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Dear Franklin Families and Students,
Good Afternoon!
Fall is in the air and it is hard to believe it is already October! As we continue to work together to support each other during a school year unlike any other, we have several upcoming events that will allow you to continue to connect and engage with the school and community. Some of these include our Parent Office Hours on October 5, the start of our Library Curbside Checkouts that begin on October 12, our School Spirit Wear Sale, and a socially distanced PTA Family Dinner Night.
We hope that many of you can join us at the upcoming Parent and Family Office Hours from 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM on Monday. During this event, small groups of our teachers will be available in content-specific video sessions that you can drop into at any point during the 90 minute event. For example, you might start in English, then head over to World Languages, and finish in the Health and PE session. Our staff will not be delivering presentations during the sessions. Rather, the focus will be on answering your general questions about the course content, instructional and grading practices, and curriculum resources.
If you are interested in attending this event, you will need to pre-register using the information found below and the links for each session will be sent to you on the morning of October 5. If you are unable to attend, please feel free to reach out to your student’s teacher, counselor, or administrator with any questions.
I always welcome your feedback, suggestions, and questions at dpwright@fcps.edu.
Best wishes for a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.
Sincerely,
Dustin Wright
Principal
Parent and Family Office Hours on Monday, October 5
As part of our Back to School Night offerings, parents and families will have the opportunity to meet teachers virtually during our Parent and Family Office Hours event on Monday, October 5. These are open sessions with our staff, so only general questions about the course, content, instructional and grading practices, attendance, make-up policies and curriculum resources may be answered during this time. Questions specific to a particular student may be addressed through individual conferences arranged directly with the teacher or through the student’s counselor.
The Parent and Family Office Hours are scheduled for October 5 from 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM and will occur through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BBCU). If you will be attending this event, we ask that you register in advance before October 4 using the form below. All registered families will be emailed BBCU links on the morning of the event. We look forward to connecting with you next week.
Please click here to register for the Parent and Family Office Hours.
PTA Spirit Wear Sale - Orders Due October 10
Spirit wear is now available for purchase online. Please click here to order your Franklin MS spirit wear. Online ordering is open until Saturday, October 10 at 11:00 PM. No late orders will be accepted, and all sales are final. Distribution of orders will be in late October, with scheduled pick-up windows held outside of school. Families will be contacted with pick-up information when the orders are in. Please contact our Spirit Wear Coordinator spiritwear@franklinmiddleschoolpta.org with any questions.
Save the Date for a PTA Family Dinner Night at Mod Pizza on October 25
It’s football season and with that comes Pizza! Support our PTA with Dining for Dollars at Mod Pizza in Greenbriar Town Center on Sunday, October 25 from 10:30 AM - 10:00 PM. Please be sure to mention the fundraiser for Franklin Middle School at the register before you pay in order for our PTA to receive a donation equivalent to 20% of the purchase.
Library Curbside Checkout is Coming!
Curbside pickup of library books will begin on October 12 from 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM, and October 14 from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Students may place up to 5 books on hold in the library catalog. Please have your student follow the directions below to place a hold for curbside pickup.
- Login to your Destiny Discover account.
- Search or browse for the books you would like to read.
- Click HOLD.
- Ignore the Destiny notification that your book is ready.
- Check your @fcpsschools.net email on Fridays to see if your book is ready to be picked up.
Please contact Sheri Ruffle with any questions (sruffle@fcps.edu).
SR&R Parent Acknowledgement Form
Each year, parents and guardians are requested to complete and return a Parent and/or Guardian Signature Sheet to acknowledge receipt of the Student Rights & Responsibilities: A Guide for Families booklet. This year, parents and guardians will need to review the Student Rights and Responsibilities and related resources electronically at www.fcps.edu/srr. After reviewing the information, please fill out the SR&R Parent Acknowledgement Form using this link. The form must be filled out one time per student. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to Dr. Zena Chapman (zichapman@fcps.edu).
SIS Weekly Progress Reports to Parents Set to Start Monday, October 5
If you have registered for SIS ParentVUE and have a primary email address recorded in ParentVUE, you can receive your student’s Weekly Progress Report via email. For the 2020-21 school year, Weekly Progress Reports are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 5, 2020. This report provides a summary of your student’s grades for the current quarter. To activate the Weekly Progress Reports via email, login to your SIS ParentVUE account and verify that you have a primary email address within the system. It is listed under the “My Account” tab.
If it is blank, enter the email address where you would like to receive the progress reports, and click on “Update Account”. Once your email is confirmed, return to the “My Account” tab to activate and select your preferences for receiving these reports. Emails will be sent according to your selected preferences. Weekly Progress Reports for all of your middle and high school students will be included in one email. For additional help, refer to the quick reference guide for FCPS parents/guardians.
Parents can also access student grades through ParentVUE via the Grade Book tab.
Thomas Jefferson HS Admissions Update
For eighth grade students and parents who are interested in applying for the TJHSST class of 2025, please note that there may be changes to how the application process may be conducted. Superintendent Brabrand outlined the proposed changes that can be found here. At this time, the application process is not available. If you have any further questions or concerns, you can view the TJ Admissions website.
Franklin MS After School Program
Our after-school program is off to a great start! Thank you to all of the students who signed up to participate. We still have openings in plenty of our activities and we are adding more activities as the weeks progress. A few reminders:
- Spaces in clubs are limited so students are accepted on a first come, first served basis. We want our clubs to be interactive and engaging, which will not be possible if the groups get too large.
- Students can find more information about the After-School Program in their grade-level Google Classroom and on the student After-School site.
- Students should check out the “Clubs by Day” and “Club Descriptions” sheets for club information and schedules.
If you have any questions about the After-School Program, please feel free to contact Mrs. Mollé (cemolle@fcps.edu).
Attendance Procedures
Attendance is taken 5 days a week. If your child will be absent for any part of the day please report to the school through one of the following:
Family Life Education Instructional Program Information
Fairfax County Public Schools provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve. Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program. Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices. If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt-out forms are available online for Middle School (7-8) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/middle-school-academics-7-8/family-life-education-fle.
Parents/guardians wishing to opt their child out of instruction may complete and return the opt-out form or scan and email a copy of the completed form. An opt-out request can also be made in an email which indicates the lesson(s) the child will be opted out of. The actual opt-out form is not required. Opt-out emails should be addressed to Mr. Howes at srhowes@fcps.edu with the subject line FLE opt-out: Student last name.
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Middle School (7-8). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in FCPS 24-7 (Blackboard) Parent Vue https://www.fcps.blackboard.com.
There will be a Virtual Parent Preview Night for parents to meet the teachers and to ask any questions pertaining to the FLE (7-8) curriculum in November. More information will be provided as the date approaches.
Program questions may be addressed at your child’s school or by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or by contacting Carrie Reynolds, Health and Physical Education Coordinator at cfreynolds@fcps.edu.
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