Superintendent Giguere talks about the improvement plans, budget work, the Thanksgiving game, and fan behavior (audio)

FM #1069 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1069 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Franklin School Superintendent Lucas Giguere. We had our conversation in person at the Franklin Municipal Bldg on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. 

At a high level our topics were:

• School improvement plans

• Future session with Dr Tina Rogers

• Learning styles

• Budget work started at meeting before the School Cmte

• Future session with Dr Dutch

• Update on Thanksgiving game at Fenway and reminder on good sporting behavior  

The recording runs about 33 minutes so let’s listen to my conversation with our school superintendent, Lucas Giguere. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1069-fps-superintendent-lucas-giguere-09-27-23

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Superintendent’s page ->  https://www.franklinps.net/district/superintendent 

School budget ->  https://www.franklinps.net/fy24budget 

District Communications -> https://www.franklinps.net/district/superintendent/pages/district-communications-2023-2024 

Fan expectation reminder -> https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/9_26_23_fan_expectations_reminder_to_families.pdf 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

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 the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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Franklin (MA) School Superintendent Lucas Giguere

Franklin (MA) Senior Connection Newsletter for October 2023

October is here and we have so many fun programs and activities for you to do here at the Franklin Senior Center!

Check out our 2023 October Senior Connection newsletter here ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/october_2023_newsletter_to_post.pdf

Remember that all are invited to our Senior Expo on Friday, October 6 from 10 AM to 1 PM! Lots of resources and information for YOU! First 200 people through the door will get a free lunch!

Feel free to reach out for more information or questions. Sign ups for October programs start on Monday, October 2.

Thanks

Your Franklin Senior Center Family

Franklin (MA) Senior Connection Newsletter for October 2023

Franklin Public School lunch improvements to highlight

Via the Franklin Public School's Facebook page, we share a couple of recent posts to highlight how creative the delivery of school lunch can be within the budget. Delivering healthy, locally sourced, and cost effective meals to students.

"Don't mind us, we're just reminiscing on last week's delicious marinated streak tips with asparagus and brown rice. Our Food Services team sources beef locally to ensure the highest quality is available to our students. This steak was sourced from MeatWorks out of Westport, MA.

The farms were Twin Willow Farm (Westport, MA), Howard’s Farm (West Bridgewater, MA), and Sunny Knoll Farm (Westminster, MA)"

delicious marinated streak tips with asparagus and brown rice

"The Food Service team does it again! Yesterday’s lunch at every school featured local Pollock caught just days ago off the coast of Chatham, MA. The fisherman was Captain Scott MacAllister on his boat, the Carol Marie fishing vessel. Thank you Red’s Best for the great traceability!

You can read more about Captain Macallister in this article: https://capecodfishermen.org/a-young-man-carving-out-a.../"

local Pollock caught just days ago off the coast of Chatham, MA

Franklin TV: A Crisis of Our Time

Our Mental Well-Being is at Risk

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 10/01/2023

Mental Trauma – It’s a pernicious undercurrent of general anger and discontent that pervades our new normal. We witness moments of it as airline and road rage.

Franklin TV: A Crisis of Our Time

For many, all is not as it may seem at the surface. This is particularly true among seniors. Statistics indicate that up to twenty-five percent of seniors experience issues that can threaten or diminish their mental and emotional well-being.

Dr. Anne Bergen and guests investigate the many facets of mental health in today’s challenging environment. Find Anne’s program in our weekly TV Guides, and find answers and insights that can lead to a better, brighter outlook on life.

And – as always –

Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm. 

And, thank you for watching.

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf   

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

Sign up for the Kids Flu Clinic - Oct 11

Kids Flu Clinic

October 11, 2023, 3:00-6:00pm

To register -> https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/franklin?site=kids-flu-clinic-2023

To register -> https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/franklin?site=kids-flu-clinic-2023

Shared from ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/recreation-department/news/kids-flu-clinic

Census data for MA by county and age for homeownership vs rental

"The U.S. Census Bureau released an interactive map illustrating 2020 Census data about homeownership by the age, race and ethnicity of the householder. The map provides data at the national, state and county levels and data from the 2010 Census for comparison.

The Census Bureau also released the brief Housing Characteristics: 2020, which provides an overview of homeownership, renters, vacant housing and other 2020 Census housing statistics previously released through the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC)."

Continue reading the press release -> https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/2020-census-map-homeownership.html

As a teaser, I share three of the images that the interactive tool can provide.

homeownership vs rental for MA at State level

homeownership vs rental for MA at County level

homeownership vs rental for MA at County level by Age

#LOVEfranklin // Emergency Shelter Humanitarian Aid Update & Call to Action

To those who #LOVEfranklin:

Nearly two years ago you signed onto a "A Call to Our Community," written by the Franklin Interfaith Council (FIC) in response to several incidences including targeted hate speech and vandalism against members of the LGBTQIA+ community, racial slurs at public events, and anti-Semitic graffiti. The FIC issued a call to #LOVEfranklin. Part of that call was an expressed commitment of each signer to "create a beloved community where all persons regardless of their gender, identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnic background, stature, ability, creed or faith can find a home."

As most of you are aware, the State of Massachusetts has opened some 80 emergency shelters across the state, including in Franklin, to help support "homeless families in crisis."  You can find a copy of the town press release here. Currently the emergency shelter in Franklin is housing some 120 people. The shelter is expected to fill over the next few weeks to a capacity of 400-500 people. Over half the people currently placed in Franklin are native English speakers. While the state is providing most of the basic needs for these individuals and getting them setup with social services, many needs remain unmet as people try to make a new home for their family.

This is where you come in. The Franklin Interfaith Council will be regularly communicating the needs of the families placed in the emergency shelter in Franklin, providing local drop-off points for you to make donations, and distributing the donations at the shelter. In addition to tangible donations like food, clothing, and hygiene products, we will also help communicate volunteer opportunities. There are many ways you can help.  See the attached flyer for a listing of current needs and volunteer opportunities. We will update and distribute this flyer regularly.

If you know of people who would like to be added to this distribution list, please have them email info@franklininterfaith.org. If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please respond to this email and let me know.

Thank you for your on-going commitment to #LOVEfranklin and your efforts to help others make a home and fall in love with Franklin too!

Peace.
Jacob

 

><O><O><O><O><O><O><O><

Rev. Dr. Jacob W. Juncker

Pastor, Franklin United Methodist Church

President, Franklin Interfaith Council

><O><O><O><O><O><O><O><

Flyer -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DI6Xtcy2Q-tcaG6LYsfeCpcJypqbDuze/view?usp=drive_link

#LOVEfranklin // Emergency Shelter Humanitarian Aid Update & Call to Action

Additional Links:

• "A Call to Our Community: #LOVEfranklin" (https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/10/a-call-to-our-community-lovefranklin.html)
• Town of Franklin Press Release from 8/24/23 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZrtRuZM0DyW9gbQ1K5GPRaKD2-1iMokO/view).
• Town Administrator's Report on the Migrant Housing Status – 9/06/23 (https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/09/town-administrators-report-on-migrant.html)
• Town Administrator's Report on the Migrant Housing Status - 09/20/23 (https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/09/town-administrators-report-on-migrant_20.html)
• "1,000 families now arriving in Massachusetts shelter every month, officials estimate," WCVB.com, September 8, 2023 (https://www.wcvb.com/article/migrant-crisis-massachusetts-emergency-shelter-rapidly-growing/45049626)

Harvest Festival shifts to Sunday, Oct 1 from noon to 4 PM

Due to the high probability of rainy weather on our Saturday event day, and the consistent forecast for a perfect sunny Fall day on Sunday, the Franklin Downtown Partnership's 20th Harvest Festival will move the event to its planned rain date on Sunday, October 1. The event will take place from 12:00 – 4:00 PM but, other than shortening the event end time by one hour, all other event logistics. 

Harvest Festival shifts to Sunday, Oct 1 from noon to 4 PM

 Shared from -> https://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2023/09/due-to-high-probability-of-rainy.html

Franklin Garden Club Features Program on Bridge of Flowers - Tuesday, Oct 3 at the Franklin Public Library

The Franklin Garden Club, in conjunction with the Franklin Public Library, will co-sponsor a program on the “Bridge of Flowers,” located in Shelburne Falls, MA, on Tuesday, October 3, at 7:00 PM at the Franklin Library, 118 Main Street, Franklin, MA.  

The program, open to the public free of charge, will be presented by Kirsten Torkelson of KTImages. This presentation features information and photographs on the history of the Bridge of Flowers, future plans, and other sites to visit in the Shelburne Falls area of Massachusetts. 

Torkelson will explain how this beautiful, nationally known walking bridge that features an array of seasonal flower gardens, came to be and how the plantings were developed. The bridge was a former trolley bridge that once carried goods by rail to the Town of Colrain.  In 1929 an initiative to transform the bridge, itself, into a public garden began. The garden was undertaken by the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club, now the Blossom Brigade. The bridge is open annually April through October.  

Franklin Garden Club Features Program on Bridge of Flowers (photo by S Sherlock Sep 2022)

 

Recently it was announced that the bridge will be closed for repairs during all of 2024. This is due to age and extreme flooding during tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The project will begin next spring.  The presentation will provide a view of how beautiful the bridge has been in the past and will be in the future.  

Torkelson is a versatile photographer based in Foxboro, MA. She has a passion for nature photography, especially flowers and gardens. Her work has been published in the Foxboro Reporter and her nature photography has won ribbons in New England Camera Club (NECC) competitions and Hopedale's “Day in the Park”.  Her photographs have been shown at the Foxboro branch of the Hockomock YMCA, the VA Employee Art Show, Stony Brook Camera Club exhibit at the Norfolk Library, Hunakai Studio of Fine Arts, a four-month show at the Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham, and currently at Bethany Congregational Church.   

She also volunteers her talents as a candid event photographer to causes like Christmas for Kids, Friends of Camp Saint Augustine, and Bethany Congregational Church.  

Tri-County New Building Info Session - Oct 3 at Franklin Public Library

Come find out All About the Upcoming Vote on the Tri-County School Building Project

Wondering what the "Tri-County Election" on Oct 24th is all about? 

Join Franklin's Tri-County representatives to learn more about the upcoming vote, the school building project, what it will cost and other important details about Tri-County Regional Vocational High School!

When: Tuesday, Oct 3 at 5:30 PM

Where: Franklin Public Library

Shared from -> https://fb.me/e/41QIn3OGK

Tri-County New Building Info Session - Oct 3 at Franklin Public Library

FHS girls soccer and football teams post wins on Friday

Via Twitter and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the fall sports competition for Franklin High School on Friday, Sep 29, 2023.

Football = North Attleboro, 20 @ Franklin, 32 – Final

1st Quarter: (F) Andrew Fraulo 1-yard rush, XP no good; (NA) Chase Frisoli 24-yard rush, Tyler Goyette XP good; (NA) C. Frisoli 28-yard pass to Bryce Kiser, Conversion failed.

2nd Quarter: (F) Justin Bianchetto 23-yard pass to Derek Dubriske, Arnav Dhulipati XP good; (F) A. Fraulo 8-yard rush, A. Dhulipati XP good.

3rd Quarter: No scoring.

4th Quarter: (F) Cody Howard 1-yard rush, A. Dhulipati XP good; (NA) Athanasios Georgilas 5-yard rush, T. Goyette XP good; (F) J. Bianchetto 2-yard rush, XP blocked.

A full write up is available (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/franklin-football-converts-chances-beats-north-in-hock-opener/

A photo gallery (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/franklin-football-converts-chances-beats-north-in-hock-opener/

Girls Soccer = Canton, 1 @ Franklin, 4 – Final

– The Panthers scored three times in the final five minutes to complete a comeback from a goal down and pick up the win. After a scoreless first half, Canton took the lead just two minutes after the break. Emma Cahill got space on the left side of the box and lifted a shot over the keeper to make it 1-0. The score stayed the same until the 61st minute. Selene Hammad found herself in a pocket of space 25 yards from goal. Katherine Powers saved Hammad’s shot but Anya Zub was alive to the rebound and tapped it in. Inside the final five minutes, Morgan Lovell picked the pass of the match, sending Kelly O’Connor through on goal. The Franklin forward calmly fired a shot past the keeper for a 2-1 lead. Shortly after, Olivia Costa’s touch opened up space on her left foot and she was able to fire in a goal that essentially sealed the win. With nearly the last kick of the game, Zub nabbed her second with a nice finish into the side netting.

A photo gallery (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2023-2024/Fall-2023/Franklin-Canton-Girls-Soccer-09-29-23/

Field Hockey = Canton @ Franklin – Postponed to TBD.

Volleyball = Canton, 3 @ Franklin, 0 – Final

Golf = Sharon @ Franklin – Postponed to TBD

For other results around the league (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/fridays-schedule-scoreboard-09-29-23/

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Reminder that HockomockSports.com changed to a subscription model in July. I have a subscription to view and share the FHS results that they provide. If you want to view all the worth Hockomock League reporting they do, subscribing is a good thing. It is quite reasonable. The subscription link is provided below.

To subscribe to HockomockSports.com ->

https://hockomocksports.com/sign-up/#utm_source=HockomockSports&utm_medium=HomepageDesktop&utm_campaign=20232024

FHS Panther sports results shared via subscription to HockomockSports.com

Veterans Coffee Social scheduled for October 4, 2023 at 10 AM

October 2023 Veterans Coffee Social

Join Us for Coffee & Conversation!

Come to the Senior Center at 10 AM on Wednesday, Oct 4, 2023

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/veterans-services/news/october-2023-veterans-coffee-social

Veterans Coffee Social scheduled for October 4, 2023 at 10 AM

Panther News for Sep 29, 2023 (video)

Panther News for Sep 29, 2023 ->  https://youtu.be/3GUrkpG8l-g

4th Annual Pumpkin Patch & Sale opens October 2-31, 2023 at St. John’s Episcopal Church

The 4th Annual Pumpkin Sale will be open all month long from October 2 to 31 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 237 Pleasant Street, Franklin. 

A huge selection of pumpkins and gourds of all sizes, shapes and colors will fill the front lawn at St. John’s Church. Kids of all ages will have fun picking out their favorites. It’s a good photo opportunity for families. 

4th Annual Pumpkin Patch & Sale 

Family activities will be offered every weekend in the Patch:

• Music Together for families on Saturday, Oct 7 at 11 AM FREE
• Pet Blessings and outdoor worship on Sunday, Oct 8 at 10 AM FREE
• Pony Rides on Saturday, Oct 14 from 1-2 PM - $5 per ride
• Beaded bracelets craft on Saturday, Oct 21 from 11 AM – 2 PM FREE
• Haunted House on Saturday, Oct 28 FREE

Watch the St. John’s Episcopal Church Facebook page for updates.

See you there:

Monday-Friday 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Saturdays 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sundays 12 noon - 4:00 PM

We can all benefit. The pumpkins are grown using sustainable agricultural practices that help benefit the environment. They are grown in a region of New Mexico with 42% unemployment, providing jobs for Navajo people.  In addition to supporting the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, your purchase also supports St. John’s Church and its work right here in our community. 

For more information on activities:  Call 508-528-2387

Email: Admin@StJohnsFranklinMA.org

Visit us on Facebook at St John’s Episcopal Church

See our website at www.stjohnsfranklinma.org  

4th Annual Pumpkin Patch & Sale

Night Owl Farm: Farm Stand New Hours

Farm Stand Pop-up We will not be in attendance at the Franklin Market today (9/29), so instead, we are offering a self-serve farm stand option! The farm stand will be open 1:00-7:00 with produce, honey, maple syrup, and other fabulous finds! Octob...

Night Owl Farm October Hours Mondays ………………………….…... CLOSED Tuesdays ……………………… 1:00pm-7:00pm Wednesdays …………………………. CLOSED Thursdays …………………………….. CLOSED Fridays ………. Franklin Market (not this week) Saturdays ……………………. 10:00am-4:00pm Sundays ……………………………….. CLOSED Our LAST DAY of the season will be on October 28th. We will be doing our annual Thanksgiving pop up on 11/21, including pies! Pie pre-orders coming soon. What We're Harvesting Beets Celeriac (Celery Root) Eggplant Eggplant, Fairytale Garlic Husk/Ground Cherries Kale Lettuce, Head Onions, Red Onions, Yellow Parsley Peppers, Green Peppers, Hot Peppers, Shishito Rutabaga Scallions Tomatoes. Heirloom Tomatoes, Slicers We will also have some fresh flowers available! Coming Soon… Arugula Broccoli Lettuce Mix Spinach Night Owl Farm 49 Prospect Street, Franklin, MA, 02038 Farm Stand Pop-up! (& New Hours) was sent to you on 2023-09-29 12:45:28 UTC by Night Owl Farm