Upcoming Events
March 11th 3 hr Early Release
March 12th - 15th 8th Grade Writing SOL
March 28th Chantilly Pyramid Spotlight on Student Learning Event
March 29th FMS vs RRMS Basketball Game
April 4th -6th Spring Play: The Comic Book Artist
April 10th - 12th 7th Grade MWEE Science Field Trip
Your Views and Opinions Are Important to Us!
This spring all Franklin Middle School parents will be contacted through email or text message with a link to the FCPS Principal Evaluation Parent/Guardian Feedback Form Online. This survey is part of the Performance Evaluation Program and offers parents an opportunity to provide anonymous input about various issues related to our school. These issues include instructional leadership, school climate, human resources management, organizational management, communication and community relations and professionalism.
The survey will be collected online between March 13 and March 27. When you receive an email or text message from FCPS Surveys, please take a few minutes to complete the survey. Your opinions matter.
Student FCPSOn Bright Bytes Survey
As we have done the last 2 years, our school is partnering with BrightBytes, an educational research and analytics organization, on a vehicle that will provide insight about the FCPSOn 1 to 1 initiative. A survey will be used to gather metrics about technology use at school and home in order to understand the connection between technology use and student achievement. This will be done through a comprehensive framework called CASE that looks at the Classroom factors, Access to technology, teacher and student Skills and Environmental factors.
Your participation in this survey, though optional, is important to us and will make the difference between having a complete versus a limited understanding of our school’s technology use.
The spring survey window will be from March 1st – March 15th.
Please take a few moments to complete the following survey. It should only take approximately 10 - 15 minutes to complete and can be accessed from a computer or smartphone. Responses to the survey are anonymous.
Please go to: https://bbyt.es/start/Q384C to complete the survey.
 Please join us for the Spotlight on Student Learning in the Chantilly Pyramid
Writing SOL March 12th through 14th
Eighth grade students will be taking the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) Grade 8 Writing Test between March 12 and March 14. It is important that your child attend school on these days. If possible, please avoid scheduling trips or appointments that would take your child out of school during this time period. It is also important that your child have a good night’s rest and a healthy breakfast before testing. If you become aware of an unavoidable conflict that could result in your child missing a testing day, please notify your child’s school as soon as possible.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) requires that all students in grade 8 take the English: Writing Standards of Learning (SOL) test. The test has two components: multiple choice response and a short paper response. In order to obtain a score, your child must complete both components.
The purpose of SOL testing is to provide information about student achievement to the parent, school, school division, and state. In most cases, test scores are available for parents by the end of the school year. More information about how and when you will receive your child’s scores will be shared closer to these dates.
The SOL's are taken on the student issued HP Probooks. Please make sure students charge computers each night and have a charger to plug in the device for testing. VDOE regulation mandate that all computers must be plugged in during SOL testing. If your student has misplace, lost or damaged their charger, please let us know ASAP.
If you have questions about SOL testing, please contact the School Test Coordinator, Lea Fadden at Lea.Fadden@fcps.edu
Real Food For Kids Competition
A huge congratulations to 7th graders Brooke Benson and Audrey Krisko for representing Franklin so proudly at the Real Food for Kids Culinary Competition this past Saturday at Hayfield HS. Brooke and Audrey took home 2nd Place for our school in the largest lunch competition to date. There were 12 schools competing in 5 various school districts including Maryland, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Middle Schools, High Schools, and Culinary Academies were all included in this competition. The girls were judged by an esteemed panel that included Top Chef Contestant and owner of Good Stuff Eatery, Spike Mendelsohn, acclaimed DC chef, James Beard-nominated Cathal Armstrong, owner of the Eat Good Food Group that includes his new restaurant on the wharf, Kaliwa, and Bonnie Benwick, Deputy Food Editor for the Washington Post to name a few. Audrey and Brooke were featured on Fox 5 and channel 9 News. They had to prepare their Peruvian chicken lunch for 12 judges as well as 250 tastings for the general public that came out to this event. Mrs. Downer and Mrs. Jeffry are so proud of their dedication and hard work they put into this outstanding event!
Johns Hopkins FCPSOn study & student opt-out form
Johns Hopkins University is conducting an evaluation of the FCPSOn initiative in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). This initiative “moves FCPS students and staff members to look beyond the highstakes testing environment and to help our students develop skills so they can be successful in the workforce of the future.” Learn more about the FCPSOn initiative here:
https://www.fcps.edu/resources/technology/fcpson
This study will evaluate perceptions of the impact of the FCPSOn initiative on teaching and learning, acquisition of 21st century skills, student interest and engagement, advantages and challenges of technology infusion into learning, etc. This study may benefit society if the results lead to a better understanding of how best to implement such an initiative in a large school district.
Participating students will be invited to complete a short survey online and they may be selected to participate in a brief focus group to share their opinions concerning the FCPSOn initiative. Participation in this study is completely voluntary and confidentiality is guaranteed by the research team. If you decide not to have your student participate in this study, please return a completed copy of the included consent form to the main office.
FCPS Parental Consent Form (English)
FCPS Parental Consent Form (Spanish)
PTA PARENT COFFEE
Our Parent Coffee is coming up! The transition from elementary school to middle school is a pivotal time in our children’s lives. We would like to make the transition easier and put your mind at ease by having this informative discussion. Mrs. Eisenberg, Principal, and Mrs. Stubblefield, Director of Student Services, will be present to answer questions, provide additional insight and identify some key strategies for success. All current FMS parents and current 6th grade parents from our feeder schools are welcome. We hope you can join us for some refreshments and conversation on Tuesday, March 12th at 9:30 am.
DINING FOR DOLLAR$
Our next dining event is March 20th from 5-9 pm at Five Guys in Fairfax Town Center. Please mark your calendar and don’t forget to mention FRANKLIN when you order. We hope to see many of you there!
SERVICE HOURS
Does your student need additional service hours to meet the upcoming deadlines for NJHS and Civics? NJHS hours are due on April 30th and Civics hours are due by the end of the 3rd quarter. If so, follow us on Facebook. We post several opportunities there every week!
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY WEEKEND!
Information About the MOMO Challenge
In Fairfax County schools, county agencies and families are working together to create an environment where children and youth can safely learn, work, and play. Similar to our message containing information about the 13 Reasons Why NETFLIX program and the Blue Whale Challenge, we are sending this communication to alert you to a recent rise in new games and social media challenges that encourage young people to participate in harmful behavior.
One example of this is a potentially harmful game called the “Momo Challenge" that has reportedly been posted on different social media platforms to include WhatsApp and assigns players a series of progressively more intense tasks, to include self-harm. It is important to note that the Momo Challenge is a hoax that has received a significant amount of media attention.
This hoax has been seen across the United States in recent months, targeting primarily elementary aged children. Vigilant parents and guardians in Fairfax County have also reported seeing information about the Momo Challenge or similar games on their children's phones and have alerted school authorities.
Please talk to your child about this type of internet hoax, and check his or her phone or other device for signs of an app or communications with anyone telling them to do specific tasks. This provides an excellent opportunity to remind your child of best practices for internet safety and digital citizenship.
For more information about the MOMO Challlenge and documents to support your conversations, please visit the Franklin Middle School Website.
Parent Teen Book Club
Attention Parents and Teens!
The last installment of the Parent Teen Book Club on April 10, 2019 is FULL! Thank you for your interest!
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Due to the snow, the Feb 20th meeting will not be rescheduled.
The next meeting is March 21st.
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NJHS Members- Service Hours Reminder
Thank you for continuing to run the NJHS announcement. Can we modify it for this week?
NJHS Students and Parents
In order to maintain status as an NJHS member, students are required to
- Complete 15 service hours in service of an FCPS school (separate from and in addition to Civics Service Learning Hours)
- Maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA
- Uphold the Pillars of NJHS
Today students that currently are not in compliance with one or more of those categories have received a letter detailing what they need to complete to maintain their member status. This in no way removes students from NJHS at this time. However, changes will need to be made in order for them to attend our pinning ceremony in May. Final GPA calculations will be done at the end of the 3rd quarter (April 4, 2019) and service hours are due April 30, 2019 (service hour calculations in the letter were correct as of 2:30 pm on Wednesday 3/6) .
Parents of 8th grade NJHS members- please ask your students if they received a letter during Learning Seminar today so you can be aware of their membership status. If you have any questions you can reach out to Molly Bridenbaugh (NJHS Faculty Co-Advisor) at mbridenbaugh@fcps.edu
Franklin MS After School Program
Franklin vs. Rocky Run Basketball Game
Each year Franklin Students and staff play a basketball game against Rocky Run Middle School. The game will be held on Friday, March 29th at Chantilly High School. Doors open at 5:30 PM and the first game will begin at 6:00 PM. Tickets will be on sale during lunches beginning Thursday, March 27th , for $5.00 each. Tickets will also be sold at the door the night of the event. Students must be picked up no later than 9:00 PM on Friday. We will also have our After-School student vs. staff Basketball Game on Wednesday, March 20th from 2:30 – 4:00 PM. This is a late bus day and the game is free for students who would like to stay and watch.
After-School Fencing - Fairfax Fencers in Chantilly is interested in running an after-school fencing club. We need at least ten students to get the program going and students would need to participate each week for an 8 week session of ninety minutes. If your student is interested, please have them fill out the google form on their grade level google classroom.
Transportation is available to students staying after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – departing Franklin at 4:45 PM. Please be aware that the after-school late bus numbers and routes may differ from your child’s normal school day bus route.
- If you are picking up your child after 4:00 PM please use the Kiss and Ride area. Please DO NOT park in the bus loop.
- Students who plan to stay after-school must notify their parent/guardian BEFORE the 2:15 dismissal bell.
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2:15 – Dismissal bell, students who are staying after-school will go to their locker, grab all their belongings and head to the cafeteria. Each table will be labeled with the club/activity. They just find the correct table (ex. Chess Club) and will sign in and have a seat at that table. Everyday students will report to the cafeteria for sign-in and a snack.
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2:40 – Club/activity sponsors will come to the cafeteria to get their group and take them all together to the correct room/location.
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2:40 – 3:40 – 1st block activities
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3:40 – 4:40 – 2nd block activities
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4:40 – Students will report back to the cafeteria for late bus dismissal.
- Some activities are only 1st block and some are both blocks. If an activity is only 1 block, students can be picked up or report to a 2nd block activity.
After-School Activities - March 4 - March 15
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