Week #33
April 29-May 3, 2024
The Week's News and Information
Dear Frankfort Families,
Some highlights of our week included:
- Third graders traveling to the Music House in Williamsburg for a great visit. Thank you to the Music House for a grant to help defray the costs of the visit!
- A great school-wide trip to FHS for a viewing of the musical Frozen. It was fun to see so many elementary students performing with the middle school and high school students. The weekend shows were filled to capacity, with so much support for our performers. Congratulations to the elementary and middle and high school students for such a delightful musical!
- Third through fifth graders trying their hardest on the state year-end assessment. All of our students mean way more than a test score to FES, but we appreciate their hard work, and your support and encouragement.
Thank you for helping us have a great first week of testing. Our students took their time and seemed to be trying their best on the English Language Arts portion of the test. Spring testing continues this week. We will have M-STEP Math for grade 3-5 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday (if needed) this week. Please share reminders about bedtime, having things ready for the next day before going to bed, and the importance of a good breakfast at home or at school. Please encourage your child to do their best and show what they know!
If you are looking for a fun activities for your children over the summer, KidsBowlFree.com might be something to add to the list. It runs May 1st - September 9th. It allows kids to bowl two free games a day. Families can also get a discounted pass to bowl with the kids. The program is available at Incredible Mo's in Grawn, Striketown in Manistee, and Lucky Jack's in Traverse City. (Thanks to FHS Bowling Coach, Mrs. Brown, for sharing this information!)
Our next Early Release is next Wednesday, May 8 with a 1:30 dismissal. All Clubs will be meeting, including Chess Club, and Early Release Supervision is available. The signup for ER Supervision can be found here.
We are in the final two days for yearbook orders. All orders must be placed by Tuesday, April 30th. See the flyer below for more information.
This week's sixth installment of the FAQs section of the newsletter can be found below, explaining protocols, policies and procedures, with a link to the elementary handbook to try and clarify questions you may have. This week's topic is Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Spring has sprung! We expect warm days most days, although the temperatures may not be at the daily high when your child goes to recess. We also have the possibility of rain several times this week, so the ground may be damp and it would be helpful to have rain boots to keep feet dry in the even we get to outside for recess. . The basic rules are:
- Coats are required under 50 degrees, but when temperatures go above 50 degrees students may wear a jacket or sweatshirt instead of a coat.
- Above 60, students may wear go without additional layers, based on their personal comfort.
- We recommend students bring or keep a sweatshirt or jacket at school during the spring and fall weeks.
Our Lost and Found is FULL! Please stop in to look for any of your child's missing items!
CARLINE: As always, thank you for driving with safety and patience in mind, and for keeping our neighbors' driveways open.
Best,
Anne
April Preschool Breakfast and Lunch Menus!
May Preschool Breakfast and Lunch Menus
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA): this week we are focusing on student privacy rights and disciplinary procedures. FERPA provides protections for students against the release of personally identifying information to anyone beyond the student's family.
- Each student has a file, a CA-60, which contains demographic, IEP/504/special plans, report cards, legal information (i.e. parental custody information), and other student-specific information.
- The only people who have access to this are parents, teachers connected to the student, and law enforcement (with warrants).
- FERPA extends beyond paper records in the school setting, and is often a frustration for parents, as school officials are not able to share information about another student's disciplinary consequences with non-parents, even the parents of a student who has been the victim of another student.
- The federal government has created A Parent Guideline to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA). Read more about it here.
This topic can be found on page 16 in the elementary handbook. As always, call or email with questions.
Handle with Care
Handle with Care. If your child is coming to school with carrying extra concerns, we can help. Please contact the classroom teacher, me (agwaltney@frankfort.k12.mi.us), or Carrie Aldrich (contact information below) with an email, message, or call to let us know. We will be sure your child has extra support throughout the day.
Drop Off and Pick Up information🚙🚙
Drop Offs:
- All student drop offs are along Leelanau Avenue.
- Please pull up as far as you can, and staff will greet students and help them to the doors in the morning, and help them to the car in the afternoon.
- Preschool drop off is at 7:45 a.m. Preschool teachers will greet students and walk them to their classrooms.
- Kindergarten-grade 5 doors open at 7:55 a.m. and school begins at 8:05. Students dropped off early, will line up by grade to be admitted. In times of inclement weather, students will be invited to stand on tiled areas inside the building until 7:55 a.m.
- Kindergarten and grade 1 enter at the west set of entry doors on Leelanau.
- Grades 2 and 5 enter through the east set of doors on Leelanau.
- Grades three and four walk up the cement steps facing Leelanau and into the doors facing M-22.
- No cars are permitted in the elementary parking lot turn around from 7:45 to 8:10 a.m. to allow buses to move easily through the turn around.
Pick Ups:
- All student pick ups are along Leelanau Avenue.
- Your K-5 grade child will receive a number (with the same number for all students of a single family) for pickups. If your child does not receive a number by the end of the first week, please call Carrie Aldrich at 352-7601 to obtain a number.
- When you pull up, your number will be radioed into the school, and students will be dismissed by number, including families with upper and lower grade children.
- Please continue to pull up as far as possible to help the line move more easily. Adults will help your child get to your car.
- If you are a returning student, the number will be the same as last year’s.
- Preschool pickup is at 2:45 p.m.
- Kindergarten-grade 5 pick up is at 3:05 p.m.
- No cars are permitted in the elementary parking lot turn around from 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. to allow for buses to move easily through the turn around.
There is absolutely NO parking on Leelanau Avenue, morning or afternoon. If you wish to walk your child to or pick your child up from the door, please park on one of the side streets--5th or 6th.
Safety is our number one concern during drop off and pickup. Thanks in advance for your patience , care, and consideration during carline.
April 29-May 3, 2024
Monday, 4.29
Garden Theater field trip
Girls Volleyball, 3:15 p.m., elementary gym
Tuesday, 4.30
M-STEP, grades 3-5
Wednesday, 5.1
M-STEP, grades 3-5
Kindergarten field trip
Girls Volleyball, 3:15, p.m., elementary gym
Thursday, 5.2
M-STEP, grades 3-5 (if needed)
Friday, 5.3
Upcoming Dates:
Early Release Wednesday, May 8--1:30 dismissal for students
May 22--Early Release Wednesday, 1:30 dismissal for students--last one of the year!
Memorial Day, May 27--No School
K-2 Sand Dunes trip, May 31
5th Grade Farewell, 10:30 a.m., June 7
Last Day of School, June 7, 12:00 p.m. dismissal for students
Preschool: 7:45-2:45
Elementary: 8:05-3:05
Current COVID-19 Protocols
Peanuts and tree-nuts are not allowed in the Elementary School building!
School breakfast and lunch are free for all students this year!
Students who select the required elements (entree, fruit or vegetable, and milk) eat for free for 2023-2024. Please be sure to fill out the free and reduced paperwork anyway so the school has free and reduced qualifications for reporting and funding. Thank you in advance!
The schedule of Early Release Wednesdays 1:30 dismissal is below!
May 8
May 22
Notes From Previous Weeks
The Title I Spring Newsletter can be found here! There are some great game suggestions and books to watch that might be good for some spring break fun.
The Title I Spring Newsletter can be found here! There are some great game suggestions and books to watch that might be good for some spring break fun.The kindergarten teachers have updated their letter sounds video (above) to help while you are reading with your young readers.
Readers Our Leaders Book Challenge--the incredible Miss Kaitlin and our amazing Benzie Shores District Library are offering the reading challenge again this school year. We have a goal of 125,000 minutes of reading by May 31st. Children will be coming home with book logs to keep track of their reading for fun over the next few months. There are great prizes--monthly classroom parties, and Bookstore gift certificates, and Scooters, which will be awarded at our end of the year CHAMPS picnic. And, yes: the dunk tank will be back! Please encourage your child to read each and every day for fun.
Safety. We have had several incidences recently where cars turning at the corner of Leelanau Avenue and M-22 have had close encounters with children and adults in the crosswalk. Our crossing guard will be hard to miss as he/she will be wearing a flashing vest and holding a flashing sign. The crossing guard cannot return to the sidewalk until the pedestrians have reached the sidewalk. The crossing guard will clear the roadway as quickly as possible, but you may not turn until the crossing guard is back to the sidewalk. Please take your time and check carefully before turning at Leelanau Avenue and M-22.
- Carline: Out of courtesy for our neighbors on Leelanau, please do not block driveways. If residents are attempting to exit or enter a driveway, please allow them to do so. Please stop your vehicle before driveways to ensure they are able to leave or enter.
Half Day 12:30 Dismissals
No more 12:30 dismissals for the 2023-2024 school year!
Teacher Professional Development Day--No School for Students
No more professional development days are scheduled for the 2023-2024 school year!