Ben Franklin Newsletter

Dear Ben Franklin Families,

This past week was a short week, however, there was sure a lot of great experiences happening for our students! From science night to world change day to pajama day and lots of other special experiences taking place this week, students were having fun and engaged! None of these events could take place without our amazing BF staff members, our amazing PTO and family volunteers... thank you all for making these experiences not only possible, but so much fun for all of our students and their families!

It appears that temperatures will be a little warmer in the upcoming week and we plan to be outdoors for recess and activity periods as much as possible. This will not only allow students the opportunities they need to get out and play, but also to be in the colder air that kills germs. With so many different illnesses going around this time of year, we ask that you please be sure your children come to school with their water bottles (labeled) to encourage drinking water and that they get a good night's sleep. If a child is not feeling well, please be sure to give them time to rest at home and contact Nurse Calkin should they be experiencing an ailment that may be contagious. I would also like to congratulate Nurse Calkin for earning a 100% score on our recent health department monitoring!

At the end of this coming week, we will have our February Spirit Assembly! We encourage everyone to wear their school spirit wear or blue and white clothing to show their spirit! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Geoff Hewitt
Principal

This past Thursday evening, many students and their families attended this year's Science Night sponsored by the PTO and organized by Ilana Hernandez. The night was a great success thanks to all who volunteered (BF families and BF staff members) to help make it possible. Our 3rd graders did not disappoint with their creative and informative projects that were on the display in the All Purpose Room (APR). After visiting the many 3rd grade projects, families were able to go to the gym where multiple activities and refreshments were set up... fun for the whole family! Check out the pictures below of the event...

Kindergarten classes celebrated World Changers Day on Thursday, February 20th this past week as they showcased what they would like to be when they grow up. Check out the pictures below of the students as they proudly shared their hopes for their future! All kindergarten class were able to participate as they paraded through our hallways and our BF students and staff members celebrated them all!

This past week, students in Mrs. Perez and Mrs. Palacio's class had a special visitor! Mrs. Palacio's brother, Mr. Sean, visited their classroom to facilitate an experiment where students extracted DNA from strawberries. As you will see from the pictures, the students were very engaged and excited! We thank Mr. Sean for taking the time to visit and plan this lesson for the class!

3rd Graders participated in The Kids Heart Challenge this past week with Mrs. Cimorelli and Mr. Yates. Students were invited to raise funds for The American Heart Association during this month of heart health. All students jumped rope individually and in teams as they exercised doing their bodies good and while also focused on supporting a great cause! Below are a few pictures along with one picture of our PE Teacher for the Day, Sebastian (earned through the PTO Teacher Experience Raffle in the Fall).

You may have noticed that BF has begun to store non-perishable foods in the front foyer of the school. We have partnered with Mercer Street Friends to assist in supporting our community. If you would benefit from receiving support from our school in the form of care packages of food, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Umbach (mumbach@ltps.org), Mr. Hewitt (ghewitt@ltps.org), Mrs. Delgado (ddelgado@ltps.org), or Mrs. Tennant (ltennant@ltps.org). You can also call the main office at (609)671-5540.

This flyer went home in student backpacks recently inviting all students, family members, and staff members to join our BF Team this year! St. Baldrick's Foundation works to fight kids' cancer and everyone within the BF community is welcome to help in the battle by being a participant who shaves their head, by advertising, and by donating to the foundation through our BF Team. All of the details are on the flyer. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Rude (our BF Team organizer) or Mr. Hewitt. Although the shaving event will take place in mid-March, please be sure to join the team now if you would like to be involved!

This year's Super Fun Color Run will take place on Saturday, March 15th at Ben Franklin. There is a $10 fee to register for the run and $1 for face painting. All proceeds go to St. Baldrick's fight against childhood cancer!! If you are interested in participating, please click on this link to the registration form. You can also click on the image to also access the registration form.

The 3rd grade yearbook committee is working hard to complete the yearbook for this year's 3rd grade class. They are asking all 3rd grade families to complete this survey. They have 33 responses so far and would really like information from all 3rd grade families! Please take a moment to complete the survey for each of your 3rd grade students as soon as possible.

Link to survey - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zwGvkqwzA6-3lzEBb4pO3d-pRR-CkW-U5o_BHjsuzPA/edit

In addition, here is an email address that can be used for all communication regarding the yearbook - benfranklinyearbook2025@gmail.com This is the email address that all communication to families will come from and that can be used to send photos (class photos, students photos at school events, etc.) to Felissa Szold and Amanda Taglairino.

The 3rd Grade Party Committee is planning to hold a popcorn fundraiser to help raise funds for their end of year celebration! The committee is asking all 3rd grade families to set up a Pop-up Store that will be opened and run from March 3rd through March 7th. Please follow the directions on this flyer to set-up your pop-up store.

To learn more about opening your store, please click on this link and follow the directions included - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cJYo_secONTInsslmBaQKCQgzwGeEhgr/view?usp=sharing The flyer also includes contact information for committee chair, Cath Kloss, should you have questions.

PTO Meeting: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 7:00 pm on Google Meet (Link - https://meet.google.com/wkk-qavw-ywo)

Spring Teacher Clubs (click here for the offerings) -

• A parent/guardian club volunteer is required for each club. The volunteer arrives at the school by 3:10 pm on the club days, takes attendance and watches club students in the gym until the club teacher comes to collect the students at 3:45 pm. Please click HERE to sign up as a club volunteer.
• *If you sign up as a club volunteer before club registration opens on February 27, your child will be guaranteed a spot in ANY club and we will refund you $10 after clubs end. If you sign up as a club volunteer after club registration opens, your child will be guaranteed a spot in the club you are volunteering for. This perk applies to those individuals that sign up in the first slot in each club. The club volunteer needs to be there each week to get the $10 refund (or get a replacement volunteer to fill in if you cannot make it one week).
• If a club does not get a club volunteer, we will have no choice but to cancel that club.

Signups for student enrollments will begin on Thursday, February 27th at 7:30 pm. An email will be sent out at that time with the link to the Signup Genius. The link will also be posted to our social media pages.

Book Exchange - Friday, March 7, 2025 during the school day. Students will get to bring home “new to them” books. Please see the attached flyer for details.

Holidays in Harmony - Check out the link to learn more about how you and your family can create and share out family traditions in the form of a poster. All posters will be on display during the Multicultural Night. Please be sure to submit posters to the Main Office by Monday, March 10th.

Multicultural Night - On Wednesday, March 12th, the second annual Multicultural Night will be held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The event will take place in the BF multi-purpose room (the "airport") and gymnasium (the "Global Marketplace"). All BF families and staff are welcome to attend! We are excited for the BF community to come together to celebrate all the wonderful cultures and traditions within our school. Children will be given passports and boarding passes as they travel to the various activity tables! To join in on the fun, RSVP at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4BABAF2AA4F5C52-54337023-multicultural?useFullSite=true#/

• If you would like to join the event, please sign up in at least one of 3 ways (this counts as admission for your family to the event):
1. Showcase an activity or interactive display! We would love to see what reflects your culture, heritage, nationality, the area you are from in the US, and/or how you celebrate holidays! After visiting your table, children will be given a sticker stamp to go in their passports! Stamps will be provided by the PTO.
2. Bring a potluck item to share! Families/staff can contribute their favorite family dishes (even if it’s chocolate chip cookies), special or secret family recipes, dishes from around the world, where you are from in America, and/or dishes that are from their culture/heritage. Food can be either homemade or store-bought. Please note that the portion size is up to you. We will also need people to sign up for some staple items such as drinks and fruit trays. Items should be delivered by 6/6:15pm.
3. Volunteer to help! You can do so during the event by checking in guests and/or helping to clean-up at the end of the event
• If you have any questions, please send an email to Petra and Ilana at BFPTOrocks@gmail.com. RSVP for a slot by March 8, 2025: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4BABAF2AA4F5C52-54337023-multicultural?useFullSite=true#
• **Inclement weather reschedule date: March 13, 2025.
• We will also have raffles, cultural performances and international music this year!

BF PTO Website: www.bfpto.org

Email: bfptorocks@gmail.com

The Lawrence High School (LHS) Arts and Humanities Academy and Black Student Union are proud to present the 12th annual Black History Celebration on Saturday, February 22! The event is sponsored by the Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEA).

This year's theme is "Overcoming by Faith, Fortitude, & Resistance." The event will kick off at 3:00 p.m. with a variety of vendors and delectable foods, followed by the official program at 5:00 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome to join at one of the biggest events of the year!

First graders have created Winter Tree Silhouettes using watercolor, tissue paper, torn paper, and tempera paint. Thank you to Ms. Skorupa for partnering with the Mercer County Library and displaying our students' artwork! The artwork is on display for the month of February. Check out the pictures below, but be sure to stop by the Mercer County Library to see it in person as well! Thank you, Ms. Skorupa!

We all want the very best for our children and their education. On Tuesday, March 11, Lawrence Township residents will have the opportunity to vote on the district’s proposed bond referendum, which would provide funding for significant improvements to our schools, benefitting our students for years to come.

If approved, this referendum would allow the district to access additional state aid and finance several critical projects, including:

✅ A modernized and expanded middle school to serve grades 6-8, replacing outdated facilities and creating more space for learning.
✅ Updated classrooms for general education, special education, science, technology, arts, and music.
✅ New life skills classrooms and flexible learning spaces to support small group instruction.
✅ A renovated performing arts center for students and community use.
✅ A new gymnasium that can hold the entire middle school (900 people) and be used after school hours.
✅ Improved traffic flow for safer and smoother drop-off and pick-up at LMS and LHS.
✅ Additional parking so students no longer have to park on the street.
✅ A new multi-sport turf field to support growing athletic programs.
✅ Restroom facilities and a concession stand at sports fields.
✅ Infrastructure repairs and more.

To learn more about these proposed projects and the impact they will have on your children’s education and the future of Lawrence Township Public Schools, please visit the district’s referendum page, www.ltps.org/referendum.

LTPS Referendum '25 - Lawrence Township Public Schools

Make sure to check your polling location and vote on Tuesday, March 11.

The LTEF is excited to announce the addition of an Art Contest to our Lawrence Has Talent event. Please see the flyer attached and share with an artist you may know! I will have physical flyers in the schools by Friday. Thank you!

Visit here for more info: https://givebutter.com/LHTartcontest

All entries are due by March 20th.

Attention families of three and four-year-old children that live in Lawrence - LTPS's preschool application is now available on our website and will remain open until April 11, 2025. See this flyer for more details. Please note that this is a lottery system and not "first come first served." Tell your friends!

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.

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)

February:

22 - 12th Annual Black History Celebration at LHS beginning at 3:00 pm

24 - 1st Grade Campfire Lessons

25 - PTO Meeting at 7pm on Google Meet (this is a Tuesday!), Link - https://meet.google.com/wkk-qavw-ywo

26 - Virtual Community Referendum Information Forum, 6:00-8:00 pm on Google Meet (Visit www.ltps.org/referendum to register)

27 -

• Kindergarten Campfire Lessons
• PTO Spring Club Registration begins at 7:30 pm (PTO will send out a Sign Up Genius link)

28 - BF Spirit Assembly - ALL students and staff members encouraged to wear spirit wear and/or wear blue and white!

March:

3-7 - Read Across America Week!

3 - 1st Grade Campfire Lessons

5 - 2nd Grade Concert at BF in the APR, 2:00 pm

7 - PTO Book Exchange (during school day)

9 - Holidays in Harmony (PTO) posters DUE

10 - 1st Grade Campfire Lessons

11 - Referendum Vote

12 - PTO Multicultural Night, 6:00-8:00 pm at BF

14 - St. Baldrick's Fundraising & Shaving Event (Schoolwide Assembly at BF)

15 -

• BF's Super Fun Color Run (Registration & Face Painting), 10:15-11:00 am at BF
• BF's Super Fun Color Run, 11:00 am at BF
• St. Baldrick's Fundraising & Shaving Event at Amalfi's, 11:00-1:00

18 - K to see LMS Musical, Moana, Jr. (during school day)

19 -

• Community Conversation with Alisha DeLorenzo (details to follow)
• BOE Mtg., 7:00 pm at LHS

24 - PTO Mtg., 7:00 pm on Google Meet (link to follow)

25 - Class Photos with Photo Haven

26 -

• Schoolwide Assembly - The Illusion Maker’s Brand New “POP QUIZ” Environmental Quiz Show
• Staff Luncheon hosted by 1st grade families (PTO sponsored)

28 - BF Spirit Assembly - ALL students and staff members encouraged to wear spirit wear and/or wear blue and white!

31 - No School for Students, Staff Development