 Franklin MS First Week of School - August 2023
Good Afternoon Franklin Families,
It has truly been a fantastic first week of school here at Franklin Middle School! I have enjoyed getting to know our new students and reconnecting with our returning students in the hallways and in classrooms. This week our teachers focused on relationship activities within the classroom, which allowed them to begin building that strong classroom community we know is essential for overall student success. We also introduced our Falcons CARE behavior matrix and provided some introductory lessons on school-wide behaviors in expectations. Students had an opportunity to reflect on this behavior matrix and share what each of the categories means to them as a student at Franklin MS.
As we continue our work of building relationships and a strong Franklin community, I am happy to share we officially have a new After-School Specialist, Mr. William (Chris) Tippins! Mr. Tippins currently serves as the After-School Specialist at Whitman Middle School and is eager to join the Franklin community. He brings with him much experience in providing student voice in the after-school program, connecting community and business organizations to the after-school program, and creating a strong link between the school staff and the after-school program, which increases enrichment and intervention efforts. Our after-school program will begin the week of September 21st so please stay tuned for more details from Mr. Tippins as he transitions to Franklin.
I wish you all a wonderful and restful weekend. Thank you for all of your efforts to support your child(ren) and our school as we end a very successful first week of school. As always, please reach out to me at MLCase@fcps.edu with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Michelle Case
Interim Principal
Important Dates
September 1-4 - Labor Day Holiday
September 6 - Back to School Night from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
September 15 - Religious and Cultural Observance
September 25 - Holiday
September 26 - PTA Meeting at 7:00 PM (more information below)
Required Forms for the 2023-24 School Year
This year, we are excited to announce that parents will be able to use SIS ParentVUE to verify and update their student’s emergency contacts, phone numbers, and health conditions. Please click here for more information on the SIS ParentVUE Online Verification/Update (OVU) Packet. Please visit our FMS School Opening webpage for more information and additional optional forms.
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Emergency Care Form - All students must have accurate emergency care information each school year. Parent/Legal Guardians update this information via their SIS ParentVue account. Log into your SIS ParentVUE account.
- Optional: in SIS ParentVUE - Under Report Card Tabs choose “Go Paperless”.
Digital Consent Form - please submit!
Each year, parents must provide digital consent before students can access all of the online tools that are approved by FCPS. Please complete the online digital consent form. You will log in with the same username and password that you use for ParentVUE. If you do not know your password, choose the “forgot password” link from SIS ParentVUE. If you need an activation key to activate your account, request an activation key here.
2023 Student Rights and Responsibilities
FCPS’ Student Rights and Responsibilities document (SR&R) explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment. In late June, the School Board approved changes to the SR&R for the 2023-24 school year. Updates include a revision of dress code expectations, bystander expectations for students witnessing harmful or unsafe behaviors, bullying, and substance abuse responses. Read Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid’s letter to families regarding the SR&R.
Parents/caregivers should talk to their child(ren) about expectations for this school year. Also, please log in to SIS ParentVUE and sign to acknowledge your review of the SR&R, or sign and return the signature sheet to your child’s school by Friday, September 29.
Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
The beginning of the school year is the best time to develop strong attendance habits! Students who attend school regularly are more likely to perform well in reading and math, develop strong social and emotional skills, and graduate from high school on time. Help prepare your child for future success. Watch this video with tips from Fairfax Pyramid principals and visit FCPS’ Attendance webpage for tips and strategies.
Franklin MS Procedures for Families
As you are making the transition to middle school, please review the Franklin MS Procedures for Families to ensure that all students are safe and accounted for each school day and to minimize disruption of classroom instructional time. Please visit our website for more information.
Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device Activity
FCPS has tools to help parents know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided at no cost to families by Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service.
Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites your child visited. The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for free access to the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours.
Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports.
Safety Drills During the School Year
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for FCPS. Each school has an emergency preparedness plan to respond to incidents such as fires and tornadoes. Schools are required by state law to practice emergency drills, including lockdown drills, each year. Schools are also required to notify parents and guardians at least 24 hours before a school conducts a lockdown drill. However, schools are not required to give the specific date and time of the drill in advance.
The first lockdown drill of the school year must take place within the first 20 days of school. Preschool and kindergarten students are exempt from practicing the first lockdown drill.
Your child may come home and talk about their experience during the drill. We encourage you to talk with your child about the importance of being prepared for emergencies. Please review these frequently asked questions to support your students before and after school lockdown drills.
Parent Information Phone Lines Available in Eight Languages
Parents/caregivers who speak Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese may call a telephone information line for general information about FCPS. View the list of phone numbers.
The 2023-30 Strategic Plan — Foundation of Four Pillars
The division’s new strategic plan is built on a foundation of four pillars — what FCPS must do well to reach its goals for all students. The pillars include:
- We design innovative learning experiences that meet the needs of each and every learner, and implement professional practices that engage, empower, include, and challenge the whole learner through varied opportunities.
- We share responsibility to build trusting partnerships that sustain a safe, inclusive culture for learning and work, and we collaborate proactively with respect, honesty, and transparency.
- We recruit and retain staff who reflect the diversity of students and families; provide meaningful continuous learning, exceptional compensation, and balanced workload; and create a safe and culturally responsive environment that values staff voice.
- We nurture processes and structures that are grounded in intentional partnerships, shared responsibility for equitable resource allocation, and data-driven continuous improvement and innovation.
Stay tuned to learn more about our five goals of the new strategic plan, or visit our Strategic Plan webpage.
PTA Spirit Wear Sale - Online Ordering Open until August 27
We are pleased to offer an opportunity to purchase spirit wear online for the upcoming school year. Whether your student is new to Franklin MS as a seventh grader, returning as an eighth grader, or you are a staff member, we are excited to present several options for showing off your Franklin MS spirit! Our online spirit wear store is now open. Please click here to order.
Purchases are online only and ordering is open until August 27 at 10:00 PM. No late orders will be accepted and all sales are final. Distribution of orders will be in mid-October. Please contact our PTA with any questions. All profits from purchases directly support learning and events at Franklin MS. Thank you for supporting our school community and PTA!
MOD Pizza Dining for Dollars on Tuesday, September 19
Please consider supporting our PTA with Dining for Dollars on Tuesday, September 19 at MOD Pizza in Greenbriar Shopping Center. Come in or order online or through the app anytime that day and let them know that you're there for the Franklin fundraiser (or provide this code: MODGIVES 25) and Franklin will receive 25% of the sales. More information can be found below. We hope to see you there!
Asha-Jyothi 5K Run at Fairfax Corner on Sunday, September 17 at 8:00 AM
We are pleased to share that we are partnering with a non-profit named Asha-Jyothi to support their 15th Annual 5K Run/Walk on Sunday September 17th at Fairfax Corner at 8AM. All proceeds that we raise will go towards supporting our students and teachers at Franklin Middle School. Asha-Jyothi has generously agreed to donate back 100% of the registration money back to each participating school AND:
- An additional $500 for 25+ registrations
- An additional $1000 for 50+ registrations
- An additional $2000 for 100+ registrations
Participating staff, students and/or their families can sign up here. Simply enter the code “AJ4schools” and select Franklin MS from the drop down menu. A discounted price of $10 for the 5K will be given to all participants. Thank you for your support!
PTA Meeting on September 26
The first meeting for the 2023-2024 school year will be held in person at Franklin MS on Tuesday, September 26 at 7:00 PM, with an optional meet and greet with interim Principal Michelle Case at 6:30 PM. There are typically four meetings during the year. Future dates and times will be sent to the community via News You Choose. Please email Anne Lake with any questions.
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