Franklin Matters

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Thayer Scoreboard Restored

Updated 1/27/10 12:25 PM - The scheduled presentation has been canceled for today. When the new date/time has been finalized, it will be posted here.

A letter from Glenn Jones:

The Davis Thayer School has had an antique scoreboard hanging in the corner of the gym unused for over 30 years. It dates back some 50 years or more. I spoke with a gentleman who claims it worked when he went to the DT 50 yrs ago. It was slated to be thrown away, but I took it upon my self to remove the old scoreboard and refurbish it. With some great help and contributions, I have been able to restore it back to it original grandeur.

I will be presenting it back to the Davis Thayer School on ~~Wednesday January 27^th @~~ ~~2pm.~~

All are welcome to come and see history come back to life.

Thanks Glenn! Wish I could be there myself.

All photos provided by Glenn:

work in progress

The finished product with the lights on

The finished product in daylight

Importance of Kindergarten registration

As a follow-up to the announcement here yesterday on the Kindergarten registration scheduled for next week, I received this letter from a Franklin parent:

I was at my school's PCC meeting and one piece of information that I did not realize was that the registration for Kindergarten in February helps determine the staffing of the Kindergarten teachers for the next year. Even if a parent is not sure if the child is going to the public school they should register them in February and then if they change their mind let the school know. From my understanding what happened last year is many students were not enrolled by their parents until July so it brought the counts in the class to 25 students.

It would be helpful for parents just starting the school process to understand why they need to register their child in February even if they are not 100% sure that is where they are going to get a better grasp of staffing needed for the next school year. Of course a class might still be this large if they cut kindergarten teachers in the budget but the forecast of how many teachers are needed is not truly shown in the February registration statistics if we have such a large number of parents registering in July.

It was also discussed at the School Committee meeting Tuesday evening that full-day kindergarten is desired, expected, a goal but is not guaranteed at this time due to the uncertainties in the budget.

Stay tuned for updates on the budget as the situation develops over the next couple of months.

Let me restate what I wrote earlier this week (bold added for emphasis):

In summary, the next several months can be very interactive. Franklin citizens can provide their input to the charter, the downtown project, and ultimately the Franklin budget. If you were waiting for a good time to get involved, the time is now.

Kindergarten registration information can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/franklin-ma-kindergarten-registration.html

School Committee Mtg 01/26/10

The collection of posts that were reported live from the School Committee on Tuesday Jan 26, 2010 can be found here:

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Live reporting - closing items

Subcommittee reports
We have a proposal to establish email addresses for the committee members. Can proceed with that one. Need clarification on the option of a group mailbox.

The Building Committee interviewed on the 13th of Jan the finalists for the Owners Project Manager (OPM). The selection Daedelus (sic) will be entering into contract negotiations, they have been involved with our prior major Franklin projects.

New business
Q - is full day kindergarten on or not?
A - if we get the full service budget of 53.5 we expect to have a full day kindergarten
At this point it is a desire, an expectation, a goal but it cannot be counted on.

Roy and Sabolinski to attend the Rotary Club

motion to enter executive session, roll call vote, passed 7-0

Live reporting - Superintendent

5. Information Matters

Superintendent’s Report
a. Finance Workshop Training
well attended last night by Town Council, FinCom and a couple of residents

b. MSBA/FHS Project
looking to clarify the request and provide the data

c. Kindergarten Registration
forms available on the website

d. MASBO Compensation Study

e. Data Team
instructional data team working to understand the data and prepare action plans

Live reporting - action items

4. Action Items
a. ~~I recommend acceptance of the donation of 5 digital cameras and one camcorder from Mr. Robert Salzberg of Resh, Inc. for the Davis Thayer Elementary School.~~ removed as duplicate from prior meeting
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1148.00 from the Oak St. PCC for a Gr. 2 field trip to Stony Brook in May as detailed. motion to accept, passed 7-0
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1000.00 from the Panther Lacrosse Association to be used towards the fitness center at FHS. motion to accept, passed 7-0
d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $500.00 from the Singleton Family Foundation for the FHS Special Education Department. motion to accept, passed 7-0
e. I recommend acceptance of a check for $3000.00 from the Davis Thayer PCC for field trips as detailed. motion to accept, passed 7-0
f. I recommend acceptance of the donation of a Visual Presenter from Mr. Robert Salzberg of Resh, Inc. for the Davis Thayer Elementary School. motion to accept, passed 7-0
g. I recommend approval of the request of Ms. Leardi & Mrs. Waters of the FHS for a trip to London, England on June 25, 2010 as detailed. motion to accept, passed 7-0
h. I recommend adoption of Policy ADA – School District Goals & Objectives. motion to accept, passed 7-0
i. I recommend approval of the request of Peter Light for an additional Assistant Track coach at a cost of $1,467.00 to be funded from the Athletic Revolving Account to assist with increased student participation. motion to accept, passed 7-0
j. I recommend adoption of Policy ACE – Non-Discrimination on the basis of Disability. motion to accept, passed 7-0