High School Design Photos

Three of the display boards available Thursday night at the first of a series of informational sessions on the new high school are shown here.


The first shows some views of the building being proposed.

The second shows the positioning of the new building where current ball fields are located. The existing building would be removed and replaced by the ball fields shown in this layout.

This photo shows the layout of the third floor of the new building. The area to the right is classroom space. The area to the left would be inaccessible areas for the two floors below.

"Everyone's number one thing is cost"

Franklin's proposed school is based on a state-approved model, Whitman-Hanson High School, built by architectural company Ai3. School officials expect 57.8 percent reimbursement in state funds for using the plans. 

"We really think this is education for the 21st century ... and it can be adapted down the road for who knows what happens in 40, 50 years," Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski said. 

The town has hired Ai3 to modify the Whitman-Hanson design to fit Franklin. The project requires state approval at several points, and eventually voters will have to decide whether to fund the project with a debt-exclusion override. 

The current high school does not comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which has put Franklin on the warning list to lose its accreditation.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/education/x131606840/Franklin-residents-want-to-make-sure-new-high-school-adds-up#ixzz1e3OJ32e3


I was able to record some video of the presentation and discussion. You can view that here.
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/live-broadcast-school-building-forum.html

Additional audio segments will be posted once they are available

Holiday Stroll Press Release

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Holiday Stroll Press Release

via Franklin Downtown Partnership by noreply@blogger.com (Franklin Downtown Partnership) on 11/17/11

Celebrate the Season at the FDP Holiday Stroll

Downtown Franklin will usher in the season of giving with the third annual Holiday Stroll on Thursday, December 1, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Franklin Downtown Partnership plans a visit from Santa, a tree-lighting ceremony, carolers, refreshments, entertainment and more for visitors this year.

The lighting of the tree will begin at 4 p.m. in front of Dean Hall on the Dean College campus. Costumed carolers will lead the crowd in singing holiday songs and refreshments will be served.

"In the spirit of giving, this year the Partnership is pleased to help the Franklin Food Elves kick off the '12 Days of Donating' campaign," says Cindy Kozil, Holiday Stroll co-chair. "We invite everyone coming to the tree lighting to bring a Food Pantry donation and remember those less fortunate this holiday season."

The Franklin Food Elves, a charitable community service group, will launch its food drive with a donation bin at the tree-lighting ceremony. The group's goal is to collect 1,200 pounds of food and $1,200 in 12 days for the Franklin Food Pantry (see sidebar).

From the tree lighting, visitors can then stroll throughout the downtown and visit more than 25 participating businesses for special offerings, discounts and more treats and entertainment. A complete listing of the businesses' special offers will be available at each participating location.

Children can meet Santa at Simon's Furniture from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Boston radio station 103.3 WODS-FM will broadcast holiday favorites and hand out prizes from the Berry Insurance parking lot. The Fire Department will give tours and holiday fire safety tips, and the Historical Museum will be open.

"For the past two years we've enjoyed tremendous community support for the Holiday Stroll, and we expect about 1,000 residents and visitors will help us celebrate this year," says Roberta Trahan, event co-chair. "We've put together a fun family event that we hope will remind people to think locally when doing their holiday shopping."

The Holiday Stroll is sponsored this year by Silver Sponsors Dean Bank, D.G. Ranieri Real Estate, DCU, Ferguson Enterprises, Middlesex Savings Bank and nhs print. Bronze Sponsors are Judith V. Butler, MA, LLC., the Franklin Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, Attorney John J. Roche, and Laura Lowe, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Franklin.

For more information about the Holiday Stroll contact co-chairs Cindy Kozil, ckozil@dean.edu, or Roberta Trahan, roberta_icu1@verizon.net.

The Franklin Downtown Partnership is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization made up of business owners, community leaders and residents working toward revitalizing Downtown Franklin. For more information about the Partnership contact Executive Director Lisa Piana at (774)571-3109 or downtown.franklin@yahoo.com.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Franklin Downtown Partnership using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Beautification Update

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Beautification Update

via Franklin Downtown Partnership by noreply@blogger.com (Franklin Downtown Partnership) on 11/17/11

Beautification Day
Sunday, November 20, 9:00 a.m. 
Come help decorate the Downtown Center!
(Businesses:  Please make sure you pull out your flowers from the barrels)


Volunteers Needed!
Saturday, November 19 (this has been changed from Friday, 11/18)
Volunteers are needed to help separate out the greens.
Please let Eileen Mason know if you can help.
10:00 a.m. at Hillside Nursery


Contact Eileen at 508-330-4234 or emason11@verizon.net.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Franklin Downtown Partnership using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Residential Break Ins

Good Evening. Gary Premo calling with an important message from Deputy Chief Semerjian. The Town of Franklin has experienced an increase in home break ins recently. They have been occurring during the day time, in residential neighborhoods. Suspect vehicle may be a mid-sized green sedan with an unknown RI registration, two male suspects. We ask that you stay alert and call 911 immediately should you notice anything, or anyone, suspicious or out of the ordinary in your neighborhood. Thank you and goodbye. To listen to the above message, you will need audio software and speakers on your computer. This e-mail has been sent to you by TOWN OF FRANKLIN. 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 TOWN OF FRANKLIN either IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at (508) 520-4938. THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS IS NOT MONITORED. Please do not reply to this e-mail as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address.

High School Project - Nov 17, 2011 (audio)

This is the collection of audio segments recorded during the informational session on the new high school. The forum was conducted by the School Building Committee and held at the Horace Mann Auditorium on Thursday, Nov 17, 2011.


Part 1 – introduction and evolution of model school invitation
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-1-audio.html


Part 2 - Jim Jordan, partner and owner of Ai3 Architects provides an overview of the building
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-2-audio.html


Part 3 – Q and A: educational space and construction cost
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-3-audio.html


Part 4 – Q and A: various project costs and overall process
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-4-audio.html


Part 5 – Q and A; cost of designing a green building and debt exclusion timing
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-5-audio.html


Part 6 – Q and A; alternate fields and communication campaign 
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-6-audio.html


Part 7 – Q and A; building size, school population, and accreditation 
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-7-audio.html

Part 8 – Q and A; technology enhancements and traffic concerns; closing
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-part-8-audio.html

Live broadcast - School Building Forum

The first hour and fifteen 26 minutes were recorded and simultaneously broadcast live from the Horace Mann Auditorium. The remaining portion of the event will be made available as soon as possible.

The presentation begins about 13 minutes into this recording...




The video did not turn out very well. The audio recording was much better quality and available in eight parts for ease of listening. All eight parts can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/11/high-school-project-nov-17-2011-audio.html