The Franklin Flyer

Mark Your Calendars:

March 25 - April 1: Spring Break

April 2: Students return from Spring Break

April 10: PTA - Night of the Stars Auditions 2:40 - 5:00 PM

April 11: 24-25 Kindergarten Parent Orientation 6:00-6:45 PM & PTA Meeting 7-8 PM - in person & Zoom

April 23: STREAM Night 3:40 - 5:30 PM

April 24 : PTA - Night of the Stars Dress Rehearsal 4:00 - 6:00 PM

April 26: PTA - Night of the Stars Show 6:30 - 8:30 PM

May 2: PTA - Holi Celebration 3:30 PM

May 6-10: Teacher and Nurse Appreciation Week

May 9: PTA Meeting - Virtual - 7:00 PM

Absences

Please remember to call in or email absences by 8:45 AM. You can call our student absence line (847) 318-4390 (ext 1) is available 24 hours a day, or email Mrs. Linda Berleth at lberleth@d64.org.

If the absence is illness related, please also make sure to include Franklin's nurse, Mrs. Queta Karstens, at qkarstens@d64.org.

Franklin Office Hours
School office hours are from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

School Hours

School Hours (M, T, Th, F): 8:50 am - 3:30 pm

Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Lunch: 11:35 - 12:30

4th and 5th Grade Lunch: 12:05 - 1:00

Wednesday School Hours: 8:50 am - 2:40 pm

Wednesday Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Lunch: 11:05 - 12:00

Wednesday 4th and 5th Grade Lunch: 11:35 - 12:30

Half-Day Kindergarten Hours

Kindergarten Hours (M, T, Th, F): 8:50 am - 11:35 am

Kindergarten Wednesday: 8:50 am - 11:05 am

STREAM Night Registration LINK

Join us for a fun family event to explore our theme "A Dig Into the Past." Some of the opportunities include creating ancient instruments, rocks and minerals, an escape room challenge, decorating a pet rock, cores of the Earth, Egyptian math, and more!

Each student may bring ONE rock or mineral to be identified
by Dr. Turner of Triton College. There will be prizes! There will be goodie bags! There will be fun! Registration is open March 1-March 22. All students must attend with an adult.

Please send a change of clothes with your children for all K-5 students. It is helpful to have a change of clothes in the event of spilled water, accidents, or an unexpected incidents. Clothes should be labeled with your child's name and can be kept in your child's locker.

For the health and safety of our students and community, no pets are allowed on school property. We realize the beautiful weather increases the amount of families who are walking. However, we ask that you please leave your dog or cat at home. Properly identified service animals are always permitted.

Please take a moment to review the contacts section of your ParentPortal. Any adult who has approval for after school pick-up or emergency pick-up for illness/injury should be listed. Franklin staff will not release students to adults who are not listed on the ParentPortal.

Chromebooks

As a reminder, each Franklin student will be issued an iPad (grades K-1) or a Chromebook computer (grades 2-5) as part of the District’s one-to-one digital learning program. Students will receive their devices during the first week of school. Your child will also be assigned a Google account to access Google Apps for Education and other digital resources at school and to explore further concepts introduced in class at home. The devices and their applications are technology tools that provide all students access to digital content and higher levels of individualized instruction.

You can find more information about the 1:1 Initiative, Chromebooks, and the other technologies available to our students here.

Drop-off of Student Items/Lunches

If your student forgets something at home, an adult may drop off items at the Franklin front office. Our front office staff will message the classroom for your student to pick up these items during a break in student instruction. The teacher will send the student to the office when it works best in the classroom schedule.

Visiting Franklin

All visitors to Franklin must have a valid state ID or driver’s license. Identification is entered into the Raptor identification system. This process only takes a short time to complete. Once you have clearance, the office staff will print a visitor pass for you and attach it to a lanyard you must wear throughout the building. The office will hold your ID until you return to the office and return the lanyard. We appreciate your support as we proceed with this district-mandated safety procedure for the safety of our students.

Student-Parent Handbook
Franklin Elementary School and all District 64 schools follow policies and practices reviewed and implemented by the District 64 Board of Education. Please review the D64 Student-Parent Handbook before the start of the school year.

You can find frequent updates or snapshots from our days at Franklin on Facebook and Instagram! Follow us at

Facebook: facebook.com/FranklinD64

Instagram: franklin.d64

Learn about and celebrate Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors

The Franklin PTA is partnering with sibling duo Kabir & Sahana (3rd grader & kindergartener) to share the Festival of Colors, Holi, with the Franklin community on Thursday, May 2nd at 3:30pm after school. Holi focuses on accepting one another, loving our families, and having a fun time together!

This event will be held on the Franklin blacktop after school and a parent chaperone is required. Different colors of chalk will be thrown and therefore you may want to consider bringing a change of clothes or even towels for your car if you are driving to this event. Below is a picture of a Holi Celebration. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please visit our Membership Toolkit to register. There is no cost to participate.

Night of the Stars is Back for 2024!

Student Performance Sign Up is Open: We’re so excited to be able to showcase the many talents of our Franklin stars! Click here to sign up and mark your calendars for the following dates:

• Tryouts: Wednesday, April 10, 2:40 - 5:00 PM - Franklin Gym (Performers will be given a 15-minute time slot once participant list is finalized, they will NOT need to be in attendance the entire time)
• Rehearsal: Wednesday, April 24, 4:00 - 7:00 PM - Emerson Middle School
• Night of the Stars: Friday, April 26, 6:30 - 8:30 PM - Emerson Middle School
• Volunteers receive VIP seating and free tickets for their family members: There are many different ways to help with this fun event - from talent management to stage crew to set up and tear down. More details and sign up available on PTA Membership Toolkit
• Questions?? Reach out to Natalie Packer (nataliebergcm@gmail.com) and Danielle Kastner (dcpkastner@gmail.com) for questions related to auditions, and Camille DeCicco (camille.decicco@gmail.com) for questions about volunteering.

First STREAM Night at Franklin: This event is being run by our wonderful LRC team and they will set up the stations and provide instructions for volunteers. They are also looking for hallway directors and welcome directors - these would be people, who could point visitors to specific classrooms and stations, as well as provide welcome information to families as they come in.

• Volunteer shifts are only 20 minutes long and were designed to do as a family so that you can also then enjoy the rest of the event and visit the other stations.

• Reach out to Ms. Wilson with questions: vwilson@d64.org, more info below.

Yearbook Photos

Our kids LOVE seeing themselves at all of the fun events throughout the year in the yearbook. Please make sure to submit photos from each of these events.

Email photos for each of the following categories to the specific link below:

GLAM Club: notification.photos.298362892@treeringphotos.com

Chess Club: notification.photos.298362889@treeringphotos.com

100th Day of School: notification.photos.313532031@treeringphotos.com

Band/orchestra: notification.photos.298362884@treeringphotos.com

Book Club: notification.photos.298362888@treeringphotos.com

Girl Scouts: notification.photos.298362865@treeringphotos.com

Science Olympiad: notification.photos.313520763@treeringphotos.com

Valentine's Class Parties: notification.photos.298362871@treeringphotos.com

Staff Lunches

The PTA offers teachers and staff members an option to purchase lunch on Mondays from Spuntinos via franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com. Families are always welcome to show their appreciation for a staff member by purchasing a Monday lunch on their behalf. If this is something your family is interested in doing, please refer to Membership Toolkit for more information. Questions about teacher and staff lunches can be directed to rebeccavanpoucke@gmail.com.