• LIVE AUCTION Bidding Begins at NOON! https://spesbell2021.ggo.bid/
• SILENT & SUPER SILENT AUCTION CLOSE at 7:00 PM
• VIRTUAL LIVE AUCTION YouTube Steaming Event BEGINS at 6:30 PM

• Auction Receipts Emailed to Winning Bidders
• Winning Bidder - Auction Item Pick Up Noon - 4:00 PM

• Winning Bidder Auction Item Pick Up 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

• Winning Bidder Auction Item Pick Up 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• Middle School - Electives Schedule / Optional Ski Day
• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25
• Enrollment Contracts sent home today (please check your child's backpack).
  

• First day of enrollment for current families for the 2021-2022 school year
  

• Saturday, January 30th - LIVE VIRTUAL AUCTION - Bidding Begins at Noon - Live YouTube Feed Begins at 6:30
• February 5th -11th Priority Registration for Returning Families
• Friday, February 12th - NO SCHOOL Mid Winter Break
• Monday, February 15th - NO SCHOOL Presidents Day
• Tuesday, February 16th Outside Family Enrollment Begins
• Tuesday, February 16th - BOARD MEETING 4:00

• LIVE AUCTION Bidding Begins at NOON! https://spesbell2021.ggo.bid/
• SILENT & SUPER SILENT AUCTION CLOSE at 7:00PM
• VIRTUAL LIVE AUCTION YouTube Steaming Event BEGINS at 6:30PM

Key words to search in YouTube: "The Franklin Academy Auction 2021"

Or Follow this Link: https://youtu.be/6mgfYjokX7E

When you register on the Bidding Website you will be automatically entered into a drawing to win $300 cash! There is no purchase necessary to win. The winner will be announced by the auctioneer during the Virtual Live Auction, Saturday, January 30th. It will begin at 6:30PM The winner will have 10 min to call or text me to claim their prize.

Click the Link to Register: https://spesbell2021.ggo.bid/bidding/package-browse

Priority Registration for the 2021-2022 School Year for Returning Families - February 5th - February 11th

Re-enrollment packets will be available to families on Thursday, February 4th. Our returning families will get priority registration for one week from Friday, February 5th to Thursday, February 11th.

Enrollment opens to outside families on Tuesday, February 16th at 8:00 am. If you have a child not currently enrolled at the school please don't delay getting an application submitted. If you know someone interested in learning more about our program or touring, please encourage them to reach out to

Admissions Director, Natalie Bennett:

nbennett@thefranklin.academy

360.733.1750.

Symptom Categories

The Washington Department of Health guidance for screening individuals with symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms consistent with COVID-19 have been broken down into two categories:

• Class A: fever (≥100.4°F), cough, loss of sense of taste/smell, shortness of breath

• Class B: fatigue, headache, muscle/body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea (2 or more loose stools in 24hrs)

Franklin Academy’s Updated COVID-19 Policy

Franklin Academy requires that a student stays home for at least 10 days if they exhibit any Class A symptoms, two or more Class B symptoms, OR one Class B symptom for over 24 hours. In addition, the student needs to be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing drugs and exhibit symptom improvement.

To return to school sooner than 10 days, parents must provide the school with one of the following documents:

• Negative COVID-19 test

• Doctor’s note verifying symptoms are not due to COVID-19

If you have any questions, please contact:

Teresa Hubbell, BSN, RN

thubbell@thefranklin.academy

(360) 733-1750

This week in Mrs. Pickerill's Pre-K class students will be reading and working with the story The Mitten by Jan Brett and talk about hibernation and also work with the letter M. Last week, the class learned about arctic animals and their habitats. The student's created penguins and polar bear art. They also painted with “snow,” which was shaving cream mixed with some Elmers glue.

Our Third Grade teachers, Ms. McDonnell and Mr. Schultz, recently completed a writing activity to go along with the book The Best Part of Me, written by Wendy Ewald. This project is a way to encourage a positive self-image in oneself. Writing about ourselves allows students to reflect and build themselves up and learn more about their classmates. Students generate the thoughts, but the teachers help them toward accomplishing a final product. Students learned and practiced the stages of the writing process, along with the structure of a paragraph

Ms. Dizon's kindergarten class talked about the science behind “borax crystal”. They observed and differentiated the size, shape and colors of their crystals.

Wow! Beautiful colors! Great job Kindergarteners

Today the 5th graders were excited to so me their projects! I saw a jaguar, flamingo, fox, and so many other birds and creatures. In the next few weeks they will be sculpting, some of them adding clay for detail, then painting for the final product. I can't wait to see all of the projects completed!

K-4th art of Kittens and Puppies in Winter Scarves, inspired by artist, author, and illustrator, Angie Rozrlaar. We drew these cute kittens and puppies, and we painted them in watercolors on top of oil pastels.

Big news for grade 2, 3, and 4 students: library is now a graded class just like other specialist classes! Kindergarten and first grade are still not graded, but 2-4 students are completing assignments and working on library behavior along with checking out books, so Mrs. Samuel wanted to acknowledge their hard work and areas for improvement on their report cards. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

This week 2-4 students are learning about the inventions of Ben Franklin through the book Now and Ben by Gene Barretta, and coming up with their own idea for an invention. Some of them are so hilarious, be sure to ask your student about them! I already offered to buy several prototypes!

Kindergarten and first grade students have been listening to what Mrs. Snyder calls “crowd favorites”: Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen. This is a great reminder that it is ok to reread books! In fact, you should reread favorites! They provide comfort and reassurance, as well as a chance to work on reading skills and to find something new in the story.

As always, feel free to contact either one of us with questions (or donations! Wink wink)

Happy reading,

Mrs. Samuel and Mrs. Snyder

And the joke this week is courtesy of Mrs. Snyder:

Why was the dinosaur afraid to go to the library?

His books were 65 million years overdue.

I saw this on the SPARK Museum's Facebook feed and thought is was really cool!

The Volta cannon was invented in the 1770s to test the flammability of swamp gases. Here’s one in action, using a Wimshurst machine to create the spark. We have both of these devices here in the museum, but you won’t find us running these tests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm9oir5JyZo

Hello Franklin Families!

We are so excited to offer parents an opportunity to have observer accounts in our Canvas Platform. Once you follow the steps included in the link below you will be able to see assignment dues dates, announcements, and other course content. Observers can view the course content but cannot participate in the course. This will allow you to stay up to date on your child's progress and enjoy an in-depth look at their learning journey here with us. Please review the information below regarding this option!

In order to create a Canvas account, you will need the Canvas URL associated our school: https://thefranklinacademy.instructure.com/

Notes:

• To observe a student, you must have a student pairing code.
• Once you have an account, you may be able to view student information through the Canvas Parent app. Access to the Canvas Parent app is controlled by the student's institution. If you already have an account from your student's institution as an observer, you can always view student information through the Canvas Parent app.

Setting up an observer account

Observer Guide

Recorded Webinar

For Technical support please email helpdesk@thefranklin.academy

If you shop at Amazon.com, this is a great opportunity to raise money for Franklin Academy. Sign up at Amazon Smile and 0.5% of your purchase price will go towards the FA Annual Fund. Here’s how:

1. Go to Amazon Smile
2. In the “pick your own charitable organization” box type in Franklin Preschool
3. Click on the Bellingham Franklin Academy (may still be listed under St. Paul’s Episcopal School through the summer)
4. Very Important! Please make sure whenever you shop on Amazon you go to the Amazon Smile webpage. If you shop on Amazon.com we won’t receive the donation.

A supportive community with STEM focused education in a safe, small class environment for all grades.

Website: https://thefranklin.academy/
Location: 1509 East Victor Street, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 733-1750
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FranklinAcademyBellingham/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARBJZqnuWM2fzJSJOXO6X6qVO60w_ijnQdCgtmUFYZCSwnd0NO7wI_Jgq5_odVo2A3bLV76Yg91UH5TB

Gretchen Bucsko, Head of School: gbucsko@thefranklin.academy

Katie den Hartog, Associate Head of School, kdenhartog@thefranklin.academy

Dawn Regier, Administrative Assistant, dregier@thefranklin.academy

Rachel Lee, Administrative Assistant, rlee@thefranklin.academy

Natalie Bennett, Admissions Director, nbennett@thefranklin.academy