The Franklin Flyer

On behalf of the entire Franklin staff, we wish you and your family a wonderful winter break. We hope you have a happy, healthy, and joyful new year! We look forward to continuing to celebrate our students' growth and learning when we return and throughout 2024!

Mark Your Calendars:

December : PTA - Sign-ups closing soon!!

• 4th & 5th Grade Volleyball (until teams are full)
• International Night (closes end of December)
• Pizza Monday Volunteer Sign-ups

December 25 - January 5: Winter Break - No School

January 12: PTA - Book Club Kick-Off

January 15: No School

January 25: PTA - International Nights 6-8 PM & GLAM Club begins

February 14: Valentine's Day

February 15: Open House 6:00-7:30 PM

February 16: Institute Day - No School

February 19: No School

February 23: PTA - VIP and Me Winter Dance 6-8 PM

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 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.

Franklin Office Hours
School office hours are from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

School Hours

School Hours (M, T, Th, F): 8:50 am - 3:30 pm

Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Lunch: 11:35 - 12:30

4th and 5th Grade Lunch: 12:05 - 1:00

Wednesday School Hours: 8:50 am - 2:40 pm

Wednesday Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Lunch: 11:05 - 12:00

Wednesday 4th and 5th Grade Lunch: 11:35 - 12:30

Half-Day Kindergarten Hours

Kindergarten Hours (M, T, Th, F): 8:50 am - 11:35 am

Kindergarten Wednesday: 8:50 am - 11:05 am

Illness Reminder from the District Nurse

Cold and Flu Season is here! Please do not send your student to school if they have a fever of 100 or above, vomiting and/or diarrhea, or if they feel too sick with a sore throat, cough, runny nose, etc. to participate in class. Keep them home, give them time to rest and do not send them back to school until they are 24 hours free of vomiting, fever, and diarrhea without the use of medication AND feeling well enough to participate in the school day. Please read this illness letter that was sent home earlier this year about the common illnesses we’re seeing this time of year. IDPH and CDC have asked us to remind you to make sure you and your students are up to date on your flu and COVID immunizations (and RSV vaccine for infants or older adults).

If your child will not be attending school due to illness or any other reason, please report it to the school absence line at any time and leave a message stating the reason for the absence. We want everyone to be healthy for the last week of school before break and want to help everyone have a healthy holiday season.

Please send a change of clothes with your student for all K-5 students. It is helpful to have a change in the event of spilled water, accidents, or an unexpected need for a change in clothes. Student clothes should be labeled with your child's name and can be kept in your child's locker.

If there are any significant changes at home that may impact your student(s) arrival or dismissal or impact your student(s) emotional at school, please reach out to notify Mrs. Williams or your child's teacher to best support your family.

Secretary of State Poster Contest

The Secretary of State is holding a student poster contest for Organ/Tissue donors. If you'd like more information about participating in the student poster content, you can find the details here.

For the health and safety of our students and community, no pets are allowed on school property. We realize the beautiful weather increases the amount of families who are walking. However, we ask that you please leave your dog or cat at home. Properly identified service animals are always permitted.

Please take a moment to review the contacts section of your ParentPortal. Any adult who has approval for after school pick-up or emergency pick-up for illness/injury should be listed. Franklin staff will not release students to adults who are not listed on the ParentPortal.

Chromebooks

As a reminder, each Franklin student will be issued an iPad (grades K-1) or a Chromebook computer (grades 2-5) as part of the District’s one-to-one digital learning program. Students will receive their devices during the first week of school. Your child will also be assigned a Google account to access Google Apps for Education and other digital resources at school and to explore further concepts introduced in class at home. The devices and their applications are technology tools that provide all students access to digital content and higher levels of individualized instruction.

You can find more information about the 1:1 Initiative, Chromebooks, and the other technologies available to our students here.

Drop-off of Student Items/Lunches

If your student forgets something at home, an adult may drop off items at the Franklin front office. Our front office staff will message the classroom for your student to pick up these items during a break in student instruction. The teacher will send the student to the office when it works best in the classroom schedule.

Visiting Franklin

All visitors to Franklin must have a valid state ID or driver’s license. Identification is entered into the Raptor identification system. This process only takes a short time to complete. Once you have clearance, the office staff will print a visitor pass for you and attach it to a lanyard you must wear throughout the building. The office will hold your ID until you return to the office and return the lanyard. We appreciate your support as we proceed with this district-mandated safety procedure for the safety of our students.

Student-Parent Handbook
Franklin Elementary School and all District 64 schools follow policies and practices reviewed and implemented by the District 64 Board of Education. Please review the D64 Student-Parent Handbook before the start of the school year.

You can find frequent updates or snapshots from our days at Franklin on Facebook and Instagram! Follow us at

Facebook: facebook.com/FranklinD64

Instagram: franklin.d64

Capture those Falcon memories!

Please add photos of all of the recent school events to the yearbook. Easily upload to the TreeRing app or website or email notification.photos.298362828@treeringphotos.com

Lights! Camera! Action! Committee Members Needed for Night of the Stars

Planning will begin after break and we need help to plan and produce this fun event that highlights the many talents of our Falcons. Please reach out to Camille DeCicco (camille.decicco@gmail.com) if you are interested in helping with any of the following:

• Promotion, communication

• Talent management, rehearsals

• Providing snacks and prizes for performers

• Day of logistics, concessions, decorations

Staff Lunches

The PTA offers teachers and staff members an option to purchase lunch on Mondays from Spuntinos via franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com. Families are always welcome to show their appreciation for a staff member by purchasing a Monday lunch on their behalf. If this is something your family is interested in doing, please consider the following before purchasing.

1. Email your staff member prior to ordering to confirm what they would like to order. The options include:

• 10 inch Pizza with 1 Topping Choice

• Hamburger/Cheeseburger and Fries

• Italian Beef and Fries

• Grilled Chicken Salad

• Caesar Salad

• Grilled or Fried Chicken Sandwich and Fries

• BLT Sandwich and Fries

• Penne Pasta with Vodka or Marinara Sauce and Side Salad

• Options to customize are available on the form

2. The form is only available for the upcoming Monday lunch. Ordering for the following Monday will close the Friday before at 9:30am.

3. Once ordered, please confirm with the staff member what day you purchased their lunch.

Questions about teacher and staff lunches can be directed to rebeccavanpoucke@gmail.com.

It’s Back….GLAM Club starting in January

Third, fourth, and fifth graders are welcome to join Games, Logic, and Math Club (GLAM Club)! In each of our Thursday lunch/ recess sessions (January 25-March 21) we will sample various board and card games, apply logic and reasoning with puzzles and explore how we can play with math and numbers in a fun way. We'll get competitive with some game tournaments organized for kids that are interested- including our big Connect 4 Tournament! Otherwise, we'll simply have fun learning and playing games with our friends. Please join us!

Volunteers are needed for Thursday lunch sessions. Please consider helping out for all sessions or as a part-time volunteer. All games and materials are provided and no previous experience is necessary. Please contact Brennan Young with your availability at youngbrennan12@yahoo.com.

Sign-ups for both students and volunteers will be available on Membership Toolkit when we return from break.

4th and 5th Grade Volleyball Runs from February 12 - April 12, 2024

Just a few more spots left, learn volleyball and represent Franklin against the other grade schools!

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

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

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

Please contact Principal Williams, ASAP if interested in a scholarship due to financial hardship. Openings are limited based on sign-up.

If you have any questions or want to help coach 4th grade, please contact the Franklin PTA V-ball Coordinator, Rob Barrett at vette02@aol.com.

Ciao! Mahalo! Γεια σας! Hola! Bonjour! Hello! Здраво! Witam!

We still have a few spots available for country tables, please sign up in Membership Tookit if you are interested in participating. If you see someone who signed up for your country already, you can reach out to them to join in, or reach out to Erin Gilfert (edoherty22@gmail.com) to get connected.

We are always looking for performances to showcase the many different cultures through song, dance, demonstration, etc! Everyone is invited to participate - adults, family members, children, etc!

The countdown is on! V.I.P. and Me Winter Dance returns in February

Tickets to the 2024 Franklin V.I.P. and Me winter dance will go on sale in the Membership Toolkit in January, first to PTA members. This is a very popular event and we do have to limit capacity - only one adult V.I.P. per household will be admitted to the dance. Look for more information in the weekly Franklin Flyer and the PTA Facebook group. Please send questions regarding the dance to idalmy.colucci@gmail.com.

Capture those Falcon memories!

Please add photos of all of the recent school events to the yearbook. Easily upload to the TreeRing app or website or email notification.photos.298362828@treeringphotos.com