MARCH 5, 2021
FPS Family Newsletter | 20-21 Issue 32
The Role of Student Engagement In Learning
Student engagement is essential in learning. Broadly speaking, it is about ensuring that students do more than pay attention. True engagement calls for students to have a sense of belonging and safety that allows them to interact with others in learning. The academic definition of engagement describes it as a student’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional investment in learning at school (Newmann, 1992, Fredricks et al., 2004, & Frontier, 2007).
We work hard to ensure that all of our students are engaged in learning by providing high-quality instruction that enables students to make connections to previous learning and their interests. Our emphasis on social-emotional learning creates a safe place for this to happen. As a school district, we assess student engagement regularly. We do this through observations and assessments but also by asking. We ask our students questions about their engagement on a regular basis and use their responses to set specific goals. Students are astutely aware of their needs, and we know how important it is to listen to them. Below are a few of the statements we have them rate on a scale that we use to help inform our understanding:
- I enjoy going to school.
- I believe I can learn.
- I feel safe at my school.
- The adults in my school care about me.
- My teachers help me think about my learning so that I can improve.
Keeping students engaged in learning is also a joint effort. Parents can help make learning more meaningful both at home and school. Talking to your child daily about school promotes their engagement. When having these conversations, instead of asking, “what did you learn today?” try asking them to “share one thing that happened at school today.” This allows them to talk about their learning and their sense of belonging. Both of these things are important to their engagement and development.
Have a good weekend,
Dr. Judy Mueller
District Administrator
UPCOMING DISTRICT DATES
As a reminder, the District Calendar and all building calendars can be found here.
All of our calendars are able to be subscribed to! Follow the steps at the top of the District Calendar for how to subscribe. You will also see our 2021-22 Calendar Events in your subscription!
FPMS PRINCIPAL ERIN KING NAMED HERB KOHL PRINCIPAL LEADER
Forest Park Middle School Principal Erin King has been selected as a 2021 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Principal Leader. Leadership Award recipients are school principals who are being recognized for setting high standards for instruction, achievement and character, and creating a climate to best serve students, families, staff, and community.
The Kohl Foundation Scholarship and Fellowship program was established by Herb Kohl, philanthropist and businessman, in 1990. Since then, the foundation has awarded nearly $25 million to Wisconsin educators, principals, students and schools. “Education is the key to the future of Wisconsin and our nation. I am very proud of the accomplishments of these students, teachers, and principals and look forward to the great contributions they will make in the future,” Herb Kohl stated.
As part of receiving this high honor, Mrs. King will receive a $6,000 grant from the Foundation. In addition, Forest Park Middle School will also receive a $6,000 grant. During the eight years Mrs. King has served as associate principal and principal of the middle school, Forest Park flourished into one of the strongest academic house model middle schools in the region, with high-performing teacher teams anchoring the daily impact on student achievement and well-being. She continually advocates and leads for an inclusive environment for all students while incorporating equitable practices. She has designed, supported and implemented professional development practices to continually stretch and grow middle school staff.
“I am deeply honored, privileged, and humbled to serve the students, staff, and community of Forest Park each day.” Mrs. Erin King shared. “It is difficult to accept an individual award when I attribute Forest Park’s success to our staff’s collective expertise, capacity, and efforts. I'm proud to serve a staff who put students first, continue to learn, and believe we are the change agents making an impact in the lives of our students and community. My purpose is to ignite a passion for learning in others so that they can aspire to anything they want to be. I will continue to serve our students, families, and community through that purpose.”
“Mrs. King is very deserving of this award and we are extremely proud she is part of Franklin Public Schools,” expressed Dr. Judy Mueller, the District Administrator.
More information about the award can be found here. As a recipient of this award, Mrs. King will move on in the process of potentially being named Wisconsin’s Secondary Principal of the Year. From there, she could advance to the national level.
SCULPTING WITH MEANING IN 8TH GRADE
This week’s academic spotlight is focusing on the 8th grade Art Sculpture class at Forest Park Middle School taught by Mrs. Jean Mohr. Students recently completed a “container or totem” sculpture project. As students developed and executed the project, they had to make sure to research and provide evidence of a cultural connection.
In preparation for the project, students had to brainstorm and think about what type of container or totem they would make and with what purpose. Students created their sculpture design using various techniques that could include carving, casting, modeling, assembling, and relief. Three students, Gillian, McKenna, and Sabrina, shared their purposes for their projects below:
Gillian
“My family is very big into science fiction and every Sunday we watch a sci-fi movie together. This is something we do as a family.”
McKenna
“My sister is studying to be an occupational therapist and she’s in her last year of school. For gifts, I typically paint her a picture or create something with a puzzle piece on it since the puzzle piece is the symbol of autism. I wanted to make this based on her achievement.”
Sabrina
“Mine is a Chinese Pagoda structure. It’s a popular architectural style in Asia. I plan to give this as a gift to my grandparents.”
“These kids are thoughtful and intentional about the artwork they make,” shared Mrs. Mohr. “They do research into the work they are doing and the why behind their pieces.”
Sabrina shared that she had to learn about the Pagoda temple being a place of worship for Buddhists in Asia and the meaning behind the intricate structure. While researching the puzzle piece as the symbol for autism, McKenna learned about the symbol being used in the past because autism was seen as a ‘puzzling disease’ but that now, the meaning has shifted more to how we all fit as pieces into the bigger puzzle together no matter who we are and that we are all different in our own ways. Gillian learned more about robots which have been a big achievement during the 21st century and how many robots have proven to be helpful.
“I’ve never heard so many kids say ‘This is the best artwork I’ve ever made!’ They have so much pride in this unit and this year. They couldn’t do artwork like this when we were out of school last year,” added Mrs. Mohr.
McKenna added, “We’ve done small types of clay projects but this was different because there were multiple parts we had to think about, a theme, and making all of this match.”
“With the glazing of this project and the techniques we used, it definitely felt more professional,” shared Gillian.
“Our district’s core values should always be at the heart of what we do and these students have shown great innovation and personal growth through their artwork,” added Dr. Chris Reuter, Director of Teaching & Learning. “I’m also impressed with the stewardship they are exhibiting not just through the meaning of their art pieces but with their plans to gift them on to others.”
The student’s container and totem artwork is currently on display in the main hallway at Forest Park Middle School. Following the display period, they will be given as gifts and moved to their permanent homes.
COHERENCE PLAN UPDATE: FOCUS GROUP COMING
As we shared in an early February district newsletter, we are in the process of updating our district’s Coherence Plan for the next three years. An important next step in this process is to gather insights from a variety of stakeholders (employees, students, families) through focus groups.
We are currently planning a 1-hour virtual "family" focus group for 5:30pm on Wednesday, April 7th. The focus group will be facilitated by Melissa Matarazzo, an external coach with the Studer Education Group. A registration form will be available in our Friday, March 19th newsletter if you are interested in joining the family focus group. We share this information with you now so you can 'save the date.'
Please consider joining this opportunity to help shape our future strategic work. Thank you for your continued support in helping Franklin Public Schools become a better place to learn, better place to work, and part of a better community.
THANK YOU, ASCENSION
LEARNING, VIRTUALLY ANYWHERE
WELCOME NEW SABER CENTER MANAGER, MR. TRACY STEWART
We are very pleased to announce that we have hired a new Saber Center Manager/Technical Director to manage our Saber Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Tracy Stewart comes to us from Iowa and shares here a little about himself:
“I am new to the area from Iowa, where I have worked as a freelance event technician and designer. I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Theatrical Design and Production Management, then returned to college at Simpson College and earned a degree in Chemistry and Secondary Education. My professional experience has been wide-ranging, from K-12 theater management and productions to, large concert festivals, to small political events, to live theatre, to educational workshops. My entire family will be joining me in Franklin this summer as two daughters (12,14) finish their school year and we prepare to move house. I am very excited to help lead and grow our next generation of event professionals here in Franklin.”
We welcome Mr. Stewart to our community and look forward to him transitioning us back to using the Saber Center for the Performing Arts as pandemic conditions allow.
COVID-19 & OUR DASHBOARD
Below is a screenshot of today's dashboard update. We will always reference and link the dashboard on Friday here in the weekly district newsletter. If you want to see the Wednesday update, you can visit our Reopening Doors webpage at http://www.franklin.k12.wi.us/reopen
You can click or tap on the screenshot to see a larger version on your device.
FOOD SERVICE SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
Our Food Service Department has been continuing to serve students, both in-person and virtual all during the pandemic and we thank them for continuing to provide meals for our families. As we shift into spring, they decided to have a little fun with their food themes! Recently, Brie Knudson, the dietetic intern, planned a theme meal at the middle school for the Brewers' spring training! The whole lunch team showed off blue and yellow. The theme and decorations really added some mustard to a hot dog day! They even added a side of popcorn to enhance the experience for the students. Click the nearby picture to see the theme displayed.
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Email: communications@franklin.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.franklin.k12.wi.us
Location: 8255 West Forest Hill Avenue, Franklin, WI, USA
Phone: 414-529-8220
Facebook: facebook.com/franklinpublicschools
Twitter: @fpsdistrictwi