Dear Franklin Families,
This week, we are pleased to join schools across the country in recognizing Inclusive Schools Week. During this week, we celebrate the progress that schools have made in designing learning environments that are safe and supportive for all children, including learners who have known marginalization due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference, and other factors. It is also an important time for us to think about next steps in creating a truly inclusive learning community for all of our students and families. Classes will be reading books related to Inclusion and telling about some of their activities at our All School Meeting next week. A highlight of the week is our Door Decorating Activity, in which each class represents their vision of inclusivity through an artistic presentation that will be shared with the rest of the school through a “gallery walk” on Friday. We plan to take photos to share with all of you! I am grateful that we are a community that can celebrate all of the ways we are different as we learn and grow together.
Newton Public Schools Gift Policy: As we enter this season of holidays and vacations, we ask that families please be mindful of the Newton School Committee’s policy stating, “Newton Public Schools allows a group gift to an individual staff member only if the gift is identified as being from the entire class, the identity of the givers and the individual amounts are not disclosed to the recipient, and the gift does not exceed $150 per school year. This differs from a gift for the classroom. Individual gifts of appreciation in the form of sentimental tokens are allowed. Gifts of commercial value are not permitted. NPS allows and encourages giving to charitable organizations such as school PTO’s or the Newton Schools Foundation’s Honor Thy Teacher Program, which honors staff while supporting our schools.”
Weekly COVID Case Numbers: This week, Franklin School recorded no COVID cases. Information on districtwide COVID cases and vaccination rates can be found on the Newton Health and Human Services website here: NPS COVID Case Count and Vaccination Rates.
Parent Coffee/PTO Evening Meeting Dates: This year, we have a mixture of morning Parent Coffees and evening PTO Meetings through which we hope to engage all of you in conversation about life and learning in our school community. Please join us on the following dates. We will meet in-person when feasible and rely on virtual meetings when necessary. At this point, in-person meetings will need to be outdoors, so we expect to use Zoom during the winter months. We will let you know the format for each meeting as the date approaches.
January 20th 7:30 p.m.
February 18th 8:30 a.m.
March 24th 7:30 p.m.
April 29th 8:30 a.m.
June 2nd 7:30 p.m.
Absences: If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please call the Student Absence Line at 617-559-9509 before 7:50. Also, please be sure that teachers have accurate information about dismissal routines for your child.
Early Release Dates: We will have dismissal at 12:10 p.m. on the following dates: December 9th, February 3rd, March 24th, and May 12th.
With best wishes,
Mark Chitty
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