Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Gallery 218 - new art show reveals talents!

By now, you know that I am a practicing photographer. I take lots of pictures, some of which you see here. I get nervous about taking pictures of artist's work. I am now imposing my view, my frame of reference upon the work. It may create something other than what the artist intended.

Gallery 218 opened a new show featuring the creations of personnel throughout the District who are non-art teachers. I counted at least 28 artists with one or more pieces in this show!

This opens a new world. A math teacher does quilts. A computer technician does sculpture. The Director of Instructional Services does a head in plaster. The list goes on. Wonderful works. Here is a sample of what you can see:



I hope you are teased enough by this to visit Gallery 218 at Franklin High School.


Note: For those email subscribers, you may need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the photo slideshow.

Proposal to restructure around literacy

Though adolescent literacy instruction is prime for more research and development, A Time to Act underscores the importance of teaching reading within the nuanced context of each subject area, and beyond the current concentration on decoding skills in grades K-3.
Read the full posting about the new report just released by the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy here


The new report advocates restructuring schools K-12 around literacy.


You can also obtain the full report here.


Recall that the elementary school of Franklin have literacy as their number one goal across the School Improvement Plans just presented to the School Committee


In the News - Vietnam casualties, education

New signs in planning to recognize Franklin's Vietnam War casualties


A sign of respect

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Gallery 218 - NonArt Teacher Show - opens today

Gallery 218 (in Franklin High School) is opening a new show of art by non-art teachers within the Franklin Public Schools on Tuesday, Sep 29th with a reception from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Come to view the new show in the Gallery!



Services available at Tri-County

The Auto Tech Program provides oil changes, tire repair, rotation, and mounting, front end and brake realignment, and much more. Additionally, the Carpentry, Facilities Management, and HVAC&R Career Programs offer a variety of services upon request.
Two benefits from this, you should be able to get a service for a reasonable price, and the students get to learn from real work.

Tri-County offering vocational services to public

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS




What is differentiated instruction?

The development of differentiated instruction over the years is outlined in a good article.
Washburne takes the reader through a short history of reform efforts aimed at making education more individualized, beginning with the efforts of charismatic educator Preston Search, of Pueblo, Colo., and proceeding through the work of Frederic Burk, who "started a movement to make textbooks self-instructive and enable children, systematically, to progress according to their own ability." From the Project Method to ability grouping, Washburne's history shows how evolving understanding of learning and development shapes educators' efforts to meet the needs of all students.
Read the full article here. Bold in quote for my emphasis.




In the News - Milford rail trail update

For those in Franklin working on or interested with the progress on area rail trails, this is the latest on the effort in Milford.

Milford bike trail's final stage discussed

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff



Monday, September 28, 2009

Hold the date! October 17th

Why hold the date?
Are you interested in the new social media technologies? Would you like to learn more about blogging, podcast, Twitter, Facebook, etc? Then the event being held at New England Institute for Technology in Warwick, RI is the one for you.
But I am a beginner?
No problem, this event is geared to the beginners. Yes, if you have some knowledge is this area you can still learn but it is targeted for the "newbies", hence NewBCamp.
How much does it cost?
Only $10. For the price of a movie, or a couple of coffees, you can gain the information you need to keep up with the technology. Don't fall behind. Participate at NewBCamp on October 17th
Tickets go on sale on October 1. The link and additional information will be provided as soon as the registration is open.


Mu Han Tae Kwan Do

Mu Han Tae Kwan Do opened in Franklin early in 2008. They chose Franklin because of the areas' emphasis on education. While there are many martial arts schools, Mu Han provides a distinct difference with its approach.


Mu Han is Korean for "no limits". The approach they make to martial arts training at Mu Han is briefly described with two lines:
  1. "Together, the best of the best"
  2. "Be the best _______"
Martial arts is not just a practice, not just a training, it is a way of education. In this light, the first line "together, the best of the best" is understood. You approach being the best from whatever point you start at. You have the opportunity to work with talented and experienced instructors. From your starting point, you make progress. Together you can achieve more.


Practicing with others is very motivational but you are focusing on your improvement not competing with other students. Along the way you learn discipline, confidence and how to practice. When you achieve your goal, you are in a better position to set new goals. You will see the whole landscape with a more experienced view and will set better goals.

The second line bring with it the personalization of your talent or skills. If you are a mother, or a student, or a bricklayer, you can strive to be the best mother, the best student, the best bricklayer.  Be the best (fill in the blank).

Master Chang Nam Kang worked hard on his way from South Korea to the US. He benefited from fortunate connections. For example, while working at a restaurant in Manhattan, his supervisor referred him to an instructor position with Grandmaster Y H Park's school. Master Kang worked with Grandmaster Park's school for three years.  From Manhattan, Master Kang went to Springfield, MA then to Salem, NH before coming back to MA and gradually opening the three locations now associated with Mu Han Tae Kwan Do (Attleboro, Danvers, and Franklin). The students across the three schools have grown to number about 500. Approximately, 60-70 of them have achieved a black belt level.

Mu Han is located in Franklin at 456 West Central St in the same plaza as Elizabeth's Bagels and across the street from Annie's Market. The offer a flexible schedule of classes for all ages of the family. The schedule can be found here  



Mu Han's web site can be found here:  http://muhanmartialarts.com/Home.aspx

An article from the Milford Daily News was published in 2008 and features a brief video clip of Master Chang and Master Jin in a few demonstrations.
Master Chang was featured on the cover of Tae Kwan Do Times in 2002:
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io






If you are interested in martial arts training, then the Mu Han Tae Kwan Do School located right here in Franklin would be a good place to consider.


In the News - dog park, honey, Dean College


A town dog park is part of the five-year plan in the 2008 Open Space Recreation Plan created by the Public Land Use Committee as something on the wish list of Franklin residents, Jette said.
The best spot for the park, Jette said, would be at Dacey Field off Lincoln Street, behind the playground and set back into the woods.



Franklin considering dog park idea

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Angel Roy/Daily News staff

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Howard is frequently at the Farmers Market to sell his local honey.


Hive Mind: Franklin farmer has been collecting honey for 45 years

-----


English language company to leave Dean



Sunday, September 27, 2009

Populatic Street Closed

9/23/09
PUBLIC NOTICE


POPULATIC STREET FROM WALKER ROAD IN MEDWAY TO BRANDYWINE ROAD IN FRANKLIN WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL OCTOBER 9, 2009.  THE ROAD CLOSURE IS NECESSARY TO CORRECT A SAFETY ISSUE.

POPULATIC STREET WILL BE OPEN TO LOCAL TRAFFIC FROM WALKER ROAD IN MEDWAY TO 10 POPULATIC STREET IN FRANKLIN AND FROM BRANDYWINE ROAD IN FRANKLIN TO 50 POPULATIC STREET IN FRANKLIN.

EMERGENCY VEHICLES, SCHOOL BUSES AND TRASH HAULERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAFELY PASS THROUGH THE SECTION OF ROAD BETWEEN 10 AND 50 POPULATIC STREET IN FRANKLIN AND SHOULD SEEK ALTERNATE ROUTES.

Found on the Town website



Regionalization - one way to save money

Regionalization is one way local communities should explore to save money and still provide the required services. Franklin has started this effort with Medway by sharing the Library Director and Recreation programs. Ayer and Shirley are looking at regionalizing their schools.
Ayer and Shirley officials said it makes sense to join together for several reasons. Not only do the towns border each other and share activities such as youth sports, but the merger would solve school building needs.

Read more about their regionalization efforts in the Boston Globe here

What services do you think would be worthy of discussion for Franklin to regionalize? With which community?

FM #46 - Scott Mason

This is #46 in the series for Franklin Matters. In this segment, we talk with Town Council candidate Scott Mason.

Time: 24 minutes, 44 seconds


Audio file ->  https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-46-scott-mason

FM #46
This internet radio show or podcast for Franklin Matters is number 46 in the series.

This is the first of what should be a series focusing on the candidates for the election on November 3rd. The Town Council, the School Committee and several other positions are up for election.

Today, we will spend about 20 minutes talking with Scott Mason who will be running for his third term on the Town Council.

Before we get into the conversation with Scott, let me quickly say that if you are a candidate for election this November 3rd, please get in contact with me to arrange for a similar interview. The output can be purely text, or audio (as we are doing with Scott).

The intent of the interview series is to share your information with the Franklin community. This aligns with my overall call to share information to create fully informed voters. We need to know the ins and outs of what we are voting on. Franklin Matters.

Without further ado, let's get right into the conversation with Scott. We had met initially in person and then
recorded this conversation over the phone to make this available for you.
 
Our conversation covered Scott's answers to the following 4 questions:
  1. What is Franklin's big issue? What steps should we take to resolve it?
  2. What is your position on the Financial Planning Committee report?
  3. What is your position on the proposed Charter revisions?
  4. What use do you envision for the Open Space Fund?

The following was provided by Scott

R. Scott Mason
9 Lee Street
Franklin, MA 02038


Biographical Information
Age: 46

Married:
Wife; Patricia, Daughters: Kelly 19, Kathryn 14

Occupation:
Self-Employed

Education:
Franklin Public Schools, graduated Franklin High School 1981
College: Dean College, class of 1984; Associate of Art in Communications (Graduated with high honors); Suffolk University, class of 1986; Bachelor of Science in Journalism/English, graduated with honors.

Years in Franklin:
Lifelong Franklin resident

First elected to the Town Council in 2005, re-elected in 2007

Positions held:
Chairman; Capital Improvement Sub-Committee, 2005 – present;
member; Town Administrator’s Salary Review Sub-Committee, 2007;
member; Senior Advocacy Sub-Committee, 2007 -- present;
Clerk; School Building Committee, 2008 – present

Social and Professional Organizations:
Mensa

Reasons for wanting to serve on the Town Council:

As a lifelong Franklin resident, I feel it is essential to offer something back to our community. After two terms as a Town Councilor, I still realize that we as citizens of this town, and we as Town Councilors, have much work to do, if we value the standard of living we have come to enjoy and wish for it to continue. My goal for the new term is to work to perpetuate that standard of living for all our citizens, not just those that can afford it the most.

In order to do that, we must continue to make prudent decisions with operating and capital budgets. We must find new and creative ways to make less money reach further, and we must help those that are most hurt by a poor economic climate, such as our elderly and our young.

We as a Council must work closely with the administration to find and implement cost-saving solutions, such as regionalization. We must work closely with the School Committee to provide a school budget that provides the best educational environment for our children, and we must continually examine the efficiencies of town operations, with the goal to improve services for all.

We must also be aware of the staffing needs of our public safety and D.P.W. We cannot sacrifice our ability to respond to health and safety issues in our community, nor can we allow our infrastructure to deteriorate.

We must continue to examine the feasibility of revenue generating measures such as overrides and debt exclusions, as a last resort to maintaining our quality of life.

Lastly, we as a Council must continue to work closely with our State Representative and Senators to make sure our voice is heard on Beacon Hill.

Major issues to be addressed in the next two years:

Budget Shortfall

Franklin’s annual operating budget of approximately $100,000,000.00 is inadequate to meet the needs of its citizens. In past years, Franklin has passed budgets that have made substantial cuts in personnel and/or services on both the school and town sides. Franklin voters have historically not supported Proposition 2 ½ overrides, although voters passed a successful override in 2007.

As a result of this reluctance, if we as a Council determine that an override is necessary, we must find a way to present it to the voters in order to achieve a favorable outcome.

The Council must also carefully consider other ways to increase revenues, such as taking advantage of State options for local taxing as they become available, such as the recently passed “Meals Tax”.

High School Renovation

Within the next 12 months, voters may be asked to approve a debt exclusion to fund renovations to the almost 40-year old Franklin High School. The administration and the School Building Committee is working with the School Building Authority to acquire partial funding for this renovation. If and when it is approved, the town must act quickly to procure the balance of funding.

Capital Funding

Franklin’s capital budget is also inadequate for its capital needs. Among a long list of needs that the town has on an annual basis, which include replacement police cruisers, D.P.W vehicles and repairs to town buildings, there is also a growing need to repair and repave many roads in town, but, presently there is no source of funds within the town for road repaving.

By examining the five-year plan for capital expenditures, the Council must consider various options for funding them on a year-to-year basis.
 
-----------
 
This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and East of Shirley. The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with permission.

Back to Business - Linda Waters

I met Linda Waters at the Harvest Festival last Sunday and we caught up with what each other is doing with a great conversation.

I combined the front and back of one of her handouts to present this single sided view:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io


She has an interesting new product about to be introduced soon. The web site is not yet active (so check back to see when it does go active, or sign up to be notified by email).

She will be introducing Confidence Beads:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io


You can connect with Linda via LinkedIn
or check out her website here



In the News - Dean


"Most theater departments teach the art and crafts of the field - we want not only to do that but also prepare them for the transition of being an artist as a business person," Morgan said. "We want students to know such things as how to do their taxes as an artist and how to transition from here to a mega-market such as Los Angeles, Chicago or New York City.
"We want students to understand how to live and how to get work as an artist," Morgan said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News:


Dean gets new arts chief

from The Milford Daily News News RSS 




Saturday, September 26, 2009

Franklin - shows its color

The little pond along Beech St provides a wonderful glimpse of the autumn color rapidly taking over the landscape.




Where in Franklin do you find good autumn color?


Catherine C Haynes and Cafe Dolce

The featured artist this month at Cafe Dolce is Catherine C Haynes.

She has worked in a variety of mediums and her current work emphasis is pastels in a traditional landscape format.
Her work will be displayed at Cafe Dolce through November 8th.


Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

For more information on the artist, please visit her web site here



In the News - fund raising on two fronts

Two mothers get together to raise money for Cradles to Crayons

Give a little, get a little

from The Milford Daily News News RSS

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Pirelli Scholarship raises money

Father fights to keep son's name alive

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS




Friday, September 25, 2009

Farmers Market - Nonni Roses


The Farmers Market will be open today from noon to 6:00 PM on the Town Common.

This is your weekly opportunity to help the local economy and to get quality food items.

You can get baked goods in addition to fresh produce. Nonni Roses usually has a tent each week. Nonni Roses' menu was previously published here and here.


Fall Into Art

The 38th Annual Fall into Art Exhibit and Sale will be held on November 7th/8th at the Adirondack Club on Chestnut St.

The flyer I picked up at the Harvest Festival looks like this:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io


For additional information about the Franklin Art Association, please visit their web site here


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Gallery 218 - NonArt Teachers featured

Gallery 218 (in Franklin High School) will be opening a new show of art by non-art teachers within the Franklin Public Schools on Tuesday, Sep 29th with a reception from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Come to view the new show in the Gallery!



J W Tumbles - Franklin

J W Tumbles opened here in Franklin earlier this year. I stopped by their table/tent at the Harvest Festival to check in and picked up this flyer.

Schedule - Page 1

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Schedule - Page 2

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Additional information is available on their web site here


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Town Council Candidate - Tina Powderly

Tina Powderly is one of the thirteen candidates for the Town Council. You will have the opportunity to choose nine of these candidates at the election on November 3rd.

I have a discussion scheduled with Tina and will publish that as part of the series planned for October. In the meantime, you can review Tina's web site and sign up for updates she sends out.

Tina's web site can be found here.



School Committee Mtg 09/22/09

The collection of live reporting from the School Committee meeting on 9/22/09 can be found here:






In the News - Communications policy, brain drain, rail trail

Franklin schools OK new high-tech communication policy

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS 

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Franklin experiencing a brain drain



Rail trail work set to begin in Milford


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Live reporting - closing items

6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.

Sue raised the request for a report overview of the school district to be used to help explain the funding needs and requirements. Sen Spilka is apparently looking to review the school funding process.

7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations

Motion to move to Executive session, not to return to public forum.
Motion passed, 7-0

8. Adjourn



Live reporting - Superintendent Report

Superintendent’s Report
a. H1N1 Update
video created, available on demand from Town web site

(the video is also available via this link here)

b. English Language Learners
Need to add a .5 FTE to work with students that are non-English speaking who need additional assistance. It is not an action item for now, she wanted to have it reviewed first. It is a State unfunded mandate. The State will be coming in later this year for a visit and this is one of items they will be looking at.

Our population is getting more diverse.


c. Students Leaving the District
The document referenced is as follows:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io




Maureen and Sally are taking 'learning walks' through the schools. Members of the School Committee are invited to join them.

Gallery 218 will be opening an Art Show next Tuesday with art from non-Art teachers

Live reporting - Action items

4. Action Items
a. I recommend adoption of Policy GBAB Acceptable Use motion to approve, passed 7-0
b. I recommend adoption of Policy GBAB-E1 Acceptable Use Agreement 6-12  motion to approve, passed 7-0
c. I recommend adoption of Policy GBAB-E2 Acceptable Use Agreement K-5  motion to approve, passed 7-0
d. I recommend adoption of Policy JT Electronic Device  motion to approve, passed 7-0
e. I recommend adoption of Policy JU Electronic Communication motion to approve, passed 7-0 (as amended)
f. I recommend acceptance of a check for $117.86 from Target’s Take Charge of Education Program for the Annie Sullivan Middle School for In-house enrichment and supplies.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
g. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1,000.00 from the Oak Street PCC for a 3rd grade field trip to Plimoth Plantation as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
h. I recommend Acceptance of a check for $112.31 from Target’s Take Charge of Education Program for the Horace Mann Middle School.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
i. I recommend adoption of Davis Thayer’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
j. I recommend adoption of Jefferson’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
k. I recommend adoption of Keller’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
l. I recommend adoption of Kennedy’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
m. I recommend adoption of Oak Street’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0
n. I recommend adoption of Parmenter’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.  motion to approve, passed 7-0


Live reporting - Policies - 2nd readings

b. Policy - Second Readings
1st reading was in August, changes were implemented since then

1. GBAB Acceptable Use Policy

2. GBAB-E1 Acceptable Use Agreement 6-12

3. GBAB-E2 Acceptable Use Agreement K-5

4. JT Electronic Device Policy

5. JU Electronic Communication Policy

Discussion to clarify the layout of the policies and the placement in the student handbooks. Intent being that the handbooks should be containing the same rules that exist in this policy. The pieces going into the handbooks are what is in front of the committee this evening. (Documents to be added later)

Q - on whether there needs to be additional wording to address a potential teacher/parent harassment situation.
A - Those are already covered by other items in other policies, i.e. the employee sections.

Q - "school sanctioned" - does that need to be defined further?
A - The issue is how far down do you describe the details, especially with the rapid changes in technology. If we run into problems down the road, we can come back and revisit this if necessary.

Q - I like that interpretation, I was thinking 'school' would refer to 'district' but if school truly refers to each individual school then that works for me. Propose to use the language from the GBAB to add to further define the "good behavior".


Live reporting - Elementary School Improvement Plans

a. Elementary School’s School Improvement Plans

1. Davis Thayer – Shirley Babcock
Three goals, similar to last year, one added
Goal 1 - Literacy
Goal 2 - Communications
Goal 3 - Collaborative Learning
Goal 4 - Math Achievement


2. Jefferson – Jane Hyman
Goal 1 - Literacy
Goal 2 - Mathematics
Goal 3 - Home School Comunications
Goal 4 - Professional Learning Communities
Goal 5 - School Safety
Goal 6 - Supportive Learning Environment
Goal 7 - Technology Integration

3. Keller – Mary Jane Wiles
Goal 1 - Literacy
Goal 2 - Math
Goal 3 - Collaborative Leadership
Goal 4 - NAEYC Accreditation (1st year of 2 year process)

Q - What is this collaborative leadership goal?
A - The faculty have come forward with a suggestion to become more involved in addressing the problems that arise. The major issue we have is actually finding time to meet and implement this. We are attempting to meet quickly at the end of the day. We are looking for the problem to be brought forward with some strategies that have been already attempted.

4. Kennedy – Joan Toye
Goal 1 - Literacy
Goal 2 - Math
Goal 3 - Communications

5. Parmenter – Judi Bassignani
Goal 1 - Literacy
Goal 2 - Communications
Goal 3 - NAEYC Accreditation (2nd year of 2 year process)

6. Oak Street – Corine Minkle
Goal 1 - Literacy
Goal 2 - Math
Goal 3 -Response to Intervention (RTI)

Live reporting - School Committee

Attending: Armenio, Cafasso, Kelly, Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach, Trahan
Missing: none




1. Routine Business

Citizen’s Comments - none
Review of Agenda - move presentation from P Carlucci (sick) to a future meeting
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the September 8, 2009 School Committee Meeting.  motion to approve - passed 7-0
Payment of Bills - Mr. Kelly  motion to approve - passed 7-0
Payroll - Ms. Armenio
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence  none




America on the Move - Wed 9/23 - 12:00

As part of the YMCA America on the Move, member of the Franklin Downtown Partnership

will be walking downtown for 30 minutes on

Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:00 noon.


They will be meeting in front of Cafe Dolce.


Please come and join them for a walk downtown.


For more information you can go to www.hockymca.org

Town Council Candidate - Glenn Jones

At the Harvest Festival this weekend, I picked up a copy of this letter to the "Concerned voters of Franklin". For those who did not make it to the Festival, here is your chance to review it.
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io



Glenn is one of 13 candidates for the Town Council election coming on November 3rd. I met with Glenn recently and our discussion has been drafted. The discussion will be published here during October as part of a series of posts planned to provide information on the candidates for this years election.

If you haven't already subscribed to Franklin Matters, I would recommend that you do. It is free and easy. You can subscribe via email, RSS Feed, or iTunes. The email subscription and the RSS Feed subscription are probably your best bet to get all the information published in a timely manner. The iTunes subscription will cover the podcast which while it is targeted for weekly doesn't always make that schedule.

The subscription options are available in the center column on the front page of Franklin Matters.

Note: email subscribers should click through to view the document on the website.

5th Annual Run for Bob

The Bob Biagiotti Memorial 5K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, October 3rd at the Putnam Investments facility here in Franklin.

Registration can be accomplished in advance online here


The flyer will additional details can be viewed here:
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io





Bikes Not Bombs collection Saturday

The Bikes Not Bombs bicycle collection will be held rain or shine Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of the Department of Public Works, 257 Fisher St.
Read the full story in the Milford Daily News



Franklin teen advocates bikes, not bombs






Monday, September 21, 2009

Harvest Festival recap

Sunday was a great day for the Harvest Festival in downtown Franklin! If you stayed home to flip between the Pats and the Red Sox, you missed a good time.

Outside Cafe Dolce, Random Play was turning out some good music. The Franklin Republican Town Committee tent was located right there. So close it was hard to have a conversation with the band playing so well.



In the photo above, Don Newton stepped the front with his wireless guitar.

On the triangle over the railroad bridge, Knuf Said was holding forth for their fans arrayed in the shade near their tent.




On Depot St, before heading in to the kids area, Mary Pat McSharry of Closet\and Storage Concepts had their new vehicle and table set up. Nothing like a smart car to show how smartly you can get organized!




I talked with Alan Mercer, Director of Advancement for the New England Center for the Performing Arts about the fund raising they are doing for their new facility to showcase what we know today as the Franklin School for Performing Arts.

I talked with Linda Waters of Back to Business about her new product: Confidence Beads. The website is coming soon.

In front of Rockland Trust, Nothing to No One was getting into their groove.










On such a glorious Sunday, the only real disappointment was in not finding many of the candidates for the Franklin Election in November. Glenn Jones (Town Council) had a tent down by the Post Office (an interview with Glenn is in draft). I did talk with Matt Kelly about setting time for his interview. I met Dan Ballinger for the first time. He may follow up to set up time for an interview with Franklin Matters. Bob Vallee was observed minding one of his grand-daughters. Roberta Trahan (School Committee) worked at the Downtown Partnership table. With no competition for the seven School Committee seats, I am not too worried about that part of the election. The Town Council is respectfully, the more important race this November. If other candidates were around, I missed them in my travels.


It was a real treat to walk down Main St without worrying about the traffic. 

Thanks to the efforts of all involved, especially the Downtown Partnership, the local businesses and vendors, the Franklin Police. This was a great event!

School Committee - Agenda - 9/22/09

1. Routine Business

Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the September 8, 2009 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly
Payroll Ms. Armenio
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence

2. Guests/Presentations

a. Elementary School’s School Improvement Plans
1. Davis Thayer – Shirley Babcock
2. Jefferson – Jane Hyman
3. Keller – Mary Jane Wiles
4. Kennedy – Joan Toye
5. Parmenter – Judi Bassignani
6. Oak Street – Corine Minkle

b. Policy - Second Readings

1. GBAB Acceptable Use Policy
2. GBAB-E1 Acceptable Use Agreement 6-12
3. GBAB-E2 Acceptable Use Agreement K-5
4. JT Electronic Device Policy
5. JU Electronic Communication Policy

c. Lifelong Learning Update – Pandora Carlucci

3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual

4. Action Items
a. I recommend adoption of Policy GBAB Acceptable Use
b. I recommend adoption of Policy GBAB-E1 Acceptable Use Agreement 6-12
c. I recommend adoption of Policy GBAB-E2 Acceptable Use Agreement K-5
d. I recommend adoption of Policy JT Electronic Device
e. I recommend adoption of Policy JU Electronic Communication
f. I recommend acceptance of a check for $117.86 from Target’s Take Charge of Education Program for the Annie Sullivan Middle School for In-house enrichment and supplies.
g. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1,000.00 from the Oak Street PCC for a 3rd grade field trip to Plimoth Plantation as detailed.
h. I recommend Acceptance of a check for $112.31 from Target’s Take Charge of Education Program for the Horace Mann Middle School.
i. I recommend adoption of Davis Thayer’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.
j. I recommend adoption of Jefferson’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.
k. I recommend adoption of Keller’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.
l. I recommend adoption of Kennedy’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.
m. I recommend adoption of Oak Street’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.
n. I recommend adoption of Parmenter’s School Improvement Plan as detailed.
 
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
a. H1N1 Update
b. English Language Learners
c. Coordinated Program Review
d. Students Leaving the District

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports

6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.

7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations

8. Adjourn



In the News - recycling contest

Contest to determine where recycling fees will go

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Angel Roy/Daily News staff





Sunday, September 20, 2009

Harvest Festival today!

Come to downtown Franklin for the Harvest Festival, today



Sunday, Sep 20th - 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM



In the News - youth mass, solar panels

Youth Mass at Franklin church fills the pews

from The Milford Daily News News RSS



Bellingham farm using solar panels to save on energy costs

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS


Pictures of the Trolley Crossing Farm solar panels were posted to the Franklin Area Climate Team blog here



The digital natives are restless

Wesley Fryer, writing on his blog "Moving at the Speed of Creativity" has a wonderful post this week:
These are my notes from Robyn Treyvaud’s workshop, “The Natives are Getting Restless: Growing Up and Learning in a Web 2.0 World” at the 21st Century Learning @ Hong Kong Conference on 18 September 2009. MY COMMENTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Robyn is the author and owner of www.cybersafeworld.com. Her wiki on digital citizenship (created with WetPaint) is http://digicitizen-wiki.com.
You ca read the full post here.

There are two videos worth viewing within the post. One I have shared here previously. One is new to me and I will share here:




Recall the discussion at a recent School Committee meeting about limiting the electronic interactions between teachers and students.

What would you do to foster appropriate digital behavior?


Note: email subscribers should click through to view the video on the website.


Saturday, September 19, 2009

In the News - Dean grows, Harvest Festival, Pirelli

Dean to build performing arts center, dining hall

from The Milford Daily News News RSS

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Franklin Harvest Festival is Sunday

from The Milford Daily News News RSS

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Comedy night to raise funds to honor Franklin soldier who died

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS



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Franklin's new "Express Line"

Subscribe to the Town News to receive an email update at least monthly.

This is what the first issue looks like:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io


You can subscribe to the Town's newsletter via this link



In the News - H1N1 video

Franklin makes H1N1 video

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS

You can view the video on the Town website here



Friday, September 18, 2009

Franklin: Farmers Market

The Farmers Market is open today. One of the regular local farms represented is Tangerini's from Millis.

Tangerini's offers fresh produce at the stand on the Town Common each Friday. It also offers shares in their CSA program.



Franklin: Farmers Market, originally uploaded by shersteve.

What is a CSA?
Community supported agriculture. You buy a share in advance and can receive produce from the farm regularly. More information on this program which helps to support the farm's operation can be found on the Tangerini's web site here