Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines K-8
Parent Newsletter | February 2019
A Message from Ms. Diaz, Principal
Our commitment at Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines K-8 is to provide a challenging educational program for all students within a safe, nurturing environment. High standards and expectations for each student in regard to academic performance, behavior, and attitude are in effect and will continue to be held for the rest of the year. As testing season nears, focus in class is going to be a priority, along with the work done outside of the classroom to prepare our students to shine on their upcoming state tests.
We hope you will instill a sense of pride in your child about all things school-wise. From cafeteria behavior and cleanliness to classroom participation and academic accomplishment, our students must continue to strive to put forth their best effort and work towards excellence. We have an outstanding academic record to uphold, and your child is an integral part of our success.
The school-home partnership is such a vital part of the connection that your child makes between behavior and academics. We hope to be reinforcing good habits both academically and behaviorally so your child can reach his or her greatest potential inside and outside of the classroom. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need anything from us. We are happy to serve your child and your family.
What's Been Going On...
Black History Month Celebration
Franklin Academy celebrated Black History Month through our Black History Month Trivia contest. Classes participated daily by answering questions about African Americans that have impacted the world. Congratulations to the following classes who won 1st place for their grade level category: Ms. Diaz- 1st grade, Ms. Sanchez- 2nd grade, Mrs. DeZurik- 4th grade, Mrs. Titus- 8th grade, and Ms. Raya- 8th grade. Individually, classes learned about Black History through books, research papers, and art projects. We ended our month-long celebration with a breathtaking showcase of African, Modern, Hip Hop, as well as Latin Dance, song, and acting tied together through the art of storytelling in "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters."
Attendance Matters! FTE Spirit Week
Every year, twice a year, the focus shifts to attendance. FTE stands for Full Time Enrollment and is used to calculate the amount of financial support from the district that we receive each semester. In order to bring kids to school, we offer a Spirit Week- dressing up and having fun all in the name of high attendance counts. This Spirit Week included College Day, Athletes vs. Mathletes, Service Day, Color Day and Bulldog Pride Day.
Love Me Again Toy Drive
This year we partnered with The Big3USA organization which was started by one of our very own Franklin families to launch our first ever used toy drive. The Big3USA has been collecting used toys for the last couple of years. These toys benefit children in the Dominican Republic. This February, we encouraged our students and families to look through their toys and find gently used, pre-loved toys to donate, knowing that those toys will be loved again and will bring joy to less fortunate children. Our drive lasted two weeks and once again our Franklin family did not disappoint. We received hundreds of toys from pre-loved stuffed animals to pre-loved bicycles. On Saturday, March 2nd, our MYP students, staff and families are invited to come and assist in cleaning, sorting and packing the toys. These toys will be shipped and delivered by the Big3USA, led by Mr. Tejada and his family.
Square 1 Family Art Night
We are so thrilled with the turnout of our First Annual Franklin Family Art Night. Although we had four projects for our guests to make, many of the families took their creativity way outside of the box and made some amazing art. All art work is being sent to Square 1 Art so that families will be able to purchase products with their beautiful art printed on them.
One-Year Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commemoration (Franklin Strength, Love & Peace Garden)
On February 12, 2019, all students and teachers at Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines K-8 campus had a hand in creating the school peace garden. The garden serves as a memorial for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting that happened on February 14, 2018. The garden is also a symbol of peace and other attributes we would like to see blossom around the world. Teachers came to the garden with their homeroom class and were asked to lovingly place their stones in the formation of a flower—the center stone was made and painted by students at the school and presents a word that we hope to see more of in the future. Words such as “kind”, “caring”, “acceptance” and “love” radiated from the center of each flower while the white petals around remind us to be more peaceful and understanding towards each other, especially in times of difficulty or conflict. The peace garden came together just beautifully throughout the course of the day. The garden is visible for all to see on either side of the front entrance.
Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines K-8 Spelling Bee
Our 8th Annual Franklin Academy Spelling Bee was held on February 15th. After over 30 hard fought rounds, 8th grader Lucas G. was named the school runner-up and 7th grader Abdullah A. was given the title of Spelling Bee Champion! The winning word, obsidian, earned Abdullah his second Spelling Bee Championship title! Next up for our winners is to represent our school in the Miami Herald -Broward County Spelling Bee later this month. Congratulations to all of the Spelling Bee participants and good luck to our winners!
Spring Book Fair
To encourage a love of reading, Franklin Academy had a Book Fair on February 25th, 26th and 27th. From choosing their new books to purchase and bring home, to talking about books with friends, the media center was abuzz with excitement. This fair had hundreds of the most popular books – the books kids want to read. The most popular series of Who Was, Pete the Cat and Dog Man flew off the shelves. Thank you to our families for the investment of books. All profits from the purchased books fund new titles for the elementary and MYP media centers.
Character Counts! Spreading Kindness!
In February, students displayed wonderful acts of kindness. This was achieved by showing interest and concern for others and by being friendly and considerate to those around them. During this special month when love is celebrated, students expressed kindness in school by treating classmates, teachers and administrators with compassion, love and respect. They also displayed acts of kindness towards others outside of school by donating toys for the “Love Me Again Toy Drive” and by donating pennies and much more for the “Pennies for Patients” Campaign. It was amazing to see the outpouring of love and kindness at Franklin Academy this month.
MYP Year 1 Competes in the School-Wide Literary Fair
Our Broward County Literary Fair submissions are well underway and two of our MYP Year 1 submissions were outstanding entries. All MYP Year 1 students participated in our School-Wide Literary Fair through their Language and Literature classes for the first time this year. MYP Year 1 students were challenged to write original haikus and make an attempt at screen writing. Students were able to apply what they have been learning in class about poetic form, structure, rhyme scheme and rhythm to write fun and creative haikus. Also, after reading “The Prince and the Pauper” and learning about the importance of stage directions, dialogue and a narrator in screen writing, they were able to try their hand at it. Out of all the innovative pieces we received two MYP Year 1 students will represent our campus at the County Literary Fair, Katelyn P. for her haiku entitled “Unbelievable” and Gian T. for his play, “Birthday Chip.” We wish them the best of luck and want to thank all our thoughtful and inspiring future writers for participating.
MYP Year 2 Goes to Epcot!
Are you interested in hearing about a trip full of danger, suspense, and intrigue? Ready to learn about the limits of human love and endurance? Want to read about a story where friends become enemies and enemies become friends? Well, you are going to have to read another article, because this article is about Franklin Academy’s 7th Grade field trip to Epcot.
Thanks to the tireless work of Ms. Cristo, Mr. Rosado, and Ms. Rosado, as well as other self-sacrificing teachers, staff, and chaperones, students were rewarded with a fantastic trip to Disney’s Epcot this month.
Students had a great time while they not only rode lots of fun rides, but were exposed to a great deal of educational material and experiences. Students were also seen eating lots of yummy snacks in the park as well, and I am sure even some healthy snacks by accident on occasion. One of the great experiences of these trips is that teachers can get to know and bond with their students in a different way that builds rapport and good spirit in the school. There were many great examples of this on the trip as students and staff had a great time at the park.
As with all great trips, this one, too, had to come to an end, and while the bus ride to the park was full of energy and life, the nighttime return was ripe with evidence of adolescents' sugar crashing and tired feet resting from a day’s trek. The kids were thankful for the return home, but also thankful for the time their teachers and school staff took to make the trip a reality. This day’s successes would not be measured on an FSA or i-Ready assessment, but on the faces of our tired and happy students.
MYP Year 3 Serves the Community
On Saturday, February 23rd, several of our MYP Year 3 students (along with other MYP students) put their desire to serve the community into action by volunteering at the 12th Man Football and Cheer Camp for individuals with special needs. The one day free camp is designed for those in the community who, because of a special need or disability, have not had the opportunity to be involved with organized football or cheerleading.
Each student volunteer was paired up with a special needs athlete and had the opportunity to escort them through a series of drills and stations. The football players learned to block, tackle, and throw the football. The cheerleaders learned cheers, chants, and a dance. Our MYP Year 3 students encouraged, cheered, and applauded the athletes as they made their way through the stations. The camp director said that the camp cannot take place without the help of the willing volunteers. A big thanks to our MYP Year 3 students for making this camp a success! We are proud of their initiative to help and to make a difference in other people’s lives.
Kindergarten Valentine's Day Celebration
On February 14th, the kindergarten students celebrated Valentine’s Day. On this special day the students sprinkled kindness and love to their friends. They all brought cards for their classmates and passed them out. They also participated in various center rotations that incorporated the meaning of friendship, love, and caring for one another.
First Grade Loved February
First Grade has had a loving February! We kicked off the month learning about famous faces in Black History and how they shaped the world, our important Presidents, a fabulous Valentine’s Day, and our peace rocks. We learned that bravery and love could change the world. We read an amazing book called “We Don't Eat Our Classmates” and wrote about how to be a kind friend. We know that kindness and friendship is the way to go.
Second Grade Family History Museum
Do you enjoy going through old photographs with your children and talking about family events? Our second graders had an opportunity to do that with their families by making Family History Storyboards. Students worked with their parents to choose five important family events, display photos of each event and write a caption to explain the events in the photos, and place everything on a poster or display board. The classes were transformed into Family History Museums as the boards were displayed around the rooms. The classes then rotated to each second grade room to view their friends’ boards. It was such a joy to see the students reading their friends’ displays to learn more about them. Each and every student was proud to show off their families and explain more about their heritage and traditions to their classmates.
Third Grade- Love is in the Air!
We are working hard to get ready for the state assessments in April. Every day we complete lessons on i-Ready and read for Accelerated Reader, and we also read to Kindergarteners during recess for Literacy Week. We are learning about fractions, telling time, and measuring matter in the real world.
We celebrated Spirit Week and Valentine’s Day with lots of school pride, friendships, and love. Students made cards, mailboxes, and shared lots of treats and words of kindness. We want to thank our wonderful counselors for their sage advice and for teaching us to get along. It’s great to love and be loved!
Students also helped create a beautiful rock garden in the front of the school to remember the students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. We painted rocks and wrote messages of peace and love for the world. We made artwork at our Square 1 Family Art Night and shared our love with family and friends. Thank you to our creative art
instructors. We love you!
We hope everyone made a new friend this month and enjoyed the magnificent weather we are lucky enough to have! We love you!
Fourth Grade Experiences the Everglades
4th grade students saw countless alligators in February on our field trip to the Everglades! Our classes traveled by tram for over an hour through Shark Valley in Everglades National Park learning about this important and unique ecosystem. Next, students journeyed to the Miccosukee Native American village to learn about their culture, traditions, and watch an alligator show. Finally, the day was capped off with a fun airboat ride. It’s amazing what you can do and explore right in your backyard!
Fifth Grade Chocolate Celebration
On February 13, 2019, 5th Grade held its annual chocolate celebration. Students got to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in 4D. That’s right! They not only got to watch the movie, they got to experience the tastes of Mr. Wonka’s chocolate creations while finding the differences between the book and the movie. The student’s got a taste of Mr. Wonka’s chocolate river with melted chocolate. They also got to taste his famous wallpaper with bananas and strawberries. Students also got to enjoy melted chocolate with Rice Krispies Treats, pretzels and marshmallows! This is a day our 5th graders won’t ever forget.
Upcoming Events
Read Across America
Friday, Mar 1, 2019, 08:00 AM
18800 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
Other Upcoming Events
Love Me Again Toy Preparation Event (MYP)- March 2
Engineering Week (All)- March 4 through March 7
Man in My Life Night (K)- March 6
Career Day (All)- March 8
Second Annual Franklin Academy Beach Cleanup (MYP)- March 9
Spirit Stick Dress Down Day (All)- March 11
Miami Seaquarium Field Trip (3rd)- March 15
MYP Spring Dance (MYP)- March 15
Butterfly World Field Trip (Kindergarten)- March 18
Diamond Dell's Field Trip (4th)- March 19
Art & Multicultural Show (All)- March 19
Cap & Gown Photos (K & MYP Year 3)- March 20
Character Counts! (All)- March 21
End of Quarter 3 (All)- March 21
Early Release Day (All)- March 21
No School/Teacher Planning (All)- March 22
No School/Spring Break (All)- March 25 through March 29
Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines K-8
Email: info@franklin-academy.org
Website: pp.franklin-academy.org
Location: 18800 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
Phone: (954) 703-2294
Facebook: facebook.com/FranklinAcademyCharter
Twitter: @FranklinCharter