Franklin e-Newsletter
Friday, February 17, 2017
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NO SCHOOL-Friday, February 24
Spring Break March 13-17
Principal's Message
Excusing Your Child
- If your child is sick they should be seen in the clinic with our Nurse and/or Health Secretary. This allows them to be checked by a professional. If a student is not feeling well and needs to go home they will call from the Clinic. Students should not be using their cell phones to call their parents to go home.
- If you need to get a message to your child please call our Attendance or Main Office. We appreciate advance notice so we don't have to interrupt the classroom with an announcement.
- If your child needs to leave school for any reason please call or Attendance or Main Office. It's best to do this before school or send a pass to school with your child. This will allow us to get a pass to the student. With the advance notice we are able to get passes so students are out of school when you need them. It also limits interruptions to the school day.
Thank you again for your cooperation with this.
1st Semester Honor Roll
Link to honor rolls: http://franklin.cr.k12.ia.us/academics/honor-roll/
2nd Quarter PARRT Award Winners
- No grade lower than a C
- No office referrals
- Absent from school 2 or less days
- No missing work
- 3 or fewer late assignments
Besides being recognized in front of their peers they also received a certificate with the following items to be redeemed: 4 front of the line lunch passes, eat lunch with a friend in the student lounge, 20 Bolt Bucks, and 1 homework pass.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Purpose Statements
"What are we doing in class today?"
This is a time honored question many eager students ask as soon as they are in speaking range of teachers in the hallways here at Franklin. There was a time that you could hear a teacher answer that question multiple times every passing period all day long. It yielded two probing thoughts for our staff: students are wanting to know what they are going to do in my class, and there has to be a way not to repeat the answer over and over again.
As a part of our School Improvement Plan, the Franklin Building Leadership Team has led our staff in professional learning around the idea of purpose statements. A purpose statement is a clearly stated focus for the learning to take place in one class session in student friendly language. The purpose statement takes the mystery out of what the learning expectation(s) are for the day (the why) and processes being used in that day’s lesson (the how). It is an embedded component of the lesson planning process. The pictures below are a few examples of purpose statements that were posted in various classrooms in our building today.
So, the next time you sit down as a family and begin to talk about what happened at school, try using a different conversation starter. What was the purpose of the learning today in your class?
Scholastic Art Contest
“…to give those high school students who demonstrate superior talent and achievement in things of the spirit and of the mind at least a fraction of the honors and rewards accorded to their athletic classmates for demonstrating their bodily skills.” –Maurice R. Robinson, Founder
Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth, and provided opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated. Each year, increasing numbers of teens participate in the program, and become a part of our community—young artists and writers, filmmakers and photographers, poets and sculptors, video game artists and science fiction writers, along with countless educators who support and encourage the creative process. (taken from the Scholastic Art and Writing website)
At the regional level, the gold key recipients are in the top 5-7% of the submissions. (320,000 this year). The Silver key is in the 7-10%, and the Honorable Mentions are in the 10-15%. We will find out on March 14th if Ethan is a national winner.
Photography
- Jordyn Cory- Rustic History- Gold Key
- Bella de Leon- Stroll Down Pathway – Honorable Mention
- Elizabeth Evans- The World’s Not Safe Anymore- Honorable Mention
- Chloe Malone- Devouring Pure Happiness- Honorable Mention
- Emma Sorg- Judge Me- Honorable Mention
- Emma Sorg- Untitled- Honorable Mention
Journalism
- Ethan Oehlert- The Truth Behind Teen Suicide- Gold Key
- Josh Horne- Why Does the Confederate Flag Still Fly?- Silver Key
- Priya Kearney- Cancer Kills, But is Chemo Just as Bad?- Silver Key
Film and Animation
- Sophia Lindwall- The Truth About Middle Schools-Honorable Mention
Cartoon Art
- Lamaur Benjamin- Ark of Magic – Honorable Mention
Math Counts
Math Counts is a competition for 7 & 8th graders at Franklin Middle School. We completed at Prairie Point Middle School on February 4 with 10 different schools. After completing with some difficult math problems, this group finished third and Nic Ryan moving on to the state competition in Des Moines at Drake University. Members of the team include Annika Twedt-Ball, Nic Ryan, Trevor Orme, Sam Renning. Way to go, Bolts!
Future Cities to DC
Piloting Kindles
Mr. Kelsey and Mr. Jeffords’ classes are piloting the use of the Kindle Fire tablets for use with the district’s Canvas Software and Office 365 to augment Surface Pro tablets. In addition to being very mobile and quite affordable (only $50 per tablet), they allow for self-guided and differentiated learning. We currently have 6 and would like to purchase enough for every student to have one while in science class. Look for a Donors Choose link soon to help with the effort!
Iowa Assessments
In recognition for the hard work our students will be putting forth we will have a celebration dance on Thursday, April 13 from 2:00-4:00. This will also serve as a PTA fundraiser. More information will follow.
Horizons-Meals on Wheels
Clinic News-6th Graders
To 6th Grade Parents
Immunization Requirements for all incoming 7th graders: Iowa law states that all incoming 7th graders are required to have a Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines before entering 7th grade. Please send proof of these immunizations to the Franklin health office before August 23, 2017. You can get these immunizations from your doctor or Linn County Public Health. If you do not have a doctor or insurance, you can call Metro Care Connection at 558-2481. Please call your school nurse, Sharon Neilly at 558-1242 with questions.
Upcoming Schedule
Monday, February 20
- Wrestling @ Home vs. Wilson and Northwest
- Orchestra Concert, 7:00PM
Tuesday, February 21
- Vocal Concert, 7:00PM
Thursday, February 23
- Parent-Teacher Conferences, 3:00-8:30PM
Friday, February 24
- Marion Show Choir Competition
Saturday, February 25
- Kennedy Show Choir Competition
Monday, February 27
- Band Concert, 7:00PM
Tuesday, February 28
- Wrestling @ Home vs. McKinley & Linn-Mar
Thursday, March 2
- Wrestling @ Taft
Saturday, March 4
- Kennedy Honor Orchestra
- NEIBA Jazz Band Competition, Waterloo
- Xavier Show Choir Competition
Franklin Middle School
Email: lptacek@cr.k12.ia.us
Website: franklin.cr.k12.ia.us
Location: 300 20th Street Southwest, Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Phone: (319) 558-2452
Facebook: facebook.com/franklinms
Twitter: @FranklinBolts