Franklin Matters

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Franklin Schools: MCAS and PARCC test schedule

The MCAS and PARCC test schedule for the Franklin schools is scheduled for discussion Tuesday evening at the School Committee meeting.

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/01/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-jan_28.html

"Demystifying the Core Standards"

"Demystifying the Core Standards" is the title of the presentation scheduled for the School Committee meeting Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014

The full agenda for the School Committee meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/01/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-jan_28.html

Monday, January 27, 2014

Crossroads at the Town Common

The light snow Saturday night into Sunday was still drifting about with Sunday's breezes. The sidewalks approaching the bandstand on the Town Common marked a crossroads on Sunday morning.

crossroads at the Town Common

Stay warm!

Culinary Cabaret 2014

CALLING ALL FOODIES!

Don't Miss the Fantastic and Flavorful Culinary Cabaret 2014!

Mark your calendars for Culinary Cabaret 2014, to be held on Friday, March 7 from 7-10 p.m. at Clarke Luxury Showroom in Milford! The third annual signature food and wine event showcases the culinary and performing arts, featuring inspired cuisine and creative cooking demonstrations by area chefs and culinarians.

Culinary Cabaret

Electric Youth will headline the evening's entertainment. Savor fine wines and delicious appetizers and dishes from Artistry Kitchen, Culinary Underground, Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse, J & L Catering, Not Your Average Joes - Westborough, Prezo, Tavolino, Whole Foods Market, 3 Restaurant and more.

Clarke features a kitchen-theater classroom and gallery of designer kitchens, providing an award-winning setting and inventive backdrop to eat, drink, learn and celebrate. Enjoy a special evening out with family and friends!

Tickets are $75 and are available for purchase now at www.fpaconline.com. Proceeds will benefit Electric Youth and the ensemble's 2014 European concert tour, featuring a July 4th performance for U.S. troops.

You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown – The Musical, Feb 7-8

The BFCCPS Fine and Performing Arts Department is proud to present two performances of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown – The Musical on Friday, February 7, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Thomas D. Mercer Auditorium in Franklin. The musical features BFCCPS students in grades six through eight, along with a live orchestra comprised of students, parents and alumni.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a musical based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip, Peanuts. Though considered a “good man” by his friends, Charlie Brown can't seem to win the heart of the Little Red-Haired Girl or his friend Lucy who has a crush on the piano-playing Schroeder. Meanwhile Snoopy and Linus daydream and the rest of the friends battle with kites, school, baseball and misunderstandings before finally coming to realize what makes them truly happy.

The show won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and features songs “My New Philosophy”, “Me and My Blanket” and “Happiness.”

Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children and are available at the door. Tickets may also be purchased in advance at the BFCCPS office at 201 Main Street in Franklin.

The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School (BFCCPS) is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum frameworks and offers a challenging classical education

"community will gain a lot from it"

In 1974, a student in Palma Johnson’s second-grade class at John F. Kennedy Elementary School wondered why Massachusetts didn't have a state bug.

There was already a state bird, a state fish and a state tree, but not an official insect. One student suggested the ladybug.

Together, the class drafted a petition to make the ladybug the state bug. When its petition came before a committee, the students, dressed, of course, as ladybugs, traveled to the State House and testified.

Improbably the bill passed both the House and Senate. And when then-Gov. Francis Sargent signed it into law, the children were there to watch.

Read the full article at: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140127/NEWS/140127006/1994/NEWS#sthash.oe0bYD6S.dpuf

Ladybug floor mat at JF Kennedy School

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Franklin's Board of Health revises proposed tobacco regulations

More Massachusetts towns have enacted tobacco regulations in the past two years than in the history of the state’s anti-tobacco campaign, adopting new restrictions largely aimed at how businesses can sell such products.

Since 2012, 12 communities, including Ashland, have raised the legal purchase age for tobacco products beyond 18. Fifty cities and towns ban the sale of blunt wraps, and 39 have set a minimum price for cigars.

Town health boards have the power to pass the regulations without approval from Town Meeting or a higher governing body.

Anti-tobacco activists, doctors and advisers, attend Board of Health meetings and public hearings both to offer up statistics pointing to the health hazards of smoking and to present model regulations that communities mold to their circumstances.

See more at: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140126/NEWS/140127129#sthash.zRK3Gw5Q.dpuf

Franklin's Board of Health is among those looking to make changes, The proposed revisions can be found here http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/01/regulations-tighten-towns-rules-on.html

The public hearing held at the January meeting resulted in the regulations being tabled to a future meeting without a decision at that time.
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/01/single-cigars-account-for-about-80.html

Franklin Municipal Building

The proposed regulations (link provided above) have been revised and the new set posted to the Franklin website as of 1/23/14.
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_HealthNews/01C7D47D-000F8513

The old set is no longer on the Board of Health page. You can find the old set on the Franklin Matters page. The new set is shown here:

Visit the Franklin Board of Health page on the town website here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Health/index

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Updated: I printed both the old set of proposed regulations and the new set to walk through the document line by line, page by page to find the changes. This is what I find: