1/3/23 - No School Teacher Planning Day

1/4 - Students return to school and start of the 3rd quarter

1/6 - Reports card emailed home

1/6 - Denim and Diamond Dance

1/11 - Campus tour for new families coming to Franklin

1/13 - Jeans Day with purchase

1/16 - No School Offices closed

1/18 - Class Group pictures K-5

1/19 - Fall Makeup picture day

1/19 - Coffee with Administration

1/21 - Palm Beach Chess Expo at Wellington Mall

1/21 - Campus tour for new families coming to Franklin

1/27 - Jeans Day with purchase

The use of electronic devices by a student when school is in session is not allowed. Handheld games and the like should not be brought to school. Students who bring handheld games to school will have them confiscated, unless authorized by Administration. The use of Kindles and Nooks is permitted for reading purposes only. If any of these items are brought to school, and then lost or stolen, the school is not responsible for the loss. Apple Watches and similar time pieces are to be turned off just like a phone while on campus.

According to the Palm Beach County Public School Board’s Code of Conduct, “Any unauthorized use of cellular phones and other wireless communication devices during the instructional school day, while on school-sponsored transportation, or at such times as not authorized by the school principal or designee, is prohibited as it disrupts the instructional program or distracts from the educational environment” (SB policy 5.183) If a student possesses a cellular telephone, it should be turned off and kept out of sight inside a book bag and may not emit any ring tone or other noise on school grounds during school hours. The consequences are as follows:

· First Offense: The cell phone will be returned to the parent/guardian of the student after signing the cellular telephone policy form.

· Second Offense: The cell phone will be returned to the parent/guardian of the student after signing the cellular telephone policy form and the student receives a detention.

· Third Offense: Parent must sign paperwork that acknowledges that the cell phone will be returned at the end of the academic year.

Failure to surrender items to a faculty or staff member upon request will result in other disciplinary consequences, including possible suspension for insubordination.

ABSENCES:

1. Your child must be in school every day as mandated by state law. Attendance will be taken at 7:35 AM for elementary for all students and for every class period in Middle School.

2. Parents are required to call the office (561-767-4700) or email attendance-bb@franklin-academy.org by 9:00 AM to notify the school if the student is going to be absent. Parents have two days to excuse the absence. Failure to do so will result in the absence being marked unexcused.

3. The attendance clerk will contact the parent regarding excessive absences (5 or more unexcused absences in a calendar month or 15 or more unexcused absences during a 90 day period) via phone conference, email, teacher/parent conference or letter. Excessive early dismissals will also result in parental contact.

4. If unexcused absences continue, a formal referral for attendance will be made to administration with supporting documentation of parent contact and non-medical absences attached to the referral. A parent meeting will be required with Administration.

5. If unexcused absences continue to exceed specified days, then the case will be referred to the school’s assigned guidance counselor.

6. If absences continue after referral and visit by the guidance counselor, the case will be referred to the State Attorney’s Office per School Board Policy.

Anytime a student returns to school after an absence, a note should be provided. Students must be in school unless the absence has been permitted or excused for one of the following reasons (please note that vacations are considered unexcused absences):

∙ Illness of student

∙ Illness of immediate family member

∙ Death in the family

∙ Religious holidays of the student’s own faith

∙ Required court appearance or subpoena by a law enforcement agency

∙ Special Event (public functions, competitions, exceptional cases of family need)

∙ Scheduled medical or dental appointments

∙ Students who have, or are suspected of having a communicable disease.

Students who have 15 or more unexcused absences within a 90 calendar day period risk the possibility of retention.

TARDY POLICY:

Tardiness is disruptive to the learning environment and can have a negative impact on student achievement. Tardiness is defined as a student not being in the classroom when the class is scheduled to begin.

∙ Parents must follow the same process to excuse a tardy as they do to excuse an absence. ∙ Excessive tardiness will be addressed on a case-by-case basis to determine if there is a pattern of non attendance. A pattern of non-attendance may be established by an accumulation of tardiness, absences (excused or unexcused), and early sign-outs for all or any part of the day.

∙ Tardiness to any class without documentation may be considered unexcused.

∙ Habitual tardiness is defined as being tardy 5 times within a marking period.

∙ Principals have the discretion to excuse tardiness for extenuating circumstances.

∙ Unless excused under the provisions of this policy, accumulated tardiness will be recorded as unexcused absences. (F.S. 1003.02 (1)(b)

EARLY DISMISSAL/EARLY SIGN-OUT:

Excused early dismissals are given for doctor’s appointments and extreme emergencies. If you need to take your child out of school before the end of the school day, come to the front desk, sign him/her out, and a school employee will call for your child, as long as it is before 1:40 PM. Any student leaving school prior to dismissal will have an early dismissal logged to his/her record. Early dismissal from a field trip site is not permitted. No child will be dismissed from the classroom after 1:40 PM as it disrupts our school-wide dismissal process. Parents must wait until the dismissal time and follow regular dismissal process. Excessive early sign-outs will be addressed on a case-by-case basis to determine if there is a pattern of non-attendance. Non-attendance for instructional activities is established by tardiness, early sign-outs, or absences for any or all part of the day. Unless excused under the provisions of this policy, accumulated early sign-outs will be recorded as unexcused absences. (F.S. 1003.02 (1)(b)

EXCUSED TARDY:

All tardy students must be escorted into the building by a parent/guardian. A student will be considered excused only if a parent/guardian personally escorts their child to the front desk and has a viable reason for the tardy (Refer to the Palm Beach County Code of Student Conduct). The reasons for an excused tardy are as follows: doctor’s appointments accompanied by a note from the doctor/orthodontist or extreme emergencies approved by administration. Excused tardiness will not count toward the student’s tardy record.

UNEXCUSED TARDY:

A student will be considered unexcused due to last minute vacations, alarm clock failures, “parent’s fault”, car trouble, or inclement weather conditions. Unexcused tardies will count toward the student’s record. Students must be in school and ON TIME by state law. Parents are required to park and enter the building to sign in students that are tardy. The procedures for abiding by state law are as follows:

1. At five (5) tardies, the attendance clerk will verify any medical excuses submitted and recorded.

2. At five (5) tardies, the parent will be contacted regarding excessive tardies or early dismissals via phone conference, email, teacher/parent conference or letter.

Families who DID NOT complete the 8 hours for last school year and did not complete the 4 hours by winter break, will not receive the Intent to Return for next year.

How do I shop with AmazonSmile?

To use AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone within the Settings or Programs & Features menu. On your web browser, you can add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping with AmazonSmile.

https://smile.amazon.com/charity/smile/program-details?ref_=smi_ge2_uaas_lpd_upd

Link to select Franklin Academy Foundation as the shoppers organization

https://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-2123983

Students in Palm Beach County may apply to different high schools through the Choice program. The booklet for the 2023-2024 school year is now available here.

Applications Opened on November 1st, 2023

If you missed the Jean's Pass order, you can still purchase a jeans pass individually. For January the Jeans day's are 1/13 and 1/27.

This is a school fundraiser and the money raised will all go towards the students and special events. You may bring a check or money order on the jeans day. The form is no longer available.

What's in a yearbook? Laugh Inducing Memories, Autographs from Friends, Your Classmates, Moments that Matter, and Much More! Preorder a yearbook for your student today at Jostensyearbook.com. Payment Plans are available.

Yearbook recognition ads are a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones.

For More Information, please see the Flyer above.

Full Page: $170

1/2 Page: $115

1/4 Page: $80

1/8 Page: $50

And the winner are...

Kindergarten- Rudjy Drouillard (Rosen)

PYP 1- Katherine Young (Conboy)

PYP 2- Juliet Ables (Legenbauer)

PYP 3- Harmony Dieujuste (Meadow)

PYP 4- Amiera Savage (Tourtillott)

PYP 5- Melanie Derisme (Colbert)

6th grade- Lisandro Arrellano (Stavisky)

7th grade- Natalie Benitez (Garron)

Congratulations to the award recipients!

The Learner Profile strives to build global citizens and lifelong learners, challenging us all to be the best that we can be in the home and school. As parents, using this language and terminology in the home can be a powerful way of reinforcing these ten personal attributes.

January IB Learner Profile Attribute: Principled

Students who are PRINCIPLED have a sense of fairness and are honest with themselves and with others. They understand that sometimes there are rules and they follow them. They have an understanding of moral reasoning.

How can parents help to develop students who are Principled at home?

• Involve your child in deciding on the rules for a game or activity and then ensure that they stick to the ones that have been decided upon.
• Encourage your child to play games that involve teams. Discuss with your child the qualities of a team player. What sort of person would they want on their team?
• When your child wins a game insist that he or she is a well-mannered winner. They might thank their opponent or shake hands with them if it’s appropriate.
• When playing a game, don’t change the rules or let your child win. Being a gracious loser is just as important as being a good winner.

IB in Action: PYP 2- Soil Shake Up

Mr. Groves PYP 2 Pedologists conducted an inquiry into the layers of soil. Through the unit of inquiry, Where We Are in Place & Time, students were given a question- What is soil? Through their investigation the scientists classified soil types based on color, texture (size of particles), the ability to retain water, and the ability to support the growth of plants. To determine the amount of clay, silt and sand in the soil students conducted an experiment called the "Soil Shake Up". Who said playing in the dirt isn't educational?

Have you had a great experience with a staff member, teacher, or support personnel? If so, I would love to hear about it. I see great things happening all day, but I would like to share the appreciation with my staff. Please take a moment to fill out this form and tell me why you appreciate someone on our campus: https://forms.gle/jQqCTPBxuHDgrxyX9