SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

As we get back into the swing of a new academic year and past the midpoint of our first full month of school, I’m very excited to share with you two brief stories that are examples of how we are preparing students to be both “college and career ready.”

We proudly shared on our district social media last week about our students at the high school that are helping to construct a home in the community with Tim O’Brien homes as part of our Construction II course at Franklin High School (links here for our Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter posts and we were also featured in this CBS58 story). Offering opportunities like these not only directly gives back to the community but also help students to explore career paths for their future. We will share progress on how this home build is coming along as these students continue to work hard to construct a new home for a family in our community.

(Below is a picture of the Construction II students along with their teacher, Mr. Andrew Mente)

This week, I am also very pleased to share with you some recently announced students from Franklin High School that have been selected as National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists. This program recognizes students that are going above and beyond in their academic ability and display the potential for success in rigorous college studies. Congratulations to Nicolas Dittmar Greaves, Pallavi Kandipati, & Shriya Punati.

Here are some details about how the National Merit Scholarship Program selects and honors these individuals: "Of the 1.5 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores (calculated by doubling the sum of the Reading, Writing, and Language, and Math Test scores) qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. In September, these high scorers are notified through their schools that they have qualified as either Commended Students or Semifinalists. About 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers, are notified that they have qualified as Semifinalists. To ensure that academically talented young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, Semifinalists are designated on a state-representational basis. Semifinalists are the highest-scoring entrants in each state."

From here, these students are now considered semifinalists and move on to the next level to hopefully be named finalists in the spring. You can click on their images below and also see our recent Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts where we shared about their success online. We are so proud of these three individuals and wish them luck on their next steps in the process!

Have a great weekend,

Dr. Judy Mueller

District Administrator

As a reminder, the District Calendar and all building calendars can be found here.

All of our calendars are able to be subscribed to! Follow the steps at the top of the District Calendar for how to subscribe. You will also see our 2021-22 Calendar Events in your own calendar app on your device!

Below is a screenshot of our updated COVID-19 dashboard. Clicking the image will take you to the live dashboard where we report our statistics every Friday. The dashboard is housed on our Communications Hub page of the website at http://www.franklin.k12.wi.us/coms

This past week, the Franklin Health Department also resurrected their community dashboard that shares out statistics every Friday. This will be linked in our dashboard for reference and you can jump right to the Community Dashboard here.

As Fridays approach, we will do our best to stay in sync with what FHD is reporting but depending on caseloads and timing of the FHD dashboard release, there may be times where the community burden rate is incorrect on our FPS dashboard. Please refer to the FHD Community Dashboard for accurate information and we will update our dashboard accordingly.

TESTING INFORMATION

If your child is showing signs of illness, has been exposed to an individual with COVID-19, or you are in search of a location to have your child tested for COVID-19 for another reason, the state of Wisconsin Department of Health Services website is a great resource to help you find the testing location that will best be able to meet your needs.

Please note that FPS is unable to accept at-home COVID-19 test results at the direction of the Wisconsin Department of Health and the Franklin Health Department.

CURRENT QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS

The following are details for how quarantines are handled based on masking protocols at various grade levels

• Grade 4K-6th students are universally masking within the building (or grade level in terms of 6th grade). Therefore, students will be required to quarantine if they are within 3 feet of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 for longer than 15 minutes or had direct contact with the individual.
• Grade 7-12 students will be required to quarantine if they are within 6 feet** of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 for longer than 15 minutes or had direct contact with the individual. This follows the same procedure as last year.

• **In the event universal masking is required in a school, this quarantine protocol will change to 3 feet

• Quarantine is not required for students that are fully vaccinated.

QUARANTINE COMMUNICATIONS

We will continue to notify families of students that are deemed close contacts. This is done in partnership and under the guidance of the Franklin Health Department. The email you receive will contain all details about the quarantine, including how instruction will continue, timeline details, and how to proceed if your child is already vaccinated.

VACCINE INFORMATION

If your family is choosing to explore options for vaccination, please refer to the details below for how the vaccination timeline works. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) encourages anyone age 12 and older to get their COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible to be better protected during the 2021-22 school year.

• For children ages 12 and up, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine currently available for this age group. The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses, spaced 21 days apart.

• Anyone ages 18 and up is eligible for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which also requires two doses, spaced 28 days apart. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also authorized for those ages 18 years and up, but only requires one dose.

As a District, we strive to ensure that all students feel a sense of belonging. As we continue to navigate COVID-19 and different mask protocols than last year in grades 7-12, we have asked our students to be respectful of one another and the choices that each individual makes. Any bullying is taken seriously and we have encouraged our students to report any bullying related to masks. We also ask that you please contact your building principal if your child has conveyed to you that he/she has been bullied for either wearing a mask or not wearing a mask. Thank you for doing all you can to help our children feel successful in school.

Come shop our huge selection of clothes, toys, bikes, nursery items, and more tomorrow (Saturday, September 18th) at Forest Park Middle School. Doors open at 8:30 am. After 12:30 pm, most items are 1/2 off! Items donated from the sale benefit area nonprofits and charities. For more information, check our website at FranklinEducationalFoundation.org

Franklin High School is proud to host the SABER MARCHING BAND INVITE 2021 this Saturday, September 18th at Sullivan Stadium! Gates open at 4 pm and you can view the schedule, parking information, and all other details here. There are 12 bands scheduled to perform at the event. Bands will be judged in the areas of music performance, visual performance, music general effect, visual general effect, percussion, and color guard. Individual class placement awards will be given to all participating bands. Concessions will be open and FHS will be selling Pop's Popcorn, student shout-outs, and 50/50 raffle tickets at a booth by the home stands. Come spend Saturday night under the lights and enjoy high local high school bands performing!

Check out and share the official Facebook Event here!

• Bus Driver Shortage: Please review this document that we shared on August 31 with all families to make you aware of how a bus driver shortage could impact our bus routes. If there is a time when a driver is not available for any number of reasons, we may be forced to communicate with families about severely delayed or possibly canceled routes.

• Bus Riders Wear Masks: Any individual on a school bus (or any public transportation) is federally required to wear a mask. Please make sure your student has a mask before heading to the bus. Even if students are choosing not to wear a mask while at school, a mask must be worn on the bus at all times. Thank you.
  

• Need a Bus Change or Addition? If you have any additions or changes needed for the busing of your child, please use this Bus Change or Addition Form.

FPS is proud to offer 3-year-old screenings in collaboration with the Franklin Health Department. The first two offerings are coming up on Monday, September 20th and Wednesday, September 22nd at Ben Franklin Elementary. Click here or the flyer attached to see all the details and please help us by passing this information on to those in the community that you know have younger children.

Franklin Public Schools is proud to welcome our new Director of Human Resources. You can click on her picture attached or read the official announcement here for Ms. Laura Domres began her time with us last Friday, September 10th.

Learning is Child’s Play is an inclusive playgroup for 3-year-olds to promote sharing, turn-taking, and friendship skills facilitated by the Franklin Public School Early Childhood Staff at Ben Franklin Elementary. The program runs from October 6, 2021 to May 25, 2022. To see all details and the registration form, please view this flyer.

As of September 1st, Google changed their access to some of their services for all 4K-12 education Google accounts. Students in FPS started to see the effects of these new restrictions this week. Google has implemented these restrictions to protect student privacy and security and to restrict content designated as over 18.

The new restrictions enforce Google's Safe Search feature and limit YouTube access to videos categorized for education and appropriate for under 18. More details from Google can be found here.

In regards to visitors or volunteers, any person entering any school building during the school day when children are present for school is required to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Masks should be worn at all times when in the building, and the visitor/volunteer should limit direct contact with others and maintain social distance (6 feet or more) when able.

Visitors and volunteers who are outdoors during the school day where students are present are required to wear a mask unless they have been vaccinated. Visitors or volunteers in the building after school, in locations where students are not present, are not required to wear a mask.

We are hiring for Food Service Workers ($15/hour starting wage, full and part time), Kids Club Workers (working with students before and after school), and Bus Drivers ($20/hour starting wage, other bonuses, paid training through First Student in Muskego).

Click on the images below to go right to the postings and join a great team!

Please remember that the District Newsletter is bi-weekly and will come to you every two weeks. You can expect the next District Newsletter on Friday, October 1st!

Looking for a past issue of the District Newsletter?

Check the ARCHIVE page here.

We pride ourselves on being...

• A Better Place to Learn
• A Better Place to Work
• Part of a Better Community

Email: communications@franklin.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.franklin.k12.wi.us
Location: 8255 West Forest Hill Avenue, Franklin, WI, USA
Phone: 414-529-8220
Facebook: facebook.com/franklinpublicschools
Twitter: @fpsdistrictwi

(Note: Any imagery containing students, staff, events, or FPS logos shared by FPS are the property of Franklin Public Schools and are solely for district use. Reproduction or reuse of these images without written permission is not allowed.)