November 21, 2022
In the words of Todd Parr, “every day I try to think about the things that I am thankful for.” I am thankful for the smiles that students bring each day as they walk through the doors of our school. I am thankful for the challenges, both big and small, that students overcome. I am thankful for all of the opportunities that staff and families offer our students. I am thankful for the uniqueness that each student and staff member brings to our school community. I am thankful that I get to spend every day at Ben Franklin. “There are lots of things to be thankful for. Try to remember some of them every day” (Parr, Todd. The Thankful Book. United States, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2012).
If you are looking for a book to read with your child(ren) to spark some reflection/conversation as we give thanks this week, consider The THANKFUL Book by Todd Parr.
Mary Beth Paprocki, one of our fourth grade teachers at Ben Franklin, recently shared the following in her family update. As important as it is to discuss giving thanks this holiday, I feel it is equally important to consider the impact that the holidays may have on children and consider discussing this with them as well. Thank you for providing this information to families as a resource, Mary Beth!
As various holidays quickly approach, many of us look forward to family gatherings and time away from work and school. For some, including kids, the holiday season can be stressful. Consider the following:
Discuss in advance who you will be seeing, where you might visit, and what the expectations will be
Provide ample down time
Explain child care arrangements in advance
Allow your child to express their feelings
Consider if family dynamic have changed since last year and how that might impact your child
Most Sincerely,
Steffany Jewell
Principal
LOST & FOUND UPDATED LINK WITH PICTURES
Please have your student(s) check the school office for items in our lost and found. Our lost and found is growing rapidly. It is also suggested that if possible, student items be labeled with their first and last name on it so that we can get it back to the student if it becomes lost. Click HERE for pictures of our lost and found items. We will be donating items that are not claimed around Winter Break. Please contact the Ben Franklin office at 414-529-8270 to claim items or with any questions.
STATE REPORT CARDS RELEASED
Last Tuesday, November 15th, the Wisconsin Department of Instruction released its 2021-22 state report card for every publicly funded district and school in the state. Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no state or district report cards were issued for the 2019-20 school year.
Overall, there are no changes to the methods used to determine the priority areas, scoring, or rating cut scores for the 2021-22 Wisconsin Department of Instruction report cards. As a reminder, last year’s report card (issued November 2021) should be considered a NEW BASELINE SCORE, and should not be compared to earlier versions of the state report card.
We are proud to share that the 2021-22 State Report Card for Franklin Public Schools shows that we again received an accountability ranking of Exceeds Expectations. This high rating supports the hard work and dedication of our students, families, and staff through very turbulent and unprecedented times over these last few years. Some of the highlights from the 2021-22 report card release include:
Four schools (Country Dale, Pleasant View, Southwood Glen, and Franklin High School) received ratings of “Significantly Exceeds Expectations” (5-star). FHS raised their rating from last year’s “Exceeds Expectations” (4-star) to “Significantly Exceeds Expectations” (5-star).
Two schools (Ben Franklin and Robinwood) received ratings of “Exceeds Expectations (4-star).
Forest Park Middle School received a rating of “Meets Expectations” (3-star).
Franklin Alternative Youth Program (House of Correction) was ranked as “Satisfactory Progress,” as the program does not receive an overall star rating.
Click here for the FPS District 2021-22 Report Card
Click here for the Ben Franklin 2021-22 Elementary Report Card
For more details and to view the FPS district and school report cards, please visit this page here.
4K FAMILY UPDATE
For our 4K families, please click here for the 4K Parent Update for November from the 4K Team. In this update, you will find details regarding our 4K Learning Intentions for our upcoming unit as well as information about progress reports and how to foster successful Winter dressing for your child.
YOUR CHILD’S EMERGENCY CONTACTS
After the lockdown incident at Franklin High School last week, we examined and reviewed how quickly the messages were getting to families after we sent them. The time for messages to move from us to parents during that incident experienced a small lag. After reviewing this with our messaging provider, we learned of a more efficient way to send messages out during emergencies. As Monday came around and FPMS went into lockdown, evacuation and reunification, the district emergency broadcasts that went out not only went to listed parents/guardians, but also to any “emergency contacts” that are associated with your child(ren) as listed in PowerSchool. Sending these as emergency level messages allows for the emails and phone calls to go out quicker through the system.
We share this with you so you understand that there may be times where your emergency contacts will receive information from us in situations like this. Please share this knowledge with your emergency contacts so they are in the know. We always work to identify ourselves as “Franklin Public Schools” when sending messages. If you wish to change your emergency contacts, you can connect with the main office staff at your child’s school.
ATTENDANCE REMINDER
ANY absence including leaving early and arriving late are reported on a google form. HERE is the link to report absences. It would be a good idea to bookmark this link for your convenience.
If you are picking up your student to leave early, please bring your drivers license or state id.
Stay informed about Activities, Events, Fundraisers, and more on Ben Franklin PTO’s website!
Join our private Ben Franklin PTO Facebook Group
WANT TO FEAST ON SOME eBOOKS OVER THANKSGIVING BREAK?
Feast on some eBooks from our school library over Thanksgiving break - there are hundreds to choose from. We have a smorgasbord of ebooks including readalongs, picture books, chapter books, audiobooks, magazines, non-fiction and a collection of always available graphic novels. You can access them from any internet connected device.
Access our catalog here
Or go directly to the SORA ebook collection here
Students K-12 and staff can access our eBooks by using the address above, selecting their school, and clicking SORA under the Learning Resources. Students should use their district login and password (First.last and Sabers####, K-1 students please use your Sabers## password). Full directions for accessing eBooks in Sora are located here. See staff in the library if you have any questions. Happy reading!
CUB SCOUT PACK 507 FOOD & TOY DRIVE
Country Dale's Pack 507 is putting on a drive-thru food and toy drive on Saturday, December 3rd from 1:00pm - 4:00pm at North Shore Bank on 76th and Rawson. Please stop by and contribute and help us get the word out with the flyer below. If you have any questions or are interested in joining our Scouts please reach out to us at pack507wi@gmail.com.
CATCH UP ON DISTRICT NEWS
Miss the last District Newsletter? Be sure to catch up on district happenings! You can access the archive of all District Newsletters here.
SCHOOL INFORMATION
All past newsletters are stored on our website here
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Email: Jennifer.Russell@franklin.k12.wi.us
Website: https://www.franklin.k12.wi.us/ben-franklin-elementary-school
Location: 7620 S 83rd St, Franklin, WI 53132, USA
Phone: 414-529-8270
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BenFranklinElemFPS/posts