The Franklin Flyer

Mark Your Calendars:

November - December 6: Toys for Tots Donation Drive

November 29 - December 14: Staff Gift Collection

November 29 - December 19: Pizza Day, Book Club, Volleyball Opens

December 2: Trimester 1 Report Cards Sent Home

December 10: Toys for Tots Parade @ 9 am

December 12 - 16: Winter MAP Testing

December 22: Holiday Sing

December 23 - January 6: Winter Break

January 9: School Resumes

Absences

Please remember to call in or email absences by 8:45 AM. You can call our student absence line (847) 318-4390 (ext 1) is available 24 hours a day or email Mrs. Linda Berleth at lberleth@d64.org.

If the absence is illness related, please also make sure to include Franklin's nurse, Mrs. Queta Karstens, at qkarstens@d64.org.

You can view the current Franklin COVID-19 cases on the Franklin COVID-19 Dashboard found here. The dashboard is updated at the end of the day, Monday through Friday.

COVID-19 Franklin Dashboard

COVID-19 2022-2023 Guidelines

Next week we will return to having arrival & dismissal in the back at our lineup lines. The circle drive is open again and will return to kiss & go. All grades will line up in the back as normal.

The construction fencing around the new wing's exterior will remain until the ground work is completed.

Please check your child's backpack today for their Trimester 1 report card. We are proud of all the hard work and growth our Falcons have shown us over the last trimester. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions.

Franklin School will collect warm winter items during the weeks between Thanksgiving and the winter break to help our less fortunate citizens.

If interested, please donate NEW winter hat, scarves, gloves, or mittens. Items can be for children or adults.

Please send items to school by December 16th!

Holiday Sing

Franklin's Holiday Sing will be on Thursday, December 22nd.

Our concerts will be the following times:

9:30 - 10:30 - All Kindergarten, 3rd, and 4th grade students

1:30 - 2:30 - All 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade students

Doors will open 15 minutes prior to the start of each concert.

Class Pictures

We will have our Franklin class pictures to distribute to those who have ordered them in late January or early February. We will notify in the Franklin Flyer once they have been distributed.

Devices at Franklin

In the Student-Parent handbook, it states that all communication devices (e.g. phones, smart watch, GPS tracker, etc.) must be kept in the students locker during the school day. Cell Phones and electronic devices will be asked to be powered off and kept in students' lockers. Please refrain from calling students during school hours. If you need to speak to your student or have an urgent message, please call the Franklin office. We can support you in reaching your child.

Spelling Bee

Anyone Entering Franklin

All parents/guardians/visitors to Franklin must have a valid state ID or driver’s license. These will be entered into the Raptor identification system. This process only takes a short time to complete. Once you have clearance, a visitor pass will be printed and attached to a lanyard that you must wear throughout the building. The office will hold your ID until you return to the office and return the lanyard that was given to you. We request that you please be patient with staff as we proceed with this district-mandated safety procedure.

Student-Parent Handbook
Franklin Elementary School, along with all District 64 schools, operates following policies and practices that have been reviewed and implemented by the District 64 Board of Education. Please review the D64 Student-Parent Handbook before the start of the school year.

Calling all Cultures!!

We are in need of some volunteers to help brainstorm ideas and plan our next International

night that is coming up on January 19th. This is one of Franklin’s biggest events so this year

we want it to be the best and we want to showcase as many wonderful Franklin cultures as

possible!

If you are interested in helping, please sign up on membership toolkit.

franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com

Book Club- Student Registration- Open Now!

Book club is on Fridays during lunch 11:35 am–12:25 pm

January 13th- March 17th 2023

We will again be using books hand-selected for each grade level. The books will have

relevance to the students and offer excellent discussion opportunities for their groups.

● We are emphasizing that it should be the student's choice to participate in book

club: we want to ensure that students who take part in the book club are committed

to reading the book and positively contributing to the discussions and activities.

● A $30 fee per student that will cover the costs of the books, materials, and

activities.

● Groups will be limited to facilitate the best discussion environment. We can have as

many groups per grade level as we have parent leaders!

● You can still sign up to be a book club leader. Responsibilities include facilitating book

discussion, and planning supporting activities, crafts, and/or games to go along with

the book(s). Book club chairs will select reading materials and distribute them to

leaders. Each group leader will be given a stippen to spend on supplies needed for

extra activities. Students will also eat lunch together during book club. Group size will

be limited to 10 children per group. Sign up at franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com

Pizza Monday Block 2- January 9th-June 5th

Pizza Monday ordering is open now through December 19th in membership toolkit. We can

not accept orders after 12/19. Thank you for understanding!

If you ordered pizza for block 1, you need to order again for block 2. If you do not purchase

pizza by 12/19 there will be no other opportunity to sign up for pizza day for the remainder

of the year.

You must be a PTA member to order pizza through the PTA sponsored pizza days. You can

join the PTA, and order pizza at franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com.

A few important things to note:

● Hot lunches ordered through my meal order are not available on Monday’s. If you

do not participate in the Monday Pizza lunch program, then you will need to pack a

lunch.

● 2 kinds of pizza are offered- cheese and gluten free cheese. 1,2, or 3 slices can be

ordered.

● Drinks only for Monday’s can be ordered through my meal order.

● All sides must be packed from home.

● Pizza day is every Monday of in school attendance.

BLOCK 2 PRICING

1 slice $71.00

2 slices $112.00

3 slices $154.00

HOLIDAY TEACHER/STAFF GIFT COLLECTION OPEN NOW-DECEMBER 14th

The PTA is once again organizing a holiday gift collection drive for each of the amazing

Franklin teachers and staff members. If you would like to contribute money to a class gift, or

towards a gift for another teacher or staff member you can do so at:

Franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com

The Holiday Collection will close on 12/14/22, giving our elves enough time to purchase

and deliver a gift before winter break.

A $10 contribution is recommended, but we would welcome your contribution at any level.

For those classrooms with co-teachers, please consider contributing to both teachers.

All of the information needed to contribute and how to allocate will be in membership

toolkit when you log on to contribute.

All home room teacher gifts will be purchased by the head room parents after the

collection closes and the money is allocated.

Thank you so much for showing your appreciation for the wonderful teachers and staff at

Franklin this Holiday Season!

4th and 5th Grade Volleyball - Registration is open NOW-December 19th

Franklin PTA is excited to offer an intramural volleyball program. The overall GOAL of

the program is to introduce the sport of volleyball in a fun way. This will be a co-ed

program and open to all students in the 4th and 5th grades.

Volleyball registration is open until teams are full

● Sign up at the PTA Store on Membership Toolkit Franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com

● Volleyball season will run 8 weeks: January 30th -March 24th

● 12 players max per co-ed team; two teams for each grade

● 4th grade practice and games will be Mon or Wed between 6:30-8:30pm

● 5th grade practice and games will be Tues or Thurs between 6:30-8:30pm

● Franklin will compete against Field, Roosevelt, Washington and Carpenter teams

● $30 fee includes T-shirt, pizza party, league supplies

Franklin PTA is also offering financial scholarships. Please contact the Franklin

Principal, Kristin Williams, by Monday, 11/28

If you have any questions or want to help coach, please contact the Franklin PTA V-ball

Coordinator, Courtney Bowles at courtneyblum@gmail.com

Toys for Tots

Calling all Franklin Falcons, we need your help!

Franklin, as well as other D64 schools, is excited to participate this holiday season in the Toys

For Tots Collection Drive! This is the Drive’s 75th Anniversary, let’s make it the best one yet!

Toys for Tots is a top-rated charity which provides toys, books and other gifts to less

fortunate children.

If you would like to purchase a toy for a child of any age in need, consider shopping at the

Amazon Wish List below for fast and easy ordering to the "Franklin Toys for Tots Collection

House", where all purchases will be delivered directly to our collection site. If you purchase a

gift elsewhere, just message us and we will reach out to you to arrange for a drop-off or

pick-up. All gifts should be new and un-wrapped. Collection will end on Tuesday, December

6th.

On Saturday, December 10th, all of the toys collected will be brought over to Carpenter

Elementary School. Save the date, decorate your car, and join us there for a parade which

starts at Carpenter at 9am and ends at the Park Ridge Police Station. There, a semi-truck will

be waiting for us to fill with all of the toys collected for the Drive!

This is truly such a wonderful event where we can each help put a smile on a child’s face this

holiday season! Any and every item can help make a difference!

Thank you in advance for your participation!