The Franklin Flyer

Mark Your Calendars:

August 28 - September 1: Grade 2-5 Fall MAP Testing

August 28: PTA - Pizza Monday and Grade-Level T-Shirt Orders Open

August 30: Curriculum Night

September 4: Labor Day - No School

September 7: PTA - Community Conversations @ 6:30 PM, First PTA Meeting of the 23-24 year @ 7 PM at Franklin

September 11: PTA - First Pizza Monday

September 12: PTA - Room Parent Sign Up @ 9:30 AM

September 18: Picture Day

September 28: PTA - Back to School Bash 5-7 PM @ Franklin

September 30: Judi McCarthy 5K Memorial Run/Walk 9 AM @ Franklin

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.

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

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

Half-Day Kindergarten Hours

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

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

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

Reading and Math MAP testing will start from Monday, August 28 to September 1. The MAP test is one assessment we use to monitor student growth and progress. To help your child with a successful MAP testing session, please support with the follow:

• Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy breakfast before each day of testing.

• Provide your child with words of encouragement. While we don’t want our students to feel anxious about any assessment, we do want them to do their best.

• The MAP test is an online assessment, and students will be using their Chromebooks to complete these tests. Please ensure your child brings his or her Chromebook to school each day—fully charged.

• Please remind your child to take these tests seriously and encourage them to do their best.

Picture Day

Franklin's Picture Day is September 19th. Information on ordering school pictures from Color Portraits can be found below. If you have any further questions please contact Claire at claire@colorportraits.com

On September 7th at 6:30 pm in the Franklin LRC, Mrs. Williams and Ms. Burke will be available to have open conversations with any Franklin community members on ideas on ways to continue to build and grow at Franklin. This is a time to discuss topics related to the school or community. We ask if you would like to discuss the academic progress or concerns of your student, that you reach out to schedule a private time to meet.

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.

From Your PTA

PTA membership registration for this school year is now open at franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com. This year we are introducing a new Household Membership for $15 for two adults, or you can still join with one adult for $10. After submitting for your registration, you will receive a confirmation email sent to you to access the “Franklin School PTA Group” on Facebook via the link or QR code provided. This will take you directly to the group so you can request access to join our page. If you have any questions about membership or any of our updates, please reach out to us at info@franklinpta.com.

Join us for our first PTA meeting of the year on Thursday, September 7th

We are so excited to kick off the 2023-24 school year at Franklin. At our first meeting, we’ll share information about all of the planned events and activities for the year, review our budget, provide guidance on when and how you can volunteer, and answer any questions. This year we’re excited to return to some in-person meetings so join us in person for this first meeting in the Franklin Library at 7 PM. We’ll also broadcast the meeting through Zoom for anyone who can’t join in person.

Pizza Mondays are back!

As part of one of our largest fundraising drives each year, the PTA hosts “Pizza Mondays” where we order and serve Spuntino Pizza slices in one, two, or three-slice orders. Participation is optional and allows families to pack lighter lunches on Mondays during Pizza Monday blocks - we still recommend sending your child with a drink and lunch “sides” or you will have the same option as last year to order a drink, a la carte items…and new this year a side salad through www.mymealorder.com. We are happy to keep the pricing the same as last year, there is no price increase, and all proceeds from the pizza lunch fundraiser go directly to PTA funds to help the school throughout the year.

Orders for Pizza Monday open on Monday, August 28 in the PTA Membership Toolkit. More information below.

· How it works: On Mondays (listed below) your child will be served their pizza at their designated lunch spot. Parent volunteers will be handing out pizza and all PTA members are able to volunteer through the PTA membership toolkit (volunteer spots to open in early September).

· If school is canceled on a Pizza Monday there are no refunds for that day due to our block ordering system and this initiative being a fundraiser for our school. On those days, the funds go directly to helping the school vs. purchasing pizza. Thank you for your understanding!

· The school year is split into two Pizza Monday blocks: Block 1 will run from September 11th through December 18th (13 Mondays). Block 2 runs from January 8th through May 20th (16 Mondays). You do not need to participate in both blocks.

· Both regular cheese slices and gluten-free slices are available for purchase

· Pricing for Block 1:

o 1 slice/week for 13 weeks = $51

o 2 slices/week for 13 weeks = $81

o 3 slices/week for 13 weeks = $111

· We can accept orders for Block 1 of Pizza Monday starting on Monday, August 28 through Tuesday, September 5. Important: Once Pizza Monday orders close on September, 5 we cannot accept any more orders for Block 1.

· Volunteer roles for helping serve lunch on Pizza Mondays will open up each week, starting in early September for our first Pizza Monday on September 11. Stay tuned for more details!

Franklin Grade-Level T-Shirt Orders open Monday, August 28

Each year Franklin designs a t-shirt featuring the year’s school theme. Each grade wears a different color of the shirt to represent their school and class with pride. Students wear their shirts to the annual Raise Craze final assembly, Field Day and on spirit Fridays. Families have the option of buying these t-shirts for $7 through the PTA Membership Toolkit. The PTA welcomes our newest Kindergarten class by paying for a shirt for every Kindergarten student. Grade-level t-shirt orders run from Aug, 28 through Sep, 8 after which no other orders can be accepted.

Register or volunteer for the Judi McCarthy 5K Memorial Run/Walk on Sep 30

Registration is open for our inaugural 5K at Franklin in honor of a dedicated former Franklin teacher, Judi McCarthy. Franklin students and family members who want to participate in the 5K can register in the PTA Membership Toolkit for $10 per person. Your $10 fee includes a shirt and water and light snacks will be served at the end of the event.

Thank you volunteers!

A huge shout out to our hospitality committee, Amy Indriolo and Danielle Huber, for organizing breakfast on Monday morning and creating a warm welcome back for our staff as they prepared to welcome our kiddos.

Chess-Ed

Chess-Ed is excited to return to Franklin to provide lunchtime chess instruction this Fall. The 10-week program runs from 9/13/23 to 11/15/23 and takes place on Wednesdays. Students in grades K-3 will have Chess class from 11:00AM-12:00PM (lunch) while students in grades 4-5 will have Chess class from 11:30AM-12:30PM (lunch). The program is open to students in all grades and of all chess abilities (including those in full-day and half-day Kindergarten). Professional instruction will include the basics for beginner and novice players and build with opening theory, middle game planning, and end game combinations for continuing and advanced students. Playing chess improves memory, uses analytical and critical thinking skills, teaches problem solving, responsibility, sportsmanship, social skills and more! The benefits of chess last a lifetime!

To register, please go to https://2023-2024franklinchess.eventbee.com. Register by 8/30/23 to take advantage of the lowest available fee. For more information about the program, please refer to the program flyer. Chess-Ed is looking forward to working with your CHESS ENTHUSIAST this Fall!