Franzen Falcon
February 2025
Happy New Year!
Valentine's Day gives us the opportunity to appreciate the people we care for the most. We appreciate YOU!! Thank you for all you do to support your children and our school. Please make sure to scroll all the way to the end of the newsletter for:
- upcoming calendar events
- pictures from around the school community
- any IPTO (parent teacher organization updates)
A LOT OF INFORMATION THIS MONTH
!! Please scroll all the way to the bottom !!
December and January "Above the Line" students - WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!
Calendar
February 13 - Early Release @1:10pm (THURSDAY)
February 13 - Field Trip Chaperone Class at 2pm at Benson
February 14 - No School - Teacher's Institute Day
February 17 - No School - President's Day
February 18 - Field Trip Chaperone Class at 5pm at Benson
February 21 - End of Trimester 2
February 27 - Report cards and assessment reports sent home
February 27- Franzen Talent Show - 7:00pm @ Franzen
February 28 - No School - Institute Day
March 3 - No School - Casimir Pulaski Day
Valentine's Day Celebrations
Students will be allowed to pass out Valentines. (Thursday, February 13)
Your child’s teacher will let you know the number of students that are in the class . Students must have a valentine for each of his/her classmates.
PLEASE NOTE:
NO FOOD IS TO BE SENT TO SCHOOL
NON-FOOD ITEMS (PENCILS, STICKERS, ETC.) may be included with VALENTINES.
Snow Gear - Cold Weather Reminders
NOW GEAR - Cold Weather Reminder
When weather permits, we will go outside with the students at noon recess.
Necessary cold weather clothing . . .
every day: winter coat, hat and gloves
on any day when it snows: winter coat, hat, gloves and boots
to play in the snow: winter coat, hat, gloves, boots, and snow pants
Extra clothes at school:
Several times this school year, there have been children who have needed their parents to bring them a change of clothes for a variety of reasons. Therefore, we are requesting that you send a change of clothes for your child to keep in his/her locker. This should include pants, shirt, socks, and underwear all placed in a plastic bag. As with other items your child brings to school, it is important that you write your child’s name in each item in case they are lost.
The temperature will be checked daily. If the temperature is 20 degrees or below factoring wind chill, the children will not go outside for recess.
If the temperature is above 20 degrees, per our student/parent handbook the children will have recess outdoors.
ALL CHILDREN WILL GO OUT TO RECESS UNLESS EXCUSED WITH A NOTE FROM THEIR DOCTOR.
8 Keys of Excellence
This school year, students will learn more about the 8 Keys to Excellence through activities that include reflection and application. We encourage all students to go beyond being "respectful, responsible, and safe" to embody the characteristics of the 8 Keys. More information about each key and it's meaning can be found here.
Attendance is important - 95% is our goal!
Update - Franzen's Average Daily Attendance currently stands at 94.5%.
Our school goal is to always be above 95%. PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE REACH OUR GOAL!! Thank you :)
Students must be in school at least half of a school day in order to participate in after school events.
In order to attend school, students must be in compliance with all DuPage County Health regulations. See the Health section for more information related to deciding when your child is too ill to be in school.
Attendance patterns are monitored regularly by school staff. If the number of days missed to school is equal to 5% of the total days that school has been in session, a referral will be made to the DuPage County Truancy Office. This means that the truancy officer will contact you for problem solving in order to improve the child’s school attendance. A student who misses 5% or more of school every year will lose ONE FULL ACADEMIC YEAR of learning before reaching high school graduation.
If your child has a medical condition that is contributing to missed school days, contact the school nurse.
IReady Lessons
We are excited to share that all Franzen students have access to individual and personalized math and reading lessons through iReady. Through this platform, students will follow an individual learning path that provides interactive lessons on specific academic skills. Grade level teachers Have taught students how to use this program. Students are welcomed and encouraged to complete these lessons outside of school as well!
Students can login with their school username and password at https://login.i-ready.com/. More information on how you can support the learning process is linked below.
News from the IPTO
IPTO Monthly Newsletters
Other IPTO News
We will include monthly newsletters from the IPTO here. The IPTO also has a website & Facebook page, please consider joining their organization.
Questions or comments, reach out to denisedicianni@hotmail.com
Before and After School Childcare/Tutoring
Attached below is additional information on childcare providers in our community.
Bus Information
As the year begins please know it is normal for your child's bus route to be delayed as students become familiar with their bus route. We have a service to help you be notified if there is a delay.
Please click the link below to sign up for BUS BULLETIN notifications.
Optional Chromebook Insurance
The district offers optional Chromebook insurance that can be purchased at the link below.
https://gpo.worthavegroup.com/gpo/itasca10/
Please contact the school if you have any questions.
5 Essentials Survey
We are asking for your assistance to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey and help us reach our goal of 80% completion rate. The information you provide will assist us with directing our efforts and guide educational opportunities for students. While your participation is voluntary, it is crucial to access results from the survey. We are unable to access survey results unless a minimum of 20% of parents respond.
The survey will be open February 18, 2025 through March 31, 2025. Please know your identity and responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected with your child.
Go to: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/ to take the survey.
Select “Parent Survey.”
You may enter your email address if you would like to receive confirmation of your submission, but it is not required.
Then enter “DuPage” into the county field and “Franzen Intermediate” to find our school.
Complete Google Form below when finished
The homeroom with the most parent responses will be treated to a pizza party! Please complete the Google Form below once you complete the survey. Each individual student will also receive Franzen Falcon sticker or magnet. Please complete the form linked here once you have completed the survey.
Additionally, 4th and 5th grade students will be completing the survey during classroom time over the next couple of weeks. If you would not like your student to participate, please email Ms. Wit to let the school know - lwit@itasca10.org.
Thank you for your input. We appreciate your support!
IPTO Spirit Wear
The IPTO is proud to announce online clothing store that will also be linked on their website. Here are some details
- Store never closes
- Items ship directly to your house
- Shop from several school stores and all items will be placed in one shopping cart
Below are links to our school stores: