for every donation that comes in!
This week I want to showcase some of the excellent teaching taking place at Franklin. One of our big goals for our next decade as a school is to be recognized as a center for excellence in teaching and learning. We’re really proud to share how this recognition is taking hold!
Five of our teachers have recently been accepted as presenters for regional and national conferences. Let’s celebrate their accomplishments! In October, 5th grade EC Teacher Brittany Davenport presented at the North Carolina Exceptional Children Annual Conference. Her presentation highlighted her work in providing effective and engaging math interventions to help all students become mathematicians. High school EC Teacher Paul Szumski was also recognized as the EC Teacher of Excellence for the western region. Go EC team!
This coming week, 9th grade teachers Dr. Lora Hawkins and Jessica Bragdon travel to Denver for the EL Education National Conference. They were accepted to present on the 9th grade Learning Expedition. Last year the 9th grade team redesigned the Learning Expedition to focus on ways students could learn to find joy and well-being in their lives. Learning Expeditions are a big part of every EL Education school. We’re proud to have our expedition highlighted for other schools! Our principals, Tony Freeman and Peter Tromba, will be attending to learn more about EL Education and how we can continue to grow as an EL school.
Finally in February 5th grade science teacher Jennifer Ryan and middle school EC teacher Meaghann Denkenberger will present at the WCU Equity in Education Summit, “Reclaiming Joy in Our Schools”. Their presentation is based on their collaboration this year to provide a fully inclusive science classroom. Their belief, which fits beautifully in our mission as a school, is that a fully inclusive classroom elevates learning for all students and creates a culture of collaboration and empathy.
We are thankful and proud to be home to such stellar educators! If you see any of these excellent teachers in the coming weeks, take a minute to congratulate and thank them.
Last week I shared lessons on respect and kindness that families can use at home. I’m going to leave the lessons linked in our newsletter through the next few weeks and encourage you to take a few minutes to talk with your students about how they contribute to a culture of kindness in our school. It’s one of the most important ways you can support our teachers and our staff. Use these resources to help define what respect looks like in your home. Creating a culture of kindness starts with each of us!
Thank you for choosing Franklin and creating a great school together
Calendar Events
Tues, Nov 28: Giving Tuesday!
- Join us on Facebook Live each hour (8 am – 6 pm) for updates & to celebrate our students and school!
- 6:00 pm: Parent Crew meeting in person
Thurs, Nov 30
- 5:00 pm: HS Basketball at Shining Rock
Keep up with all our events!
FSI Yearlong Academic Calendar
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram:
Holiday Assistance Program – Reply by Nov 26
Our Holiday Assistance Program is starting back up as we head into the winter season. This program is intended to support families at our school who may need help purchasing gifts for their children for the holidays and who have not accessed other local Holiday Assistance Programs (Eblen, Salvation Army, St. Nicholas Project, etc.). All information in this form will go directly to Jennifer Negron (Middle School Counselor) or Mary Kinsey Hyche (High School Counselor) and will be kept confidential. Once we receive your form we will follow up with an email to collect/provide more information.
Please respond by Sunday, November 26th if you wish to participate.
Parent Crew News
The next Parent Crew meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 28 from 6:00 pm-7:00 pm at The Franklin School of Innovation. We would like to invite you to attend and help us support FSI. Note that Nov 28 is Giving Tuesday! Stay tuned to learn more about how you can support Franklin on our annual day of giving.
Middle School Student Council Food Drive – Nov 14 – 28
The middle school student council will be hosting a food drive through the MANNA Foodbank. The food drive will begin on 11/14 and conclude on Giving Tuesday, 11/28 at 9am. Food will be collected during the CREW period. The CREW with the most items will be awarded a pizza party! Examples of suggested food items are: olive oil, nuts, whole wheat pasta, rice, whole grain cereal, low sodium canned vegetables, canned fruits, dried fruits and natural nut butters. Any questions, contact Nurse Courtney! ckozloski@thefsi.us.
Reminders
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.
Buy Your Yearbook Today!
Our Yearbook Class is hard at work designing our school yearbook! Order yours now for the best prices:
Current sale: $50 until Nov. 10
Next Sale: $55 from Nov. 11- Jan. 26th
Final Sale: $60 from Jan. 27-May 26th
And here is the link:
Pizza Days
Our pizza sales have changed this year. Pizza Fridays are a fundraiser for our athletic program. Due to scheduling issues, pizza sales are only on “B” days (based on the high school schedule). For the rest of this calendar year – we will have Pizza Fridays on the following dates:
- Dec 1
- Dec 15
Student Clubs – Get Involved!
Clubs open to all grades
New! Middle School Student Council!
All are welcome to join the general assembly of the student council. Your council will be led by the executive board to plan activities, fundraisers, and fun events for FSI. We will focus on leadership, community, and inclusivity. Meetings will be announced in our monthly newsletter on Thursday’s.
Faculty Advisor: Nurse Courtne, ckozloski@thefsi.us
Meets: Thursdays as announced in the newsletter
New! Skate Club: Come meet other skaters, learn new tricks, and share your love of this growing sport! Thursdays, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, in room 161. Students must bring their own skateboards. Helmets and shoes are required, other safety gear is encouraged.
Faculty advisors: Mr. Abbot and Mr. Stahlke.
Skate Club meets: Thursdays, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, room 161
Math Club – A great opportunity for students to explore the beauty and application of Math outside their classrooms. Math is a subject full of creativity and opportunity that many students enjoy. Besides the academic benefits, math club is also a great way to meet new people and develop teamwork skills–not to mention, our snack pantries are always full. Students also get the opportunity to participate in local, regional, and national math competitions.
Faculty Advisor: Teshale Byan – tbyan@thefsi.us
Math Club meets: Tuesdays from 3:30 – 5:00 PM room #224.
Outdoor Club – The outdoor club learns and practices outdoor skills for camping, hiking, fishing and exploring. We meet after school to plan trips and practice skills, and head out about one weekend a month for adventures.
Faculty Advisors: JP Bowers, Donnie Stahlke – jpotter-bowers@thefsi.us , Dstahlke@thefsi.us
Outdoor Club meets: Tuesdays from 3:45 – 4:45 PM, Adventure Ed – room 272 Started 8/29
Science Olympiad – Do you geek out on all things science? Are you a competitive person who wants a medal hanging around your neck to prove science prowess? This is a science competition against other area schools, with a potential to move on to state and national levels! We are still looking for more team members! It’s not too late to join.
Faculty Advisor: Jessica Bragdon, jbragdon@thefsi.us if you have any questions.
Meeting Information: Room 272 afterschool every Friday until 4:15.
Girls Who Code – Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. We work on personal coding projects and learn skills together.
Faculty Advisors: Jessica Fine and Brittany Davenport, jfine@thefsi.us, bdavenport@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Every other Monday in room 163 3:15 – 4:15 pm Starts 9/11
Mountain Biking – Grades 6 -12 – Members learn mountain biking skills and gain community among others who also enjoy this sport! Contact the advisor for more information.
Advisor: Bevin McGahey, bevinmcgahey@gmail.com
Meeting Information: Practices start in November and compete mostly in the spring.
Chess Club – All levels and grades are welcome! Looking for a great way to strengthen your focus and elevate your creativity? Join the Chess Club! We meet once a week to learn the finer points of the game, and to practice strategy and concentration. Club members have the opportunity to participate in a variety of local tournaments. Cost for this club is $50 a semester.
Advisor: Bruce Roth, brucerothchess@gmail.com
Meeting Information: We meet Tuesdays 4:00- 5:00 pm Starts Sept 12th
Film Club – This allows students to grow confidence in their ideas while facing an audience, feeling comfortable in their own skin and to showcase art without fear of backlash or bigotry.
Student Advisor: Michaela Mamone-Peeples michaelamamone-peeples@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Held in Ms. Julia Adam’s room every other Thursday 345 – 445 pm starting 8/31
Middle School Clubs
New! Majorette Dance Club – Do you like to dance? Want to learn more about Majorette Dance? This is an informal student club that will meet during 6th grade recess on Fridays, beginning October 6. We’ll meet in Room 163.
Faculty Advisors: Michelle Vruwink, mvruwink@thefsi.us and nurse Courtney Kozloski.
Meeting information: Fridays during 6th grade recess, Room 163
MS Creative Writing Club – Are you a fan of writing, reading and sharing books you love with others? Then the MS Creative Writing Club is the place for you! Students are challenged weekly with new ideas to help enhance and support their love of writing. Using prompts, journalling and group collaboration, students will have the opportunity to write for poetry and prose competitions, individual work or collaborative pieces for classes. Bring your journal and join the fun! KOTLC fans will find that there are often discussions about the awesomeness of Shannon Messenger’s book series during club time!
Faculty Advisor: Ashley O’Dell, aodell@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Starts September 8th – Meets alternating Mondays and Fridays
MS Drama Club – Are you interested in theatre? Do you love to act? Do you want a way to get to know other students while having a lot of fun with drama? Well, Drama Club may be the club for you!
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Lexa, elexa@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Starts Sept 19th – Oct. 24th Meets Tuesdays 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance (MS GSA) (gender and sexuality alliance) –
We welcome everyone and work to empower LGBTQ+ lives.
Faculty Advisors: Ms. Wallace and Riddle at zwallace@thefsi.us or rriddle@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Middle School GSA begins meeting Wednesday 8/30 during lunch room 142 – Meets Wednesdays 11:15-11:55 room 142
Robotics Team – The robotics team is for students in grades 5-8. Students will compete in a competition to showcase their robotics and problem solving skills.
Faculty Advisor: Brittany Davenport, bdavenport@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Thursdays 3:20-4:30 in room 163 (Interest meeting Thursday, 8/31 at 3:25 – 4:15 pm)
High School Clubs
New! Banned Books Club: Open to all high schoolers and staff – the club will meet Wednesdays at 1:05 in Dr. Hawkins room. Come discuss your favorite banned books!
TEDxYouth @FSI – TEDxYouth is an opportunity for students to truly be leaders in their own learning. From selecting the theme to finding speakers and running the actual event, this is a youth-led event through and through.
Faculty Advisor: Lora Hawkins, lhawkins@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Meets monthly until January, and then we meet weekly (or a bit more often) until the conference in March. Room 269. Starts end of Q1, auditions in November
High School Genders and Sexualities Alliances (HS GSA) – This student-run club, supported by faculty members, meets weekly. The club’s purpose is to provide a safe space for students to discuss LGBTQ+ issues, both personally and within the larger societal context. In addition, students will have a space to educate and advocate to their wider community.
Faculty Advisor: Mary Kinsey Hyche at mkhyche@thefsi.us
High School Drama Club (High Boltage Theatre) – In this club we work on a theatre production! You will either be either on stage or backstage, and it is such a unique opportunity to be creative, build strong friendships, and develop new skills all while having big fun. This year, we plan to perform our fall and spring plays in the theatre at Warren Wilson. We’ll get to be on a real stage and work with some college theatre tech students! In addition to the two full length productions, we are plotting a couple of other fun projects/activities. You don’t need experience to get involved!
Faculty Advisor: Julie Wharton, Jwharton@thefsi.us
HS Drama Club meets: meets two days a week during rehearsals – dates TBD by members – generally Mon, Tues, or Thurs from 3:45 – 6:45.
Habitat for Humanity Leadership – This club fundraises to support a Habitat for Humanity Student build. 5 area high schools sponsor and build a Habitat House every other year.
Faculty Advisor: Mary Smith, msmith@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Likely Room 226, Tuesdays at lunch starting in September
Arts Quarterly – The Arts Quarterly is open to high school students wanting to make a zine style publication that is published quarterly, all grade level work is considered. The Zine will feature upcoming events throughout the quarter and exceptional student art and writing work.
Faculty Advisor: Micah Usher, musher@thefsi.us
Meeting Information: Once a week for a month before each quarter or as needed, room 144
Who do I go to when….
Whether you are new or returning to Franklin, we know you will have questions, and we want to help you find the best person to answer them, quickly and efficiently. We hope this little guide will help you navigate! Click here to access the guide: Who do I go to when…
Teaching Teams
Need to contact a teacher? Find them quickly with this link to our Teaching Teams for 2023-2024
