Ben Franklin Newsletter
January 11, 2025
Dear Ben Franklin Families,
We have completed our first full week of 2025! While the week began with some snow and the cold temperatures kept us indoors for recess, we are hopeful that the weather will be nice enough for students to get back outside for recess as soon as possible. Please be sure students are sent to school with appropriate clothing (such as coats, hats, gloves) so they can stay warm and comfortable on days we are able to get outside. It is also very helpful if you can label all clothing items and personal belongings with your child’s name to avoid adding to our lost and found items.
Looking to the week ahead, Friday, January 17th, is an Early Dismissal Day for all students. Dismissal will begin at 1:20 pm, and students must be picked up by 1:40 pm. All staff members will be engaged in professional development/in-service opportunities during that afternoon.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you soon! Enjoy the weekend!
Sincerely,
Geoff Hewitt
Principal
Nurse Notification of Illness, Lice, etc.
Please be sure to keep Nurse Calkin informed of information regarding your child's health in a proactive way to prevent others from becoming ill. If you are aware that your child has an illness, has lice, or has been exposed to someone with a health concern, please err on the side of caution and notify Nurse Calkin. She can then assist with guidance toward how to best protect and/or treat your child as well as in how to best prevent the spread to other children and staff members of Ben Franklin.
Cough Drops
Students cannot bring cough drops into school in backpacks due to the high potential for choking and for sharing with others, which could result in another student choking.
If you feel strongly that the cough drops are necessary, please bring them to the school labeled with your student's name and with a note. Nurse Calkin will then be able to provide them to your child without other children having access to them.
You may find the Illness Exclusion Policy on the school website.
Keeping Your Child Home
We understand that it is difficult when children are called to be picked up from school due to illness or another health concern. However, it is necessary for Nurse Calkin to follow district policy in order to provide the care to your child as well as to protect other students and staff members here at school. In addition to students being required to be home until they are fever-free, diarrhea free, and vomit free for at least 24 hours (without the assistance of medication such as Tylenol), students who are coughing continuously should remain home even if they are fever free. This is part of the LTPS Illness Exclusion Policy (24 Hour Rule).
We very much appreciate you wanting your child not to miss school. However, we also appreciate your cooperation in following this policy for the safety of all involved. Thank you!
3rd Grade PTO Coin Wars!
3rd Grade is fundraising while also selecting their theme for their end of the year Third Grade Party! The Coin Wars are taking place now through Thursday, January 16th (it has been extended by a day to be sure all students have a chance to participate)! See the image alongside this announcement for details (feel free to click on it to enlarge the image).
Clothing Drive - This year's clothing drive will run through January 13th. Click on the link to see the flyer for more information.
PTO Meeting: Monday, January 27th at 7:00 pm on Google Meet (Link to join - https://meet.google.com/sad-gmqg-fzz)
PTO Movie Night: Friday, January 31, 2025 (doors open at 6pm; movie begins at 6:30pm) The children voted and the winning movie is The Wild Robot! Please see the flyer for more details.
Teacher Appreciation Meal (hosted by 2nd Grade Families): Thursday, February 6, 2025
Save the Date: 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 to follow)
BF PTO Website: www.bfpto.org
Email: bfptorocks@gmail.com
River Friendly Schools
Ben Franklin is still in the process of applying for the River Friendly certification. Here is the link to the survey for you and/or your family members to find out if they are "River-Friendly". In addition to completed the survey at the link, we also ask that you complete this REALLY quick Google Form just letting us know that you completed the survey. In order to be certified as "River Friendly", we need 10% of students/families/family members and teachers to complete the surveys. Thank you to any and all who may have already completed the survey and Google Form!
Lawrence Has Talent Open Auditions
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.
Attendance - Genesis Portal
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.
LTPS Tip Line
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)
January 2025:
13 - 1st Grade Campfire Lesson
15 - 3rd Grade Geography Bee (during school day)
16 - K Campfire Lesson
17 -
- Early Dismissal Day, Staff In-Service (Students dismiss at 1:20)
- Ben Franklin's Birthday!
20 - School Closed - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day / Day of Service
23 - K Campfire Lesson
27 -
- 1st Grade Campfire Lesson
- PTO Meeting, 7:00 pm (Google Meet link - https://meet.google.com/sad-gmqg-fzz)
30 - K Campfire Lesson
31 -
- BF Spirit Assembly (during school day) - ALL students and staff members encouraged to wear spirit wear and/or wear blue and white!
- PTO Movie Night!
February:
6 - Teacher Appreciation Meal Sponsored by 2nd Grade Families
20 - Science Night & 3rd Grade Science Fair (PTO) at BF, 6:00 pm
25 - PTO Meeting at 7pm on Google Meet
