Ben Franklin Newsletter

Dear Ben Franklin Families,

We had a great turnout at this past Monday's PTO meeting, where Dr. Robyn Klim, our Superintendent of Schools, joined us to answer questions and provide important information about the upcoming bond referendum. Dr. Klim offered valuable insights, and we appreciate her time and dedication to our school community. If you would like to learn more, an informational night will be held in-person at LMS this upcoming week (Tuesday, February 4th at 6:00 pm). Details about this session and the bond referendum can be found below in this newsletter. We encourage everyone to attend and stay informed about the exciting opportunities ahead for our schools!

We held this month’s Spirit Assembly on Friday afternoon, which was a special time for students to come together and celebrate our school spirit. During the assembly, students had the opportunity to sing He Had a Dream, a song they learned in music class with Mrs. LaFlamme in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They also sang our "Ben Franklin School Song". It was a well-organized and fun assembly, planned by Mrs. Umbach, and we are proud of all our students' accomplishments as well as everyone's participation. You can find pictures and additional information from the Spirit Assembly in this newsletter as well.

Last night’s PTO-sponsored Movie Night was a great success, with many families gathering in our APR ("Theater") to enjoy The Wild Robot. It was a fun filled evening for the whole family! A big thank you to our PTO for organizing this special event. It’s always nice to see families come together for these shared experiences.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Geoff Hewitt
Principal

A recent article in the Community News was published this week. Here is a link to the article. The article provides some more information regarding the bond referendum and also shares information about two upcoming informational meetings that are open to all:

• Tuesday, February 4th (in-person) from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Lawrence Middle School (LMS)
• Wednesday, February 26th (virtual) from 6:00-8:00 pm (Visit www.ltps.org/referendum for the link to join the Google Meet meeting)

The actual vote will take place on Tuesday, March 11th. Please be sure to attend an informational meeting in order to be informed and to ask any questions you may have prior to voting. This is an exciting time for our district as the scheduled updates will have a positive and lasting impact on our students as well as the Lawrence community at large!

Friday afternoon's spirit assembly was a fun event bringing the whole school (PreK-3rd) together to celebrate student accomplishments, birthdays, and for Mrs. Cimorelli to announce which 3rd graders will be challenging Mr. Hewitt to the Fitness Challenge next week! In addition, this next month's Social Skill was announced, Personal Space! Our 1st grade team (Mrs. Ali, Mrs. Arvind, Ms. Cady, Mrs. Palacio, and Mrs. Perez) helped to model personal space as Mrs. Umbach helped the students to determine what scenario demonstrated personal space.

Global School Play Day will take place on February 5th this school year. Mrs. Cimorelli has worked with AmeriKick to organize fun learning experience for all classes to rotate through that afternoon to celebrate! In order for students to participate, this waiver must be signed and returned to school. Hard copies of these waivers went home to all students a couple weeks ago. Please be sure to sign and return the waiver if you'd like your child to participate on Wednesday, February 5th. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Cimorelli at ccimorelli@ltps.org. All students will be able to watch the activities, but only those signed waivers will be able to participate. Link to Waiver

The Lawrence High School (LHS) Arts and Humanities Academy and Black Student Union are proud to present the 12th annual Black History Celebration on Saturday, February 22! The event is sponsored by the Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEA).

This year's theme is "Overcoming by Faith, Fortitude, & Resistance." The event will kick off at 3:00 p.m. with a variety of vendors and delectable foods, followed by the official program at 5:00 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome to join at one of the biggest events of the year!

Felissa Szold and Amanda Taglairino will be working together to put together the 3rd grade yearbook this year. They are beginning to collect information from families through a Google survey. This information includes each student's class, permission to use the child's photo, how to display the child's name, and also a brief message to their child. Here is a link to the survey for 3rd grade families to complete - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zwGvkqwzA6-3lzEBb4pO3d-pRR-CkW-U5o_BHjsuzPA/preview Please complete this survey at your earliest convenience.

In addition, here is an email address that can be used for all communication regarding the yearbook - benfranklinyearbook2025@gmail.com This is the email address that all communication to families will come from and that can be used to send photos (class photos, students photos at school events, etc.) to Felissa Szold and Amanda Taglairino.

Teacher Appreciation Meal (hosted by 2nd Grade Families): Thursday, February 6, 2025

Message to 2nd Grade families only: If you're willing and able to contribute, please click on the Sign Up Genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0D4DAFAD2DABF58-54124767-2ndgrade

Please ensure all items are sent into school by 9 AM on Thursday, February 6th and please label all items "2nd Grade Staff Appreciation Luncheon". Monetary donations can be made through Venmo (@lindsay-melone) or via cash/check. Cash/checks can be sent in via your child in an envelope marked "2nd Grade Staff Appreciation Luncheon ATTN: Lindsay Walsh." Please make checks payable to Lindsay Walsh. Please feel free to reach out to Lindsay Walsh with any questions either via email (ljmelone@gmail.com) or call/text (908-507-3161).

Science Night & 3rd Grade Science Fair! Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 6:00 pm

• Science Night
• You are ALL invited to our annual Science Night on Thursday, February 20th from 6pm to 7:30pm. Join us for a body science themed night of hands on experiments and games. This event is open to BF students of all grades.
• We are in need of volunteers to make Science Night a success. Please consider volunteering your time to help out. If interested, you can sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0548A5AA22ABFD0-54184508-bfscience
• 3rd Grade Science Fair
• The annual 3rd Grade Science Fair is taking place on Thursday, February 20th. Students are welcome to show off their science knowledge by showing their science experiment findings or demonstrating a scientific concept through a display board or model. These projects will be showcased at our Science Night for their BF community to view.
• If you would like to participate, fill out this form at https://forms.gle/BCEKejsHCm1oKBv7A. Any questions or concerns? Contact Ilana Hernandez at bfptorocks@gmail.com.

PTO Meeting: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 7:00 pm on Google Meet (Link - https://meet.google.com/wkk-qavw-ywo)

BF PTO Website: www.bfpto.org

Email: bfptorocks@gmail.com

Preschool Application Process Opening February 3, 2025!

The Preschool Application Process opens on Monday, February 3rd and closes on April 11th. Children must be three or four years old by October 1, 2025 to be eligible for preschool.

Follow the QR code (in the picture below) or visit our Preschool Website for updates.

The LTEF is so excited to announce that Lawrence Has Talent will be returning in 2025! Mark your calendars, the show will be live on April 4th, 2025. Auditions will be held February 6th and 8th at LHS, click the link to sign up today! https://events.humanitix.com/2nd-annual-lawrence-has-talent-auditions

Visit for full details: https://www.ltefnj.org/lawrence-has-talent

The show is open to those who live, work, receive talent training, attend or have attended school at anytime in Lawrence Township.

Register by February 1st at ltefnj.org or by scanning the QR code on the flyer. See flyer for more information.

We have opened the feature in Genesis that allows you (as the parent/guardian) to mark your child absent. This allows you to use the app or the website to simply go into the system and mark an absence for the day or for a day in the future that you know your child(ren) will be absent. Here are the directions for utilizing this system.

Please know that the Ben Franklin Attendance email and phone line do remain active, however, we encourage you to take advantage of this "Notify Attendance Office" feature for a more direct and immediate response. Should you need any assistance or have questions about your parent portal account (link to parent portal), do not hesitate to contact our front office staff at (609)671-5540.

In an effort to continually improve safety and security within our district of all members, the district has set up a Tip Line. Please check out this brief (1 minute) video to learn more about the purpose of the Tip Line and how to access it: Tip Line Video

Link to LTPS District Calendar (2024-2025)

February:

2 - Groundhog Day

3-7 - National School Counseling Week... thank you, Mrs. Umbach!!

3 -

• PreK Lottery Application Opens (Visit the website on 2/3/25 for more information)
• 1st Grade Campfire Lessons

4 - LTPS Town Hall & Special BOE Mtg. at LMS, 6:00 pm

5 -

• 3rd Grade Fitness Challenge, during school day
• Global School Play Day (events scheduled during the school day with AmeriKick)

6 -

• K Campfire Lessons
• PTO Teacher Appreciation Meal (sponsored by 2nd Grade Families)
• Assemblies for K-3 introducing "Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week"

7 - Wear Red to show awareness of "Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week" (February 7th-14th)

10 - 1st Grade Campfire Lessons

12 -

• Love the Bus Month Observance - Wear yellow to support bus drivers, bus assistants, and transportation department staff members
• BOE Meeting at LHS, 7:00 pm

13 - K Campfire Lessons

14 -

• 100th Day of School

• Valentine's Day

• Early Dismissal & In-Service - Students Dismissed beginning at 1:20 pm

17 - School Closed, Presidents' Day

20 -

• K Campfire Lessons
• 3rd Grade - The Kids Heart Challenge (during school day)
• Science Night & 3rd Grade Science Fair (PTO) at BF, 6:00 pm

22 - 12th Annual Black History Celebration at LHS beginning at 3:00 pm

24 - 1st Grade Campfire Lessons

26 - Virtual Community Referendum Information Forum, 6:00-8:00 pm on Google Meet (Visit www.ltps.org/referendum for the link to join the meeting)

27 - Kindergarten Campfire Lessons

28 - BF Spirit Assembly (2:00 pm) - ALL students and staff members encouraged to wear spirit wear and/or wear blue and white!