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 Students jumped right back into school this week with hands on learning.
Good afternoon, Franklin Community,
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and the chance to spend some time with family and friends. While the break was wonderful and much needed, we were so excited to welcome our students back to school this week and return to some great learning experiences!
January marks the start of our academic advising season and there are many activities planned for all grade levels. Please be sure to read below for specific information around those activities, including evening events we have planned to support our families with the academic advising process. Additionally, I will be scheduling parent coffees in early February to answer remaining questions about academic advising so please stay tuned for further information about those dates. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Student Services team if you have questions about academic advising.
Lastly, please make special note of the upcoming community conversation with Superintendent Dr. Reid on Wednesday, January 10th at Edison High School. This conversation will be focused on the topic of fentanyl and some important resources to help ensure our children remain safe. Additional information, including the registration link (optional) and resources are included below this message.
While it does not look like Mother Nature will be providing snow-lovers the storm we all were hoping for, I do hope you have a restful weekend. As always, please reach out to me at MLCase@fcps.edu with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Michelle Case
Interim Principal
Important Dates
January 12 - No After-School Program
January 15 - No School - Holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday)
January 17 - Curriculum Night for Rising 7th Graders at 6:00 PM
January 19 - Religious and Cultural Observance
January 19 - SpongeBob Musical at 7:00 PM
January 20 - SpongeBob Musical at 7:00 PM
January 25 - End of 2nd Quarter, 2 HR Early Release at 12:15 PM (No After School Program)
January 26 - No School for Students - Teacher Workday
January 26 - SpongeBob Musical at 7:00 PM
January 27 - Sponge Bob Musical at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Academic Advising
In January and February, our counselors support all students with academic advising and course requests for the 2024-2025 school year. Here’s what you can expect in the coming weeks:
Rising 7th Graders:
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December: In December, our counselors visited our feeder elementary schools to present about academic advising.
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January 9 and 10: Next week on Tuesday, January 9 and Wednesday, January 10, our rising 7th graders will visit Franklin for their orientation and student-led tour!
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January 17: Franklin’s Curriculum Night will take place on January 17, 2024. Curriculum Night is for rising 7th graders and families for the 2024-2025 school year. During this in-person event, you will have the opportunity to hear from school leaders about the academic advising process and course offerings in the Gymnasium beginning at 6:00 PM, and then explore electives course offerings and ask questions to individual staff members across the building from 6:45 PM - 7:30 PM. All students and families are welcome!
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February 2: Elementary counselors and teachers will support rising 7th graders will inputting course selections into SIS by February 2.
- For more information, including presentations, course selection sheets, and the course catalog, please see the Franklin MS Site: https://franklinms.fcps.edu/Rising7th.
Rising 8th Graders:
- Franklin students will begin the academic advising and course selection process in February. Students will learn about courses and programs through counselor lessons in early February.
- The course catalog is now available, and families can explore these resources on the Franklin MS Site: https://franklinms.fcps.edu/Rising8th.
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February 6: Join us for a virtual Curriculum Night! This event will take place over zoom (link to come) and will preview the academic advising process and course options for the 2024-2025 school year.
Rising 9th Graders:
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Curriculum Night Resources: This week, both Oakton High School and Chantilly High School welcomed rising 9th grade families through the Curriculum Night and Electives Fairs. For more details about information shared at these events, please see the hyperlinks for each school above.
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January 5 (Chantilly) and January 11 (Oakton): Counselors from each high school present to students directly during Falcon Time. This lesson reviews the course request process and previews the decisions students will make when planning for next school year.
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Early February: Franklin MS Counselors will meet with students individually to review student choices and complete the course request process.
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February 6: Join us for a virtual town hall to have any final questions answered about the course request process. This event will take place over zoom (link to come).
As your student navigates these processes and events, our counselors are here to support. Please reach out to your student’s counselor with any questions or concerns.
Save the Date: Academy Open Houses Begin This Month
Is your child interested in architecture and construction, information technology, or health science? FCPS high school academies will hold open houses for interested students beginning in mid-January.
A high school Academy is a center within a high school that offers advanced technical and specialized courses to prepare students for postsecondary education and/or career fields. Students enrolling in Academy elective courses will be provided with opportunities to participate in a variety of career experiences including shadowing, mentoring, or internships with local businesses.
Learn more and view the calendar of Academy Open Houses.
Conversation to Raise Awareness of Fentanyl and Other Drugs
In this video, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid interviews the Fosters, a family who tragically lost their son Cayden to a half pill of fentanyl mistaken for Percocet. This heart-wrenching yet eye-opening video of their experience is essential to raise awareness among parents/caregivers and students about the dangers of fake painkillers.
Please join Dr. Reid on Wednesday, January 10, at 6:30 PM at Edison High School for a community conversation about opioid awareness. You may register to attend. Registration is not required; it is simply for space considerations.
The evening’s program is appropriate for parents/caregivers and students in grades 6-12. All attendees will receive free REVIVE! Narcan training during the event and learn about support services currently available within FCPS and Fairfax County.
FCPS’ website also has resources to help you to start the conversation and additional support for families struggling with substance misuse.
Family Life Education (FLE) Parent Preview Night on January 9
We invite you to join us at Franklin Middle School for the FLE Parent Preview Night on Wednesday, January 9, 2024, at 6:00 PM. This opportunity is for parents who would like to meet the teachers and ask any questions pertaining to the upcoming FLE (7-8) curriculum. Parents and guardians will need to have their SIS Parent Vue username and password available for the session.
Prior to attending, it is recommended that parents and guardians view the detailed Middle School (7-8) program descriptions online. FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights to are available for parents online in Schoology/SIS Parent Vue.
Human Growth and Development (HGD) Timeline:
- 7th Grade HGD classes will be taught January 29 - February 1
- 8th Grade HGD classes will be taught February 2 - February 7
- All HGD classes will be gender separate
Emotional and Social Health (ESH) Timeline:
- 7th and 8th ESH classes will be taught February 5 - March 22
Parents and 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, click here for opt-out forms. Any 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 or scanned forms should be addressed to Mr. Steve Howes at: srhowes@fcps.edu with the subject line FLE opt-out: Student last name, Teacher and Class Period.
The SpongeBob Musical, Youth Edition at Franklin MS
Franklin Drama’s Winter Musical opens on January 19. Performances will be on January 19, 20 and 26 at 7:00 PM and on January 27 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Tickets are $7 for students and $12 for adults, and can be purchased here. Thank you for supporting our students!
Lightspeed Classroom Management Tool
Our school is using a new classroom management tool that will help teachers better connect with student devices during classes. The new tool will provide teachers with a number of helpful features:
- Easily view student screens in real time from the teacher console to see which students may need guidance or support.
- Focus student attention on a particular website on their device to minimize distractions.
- Pause student access to the internet to focus on other classroom tasks.
We believe this classroom management tool will allow us to maximize class time to support your student’s learning while at school.
Franklin MS After-School Program Information
Click Here to to see the Club/Activity Descriptions and Weekly Schedule.
All students that stay after-school for academic support, clubs or activities must have a completed After-School Registration Form. The After-School Registration only needs to be completed once for the 23-24 SY.
Bus Transportation for the After-School Program is available Monday - Thursday. There is no transportation on Fridays for the After-School Program and dismissal is by parent pick up only.
Middle School Track Coming this Spring
All FCPS Middle Schools will field Track teams in the spring. Interested MS Athletes will need the following to participate in Track in the Spring. More information will be provided at a Track Interest Meeting. (Date TBD)
FCPS Physical Form, Emergency Care Card and MS Sports Registration must be completed before a student can begin practicing. More information can be found on our website about Cross Country and Track or you can visit the FCPS MS Athletics Website.
Safe Students, Safe Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools believes that academic success is built on the foundation of a safe learning environment. This includes physical safety, and mental health and wellness.
FCPS has a comprehensive approach to safety that involves physical security measures, online monitoring by security staff, and crisis intervention support. The division has created the Safe Students, Safe Schools Brochure (PDF) to enhance your awareness of potential hazards and to equip you with practical tips for how you can help. Visit the FCPS website for more information.
Message from the Franklin MS PTA
We invite you to learn more about our organization and our Membership Drive by visiting our website. Please click here to join the PTA! If you are interested in volunteering to help support the PTA, please email Anne Lake at president@franklinmiddleschoolpta.org. Thank you for your support!
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