• Turn in Enrollment Forms to Dawn and Rachel all Week

• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• Middle School - Electives Schedule / Optional Ski Day
• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• Wear Pink, White and Red Day
• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25
  
• Last Day to take advantage of priority enrollment as a returning family

• NO SCHOOL - Mid Winter Break
  

• NO SCHOOL - President's Day

• Enrollment for 2021-2022 Outside Family Enrollment Begins
• Tuesday, February 16th BOARD MEETING 4:00 p.m.

• Tuesday, February 16th BOARD MEETING 4:00 p.m.

Our returning families will get priority registration for one week from Friday, February 5th to Thursday, February 11th.

Enrollment opens to outside families on Tuesday, February 16th at 8:00 a.m. If you have a child not currently enrolled at the school please don't delay getting an application submitted. If you know someone interested in learning more about our program or touring, please encourage them to reach out to:

Admissions Director, Natalie Bennett:

nbennett@thefranklin.academy

360.733.1750.

It's February, so that means Ski Wednesday's for our Middle School students. This year with COVID-19, students have the option to go up with their parents. They had a great time yesterday with bright weather.

The 5th grade Media Elective has been held at Veritas Media over the past several months.

Lucas Holtgeerts taught the students all about video production. Anabelle, Kasia, and Diego produced this awesome video to help us raise money during the virtual auction for The Franklin Academy. Great Job!

Today in Ms. Dizon's Kindergarten class in Reading, the students:

-reviewed the -and word family.

-watched a short video about Groundhog Day.

-talked about the groundhog and pointed out that checking the weather on a cell phone or listening to the reporter on tv is a better idea to know what the weather will be.

-read and worked with their Groundhog Emergent Reader booklet.

Oh no.... the Groundhog saw his shadow which means six more weeks of winter!

THANK YOU for a successful Virtual Auction! We raised over $360,000 during the event! We could not have done this without our generous sponsors, donors, bidders, and volunteers! You have all contributed to these amazing results and for that we are GRATEFUL!

Last week the 4 year old preschool students visited Kindergarten. The classes read aloud a Penguin story or participated in a penguin dance together, and lastly, they shared time together working on a penguin coloring sheet with their own buddy. Mrs. Pickerill shared, "It was great to see and talk about what a kindergarten classroom looks like. The children enjoyed interacting with their older friends. It was also neat to see some of my former students from last year as a helpful and friendly buddy to their Pre-K friends."

Our students in 6th through 8th Grade all take a Coding Course as one of their courses. In the coding course, students are learning how to create data structures, conditional mapping, looping, and other facets of coding to better understand the basics of computer science. Note: Our 5th Graders take a Technology Class. Thanks Odin, Sukhraj and Nehchal for sharing with us!

Our philosophy is that children learn best through active participation, exploration, and self-discovery. Our teachers are responsive to student's unique temperament and developmental needs as they provide rich, age-appropriate experiences and versatile materials to satisfy any child's curious nature while also supporting development and growth.

Hi everyone! A quick reminder that if you are an online family or have traveled and are in quarantine, we are happy to get school library books to you! Just email Mrs. Snyder at jsnyder@thefranklin.academy for students K-1, and Mrs. Samuel at tsamuel@thefranklin.academy for students 2-8.

This week Mrs. Snyder has been asking her students "What is your favorite book? Why?". Here are some responses from students in Ms. York's kindergarten class:

"Magic Tree House books. I like adventure and magic."

"All the Dog Man books."

"How to Catch a Unicorn and Unicorns Are the Worst, because they are funny."

"My special book at home about animals because I get to learn all about them."

What lovely and varied answers! Ask your students what their favorites are!

It is also great to tell your students about YOUR favorites growing up! It might spark a new favorite for them, and talking about books together is a great way to encourage a love of reading and a strong family bond.

This week I asked two Franklin staff members about their childhood favorites. Associate Head of School Katie Den Hartog loved reading the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, as well as the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (though we both agreed those books require a conversation with kids about outmoded views on Native Americans!). Katie loves to read Dr. Seuss books to students, and her absolute favorite book is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, because it is a great story that always makes her cry. She gets very invested in the character of Edward and his development throughout the story.

Admissions Director Natalie Bennett loved (and still does!) any books about characters exploring or surviving in the wilderness, such as My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. She grew up doing a lot of outdoor activities with her family and was able to connect with characters that were doing the same sort of things. She also enjoyed the books because of the strong character development, which is why she loved Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.

Natalie’s dad read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery to her, and that memory of being read to has guided her as she now reads to her baby! Bailey is 9 months old and so far prefers bright board books with textures and isn’t quite ready for the classics. ;)

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Snyder and Mrs. Samuel

Q: How do groundhogs smell?

A: With their noses just like everyone else.

Hello Franklin Families!

We are so excited to offer parents an opportunity to have observer accounts in our Canvas Platform. Once you follow the steps included in the link below you will be able to see assignment dues dates, announcements, and other course content. Observers can view the course content but cannot participate in the course. This will allow you to stay up to date on your child's progress and enjoy an in-depth look at their learning journey here with us. Please review the information below regarding this option!

In order to create a Canvas account, you will need the Canvas URL associated our school: https://thefranklinacademy.instructure.com/

Notes:

• To observe a student, you must have a student pairing code.
• Once you have an account, you may be able to view student information through the Canvas Parent app. Access to the Canvas Parent app is controlled by the student's institution. If you already have an account from your student's institution as an observer, you can always view student information through the Canvas Parent app.

Setting up an observer account

Observer Guide

Recorded Webinar

For Technical support please email helpdesk@thefranklin.academy

If you shop at Amazon.com, this is a great opportunity to raise money for Franklin Academy. Sign up at Amazon Smile and 0.5% of your purchase price will go towards the FA Annual Fund. Here’s how:

1. Go to Amazon Smile
2. In the “pick your own charitable organization” box type in Franklin Preschool
3. Click on the Bellingham Franklin Academy (may still be listed under St. Paul’s Episcopal School through the summer)
4. Very Important! Please make sure whenever you shop on Amazon you go to the Amazon Smile webpage. If you shop on Amazon.com we won’t receive the donation.

A supportive community with STEM focused education in a safe, small class environment for all grades.

Website: https://thefranklin.academy/
Location: 1509 East Victor Street, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 733-1750
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FranklinAcademyBellingham/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARBJZqnuWM2fzJSJOXO6X6qVO60w_ijnQdCgtmUFYZCSwnd0NO7wI_Jgq5_odVo2A3bLV76Yg91UH5TB

Gretchen Bucsko, Head of School: gbucsko@thefranklin.academy

Katie den Hartog, Associate Head of School, kdenhartog@thefranklin.academy

Dawn Regier, Administrative Assistant, dregier@thefranklin.academy

Rachel Lee, Administrative Assistant, rlee@thefranklin.academy

Natalie Bennett, Admissions Director, nbennett@thefranklin.academy