ECDC Newsletter
March 2020
A Message from the Principal, "Miss Kelty"
This month I am sharing a message on Social Awareness from a team I have been working with for 3 years, the Social Emotional Leadership Committee. This committee is made up of representatives from all 11 Franklin Public Schools, teachers, school psychologists, other specialists, the Director of Student Services and the Assistant Superintendent. The work of this team spans preschool through high school graduation.
For our preschoolers at ECDC we have developed the following Social Awareness "I Can" Statements:
- I can seek out a special object or person when my feelings are hurt
- I can tell when someone else is feeling happy, sad or mad
- I can take turns and play with others
In this picture to the left, Assistant Superintendent Lucas Giguere is presenting the work of this committee to ECDC families at our Coffee and Conversation with the Principal this past week. Please reach out to me if you want more information!
From the committee:
During the month of March, the Franklin Public Schools will focus on supporting students in developing their social-awareness skills. To learn more about how you can help your child develop social-awareness skills visit our Social-Awareness Family Resource page.
Social-awareness focuses on:
“The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports”. (CASEL)
Social-awareness encompasses several different important elements. Perspective-taking is a critical aspect of social-awareness which helps students build strong relationships as they think about how others might feel or what they might be thinking in a certain situation. It also includes reading another person’s body language and being empathetic towards someone else. Additionally, this competency focuses on celebrating diversity and appreciating our differences.
Many of these CASEL competencies are interconnected and support one another as students work towards developing the skills. Students may need explicit instruction, may engage in guided activities, or participate in school-wide initiatives in order to develop these necessary skills. We are encouraging our teachers and parents/guardians to participate in the “Try 2” Challenges by incorporating different opportunities for students to focus on improving their social awareness skills as well as using common language in the “I Can” statements, as the skills are explicitly broken down for students.
Please visit the Franklin Public Schools SEL Website for more information and resources.
Leaping into Kindergarten -- a MUST for all students who are going to K!
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE
Franklin Public School's annual
LEAPING INTO KINDERGARTEN!
March 17, 2020
7 – 8:00 PM
Horace Mann Middle School Auditorium
Everything you need to know about kindergarten….
Join Miss Kelty and other members of the Franklin School Community!
We will provide families with information on a range of topics including kindergarten curriculum, transportation, school safety, kindergarten screening, health services, kindergarten orientation, first day of school and more!
ECDC Important Dates and Upcoming Events
To learn more about ECDC Happenings, please visit the Important Dates and Upcoming Events section on the ECDC Principal Page!
Save the Date: Family Fun Fair is June 17th
All ECDC Families are invited to our FUN FAIR!
June 17, 2020 from 9-11am
Sponsored by PCC...this a WONDERFUL way to celebrate the end of and another great year!
There will be more information coming from the PCC as we get closer to June!
Coffee and Conversation... with Miss Kelty
Please join Principal Kelty Kelley for an informal conversation about all things ECDC.
You can connect with other families,
as well as share your thoughts, joys and concerns.
Do you have a topic you wish to discuss such as transitions, curriculum, kindergarten, anxiety, etc.?
Please email your ideas to kelleyk@franklinps.net.
May 7 @ 9:30
Please RSVP to Laura in the main office by calling
508-541-8166
or by emailing flanaganla@franklinps.net
Connections for Parents of Children with Special Needs!
6:30-8:00 pm on
April 30th
This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to make
Connections; to share fears and concerns about what
challenges they face and what strategies have been
successful; and to gather information about additional
resources available to the community.
Please RSVP to flanaganla@franklinps.net
ECDC School Council Update
The ECDC School Council met on March 2nd.
Sadly one of our parent members has had to withdraw from our council. If you have a child who will be here in the fall, we would LOVE to have you join for the rest of this year and the next school year. It is a once every couple of months commitment, plus some email connections in between! WE NEED YOUR INSIGHT, YOUR VOICE AND YOUR IDEAS!
Items on the agenda included:
- District Budget Process: The Superintendent has put her proposed budget forward to the school committee. We anticipate there to be a gap between what she is requesting and what we have coming from state and local sources. There will be more information to share at our next meeting. The budget will impact students in the district, so staying informed is VERY important.
- District Portrait of a Graduate (POG): The council reviewed the district POG development process and the skills they believe all students who graduate Franklin Schools should have. Franklin is committed to developing students who are Empowered and Self-Aware Individuals, Compassionate and Productive Citizens, Curious and Creative Thinkers, Effective Communicators and Collaborators, and Reflective and Innovative Problem-solvers.
- School Improvement Plan Update: Kelty will be presenting the mid-year update at school committee on March 24th.
- Core Values Development: The council spent the bulk of our time on developing core value statements that are both developmentally appropriate for preschoolers and aligned with the POG skills mentioned above. The council will be sending a document out to the ECDC community later in March to introduce the Core Value statement!
For more information, please reach out to me (Kelleyk@franklinps.net or 508-541-8166) or any of our members!
2019-20 School Council Members:
Linda Cournoyer, Speech and Language Pathologist
Kelty Kelley, ECDC Principal
Aracely Lee, Parent
Elizabeth Reynard, Special Educator/Early Childhood Teacher
Parent (Vacancy)
2019-20 Meeting Schedule
(all meetings are open to the public, governed by the Open Meeting Law, and are held at 1:45 in the ECDC Conference Room)
April 6th You can click here for the agenda!
June 1st
Thank you for your feedback!
About 20 families took the time to fill it out! Some of the key themes that we saw were:
- it was great!
- gave me a clear picture of my child
- consider adding a section for comments
- clarifying why 3 year olds are not assessed in certain areas
- incorporate information in the cover letter into the Developmental Summary Form
- having the conference time close to the the Developmental Summary was helpful
Our team will continue to use the Developmental Summary this year and analyze it after each trimester. We will again seek parent input early in April via a similar survey.
Notes from Nurse Suzanne
Looking for resources? Check out my full website for access to state and local health and wellness links: Notes from the School Nurse
Updated Physicals and Immunizations Needed:
A reminder to send in a copy of your child's most recent physical and immunizations (dated within one year from the start of the 2019-2020 school year). This will help keep your child's health record current at school.
Kindergarten Note: If your child is moving on to Kindergarten next year, you have been sent a packet containing the information needed to register your child. Thank you so much for returning the needed information. You can also find the necessary documents here.
If your child won’t be having their Kindergarten physical until the spring or summer, that is alright. Just submit the physical when you have it. If it is past the end of the current school year, you will submit your child’s physical to their elementary school nurse:
Jefferson- Kathy Perkins, RN
Keller- Lisa Daly, RN
Kennedy- Ellen Gould, RN
Oak Street - Caitlin VanDeGiesen, RN
Parmenter- Kerry Richardson, RN
Franklin Public Schools Memo regarding Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV:
February 28, 2020
Good morning Franklin Families and Faculty/Staff,
We are aware that many families and staff members have concerns and questions related to the news of the recent outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and how it may impact our local schools and community. As a district, we are remaining informed of the health advisories being issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH), the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and other agencies. For your reference, you may wish to view the following links, which are providing regular updates and recommendations:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.mass.gov/guides/information-on-the-outbreak-of-2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19
A Message from the ECDC Parent Communication Council
The PCC is hard at work planning lots of fun meetups and activities for our children! Join us on March 12th Curriculum Open House at 5:30-7pm. Families will have an opportunity to play and explore different classrooms and activities with their children.
Social Committee Update
Our Social Committee has had a wonderful turnout at both our recent playdates at the Franklin Library and Flipside Gymnastics.
We are proud to be hosting another event in April. Welcome spring as we meet up for some outdoor play with other ECDC friends on a fun and fully accessible town playground! No sign up necessary - if we’re rained out on 4/3, we’re going to try again on 4/10. Siblings are always welcome.
Friday, April 3rd at 1:15pm
Dacey Community Field Playground
(700 Lincoln Street, Franklin)
Rain Date: Friday, April 10 at 1:15pm
Having a hard time keeping up with all the activities going on in our school. Click on the link below for an updated monthly ECDC calendar:
ECDC Spirit Wear Now Available
The ECDC PCC has gone fully digital with our Spirit Wear this year. Looking to sport some ECDC Spirit Wear?!? You can now purchase shirts, sweatshirt, blankets, etc. with the ECDC Logo here! Items ship directly to you. The store is always open!
Book Fair on Curriculum Night, March 12th
ECDC FOOD DRIVE THRU March 20th
Here is our SIGN UP GENIUS so families can get what the Food Pantry needs most!
PCC Playdates
Our Social Committee has had a wonderful turnout at both our recent playdates at the Franklin Library and Flipside Gymnastics (see pictures below).
We are proud to be hosting another event in April. Welcome spring as we meet up for some outdoor play with other ECDC friends on a fun and fully accessible town playground! No sign up necessary - if we’re rained out on 4/3, we’re going to try again on 4/10. Siblings are always welcome.
Friday, April 3rd at 1:15pm
Dacey Community Field Playground
(700 Lincoln Street, Franklin)
Rain Date: Friday, April 10 at 1:15pm
Many thanks to Eleanor Jasperson for coordinating these great playdates this year! Her little one is off to Kindergarten in the fall...so if you would like to help keep these going, please reach out to the PCC to see how you can volunteer!
Family Fun at Flipside Gym Playdate
Miss Calleigh was awesome at the Franklin Library!
Family fun at the Franklin Library Playdate!
Get Involved!
Here at ECDC we have LOTS of ways to have parents and guardians involved our school and in your student's learning!
- Talk to your teacher about volunteering in the classroom; she will find the "just right" way for you to volunteer that works for her classroom and your child.
- Share a passion or talent with the students at ECDC
- Consider joining our PCC (Parent Communication Council), our School Council, or attending our Connections for Parents of Children with Special Needs. Even if you are working, we can get creative and find a way for you to be involved!
- Help with our ECDC Community Garden...this year it is a little sad looking, because the spring was not kind to us! We will need people to help with the garden clean up in both the fall and spring and help with the planting as well!
All volunteers in the school MUST attend a Volunteer Training their first year. In addition, all volunteers must complete a CORI form and sign the Confidentiality statement as well every year. The training is pretty quick and be be scheduled by contacting Laura in the office, flanaganla@franklinps.net .
F.X. O'Regan Early Childhood Development Center
Kelty Kelley, Principal, M.Ed.
"There is no hand so small that it cannot leave an imprint on the world!" Klub Kidz
Email: kelleyk@franklinps.net
Website: https://www.franklinps.net/ecdc
Location: 224 Oak Street, Franklin, MA, USA
Phone: 508-541-8166
Twitter: @FranklinECDC