Franklin/Medway American Legion 5 Miler - Jun 20

Saturday, June 20th 2015 at 8am Help support our effort to give scholarships to high school students looking at the high cost of secondary education. All profits from this event will go to the Scholarship Funds for Medway Post 367 and Franklin Post 75. Registration: 7:00 – 7:45am Start Time: Run 8:00am Start / Finish: Medway High School 88 Summer Street Medway, MA 02053 Run: 5 mile loop on paved roads Entry Fee: $25 $15 High School Students Post race refreshments Prizes awarded by category T-Shirts for entrants Raffle Prizes iRace Timing by Spitler Race Systems Massage Therapist or download and register by mail

American Legion: Medway Post 367 and Franklin Post 75

Franklin American Legion · 82 West Central St · Franlkin, MA 02038 · USA

"favorable to other available options"

The charter school on Main Street has finalized plans to construct a new building with some of the land it owns on Washington Street, part of a $22 million expansion that will see its enrollment double over the next decade. 

The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School (BFCCPS) is looking to hire an architect to design the new 90,000 square-foot school, including recreation fields, said Donald Tappin, president of the school’s 10-member Board of Trustees. 

“Much of this work will take place over the summer,” he said in a blog post last week. “Our timeline remains aggressive but we currently expect that we will be able to welcome students into BFCCPS’s new facility in September of 2017.” 

The school owns three parcels off Washington Street – a total of about 8 acres. All together, the land is worth more than $600,000, according to the Franklin assessor’s database.

Continue reading the article in the Milford Daily News
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150610/NEWS/150619652/1994/NEWS

Related post:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/06/bfccps-expansion-update.html

Live reporting: Action Items to Closing

4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the request for ASMS 8th graders to travel to Pawtucket, RI to see a PawSox game on June 10, 2015 as detailed.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 6-0

b. I recommend acceptance of a check for 287.66 from O’Connor Studios for supplemental supplies at Davis Thayer Elementary School.motion to approve, seconded, passed 6-0

c. I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $2.500.00 for FHS Scholarships:
1. Whitson’s Food Service $1,500.00
2. Steven M. Coppola $1,000.00motion to approve, seconded, passed 6-0

d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $5,200.00 from the Oak St. PCC for Supplemental Curriculum Materials.motion to approve, seconded, passed 6-0


added approval of Girls Track team to Saco, ME
motion to approve, seconded, passed 6-0


5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
congratulations to the 4x 800 for winning the State and now going to the New England meet

congratulations

acknowledge the number of people who made graduation and the All Night Party successful; thanks to all (long listing of groups, folks)

Pandora and Patty Clay for working with the Class of 1965 for their inclusion in the evening

Trahan - graduation never gets old (like the Globe article), all a fabulous job

Sabolinski
debriefed today and already started planning for next year
for some it may be the only graduation they attend



School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
none

School Committee Liaison Reports
none

Harlem Wizards coming in Novmeber

motion to go into executive session

Live reporting: Team Horace Mann Middle School

c. Horace Mann Update – Shawn Fortin, Kaitlyn Demers

HMMS STEM Presentation 6/09/15 from Franklin Matters

(note the slide set needs to be updated as it doesn't include all the photos from the trips)

STEM is not putting students in front of computers

we do love technology, but we do not loose the 'forest for the trees'

challenged the Science Dept to create three small field trips

actually did 5 with a couple of more coming before the year end

several small field trip - single class

secret is to get students excited about science

nurture STEM, provide opportunities that could not be achieved in the classroom

Museum of Science brought a program on heat to the classroom

MIT, actually at Mass General Hospital - beefed up the background on genetics before the trip, looking for signs of life

Mystic Aquarium - biology focused

Harvard Museum of Natural History

Signal Rock Farm - sheep farm, further into genetics

trips were made based upon the interests of the children

kids made the choice

used a simplified application process

the students took turns explaining what they learned from each of the trips

one of the activities was to dissect a squid at Mystic

O'Malley - 

outstanding student presenters, not easy to sit and present to the School Committee

a science trip is important, we live in a culturally diverse area and it is easy to do and well worth it, connecting the schools and community. I also believe in bringing the experts into the school house

Jewell - 

applaud the kids for the presentation, it was great

my father had raised sheep and breed one of his own

DNA is on file for each soldier to help with their identification

it is exciting for you to see that

• heard about Dr Carr via the network and worked to make the connection
• Mystic Aquarium is a convenient and good location with manageable traffic
• Museum of Science, if they could do what they do at the museum, here, it would be worthwhile; did provide some pre-planning to ensure a good fit and interaction
• a lot of it was trial, if it works, we'll do it again

Live reporting: ECDC update

2. Guests/Presentations

b. ECDC Update – Kelty Kelley

ECDC Strengthening Community Improving Quality 2015 from Franklin Matters

historically had two start times but needed to change to one start time

now really one school

pilot program last summer expanded this summer

families looking for longer school days, school has been meeting the needs by expanding

worked on curriculum last summer to synchronize the themes across the program, working on a common vocabulary to help all involved talk with the same words

"Big Idea" - posted at the beginning of each unit to help center the idea and activities

Open House to showcase the learning and engage the parents

created a passport to get checked off for each activity in each classroom, a change from the prior open house where the parents would go to the one classroom, visit and leave for the night

literacy tied in to the lessons

problem solving, how to fit ten apples on top, an engineering challenge

art theme, inspired by Eric Carle

increasing communications and connections, via email, also started a blog

You can find the Principal's Page here http://ecdcprincipalpage.blogspot.com/

(It is also found on the right column of the Franklin Matters home page where the Franklin Area blogs are located)

parent workshop to help them engage their children with STEM learning (a good way is by cooking)

a networking group for parents of children with special needs that don't already have an IEP

looking to make a long term partnership with the Franklin Public Schools, working with a collaborative advocate

working to include the children from sub-separate classrooms to spend time with regular classrooms, part of the long term transition

worked to streamline the registration process, eliminate one step in the process (already registered with the district for proof of residence)

special transition program with each of the receiving schools, enabling connections and meetings

the children makes the connections easily, facilitated the parent connections

Rohrbach

nice work, did well unifying the school

Mullen

some were fairly simple things and I don't mean to minimize it, do the foundational things and it helps

enrollment is currently above 160 children

Live reporting: School Committee - June 9, 2015

Present: Douglas, O'Malley, Rohrbach, Mullen, Trahan, Jewell
Absent: Clement


1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
one action item to be added

Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the May 26, 2015 School Committee Meeting.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 6-0

Payment of Bills Mr. Clement
motion to pay the bills, seconded, passed 6-0

Payroll Mrs. Douglas

FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: none

2. Guests/Presentations:
a. Retirees

(photos, names to be added later)

Community Coalition on Opiate Addiction to meet June 30

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Jeffrey Roy

Community Coalition preliminary meeting

A few weeks ago, the Franklin Town Council hosted a thoughtful discussion on the opioid epidemic. While I was pleased to be a part of that discussion, it was unsettling to see the damage that is wreaking havoc on people and their families; those who struggle daily with the disease of addiction.

No community is immune from this crisis, but there are multi-faceted ways to address it. The Legislature has taken a number of steps through laws and budget appropriations to get in front of the problem. And it has been supportive of efforts to establish community coalitions to confront opioid abuse. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey has taken the lead in establishing coalitions throughout Norfolk County and he is happy to add Franklin to the list.

Plans for a Franklin Coalition are well under way and we will meet for the first time on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 7 p.m. in the Franklin High School Auditorium. At the first meeting, we will have an opportunity to discuss the mission and objectives of the coalition, hear from Community Coalition members from other towns, and hear from some experts in the field about how to address the opioid epidemic which is plaguing Massachusetts communities. We will also have a chance to talk about what we would like to see in Franklin.

On June 3, in preparation for our first coalition meeting, we met with Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and his Coalition Leaders in Canton (see photo above). Jenn Rowe and Ryan Walker from his office have been spearheading this effort for Norfolk County. Franklin Town Councilor Robert Dellorco, Franklin Detective John Ryan, student Ben Waters, counselor Jennifer Knight, and legislative aide Chris Yancich joined us for this briefing and discussion on the ways that we can combat the opioid epidemic in our community. The information will prove helpful in the formation of our community coalition.

In preparation for our first coalition meeting, please watch the Franklin Town Council meeting from May 20, 2015. You can view it by clicking here. You can also view the Milford Daily News report on the meeting by clicking here. In addition, you are urged to read the the Massachusetts Health Council's report entitled Local Approaches to the Opioid Overdose Epidemic:How Massachusetts Communities Are Responding Today. You can view that report by clicking here.

Finally, you are urged to view Dr. Anne Bergen's TV show "It Takes a Village" on Franklin.TV where the topic is discussed. I was honored to join the Police Chief, Town Administrator, and Superintendent of Schools on that show to discuss the opiate problem. It was a fascinating discussion as we explored the things that are happening at the state and local level to improve and save lives tarnished by addiction. To see when the show will be aired, click here for Franklin.TV's directory. You can also find the Milford Daily News report on the show by clicking here.

If you know anyone who is interested in being a part of the coalition, tell them they can sign up to be on the email distribution list by clicking here. And you should feel free to forward this email to your friends and colleagues and urge them to sign up for this effort.

It will take a team effort to take on this epidemic, but together we can save lives and heal fractured families. I look forward to working with you.