Hello Franklin Academy families and welcome back to school!!
We hope you had a wonderful summer and are settling back into the school routine.
We hope you join PALS, the Franklin Academy staff, and all of our families after school on Friday, September 3rd, for the Ice Cream Social at Markell Hall!
We will have a table where you can get more information about PALS and find opportunities to get involved this year, so please stop by!
PALS is our version of a PTA for those of you who are new to Franklin Academy or unfamiliar with PALS (Parents Actively Lending Support). All parents and guardians at Franklin Academy are members of our parent group. Volunteers help to transform our school into a community. We encourage all persons to volunteer their time, talent, and skills throughout the school year.
This year, each family is asked to volunteer a minimum of 30 hours (families K - 8th grade) and 15 hours Preschool - Early K) by the end of June 2022, and we will be sending out more information with ideas on how to meet this requirement. There will also be volunteer opportunities listed in the weekly newsletter sent out by Heather Black. This newsletter will also be chock full of fun social gatherings so make sure to check it out each week!
To record your family's volunteer hours, there will be a binder located inside the front door of each building. If you sign up using Sign Up Genius, your hours will automatically be logged, so no need to record in the binder.
All staff and board members are exempt from volunteer hour requirements.
We need several officer-level positions that will help make up our PTA Board. Each of these positions will cover the entire 30-hour requirement. If you are able to serve on our Operating Committee (OC), we meet 3-4 times per year in the evening to plan upcoming events and go over our budget--this position fulfills 15 hours of a family's commitment. Another easy way to complete your hours is to volunteer to be your child's Room Parent for the year. Please reach out in person or via email if you’re interested in the positions or would like to get more information at pals@thefranklin.academy.
Please note that due to the ongoing pandemic, we are following the rules as laid out by the state as it pertains to vaccinations and masking. Currently, all members of PALS must be fully vaccinated in order to actively participate in any indoor PALS-related activities. If you have decided not to get vaccinated, we are working with teachers to find projects to take home and return to fulfill your volunteer hours. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us via our email pals@thefranklin.academy
We will be resuming our weekly coffee meetings starting Tuesday, September 14th, at 8:00 am at Markell Hall near the front of the building, and on Thursday, September 16th at 3:00 in the PALS office at Robin Hall.
These meetings are a good place to get to know the PALS team, to hear about upcoming volunteer opportunities, find out about current and upcoming events at school, and get answers to questions you may have.
We look forward to getting to know everyone during this upcoming school year!
Kindly,
Sara Jentz & Nneka London-Browne
PALS Co-Presidents
