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Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
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Educators, town officials and local business owners met with the head of the Massachusetts Life Science Center Friday to discuss the state of the sciences in town and how it could be improved.
Travis McCready, the center's CEO, visited Franklin, taking part in round-table discussions and touring the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, Franklin High School and the Zeptometrix Corp. His visit was hosted by state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, and state senators Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, and Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.
The center, Roy pointed out, is a 10-year, $1 billion state effort to ensure Massachusetts' primacy in life science education and business development.
"Franklin has positioned itself well," Roy said of the town's friendliness to the bioscience industry. "Recently, our BioReady level was upgraded from 'gold' to 'platinum,' and it's a great place to live, work and raise a family."
MA Life Sciences Center |
Franklin School for the Performing Arts announced a summer session of theater programs, ballet intensives and one-week creative camps, along with voice, instrumental and dance classes. The summer session will run from July 5 to Aug. 26, with registration beginning March 7.
FSPA Summer Theater provides the opportunity for hands-on immersion in a Broadway Boot Camp, cabaret show, behind-the-scenes theater design, straight play or musical theater production, with enrollment for one to five weeks. The Cabaret week (July 25-29) focuses on repertoire choices, song interpretation and presentation, and concludes with a cabaret style revue at The Black Box, 15 W. Central St.
A behind-the-scenes exploration of theater design and production, also running July 25-29, includes staging, lighting, costuming, sets and sound. A two-week musical theater program (Aug. 8-19) presents the Tony Award-winning classic “Bye Bye Birdie.” Younger students, in grades 3-8, will present “Bye Bye Bieber”, an original FSPA musical comedy parody by Nick Paone, inspired by “Bye Bye Birdie” and featuring pop music hits.
MA Life Sciences Center |
The high school will hosts its second annual "Family Science Night" next month - an event intended to encourage science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) interest on the part of elementary and middle school students.
The event - scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 - will be organized by the high school's Science National Honor Society group.
The group, said high school science teacher Ann Butler, is comprised of students who have reached a certain GPA in science subjects. This is the society's largest event of the year.
"Last year, the idea was to invite elementary students to the night, and it was a wild, wild hit," said Butler. "We never anticipated the crowds we got - it was about 300 kids."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
The School of the Arts at Dean College will perform “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” March 2-6 in the Performing Arts Studios Stage at Dean College, 61 School St.
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” is the tale of Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” as told from the view of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
The Dean College production will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse will host Seth Glier at 8 p.m. Feb. 27 in the First Universalist Society’s Meetinghouse, 262 Chestnut St.
A singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who averages over 250 live performances annually, Glier has gone from opening act to headlining his own shows and playing major festivals. He’s shared the stage with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Ani DiFranco, Edwin McCain, Martin Sexton, Emmylou Harris and Ryan Adams. For more on Glier, visit sethglier.com.
Circle of Friends Coffeehouse |
The Whalemobile - Tuesday, Aug 24 at 1:00 PM |
"In this original collection of slightly twisted tales, all the teachers at school are suspected to have superpowers! Join us on a hilarious new adventure where, just like in science, things aren't always quite what they seem. We will launch things through the air, send them plummeting toward the ground, and even make matter transform and disappear right before your eyes!
Throw on your labcoat and buckle in — you are about to experience forces and reactions through several exciting, hands-on experiments that will have you laughing, learning and having fun. Savor each endearing adventure and find yourself transported to a special place where 'super' heroes truly do exist!"
Franklin Library: Sciencetellers Super Heroes |
Note: the sign is wrong in that Davey the Clown is Friday, the 31st |
MA Life Sciences Center |
The Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a building permit for a sprawling apartment complex on West Central Street.
The proposed development, Weston Woods, would include three apartment buildings — comprised of mostly one-bedroom units — and a clubhouse at 1330-1342 West Central St. Developer Acme Jazz LLC will offer 70 of the 280 apartments as affordable housing.
The decision on the project came late last month, during an untelevised meeting.Acme Jazz has now filed its plans with Conservation Commission seeking to move forward with construction.Continue reading the article
The science laboratories at Franklin High School rival those at any top research university — and students have a local biotech corporation to thank for that.
Inside each lab, the microplate readers, digital dry baths and bacterial transformation kits, among other pieces of equipment, were donated to the newly-opened high school through a partnership with ZeptoMetrix Corporation, located at Kenwood Circle.
The company visited the school Monday with local officials to recognize the district’s STEM program and shine a light on the town’s goal of attracting similar companies.Continue reading the article
Say goodbye to Lovefest and hello to Hollywood Nights, a collection of skits to be performed by FHS theatre students on April 8 and 9.
The traditional Lovefest, an annual skit-based production, was scrapped this year due to a number of reasons, ranging from snow days to administration’s desire for a more serious playContinue reading the article here
pantherbook logo |
A great many words that have had relevant meaning in society have fallen out of favor but none so much as the R-word.
The students of Best Buddies have been advocating a campaign to end the use of this word. One of the advisors of Best Buddies, Mrs. Connolly, made claims that some videos supporting this campaign would be released, but no date of release has been revealed.
While it has had a purposeful meaning in medicine, the phrasing has been changed and along with it, the connotation of the R-word. The word has degraded to an insult and slang instead of a medicinal term.Continue reading the article here
On Thursday, March 13th – Franklin High School’s Science National Honors Society (SNHS) chapter hosted an exposition of intro-level science experiments and demonstrations for Franklin’s elementary and middle school students. Students and their parents toured Thursday’s “Science Night” in throngs, enjoying the night’s demonstrations and activities with smiles of wonder and fascination.
Serenaded by string instruments as they ascended up to the second and third floors, participants were directed to the four science classrooms where the event took place. Heading towards the biology lab with his parent, one younger participant compared the string ensemble to “an orchestra”.
Support Music - 2015 Merit Award |
The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School has been honored once again with the SupportMusic Merit Award from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. BFCCPS joins 120 schools across the country in receiving the prestigious award in 2015.
The SupportMusic Merit Award is awarded to individual schools that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.Continue reading about the award on the BFCCPS webpage here
Four students recently represented BFCCPS during this year’s Regional Science Fair. We are thrilled to share the results with you today! All four of the students who participated in the event are now eligible to participate in the upcoming middle school Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF) which will be held on June 6th at the Worcester Technical High School in Worcester, MA.
On Tuesday, January 10, 2015 Massachusetts State Representative Jeffrey Roy (D - Franklin) hosted a Life Sciences Development Meeting in Franklin, MA. Local biotechnology companies, Franklin town officials and members of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center joined the discussion about the opportunities within the Life Sciences Industry, the potential for future development within the region and what Franklin has already done to successfully attract and retain life science companies.
Cornerstones of Life Sciences Industry range from pharmaceuticals and medical devices to diagnostics and biotechnology. Thanks to its world-class academic institutions and medical centers, its talented and innovated workforce and its industry-sector leading companies, Massachusetts has firmly established itself as a global leader in the Life Sciences and has fully committed the state's economic well-being to the development and advancement of these Industries.
"Franklin has positioned itself well to attract life science businesses to the area," said Representative Roy "In 2014 its BioReady ranking was elevated from Gold to Platinum signifying Franklin's readiness to work with biotechnology companies interested in locating in the area. On top of that, it has great schools and reasonable housing prices, making it a great place to live, work and raise a family."
"Franklin has been the perfect community for growing my start up business to the point of having close to a hundred employees," said Dr. Gregory Chiklis, President and CEO of Franklin's ZeptoMetrix Corporation. "It has been due to the support and resources available to me in Franklin that we have been able to grow ZeptoMetrix."
"The Life Sciences are the fastest growing industry sectors in Massachusetts," said Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the agency charged with implementing the state's ten-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative.
"All regions across the state and workers at all skill levels are benefiting as the life sciences ecosystem continues to grow and thrive. We are excited about Representative Roy's efforts to bring leaders together to discuss strategies for regional life sciences growth in and around Franklin, and we look forward to a continued partnership in those efforts.""I am very excited that Rep. Roy brought together this group of educators, government officials and industry leaders to shine a light on all that Franklin has to offer to biotech and other businesses," said Attorney Michael Doherty of Doherty, Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon, P.C.
"I am hopeful that we will be able to encourage businesses to locate to one of our industrial parks in Franklin." Doherty, Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon, P.C. is a firm that represents local business in Franklin and surrounding communities."
"As Chief Medical Officer of a well-established Boston biotechnology company, I believe that Franklin offers all the attributes and ingredients to create a dynamic and vibrant environment for the development of innovative treatments to address unmet medical needs of patients," said Dr. Michael Sabolinski, founder of Sabolinski, LLC.
"Among these are access to medical centers of excellence, key opinion leaders in multiple therapeutic areas, and experts in clinical research. I look forward to the growth of biotechnology in Franklin, and am excited about the opportunities that the town presents for both start up and well established Companies."
"It was wonderful that Representative Roy brought the players to the table to help jumpstart Franklin's efforts in economic development and the life sciences," said Jeff Nutting, Franklin Town Administrator.
"I would like to thank Rep. Roy for putting together the life sciences meeting. He and our Town Administrator Jeff Nutting are doers and put together an excellent program," said Robert Vallee, Franklin Town Council's Chair. "I look forward to getting the entire Town Council involved in the discussion and pursuing this issue as hard as we can."
"Franklin has done much to attract a higher level of commercial and industrial investment to our industrial areas, including creation of priority development sites and economic development areas, and streamlining of permitting processes for biotechnology uses," said Bryan Taberner, Franklin's Director of Planning and Community Development. "The Town currently contains a cluster of life sciences companies, including bio-storage, robotics, medical devices and instrumentation, and biotechnology. I look forward to working with Representative Roy to attract additional life science companies to this great community."
"What sets Franklin apart from many communities is the collaboration and commitment of all stakeholders," said Maureen Sabolinski, Superintendent of Schools "Our elected and town officials work in concert with business and higher education to meet the needs of our community members and always strive to improve all public services. The shared sense of community enables stakeholder to establish a shared vision and mission."
With Massachusetts as a foundation, Franklin's attractiveness for business development has created a unique opportunity to provide positive economic growth, help advance the development of the Life Sciences and benefit the global community.
science Friday - "world of engineering" |
Exploring the Night Sky with Miss Gina |
For another year, a select group of Tri-County Regional Vocational High School students have been named official employees of NASA, joining other schools from across the country to design and build technology that may one day be used on the International Space Station.
NASA accepted Tri-County into the High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program in 2011, and for the past three years, teams of science and engineering students have been developing projects to test in zero gravity.
Tri-county Regional Voc Tech
Last April, six seniors traveled to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, to try out their mass flow meter — a device that measures the mass flow rate of a fluid as it moves through a tube — aboard a zero gravity plane.
This year, 15 seniors and 22 juniors will start new projects or continue work they started last year, such as a mixer for fresh foods that must work in zero gravity.Continue reading the article in the Milford Daily News (subscription maybe required)
"It's amazing to think that the luminous displays we admire here and in fact everywhere around the world are actually the silent love songs of male fireflies. They're flying and flashing their hearts out. I still find it very romantic."
screen capture of Sara Lewis's TED Talk |
Electric Zany Rock & Roll Science Show |
The opening of the new Franklin High School this fall will enable the Franklin Public School system to pursue the ambitious goal of offering its students the “premier high school science program in Massachusetts” according to Peter Light, Principal of the Franklin High School. Mr. Light recently alluded to this exciting prospect at an orientation held at the old high school for incoming 8th grade students and parents.You can read the full article here
the new Franklin High School under construction in Jan 2014 |
Bishop Feehan High School recently announced the winners of its annual Science Fair that included Franklin residents Sydney Maika, Christopher Chou and Marissa Fontaine.See more at: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140203/NEWS/140209524#sthash.KNWU20gy.dpuf