In the News: Japanese students visit FHS; O'Connell and Clancey scheduled for Circle of Friends

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"A group of 38 students from Japan came to Franklin High School Tuesday morning to interact with local students, view American classrooms and even eat lunch. 

The students, visiting from the city of Fuji, came to the school as part of a tour of the Boston area. Laura Evans, the director of world languages for Franklin schools, said they were partnered with FHS students - members of the Spanish National Honor Society - and spent the morning shadowing their American counterparts. 

"They wanted to see a day in the life of a high school student in the U.S.," she said."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161129/a-day-in-life-at-franklin-high

Franklin High School

"The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse will present "A Celtic Christmas" at 8 p.m. Dec. 10, featuring Robbie O’Connell and Rose Clancy. 

The music of O’Connell and Clancy has a distinct Celtic flavor and extends from the little known Kilmore carols of Wexford to the Irish-American vaudeville stage. They explore both the Christian and pagan traditions surrounding the Winter Solstice in a mixture of songs and instrumental pieces that create a delightful musical tapestry to celebrate the season. 

O’Connell was born in Waterford, Ireland and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. A nephew of the Clancy Brothers, he began touring with his uncles in 1977 and recorded 3 albums with them. In 1979 he moved to Franklin, where he lived many years until moving to Rhode Island. He has also toured with Mick Moloney and Jimmy Keane, and with Eileen Ivers and Seamus Egan in the Green Fields of America"

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161129/circle-of-friends-to-present-celtic-christmas

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse

#shopFranklin: Franklin Agway - Your Urban Farm Store (video)

#shopFranklin spends time with Mel Hamblen, recent new owner of Franklin Agway - Your Urban Farm Store. Mel explains how she went from working in a lab to working on finding the best products for the Franklin community. 

We also learn how to make homemade root beer with a definitive fizz!

If you have pets, check out their line up of pet foods!

If you make your own beer, check out their beer supplies!

Franklin Agway - Your Urban Farm Store

Pancake Breakfast - Saturday, Dec 3

The Cub Scouts Pack 126 will hold their Annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, Dec 3 from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the Franklin Elks Lodge.  

$7 per person, Scouts in uniform and children under 3 are free.

Cub Scouts Pack 126 will hold their Annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, Dec 3

You Saved the Best for Last

November 29, 2016   You Saved the Best for Last    Dear Friends, Our wish is that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones, and that you enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday in good cheer and with a festive spirit.  With all of the gifts checked off on your list, you saved the best for last. Today, Giving Tuesday, you can give a gift to help a neighbor you may never have met. We ask that you consider making a donation for one of the 322 children right here in your community who wouldn't have enough to eat without the Franklin Food Pantry. We ask that you share this email with your friends and family so that we can meet our goal of 322 gifts today. For the donations already made and for those still to come, THANK YOU!  Donate to Food Pantry       Additional leadership gift and corporate sponsor opportunities available, for details please email Erin Lynch erin@franklinfoodpantry.org Franklin Food Pantry       www.franklinfoodpantry.org  Our facility is generously donated by Rockland Trust. We are located at 43 West Central Street, Franklin MA, on Route 140 in the Rockland Trust parking lot,  across the street from the fire station.

Franklin Food Pantry, 43 West Central Street, PO Box 116, Franklin, MA 02038 Sent by erin@franklinfoodpantry.org in collaboration with Try it free today

A Ballet for The Ages: Growing Up With The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is a holiday season tradition for countless young dancers whose annual turn in the Christmas fantasy marks a celebrated rite of passage. The chance to take part in the enchanting production, full of pageantry and splendor, engages the starry-eyed child dancer, while more advanced ballerinas relish opportunities to be cast in progressively more challenging roles.

Franklin’s Shaina McGillis, 18, made her Nutcracker debut with the Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) in 2004 at the age of six. A polichinelle coming out from Mother Ginger’s giant hoop skirt, it was her first time performing on stage. Now a senior at Franklin High School and a veteran of 12 FPAC Nutcrackers, Shaina dances her 13th consecutive year in FPAC’s production this season. She has played most of the ballet’s roles, including little mouse, party girl, little Chinese, marzipan, Clara, Chinese demi-soloist, Chinese soloist, kissy doll, soldier doll, Spanish and Arabian corp, Russian, rose flower, Mouse Queen, candy cane soloist, Nutcracker, Spanish soloist, and Dew Drop. 

Franklin's Shaina McGillis is pictured, center, in this 2015 production photo, dancing the role of Dew Drop

“Particularly for students who start dancing The Nutcracker at younger ages, the ballet becomes tradition, a treasured part of their holiday season,” says Director/Choreographer Cheryl Madeux, who formerly danced with the Joffrey Ballet, Hartford Ballet and American Ballet Theatre companies. “As dancers continue to train year after year, they develop the maturity, physically and emotionally, to take on more demanding and age-appropriate roles.”

Shaina’s parts in the ballet’s magical snow scene reflect her progression, dancing first as a snow maiden, then as a snowflake and snow princess, and this year as Snow Queen. “The snow scene is exciting,” she says, “and very cool with the live orchestra. There’s a lot going on, and there are many dancers on stage. The snow can be slippery under point shoes. It’s well rehearsed, but you have to be very aware.”

Cast in multiple roles, Shaina will also dance the parts of Spanish soloist and Dew Drop this season. “It’s great to have the opportunity to grow into it,” she says of Dew Drop and the chance to reprise the coveted role. “It’s more artistically challenging, and it’s tiring physically. The stamina is hard.”

Shaina will be joined on stage by her dad, Jim McGillis, who will perform the role of Clara’s father, Herr Silberhaus. This is Jim’s sixth consecutive year as Party Parent in the festive Christmas Eve scene that opens the ballet’s first act. Jim, who used to coach Shaina in soccer, stepped into his Nutcracker role to share a different experience with his daughter when she stopped playing soccer to focus on her ballet training.

“It’s a real team effort,” says Shaina’s mom, Anne McGillis, noting how the sport and ballet production share a spirit of collaboration. “Jim appreciates the athleticism, too, and the way in which the dancers make what is so physically challenging look so effortless.”

“Everyone has to work together,” she continues, “and Ms. Madeux promotes such a positive attitude among the dancers. They really support each other.”

Shaina adds, “Ms. Madeux expects a lot from us, and that makes us work harder.”

A student in the Ballet Conservatory program at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA), where Ms. Madeux is Ballet Director, Shaina also studies jazz, tap and contemporary dance at FSPA. Her training has included summer intensive programs at the Joffrey Ballet in San Francisco, Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York City, and Ballet West Academy in Salt Lake City. Shaina plans to continue dancing in college and aspires to dance professionally.

Reflecting on her last season in FPAC’s The Nutcracker, she says, “It will be bittersweet. It went by so fast.”

FPAC presents The Nutcracker on Saturday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 4 at 2 p.m. at the Franklin High School auditorium, 218 Oak Street. With special guest artists, world-class musicians and more than 100 area dancers, the fairytale ballet features Festival Ballet Providence company dancers Vilia Putrius and Mindaugas Bauzys in the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier and a professional orchestra under the direction of maestro Peter Cokkinias.

“There’s so much excitement around it – the music, the costumes, the choreography – as it all comes together,” Shaina says of the production.

For tickets ($30-$34) and more information, visit www.FPAConline.com or call (508) 528-3370. Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation is FPAC’s 2016 Holiday Sponsor.

Franklin Library: Author Susan Kapatoes - Dec 3 - 2:00 PM

The Franklin Public Library will host author Susan Kapatoes on Saturday, Dec 3 at 2:00 PM.

"Greetings to all :) 

Throughout my life, I have had the unexpected opportunity to experience certain events that can be described as divine intervention. In a beneficial manner, I have been allowed to feel the omnipresent energy that is moving through our amazing universe and permeating our everyday lives. I felt compelled to write about these graceful times in order to help people expand their consciousness and connect to their own inner power in a positive way.

As a result of my life experiences, I enjoy writing books with a spiritual and uplifting theme. In regards to my educational background, I hold a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree in Nutrition and a masters degree in Healthcare Administration (M.H.A.). As a complement to my formal learning, I have also studied holistic healing modalities which help to promote balance and optimal well-being in a person's life."

https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Kapatoes-M.H.A./e/B01AZGH5VU/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Franklin Library: Author Susan Kapatoes - Dec 3 - 2:00 PM

This was shared from the Franklin Library webpage
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2016/11/author-susan-kapatoes-saturday-december.html

"It's not really something we have to worry about until 2018"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"After a state vote in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, a town committee is scheduled to discuss the potential impacts at a meeting this week. 

The matter is one of the items on the agenda for the Town Council's economic development subcommittee meeting, which will take place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Franklin Municipal Building's council chambers. 

Subcommittee Chairman Andrew Bissanti said the town had, in its zoning bylaws, already considered recreational marijuana. Those bylaws, he said, consign such facilities to industrial parks."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161128/franklin-committee-may-take-up-marijuana-rules


The full agenda for the Economic Development Committee (EDC) is

The EDC meeting agenda 

1. Plastic Bag Ban Legislation 2. Recreational Marijuana Zoning 

A full copy of the agenda can be found here
http://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/news/edc_agenda_november_30_2016.pdf

Additional info on the plastic bag bylaw can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/economic-development-committee-to-take.html

cover page of presentation to Town Council on reducing plastic bags for retail