CARDINAL CONNECTIONS
December 12, 2022
Franklin Pierce High School Community Newsletter
FPS District Equity Statement
DISTRICT AREAS OF FOCUS AND IMPROVEMENT:
- Equity and Social Justice
- Improved Instruction
- Family and Community Partnership
Cardinal Parents, Students, and Staff:
"Few of us are as good as we think we are; none of us are as good as we can be."
The ability to remain humble is an asset that will benefit all of us in our personal, school, work, and life relationships. Remember to keep yourself in check when you're getting a little too proud or boastful of your accomplishments. While it's important to recognize our strengths and talents, we should be equally aware of our shortcomings and our opportunities for growth.
Let's do this! Cardinal Strong!
- Dec 12: Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken?
- Dec 13: If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?
- Dec 14: Who has been your favorite teacher in school and why?
- Dec 15: What three things do you think of the most each day?
- Dec 16: If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
Hey, Cards!
Happy Holidays, Cardinal Seniors and Families!
Grad Ads and Yearbooks are now ON SALE! Make sure to buy your book and ad space before they run out!
Deadline to submit senior portraits is Friday, 12/16.
Grad Ad space is limited so seniors are encouraged to buy their ad NOW!
Here are the links and instructions:
How to Upload a Grad Ad (Families).docx
Family Feedback Survey:
Dear Franklin Pierce High School Families:
Franklin Pierce Schools has partnered with Panorama Education to better understand your experience with your child’s school. Your answers to the survey are confidential, which means that no one will see your individual responses. Families will receive a link to the survey via email for each school that they have one or more children enrolled in. Please fill out a survey for each school that your child attends.
Parent Survey Link for FPHS: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/fpschools/7991256688
Student Survey Link for FPHS: www.fpschools.org/studentvoice
Your voice is important to us. Results are used to guide school and district planning efforts and will be made public to staff, students, and families. For additional information, please visit www.fpschools.org/panorama.
Thank you for taking the time to participate.
Sincerely,
Franklin Pierce Schools
Public Information Office
(253)298-3000
Academic Excellence!
One of our unifying teacher practices is student voice and student choice.
What does this look like for teachers? Teachers should be providing a menu of options for students to demonstrate their learning in different ways. Teachers should create consistent opportunities to maximize student voice through speaking and writing.
What does this look like for students? When given options for student choice, students should consider how to emphasize their current strengths and skills but also improve their current weaknesses. Students must be willing to participate in class discussions and complete written assignments promptly in order to share their voice and provide teachers with the information needed to inform their next instructional steps.
How can parents help? Encourage your child to participate in class discussions and complete written work promptly. Ask your child about what opportunities they had to speak or write in their various classes that day. Ask you students to tell you about what they learned and did in their classes that day.
GENERAL INFO:
Every Monday: College and Career Day! Wear your college and career gear.
Every Friday: Cardinal Spirit Day! Wear your FPHS gear.
Winter is here! If we have a school closure or delays due to weather, staff and families can expect to receive information via phone, SMS for families who opted in, email, website, and local media.
All athletes and students joining clubs need to purchase an ASB card from the bookkeeper as soon as possible. ASB cards help us raise funds for our many school ASB programs and clubs.
- The schedule next week is ABABA. View our full A/B calendar HERE.
2023 GRADUATION Info HERE. Seniors, start marking your calendar and letting people know that your graduation day is coming!
Current COVID Guidelines can be found HERE.
Student immunization requirements can be found HERE.
Interested in learning about our FPHS clubs? Look HERE.
If you ever need to see our Daily Bulletin announcements, use this LINK. Running Start and Pierce County Skills Center students, please use this link to keep up to date with FPHS announcements.
Looking for a career with Franklin Pierce Schools? We have openings for teachers, para educators, bus drivers, custodians, guest teachers, sports trainer, and more! Get started HERE.
Visit HERE to view previous Parent and Student Memos.
Staff Spotlight:
Name: Elizabeth Thomas
My Role at FPHS: Support Center Teacher
Favorite Hobbies: Shopping, spending time with my kids, traveling, and walking (I walk 10 miles most non school days)
Favorite Book: The Purpose Drive Life
Staff Spotlight:
Name: Emma Seal
Role: Para for the Support Center
Hobbies: Cooking, Crafting, Outdoors
Book: Where the Crawdads Sing
Quote: "So, do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breathe in. Breathe out and decide." -Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy (from Pinterest)
Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition!
Our very own FP Concert Choir participated in the 37th annual Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition in Seattle, WA. This event shuts down all of Pike Place Market. The choir sang through the freezing temperatures and even raised a couple hundred dollars for the Pike Place Senior Center and Food Bank.
Kudos to this group and Mr. Zavaleta Berdeja! They had a blast and put in a couple of volunteer hours along the way!
See pics below:
What's your "E" (Enrollment, Enlistment, or Employment) after high school?
California State University, Long Beach: No Barriers has long been our clarion call at The Beach. It’s our charge — the marching orders we’ve embraced to clear hurdles for all students. Today, No Barriers is the start of something bigger — a comprehensive fundraising campaign to fearlessly engage the next era.
Social Justice, Equity, and Anti-Racist Resources:
In the video below: Learn more about Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights.
The first step in ALLYSHIP is LISTENING.
The second step is BELIEVING.
The third step is ACTION. Get involved and create the positive change you want to see in the world.
CARDINAL SPORTS!
Sportsmanship reminder to all sports fans: This is a reminder about good sportsmanship for our fans. If you are attending an FP sporting event, your role as a fan is to support our team. We should only be cheering for the Cardinals and never cheering against the other team, the other team’s fans, or the officials. The official statement in the SPSL 2A handbook is, “Show pride, class, spirit, and respect. Display modesty in victory and graciousness in defeat. Enjoy the game and promote good sportsmanship. Please keep your comments positive, let the players play, coaches coach, and the officials officiate.” Repeated displays of poor sportsmanship will result in exclusion from sporting events.
- FP Spirit Gear Still Available Stop by the Cashier's Office during your lunches, before school, or after school to pick up your FP spirit gear. T Shirts and Sweatshirts are still available. Also, be on the lookout for your chance to own a Franklin Pierce football jersey of your own. Football will be selling used Jerseys for fans to have and wear when supporting ALL of our teams.
Parent Partnerships!
- Parent Volunteers: In order to be a volunteer, parents must complete an easy, online volunteer application HERE.
Bus Route Cancellations:
We’ve been experiencing an ongoing bus driver shortage over the last few years. This is the case statewide. In previous years, we’ve been able to maintain our regular routes. However, this year we’ve been experiencing more route cancellations.
Here’s some relevant info:
- A bus route is cancelled when there is no driver or substitute driver available for the route.
- Students and families of those particular routes are notified directly that the route is being cancelled. This might happen without much advanced notice because they might not know about an absence until the morning of.
- Students and families on cancelled routes are encouraged to find alternate transportation, but they will be excused if they’re not able to get themselves to school.
- Cancelled routes are also posted on our district and school websites as soon as they come up.
- If a student is absent due to a bus route cancellation, the student is encouraged to email teachers about missed assignments and access assignments using Canvas.
- If you know anyone who might be interested in picking up work as a bus driver or substitute bus driver, please spread the word that the demand is high and we are hiring.
Daily Bell Schedules
Title 1, Part A
- What is Title 1? Title 1, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides financial assistance to states and school districts to meet the needs of educationally at-risk students. The goal of Title 1 is to provide extra instructional services and activities which support students identified as failing or most at risk of failing the state's challenging performance standards in mathematics, reading, and writing. The Title 1 program will provides students with extra educational assistance beyond the regular classroom. The program serves students in our five secondary schools who have demonstrated that extra assistance is needed. Learn more HERE.
- The FPHS Report Card can be found HERE.
- Learn more about state and national assessments HERE.
- Learn more about Guides and Resources for Parent and Family Engagement HERE.
- Learn how to file a Citizen Complaint HERE.
- Copies of the 2022-23 School/Parent Compact were distributed at the beginning of the year. If you missed it, you can see it HERE.
- You can find the FPHS Handbook HERE.
- You can find the FPHS Parent and Family Engagement (PFE) Plan HERE.
NEW Performing Arts Center!
We are very excited about our new Performance Arts Center! We are in eager anticipation of the day that we can fully showcase the talents of our band, orchestra, choir, drama programs, and so much more!
- Part of the "cost" for a new Performing Arts Center is going to be a little dust, a lot of change, and even a few inconveniences. Please, bear with us as we work through the "under construction" phase with an estimated completion date of the start of the 2023-24 school year.
- Student and Staff Parking: All staff and students must park together in the parking lot alongside 112th St. The section nearest the tennis courts is reserved for staff parking. The section nearest the stadium is reserved for student parking. Students and staff must drive all the way around the school to access the new student/staff parking lot. Please, do not cut through the drop-off and pick-up zone to park.
- AM student drop-off and PM student pick-up and zones. Please, do not park in the drop-off and pick-up zones between 7:30am and 3pm. The drop-off and pick-up zones will be the same for 2022-23 as they were for the end of 2021-22.
- Main Entrance: The former main entrance to the building is no longer accessible. The new main entrance is on the south end of the main building near the student pick-up and drop-off zone.
- Handicapped Parking has been relocated to the stalls in the drop-off zone nearest the new main entrance.
- Bicycle Parking has been relocated to the 1400 building (outside the band classroom).
- Pedestrians in the drop-off and pick-up zone should use the pedestrian walkway along the fence line.
- As with all construction projects, almost everything is subject to change. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Pierce County Skills Center:
Fall Newsletter HERE!
- PCSC Main Office: 253-800-4800.
Application Questions contact Paulla Hockaday - phockaday@bethelsd.org - 253.800.4800
Application links, in English and Spanish, can be found on our website. https://www.bethelsd.org/domain/4387
Resources
School Resources:
- District Website: https://www.fpschools.org/
- Franklin Pierce HS Website
- Attendance info HERE.
- IT Help Desk for Students and Parents: 253-298-4647, 7:30AM to 4PM. IT Website.
- Transportation Department website: 253-298-3865 or email to Transportation_Vendor@fpschools.org.
- Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- FPS Breakfast and Lunch Program: www.fpschools.org/meals
- FPS Education Resources: https://www.fpschools.org/exended-closure-resources-and-information/closure-educational-resources
- Want to add Canvas to your phone? Android or iOS. Once you download the app, search "fpschools" to find our district.
- FPHS Facebook page.
- FPHS Twitter page.
- FPHS Instagram page.
- Information about GRADES and GRADING.
- Information about BUSES.
- District CALENDAR.
- How to access and use DORA.
COVID- 19 Resources:
- District Health Services Website
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
FPS COVID Dashboard HERE.
Community Resources:
- District resources and partners: https://www.fpschools.org/departments/family-engagement-office/community-resources
- Financial Resources: https://dfi.wa.gov/coronavirus/financial-resources