Franklin Flier
September 8, 2017
Assuring learning excellence and readiness for a changing world.
- Integrity
- Respect
- Excellence
- Adaptability
- Responsibility
- Engagement
- Collaboration
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School begins at 8:00
&
School ends at 2:40
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Welcome
On behalf of our staff, I want to welcome all of our families, new and old, to Franklin. Franklin is a great place because of the students, families and staff who are a part of the Franklin Family.
We are very excited for a great year and look forward to supporting your child(ren) as they learn and grow each day.
Travis Olson
Franklin School, Principal
Have you seen the Welcome Back to School video?
What's AVID Elementary?
This year Franklin will begin using a program called AVID Elementary. AVID stands for
- Advancement
- Via
- Individual
- Determination
AVID Elementary takes a systemic approach through the use of WICOR and an explicit focus on high expectations, rigor, and developing a college readiness culture.
WICOR stands for:
- Writing
- Inquiry
- Collaboration
- Organization
- Reading
These strategies are used throughout the year to engage students and increase their achievement.
Some things you may notice include the presence of college pennants in the hallways, student planners, and the 3 ring binder. As the school year continues, the inclusion of AVID strategies will increase as we work these practices into our classrooms.
What's a Growth Mindset?
Who are the Franklin teachers this year?
Kindergarten: Jen Blaschko, Ashley Fries, Brittany Wick (formerly Strauss), Michelle Dehnke, Ann Weber*
First Grade: Amy Baer*, Miranda Hoffmann, Melanie Hayes, Danielle YungerbergSecond Grade: Kristin Landgraff*, Beth Arndt, Amber Blasl, Dawn Dahline
Third Grade: Betty Alders, Tania Fugazzi, Katie Soine
Fourth Grade: Drea Brown*, Carl Fitzloff, Michaela Hansen, Megan Sandhurst
Fifth Grade: Karen Barnett*, Mallory Howk, Mandi Kopischke, Mike Nagel
K-3 Intervention: Shonita Harper*
English Learners: Vesna Bozhinoska, Jodi McBride
Special Education: Jenni Haug (formerly Johnson), Lisa Kindred, Lisa Kuiper, Marlene Stein-Greiner, Kayla Steinberg, Jen Stenzel
Phy Ed: Dianne Johns, Amanda Kroehler (formerly Murphy)
Art: Rachael Wick
Music: Jonathan Shevy
Media: Katie Botten
Counselor: Jen Berg
Continuous Improvement Coach: Tabatha Miller
* intervention teacher
How can parents help with traffic?
When dropping off your students, or picking them up at the beginning of the day, we ask that you use the idea of STOP, DROP & ROLL.
- Stop the car
- Drop your child off (or pick them up)
- Roll on to allow others to do the same for their child
The goal is to limit the amount of time that any one car is stopped in front of the school so we can maximize the opportunity for others to drop off or pick up students.
If you want your child to wait in the car with you, or you need to leave your car to be able to go into the building, please use the parking spaces along Adams street.
To reduce the number of cars in front of the building, talk with you child about picking them up along Lime street, or on Broad Street where it intersects with Lime. These are often unused areas and can be very convenient.
Have some time to volunteer?
The Committee will meet 4 times per year:
Monday, October 23, 2017 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Monday, February 19, 2018 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The committee meets to advise and assist the school district system accountability and comprehensive continuous improvement process. The Committee will provide community participation in:
- reviewing the school district instructional and curriculum plan;
- by identifying annual instruction and curriculum improvement goals for recommendation to the school board;
- making recommendations regarding the evaluation process that will be used to measure school district progress toward its goals.
- review the authorizing legislation and the roles and responsibilities of the committee as determined by the school board.
- review ESSA status and improvement plans.
- become familiar with the instruction and curriculum of the cycle content area.
- review evaluation results and prepare recommendations.
- advise on implementation of the school district system accountability and comprehensive continuous improvement process.
- provide direction to and review "Annual Report on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Performance."
If you're interested, please email Travis Olson at tolson1@isd77.org.
How do I find my child's coat/hat/sweatshirt/lunchbox?
To decrease the number of items in the Lost & Found, we ask that you:
- Or your child stop by the Lost & Found every couple of weeks.
- Label your child's items that they won't wear for the entire day.
Why get a Parent Portal account?
- Give permission for their students to be in the yearbook and attend field trips *
- Receive messages from their child's teacher
- Update their contact information #
- Monitor food service balances and add money to accounts
- Check attendance
- Verify health census information
* Without a Parent Portal account, families will not be able to give their permission for their child(ren) to attend field trips and be included in the yearbook.
# Accurate contact information (phone, email, address) is important information for the safety of your child(ren). We cannot contact you if we don't have the correct information.
If you do not remember your username and/or password, please send an email to icsupport@isd77.org.
If you have not yet set-up an account, please visit Linda Gravley in the office so she can assist you. YOU WILL NEED PHOTO IDENTIFICATION when setting up your account.
Is Franklin looking for playground supervisors?
Want to give a shout out?
We are inviting families to email Mr. Olson when their child(ren) have a successful experience outside of school. The celebration will then be included in the morning school wide announcement. Ideas of things that families might want announced: winning a soccer tournament, moving up to a new tae kwon do belt, participating in the regional science fair, etc. If you have something that you'd like us to recognize your child(ren) for, email tolson1@isd77.k12.mn.us:
Child's Name
Child's Teacher
The Child's achievement
Do you want to volunteer at Franklin?
If you would like to help out with PTO events and projects, please submit the yellow volunteer sheet from the yellow folder you picked up when signing up for conferences. Volunteer Coordinator, Hilarie Tolifson will contact you as volunteers are needed. If you want to help out in your child's classroom, please contact his/her teacher directly.
What's happening this month at Franklin?
Franklin Fridays: Starting today and every Friday, students and staff are encouraged to wear clothing that shows Franklin Falcon pride. Franklin apparel is not necessary, as simply wearing blue or yellow will show school spirit, but electing not to participate is always an option, too. This spirit day gives teachers and families one day a week where you really don't have to think about what to wear.
PTO Meeting: Our first PTO meeting of the year will be on Thursday, Sept. 14 from 6:30-7:30 in the Franklin Media Center. All parents are invited to attend.
Cat Day: Students and/or staff will select one school-wide theme day each month this year. To kick off the year, Cat Day is Wednesday, September 20. Wear a favorite cat shirt, draw whiskers on a face, or dress like a cat person, as we have fun with this theme. (And don't worry, pajama day will happen one month.)
Walk-A-Thon: Pledge forms and more information will go home next week about our largest fundraiser of the year. Walk-A-Thon will be held on September 28 during the school day and students will have the chance to walk a fun route around Franklin with their classmates.
Check the graphic below for more Franklin dates you may want to add to your calendar. It's going to be a great year and we're excited to support Franklin.
How do I stay in the know with social media?
If you want to know about Franklin events as they happen, please join us on Facebook or Twitter. Join the closed group, Franklin Elementary PTO, on Facebook and follow @FranklinSoar on Twitter.
Dates to remember
Tuesday, September 19 Two Hour Late Start (10:10 SCHOOL STARTS)
Thursday, September 14 PTO at 6:30 in the media center
Thursday, September 20 School wide theme: Cats
Friday, September 28 School Walk-a-thon
Friday, October 13 Franklin Festival from 5:30-7:30
Friday, October 27 MSU sponsored Falloween event from 6:30-8:00
Monday, November 6 Picture retakes
November 14, 16 & 20 Scholastic Book Fair
About Us
Safety First
Our Responsibility
Always Try Your Best
Respect Yourself and Others
Email: tolson1@isd77.org
Website: http://www.fe.isd77.org/
Location: 1000 North Broad Street, Mankato, MN, United States
Phone: (507) 345.4287
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/183476102015128/
Twitter: @FranklinSoar