Franklin Unified Partners Signed by New England Revolution and Special Olympics Massachusetts to 2019 Unified Team

Franklin, MA Unified Partners Carly Alston, Farley Asmath and Calen Frongillo were signed by the New England Revolution and Special Olympics Massachusetts to their 2019 Unified Team on May 6 at Gillette Stadium. 

The signing is part of the organizations’ partnership that leverages the power of sports to promote an environment of inclusion and friendly competition. The Special Olympics Unified athletes met with Revolution coaches, signed their contracts, and met the media.

The Unified signing marks the second event of the 2019 partnership between the Revolution and Special Olympics Massachusetts. The Revs and Special Olympics Massachusetts joined forces in March for their Unified Clinic which serves as a precursor to three other events slated for this summer: a pair of Unified matches at D.C. United on July 12 and at Gillette Stadium against New York City FC on Sept. 7, and the club’s annual fundraiser, Bowl for a Goal presented by Arbella Insurance, on Aug. 21.

Revs sign Special Olympics athletes and Unified Partners
at fifth annual Unified Team signing day

Calen Frongillo

Carly Alston

Farley Asmath

Tip a Cop - Special Olympics Fund Raising - Dec 12

Tip-A-Cop, Special Olympics fundraiser, Dec. 12 5-9 PM at @BritishBeerCo in the Franklin Village Mall.

Come down to the British Beer Company to enjoy dinner and help raise money for Special Olympics. Officers will be working with wait staff to give you extra special service!

Tip a Cop - Special Olympics Fund Raising  - Dec 12

Follow the event on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/events/527254447755248/

FHS named a "Special Olympics Unified Champion School"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Special Olympics Massachusetts has announced that Franklin High School, a Special Olympics Unified Champion School, is receiving national banner recognition for its efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without disabilities. 

Franklin High School is receiving this honor as a result of meeting national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy and respect. An award celebration will take place at the school at a date and time to be determined by the school. 

Franklin High School is one of ten schools in Massachusetts and 131 schools nationally to receive this distinction. The school will be presented with a banner to hang in their school and be included on a list of other schools around the country who have achieved this distinguished status."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180914/strongfranklin-high-school-to-receive-banner-recognitionstrong

https://twitter.com/SpecialOlympics

For more about Unified Champion Schools
https://www.specialolympics.org/our-work/unified-champion-schools

Live reporting: proposal for new sports teams

d. FHS Proposal for New Sports Teams
Brad Sidwell, Peter Light

working with a variety of folks in the community, to identify needs not currently being met
youth programs, booster groups, etc.
feasibility studies done, impact on budget, most cases budget neutral for sports
some are grant funded to defray the costs



inclusion of special education students
applied for a Best Buddies grant, also received a grant from Special Olympics to help with this
would need to get the special ed students paired with a partner

• unified track program an extension of Best Buddies

this is a no cost program for the students as it is being funded by grants

• lacrosse teams at freshman level

nothing currently elsewhere in the Hockomock League
would look around to get games for competition outside the league
need to be careful with Title 9 and offer similar programs for boys and girls

BC High, St John's Shrewsbury, Duxbury mentioned as possible competition at this level

'if Franklin builds it, the other Hockomock teams will follow'
Sabolinski - we started in 2003 with the girls hockey team, lead the way then and are continuing to lead as we need to

• gymnastics

the only team in the Hockomock League without a team
have met with parents for three years to review this team
would need to find space for the team to practice and compete, should not be an issue

gym equipment is large and expensive and hard to store so this would be a good start

discussion with School Committee members, then audience, then to be voted on later tonight

actual cost is the cost to the district

we have not decreased in number of kids at the high school participating
we have decreased in percent participation

Q - explored the opportunity for a second JV team
A - scheduling is even harder, the teams at the freshman level is usually available

did explore a variety of options, did try a freshman/JV program and it didn't work so well
this should get us with a good start

325-375 boys in the lacrosse program last several years
good success at this level, the quality of talent is there, the volume and interest is there

Congratulations to the Franklin Fish!

From Heather Azzariti:

Hi Steve, 

I know you frequently post about Franklin sports, so I wanted to share some Franklin sports news with you. I run The Franklin Fish, which is Franklin's Special Olympics swim team. We just completed our seventh season. You can learn more about us by checking out our new(ish) Facebook page.

Franklin Fish

I would like to share with the community that our team competed in the Special Olympics Massachusetts state tournament this weekend, and all of our athletes did a phenomenal job. They deserve recognition for their bravery, athleticism, and sportsmanship. 

We owe a big thanks to our many wonderful coaches and fans, as well as this years sponsors The Adirondack Club!

Franklin Fish - Facebook Page

Find the Franklin Fish on Facebook here  https://www.facebook.com/thefranklinfish