"a need to provide more for teens and young adults"

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

"Giving can be infectious.

Mason and William Roddy have experienced that feeling in spades in the process of organizing their Toys for Tufts gift donation drive. Although they’ve been doing the drive for three years, this is the second “official” year that Franklin’s Keller Elementary School and Annie Sullivan Middle School have been involved.

The drive continues through this week, with pick-up of donations planned early on Friday, Dec. 13.

“We are so excited to be doing this again, and to have the support of so many,” says Paetra Ranieri, the boys’ mother."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20191209/franklin-teen-family-organize-gift-drive-for-young-cancer-patients

#KellerSchoolCommunity it’s the final week to donate to our second annual Toys for Tufts drive. pic.twitter.com/2HU9gSPXAN

— Helen Keller School (@KellerSchool) December 8, 2019

"a need to provide more for teens and young adults"

In the News: Keller-Sullivan sprinkler work underway; Gender "X" bill moving in MA Senate

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

Keller-Sullivan sprinkler problem fixed again

"It is often iterated at this time of year that April showers bring May flowers. But at the Helen Keller-Annie Sullivan school complex, the experience has been given new meaning this month: “Showers” coming from a burst sprinkler head on April 3 are bringing new rugs, cabinetry and paint jobs to several elementary classrooms. 

Schools Superintendent Sara Ahern recently told the School Committee that repairs to the classrooms would be undertaken this week during spring break, and students will be returning to mostly fixed-up classrooms. 

On April 3, nine Helen Keller School classrooms were damaged by water after a sprinkler head on the second floor burst late in the afternoon, Ahern reported at the School Committee’s April 9 meeting. Classes were temporarily displaced as the rooms were sealed off for the remainder of that week. 

“Water damaged materials including carpets, drywalls and cabinets were removed,” Ahern said, noting that over the weekend of April 6 and April 7, Servicemaster worked late hours “in order to ensure that all rooms had been properly mitigated.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190418/fixes-under-way-after-water-damage-at-franklin-school

This is the third sprinkler incident at the Keller-Sullivan complex 
2017 = https://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/12/they-did-remarkable-job.html
2014 = https://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/11/asms-keller-status-update.html

Keller - Sullivan Schools

"Spilka’s ‘Gender X’ bill moving in Senate"

"The Senate plans next week to take up legislation that has become a signature priority for Senate President Karen Spilka, a bill that would allow an adult to change state identification records to reflect a gender of “X.” 

The so-called “Gender X” bill would require the Registry of Motor Vehicles to make a third, gender-neutral option available to applicants for a license or learner’s permit and would allow anyone over 18, an emancipated minor or the parents of a minor to request a change in the sex listed on someone’s birth certificate to male, female or X. 

“This bill is very special to me,” said Spilka, D-Ashland, earlier this month during an interview on WGBH radio. 

The Senate president got involved after receiving a letter from a constituent from Natick who was feeling stress as they prepared to decide which box to check on their driving learner’s permit. Spilka has since grown close to the family while working on this bill, and almost pushed it across the finish line last year."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190418/spilkas-gender-x-bill-moving-in-senate

Real Time Reporting - School Committee - Dec 12, 2017

A collection via Storify of the Twitter posts during the School Committee meeting held in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building on Dec 12, 2017.

Be sure to scroll within the Storify widget to view all the posts.

screen grab of the broadcast with Superintendent Ahern providing an update

“They did a remarkable job”

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

"A sprinkler burst at Helen Keller Elementary School on Monday morning, forcing administrators to cancel school since. 

The school was closed on Monday and Tuesday because of the damage, but will reopen Wednesday. The cause of the break is unclear, but Superintendent Sara Ahern said the sprinklers will be inspected and the problem assessed after damages are fixed. It is also unclear when or if the students will make up those lost school days. 

While the one sprinkler causing the damage was contained, water did spread into other classrooms on the floor below. 

There are eight known affected classrooms, four on the top floor and four on the main floor near the entrance. The damage in the walls will take some weeks to fix, while some cabinets were damaged and may take longer to replace."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171212/burst-sprinkler-closes-franklin-elementary-school

Superintendent Sara Ahern said the sprinklers will be inspected

This is the second time a burst sprinkler has closed the building. This also occurred in Nov 2014
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/11/asms-keller-status-update.html

Franklin Public Schools: Letter to Franklin Families and Faculty

Dear Franklin Families and Faculty:

We are deeply saddened to inform you that over the past week, graffiti depicting swastikas has been discovered on a playground at one of our schools (Remington/Jefferson) and in the entryway of another school (Keller/Sullivan). Following the discovery of these hateful symbols, we started our own independent investigations to determine who is responsible for these terrible acts. We also contacted the Franklin Police Department and we are fully cooperating with the police and their investigation.

Jefferson playground

We find this graffiti to be extremely disturbing, disrespectful and inconsistent with the diverse and inclusive community that makes up the Franklin Public Schools. If our investigation concludes that a school member is responsible for these acts, we will impose disciplinary consequences consistent with our student code of conduct and take other remedial measures to restore a sense of security and support for all. If the police determine which individual(s) perpetrated these behaviors there could be significant legal consequences as well.

We will continue to be vigilant in order to protect our school community with the safety and security measures that are in place continually. We will also work to remedy the negative impact of these events by working with local community partners and using our school resources to respond at both a school level and a community level.

Please know that the Franklin Public Schools is no place for hate, bias or for the disregard of the civil rights of all individuals. We work tirelessly to teach tolerance at school and will reinforce our core values in the days, weeks and years ahead. As this is a wider community issue, we are asking for your help and support to change attitudes and eliminate hateful speech and senseless depictions of symbols that hurt individuals and groups. Words and actions matter and we need to reinforce the values of tolerance and respect across all of Franklin.

Keller Sullivan school sign

If you have any information to share regarding the graffiti, please contact the Franklin Police Department at 508- 528-1212 and/or the Superintendent's Office at 508 -553-4819. If your child needs support to address these events, please contact your child's guidance counselor or an administrator at your child's school.

As we are deeply concerned about these hateful and disrespectful actions, the Franklin Public Schools has engaged with the Anti-Defamation League to establish a process for training students, faculty and administration in confronting bias in school and in the community. Teams from our three middle schools will engage in training this summer. Additionally this program will enable the training of our students to become peer leaders and trainers skilled in running anti-bias programs for other students and parents. There are plans for FHS to commit to this program as well. We anticipate this program will be impactful on all stakeholders and will propel positive change in our schools and community. You can expect to hear more about this initiative in the fall.

Thank you for supporting our school community and for your assistance in facing this issue.

Maureen Sabolinski, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

"It’s very exciting - the kids worked really hard”

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

"Members of the Helen Keller Elementary School’s Best Buddies program gathered on the school’s “cafetorium” stage Friday morning as they were honored for their participation in the group. 

Those students - dressed in black Best Buddies T-shirts - had been recognized as an “Outstanding Promoter Chapter” by the state branch of the organization, which works to partner students with those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. School officials have said the Keller Best Buddies group, established in 2015, is the only one in the country based in an elementary school. 

The recognition was announced during an all-school community meeting that morning. Principal Eric Stark said the recognition came at an appropriate time, as the school was celebrating inclusion; a large number of students at the assembly were wearing brightly colored shirts, meant to evoke the “Autism Awareness” ribbon."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170428/franklin-state-group-honors-keller-schools-best-buddies

https://twitter.com/BestFHSBuddies

"how to support students through homework"

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

"The town's schools have made strides in communicating to parents and the community at large, district officials reported in a mid-year review. 

The officials spoke at Tuesday's School Committee meeting about progress made thus far on the District Improvement Plan and School Improvement Plans over the 2016-2017 school year. Goals in those plans included improving communication, implementing social/emotional learning in the classroom, promoting a culture of responsibility and aligning curriculum to meet student needs. 

Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski said there had been an emphasis on improved communication. 

"We've been pushing community engagement a lot," she said. "The (Annie) Sullivan (Middle) School has been amazing at using Twitter this year."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170112/franklin-schools-present-improvement-plan-progress

A current example of the use of Twitter

Keller School Best Buddies at the Celtics game

Beyond proud of #1bbkeller. Thanks @FranklinPSNews @fps4students @BestBuddiesMA and @celtics for believing in #FranklinKellerKids pic.twitter.com/xHyTIdVDfX

— Helen Keller School (@KellerSchool) January 12, 2017

Additional information on the District Improvement Plan update can be found in the live reported notes from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday (The full summary should be available this weekend)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/01/live-reporting-district-and-school.html

School Committee recognizes retirees, agrees to MOU on new contract

The School Committee spent the first several minutes of their meeting recognizing several personnel (teachers, van drivers, and administrators) that are retiring this year.

Oak St School provided an update followed by the Keller School.  

Then the School Committee went into Executive Session to discuss the labor agreement with the Franklin Education Association (teacher's union) returning to open meeting and the action items. The last action item was passed without revealing any details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or any discussion. Apparently, more will be discussed when the actual contract is formally signed in a future meeting.

j. I recommend ratification of the proposed MOU for a contract between the FEA and the Franklin School Committee.motion to accept, seconded, passed 7-0

   

Keller 2nd grade students ready to model their morning meeting for the School Committee

For the detail notes taken during the meeting: (photos were added to the individual sections):

• Live reporting: to closing
• Live Reporting: Action items
• Live reporting: School Committee to Executive Sess...
• Live reporting: Policy changes
• Live reporting: Keller Update
• Live reporting: Oak St Update
• Live reporting: School Committee - June 14, 2016
• 
  

Live reporting: Keller Update

Principal Eric Stark, Amy Souls

The Keller Team presenting to the School Committee

Keller - Update from Franklin Matters

students from 2nd grade shared what they do in their morning meeting
Mrs Cahill, Mrs Cournoyer

trialed morning meeting with 1st and 2nd grade

2nd grade Keller students modeling the morning meeting 1

2nd grade Keller students modeling the morning meeting 2

see survey results on pages 7 and 8 of presentation document

(note the video portion is not likely available as part of the presentation document)

look for #kellerschoolcommunity on Twitter to follow updates next year

O-Malley - I'd be interested to hear what the parents think about this

Bilello - I applaud you and your steps to get into the classroom and understand the community. That goes a long way to build the community

Bergen - are you seeing the new behavior among the students in the unstructured areas, cafe, breaks, etc.?

Sabolinksi - some of our staff will be training the Y staff so that the methods and language will be consistent across the community. We'd love to connect with Ryan Jette and see how we can extend this to the recreation arena

It Takes A Village: Keller Elementary School

Parent Involvement is so important in making our schools strong!.  Jenn Dwyer from Keller Elementary School will be sharing highlights of all that is going on in her school and how parents can support the effort. 

Franklin TV

To be seen on It Takes a Village:

Comcast Channel 8; Verizon Channel 26

•   Tuesday morning at 9:00
•   Wednesday morning at 7:30
•   Saturday evening at 8:30

Helen Keller Elementary School sign

For additional programing check out the guide  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf

Movie Night at the Historical Museum

Film: The Miracle Worker (starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke) 

Date: Sunday, April 19, 2015 

Time: 6:00 PM 

Where: Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central Street (across from the old municipal building) 

Admission: one canned good, for the Franklin Food Pantry

image from Amzon.com

Come join us for a showing of this Oscar Award winning film!!!

Young Helen Keller, blind, deaf, and mute since infancy, is in danger of being sent to an institution. Her inability to communicate has left her frustrated and violent. In desperation, her parents seek help from the Perkins Institute, which sends them a "half-blind Yankee schoolgirl" named Annie Sullivan. – (from www.imdb.com)

(A few years after their meeting, Helen and Annie took up residence in nearby Wrentham.)

Free popcorn and bottled water will be served!

In the News: "covered by the town’s insurance"

The Milford Daily News reports on the sprinkler outage at the Keller Sullivan complex.

“The town has been working closely with ServiceMaster, which has had about 30 staff in the building. All personnel have had CORI checks so we are not concerned about student safety,” Sabolinski said. “The town has engaged an environmental agency to check air quality and testing has been ongoing.” 

The school hosted an information night for parents on Thursday to address questions about the sprinkler break. 

Annie Sullivan students will need to make up the three days of school they missed at the end of the academic year. The state requires students to be in school for 180 days, and Monday, though truncated, counted as one day. Tuesday was the Veterans Day holiday.

You can read the full article here (subscription maybe required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20141114/NEWS/141117849/1994/NEWS

ASMS - KELLER status update

Keller and Sullivan parents should have received notifications on Monday and since the initial incident about their school status.

For those who may not be aware, I have the following summary including an email exchange from Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski to share.

As you have heard there was a sprinkler malfunction at 7:40 AM Monday at Annie Sullivan Middle School (ASMS). Students were sent to Oak St/Horace Mann and dismissed from there. 

• Keller is set to open Wednesday. 
• ASMS will be closed for the rest of the week. 

The sprinkler malfunction started on the 3rd floor and the water traveled down to affect all three floors. All the building systems are confirmed operational and running but the damage to some walls and floors require more drying out time. 

Monday counted as a school day so that one does not need to be made up. The rest of the week (3 days) will need to be made up. The School Dept will seek input from DESE but "they are unrelenting." 

Keller - Sullivan Schools

Attention Elementary Parents - Info Night on new Math Program and Report Cards

From the Franklin Public Schools:

We will be running 3 information nights for parents to introduce our new elementary math program and elementary report cards, which will be issued in December. Information on these two important topics will be presented by teachers, math specialists, and administrators on the following nights:

Parents of children at Jefferson and Parmenter
Wednesday, November 5th at Jefferson Elementary 

Parents of children at Oak Street and Kennedy
Thursday, November 6th at Oak Street Elementary 

Parents of children at Keller and Davis Thayer
Wednesday, November 12th at Keller Elementary

Each evening will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

If you cannot attend on the evening designated for your child’s school, please feel free to join us for one of the other presentations.

All materials will also be posted to school and district webpages after the last presentation.

Ladybug rug at JF Kennedy School

This was posted to the Franklin Schools webpage here
http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/FranklinDistrict_News/01ECD860-000F8513.0/Hold%20the%20Date.pdf

Lincoln St construction update

On my walk last weekend (8/24), I finally got out to check on the Lincoln St construction. The paving had been delayed starting and based upon the view last week is close to getting finished.

There will be islands put in to help calm the traffic and improve the safety around the Keller Sullivan schools. I confirmed this in a brief conversation with DPW Director Robert (Brutus) Cantoreggi at the recent Sculpture Parking opening.

Looking towards downtown on Lincoln St (Keller Sullivan to the right)

cones in the middle indicate where the islands will be

single lane restriction for culvert work

one of the new culverts from stream side

culvert work near Winterberry

Keller Sullivan getting new sidewalks

As part of the Lincoln St road work, the Keller Sullivan schools are getting new sidewalks. I managed to get out for a visit this weekend to grab some photos.

from Lincoln St looking up to the schools

part of the way up looking back down the entrance 

Keller Sullivan sign

sidewalk on Lincoln St at entrance

Running Event! 5K in Franklin - Jul 20

4th Annual Run, Walk, Crawl

Hi

I am writing to tell you about a great 5K happening in Franklin, MA on July 20th!  I hope you can share this event on your blog and fFcebook page!  

We are holding our 4th Annual Run, Walk or Crawl 5K - We will not lay down 2 Cancer on Saturday July 20th at the Helen Keller Elementary School in Franklin, MA.   Registration opens at 8 AM and race starts at 9 AM.  This organization started in 2010 when I was diagnosed  with breast cancer while 13 weeks pregnant.  Today I am cancer free and have a healthy 3 year old!  However we all know too many loved ones still struggling with cancer.  This race is for all cancers, in memory of those we lost and in honor of those who continue the battle.   All money raised will go directly to Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund in MA.  This is our 4th year in Franklin and we hope to grow and continue to hold our race in this great town!  

This is a certified course, chip timing, medals for 6 different age groups, as well as Tech Shirts, food, music, fun and raffles!  Raffles include 2 American Airline tickets and Red Sox Tickets.  

I attached a flyer for the event.  I am hoping you could post this flyer. Please see website for more details or contact me with any questions. 

Thanks so much!

Rebecca

--

Thank you,

Amy, Rebecca, Sarah, Shelly and Kerry

We will Not lay down to Cancer!

website: www.wontlaydown2cancer.com

email:  wontlaydown2cancer@gmail.com

In the News: Franklin 5K, TerraCycle

Franklin 5K, 'The K Girls' set to run May

On Saturday, May 4, celebrate Kris and Kayla Biagiotti’s (The K Girls) incredible accomplishment of becoming the first mother/daughter team to finish the Boston Marathon

New TerraCycle program kicked off at Franklin's Helen Keller School

Helen Keller Elementary School in Franklin is participating in an innovative "green" program that, in addition to reducing waste and raising students’ awareness about recycling, will also earn extra money for the school by joining TerraCycle’s Chip Bag Brigade recycling program.

Good Reads: keeping pace, Keller science

KEEPING PACE

Running is like anything else in life: you have to pace yourself. For a runner, this is the most critical skill that one can learn.  Without a proper pace, the initial excitement, adrenaline and crowd surge of a race will give way to heavy limbs, clumsy feet and whole body exhaustion, among other more dangerous things.  And with today being the 117^th anniversary of the Boston Marathon, on no day is this counsel more appropriate.

Keller Elementary School Science Night

A wonderful series of hands-on science nights are held each year at the Keller Elementary School in Franklin, MA.  Sponsored by the Keller Parent Communication Council (PCC) and staffed by volunteer PCC members, the Science Nights show how hard the PCC works to augment the curriculum at Keller Elementary.  The Keller PCC makes a real difference in the lives of Keller students!

Reminder: Tour of Keller and Sullivan - Mar 7 - 6:00 PM

A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hello Please join the administration and School Committee for a tour of the Helen Keller Elementary School and Annie Sullivan Middle School. Thursday, March 7, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. All community members invited - please meet in Keller lobby (on the left). Address: 500 Lincoln Street. If school is closed  due to inclement weather, the tour will be rescheduled. This e-mail has been sent to you by FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at (508) 613-1777.