Franklin e-Newsletter
Friday, November 17, 2017
Follow us on Twitter: @FranklinBolts
NO SCHOOL-November 23-25
Principal's Message
Dance Information-$4650.55 Woohoo!!!
Most students go racing for the door on a Friday afternoon. So what could possibly entice a few hundred middle school students to stay after school for a couple extra hours? A fundraiser might seem an unlikely answer, but Franklin Middle School knows how to put the ‘fun’ in fundraiser. Friday, November 10th, students and staff celebrated life at the school’s twelfth dance marathon. This event is held each year in conjunction with the University of Iowa Dance Marathon to raise money for children facing cancer and other serious illnesses at the University of Iowa Hospitals.
It is Aristotle who first put forth the idea that “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Dance marathon is the perfect embodiment of this concept. It has touched the hearts of so many students, who have danced on to touch the hearts of so many others. Franklin alumni have continued to be involved in dance marathon at Washington and Kennedy High Schools and various colleges. We have even had some students return to Franklin as U of I Dance Marathon dancers!
With Mr. Baylor away at a class this year, Mr. Ptacek became the victim of choice and took three pies to the face on dance day, including one from Dayton Gage. Another pie awaits, as our top fundraising spirit dancer had to leave early! Jack Hoeger, who has inspired Franklin students over the past five years with his personal survivor story, also returned to throw a pie again, this time in Mr. Jefford's face.
An especially big thank you to ALL the spirit dancers who went beyond to raise at least $25 to help kids with cancer. Our top three spirit dancers all raised $100 or more! Donations of candy and beverages from Hy-Vee Food and Drug stores helped fuel our students as they danced. The Irish Democrat and Godfathers provided gift cards for spirit dancer prizes, and our PTA president and parents made big donations to our bake sales.
Our guests from the University of Iowa were impressed with our students’ energy and dance skills! They were also amazed at the longevity of our fundraiser, as it has been around since most of them were in middle school. Perhaps the most unbelievable fact is that while our dance did not originate for any particular student, Franklin has had a student directly affected by cancer each and every year of our dance. Some were survivors in remission and others were current cancer patients. Nothing underscores the importance of this fundraiser more than that one sad fact.
1st Quarter PARRT Assemblies
- No grade lower than a C
- No office referrals
- Absent from school 2 or less days
- No missing work
- 3 or fewer late assignments
Besides being recognized in front of their peers they also received a certificate with the following items to be redeemed: 4 front of the line lunch passes, eat lunch with a friend in the student lounge, 20 Bolt Bucks, and 1 homework pass.
Student Spotlight
P: Personal Best
A: Active Listening
R: Respect
R: Responsibility
T: Trustworthiness
6th Grade
Jenna Baker, Jack Groth, Owen Kilgore, Jenna Moore
7th Grade
Ishan Chawla, Julia Greenlee, Madison Law, Neveah Standifer
8th Grade
Holly Altfillisch, Elizabeth Cline, JD DeGraft-Moffat, Pipa Ritchie
Spring Musical
Auditions for the Spring Musical, "James and the Giant Peach Jr.," are in 3 weeks: Thursday, December 7 (3-5pm) and Friday, December 8 (1:30-3:30pm).
Students only need to attend one audition day, and can leave when they are finished.
Please note, this is the Broadway show (by McDonald/Pasek & Paul), not the movie version: https://www.mtishows.com/roald-dahls-james-and-the-giant-peach-jr
We are very pleased to announce that Mr. Forrest Green will be our Music Director (his upcoming projects include "Fun Home" at Hancher and "Wild Party" at TCR). And of course Mr. Jackson Bartelme will return with his top-notch skills, coaching our cast in both acting and singing!
Drama Club will have a meeting for all parents (before auditions) on Dec. 4, 7:30-8:00pm to discuss the musical's rehearsal schedule.
- Drama Director Kelly Shriver Kolln
Hy-Vee Homeroom Receipt Challenge
We will conduct another Homeroom Receipt Challenge. Save those receipts and contribute to your child's homeroom. The Challenge will be December 11-14.
Your help is great appreciated.
Other Information
Waiting in the Morning
Tutoring Available
Friday Theme Days
Upcoming Events
- Girls' Swimming-City Meet @ Linn-Mar
- Boys' Basketball: 7th @ Harding/8th @ Home
Wednesday, November 22-Friday, November 24
- No School
Tuesday, November 28
- Boys' Basketball: 7th @ Home/8th @ Prairie Black
Thursday, November 30
- Boys' Basketball: 7th @ Home/8th @ Taft
Franklin Middle School
Email: lptacek@cr.k12.ia.us
Website: franklin.cr.k12.ia.us
Location: 300 20th Street Northeast, Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Phone: (319) 558-2452
Facebook: facebook.com/franklinms
Twitter: @FranklinBolts