Ali Brigham named one of the 2020 Red Auerbach Massachusetts Basketball Players of the Year

Another award for FHS' Ali Brigham

MBCA Girls’ All-Sectional Team. This list includes our Regional Players Of the year:
Makayla Graves (North)
Ali Brigham (South)
Belle Lanpher (Central)
Nora Young (West) pic.twitter.com/K5PD0qMS18

— MBCA (@mbcaorg) April 21, 2020

The MBCA is also proud to present the 2020 Red Auerbach Massachusetts Basketball Players of the Year: Ali Brigham (Franklin High School) and John West (Shrewsbury High School). @FHSSports @ColonialsAD

— MBCA (@mbcaorg) April 21, 2020

Shared via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/fhsgjvlax/status/1254474332132315136?s=09

MBCA names Ali Brigham one of the 2020 Red Auerbach MA Basketball Players of the Year

“A huge piece of art is not just the creating process, but also the sharing process”

Great article in Edutopia featuring our own Ms. Doherty!

"Can the Arts Go Digital?

Christine Doherty, an elementary art teacher in Franklin, Massachusetts, said she had always shied away from using technology but realized she would have to embrace it to connect to all 540 of her students at two different schools during school closures.

Doherty created a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsK1QTSOSHu3NiSAwDvYGtQ) where she reads books to her students or leads them through easy art activities such as drawing and coloring.

She quickly found that online platforms allow students to continue sharing and talking about their artwork, just as they would in school. During her live video instruction time, students can type an H, for hand, into the chat box to indicate they want to share their work and place it up to the screen for other students to see. “A huge piece of art is not just the creating process, but also the sharing process,” she said."

Read the full article onlinehttps://www.edutopia.org/article/show-must-go-online-arts-teachers-adapt-home-instruction

Huge thank you to ⁦@lauraelee⁩ and @Edutopia for publishing this article featuring the hard work, effort & creativity of fellow arts educators during the school closures! I am so honored to be featured and represent ⁦⁦⁦@FranklinPSart⁩ https://t.co/Wet0edRP3O

— Christine Doherty (@MsDoherty_ART) April 24, 2020

Christine Doherty @MsDoherty_ART

NY Times: "The Untold Story of the Birth of Social Distancing"

From the New York Times we find this long read but good background information on where 'social distancing' came from.

"Fourteen years ago, two federal government doctors, Richard Hatchett and Carter Mecher, met with a colleague at a burger joint in suburban Washington for a final review of a proposal they knew would be treated like a piñata: telling Americans to stay home from work and school the next time the country was hit by a deadly pandemic.

When they presented their plan not long after, it was met with skepticism and a degree of ridicule by senior officials, who like others in the United States had grown accustomed to relying on the pharmaceutical industry, with its ever-growing array of new treatments, to confront evolving health challenges.

Drs. Hatchett and Mecher were proposing instead that Americans in some places might have to turn back to an approach, self-isolation, first widely employed in the Middle Ages.

How that idea — born out of a request by President George W. Bush to ensure the nation was better prepared for the next contagious disease outbreak — became the heart of the national playbook for responding to a pandemic is one of the untold stories of the coronavirus crisis."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/social-distancing-coronavirus.html

Shared earlier in this pandemic period but a great visual on how social distancing works.  YouTube Link = https://youtu.be/o4PnSYAqQHU

MBTA: Starting Saturday, May 2: Franklin Line no longer uses shuttle bus

"The installation of PTC has been completed on the Franklin Line. Normal weekend train service will resume on Saturday, May 2."

Last Updated: Apr 27 2020 04:30 AM 
https://mbta.com/schedules/CR-Franklin/alerts


For more about Positive Train Control (PTC)
https://mbta.com/projects/commuter-rail-positive-train-control-ptc

"Normal weekend service" really means it is under the 'new normal' reduced service of the pandemic.  https://mbta.com/covid19

MBTA: Starting Saturday, May 2: Franklin Line no longer uses shuttle bus

Boston Globe: Contact tracing background; high school 'lost year'?

From the Boston Globe, articles of interest to Franklin:

Contact tracing background

"Dr. Emily Wroe started working for Boston-based Partners in Health, the renowned global health nonprofit, while still a Harvard medical student. She worked with the government of Rwanda to build a modern hospital in the country’s poor northern region, perched on a terraced hilltop surrounded by subsistence farms. Later, in Malawi, she treated patients with tuberculosis and HIV, working with community health workers to track down sick patients by foot and, sometimes, motorbike.

Now she’s building a new squad of public health workers. Only this one is based in Massachusetts and it’s a virtual one, 1,000-people strong. Their mission is to track down every person in the state who comes in close contact with an infected person and help them isolate, thereby slowing the spread of the deadly virus.

And this time, the tracking will be done by telephone.

Wroe is part of the Partners in Health team charged with creating the state’s ambitious contact tracing program, which Governor Charlie Baker announced earlier this month. The administration, which has allotted $44 million to the program, sees contact tracing as a key piece of its plan to eventually open the economy up and allow people to venture out again, without fear of infection."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/25/metro/way-out-inside-ambitious-mass-coronavirus-contact-tracing-effort/

Hard, maybe cruel even, but better a 'lost year' than losing 'a life'

"Catari Giglio did everything she could to make the senior prom at Fenway High School picture perfect. She had the elegant gown, the handsome date; she had even designed the tickets for the big event.

Vivian Santos-Smith had a lead role in Somerville High School’s production of “As You Like It.” As winter turned to spring, and set and costumes came together, she spent hours memorizing her famous speech, the one that begins “All the world’s a stage …”

Mairead Baker, valedictorian at Boston Latin Academy, was writing the graduation speech that she would deliver to hundreds of beaming teachers and families, reflecting on the hard lessons of her past.

Like 80,000 other high school seniors across Massachusetts who learned this week that their schools will remain closed through June, they know their personal disappointments are a small price to pay to help end a global pandemic. But for young people whose lives have been defined by school since the age of 5 — who were on a path to high school graduation before they knew the word “commencement” — it was a stunning reversal of fortune, their most assured milestones disappearing in an instant."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/25/nation/lost-year-high-school-seniors-reflect-glory-days-theyll-never-have

Boston Globe: Contact tracing background; high school 'lost year'?

IR-2020-82: IRS enhances Get My Payment online application to help taxpayers

The Internal Revenue Service today announced significant enhancements to the “Get My Payment” tool to deliver an improved and smoother experience for Americans eligible to receive Economic Impact Payments.

The enhancements, which started last week and continued through the weekend, adjusted several items related to the online tool, which debuted on April 15. The additional changes will help millions of additional taxpayers with new or expanded information and access to adding direct deposit information.

“We delivered Get My Payment with new capabilities that did not exist during any similar relief program, including the ability to receive direct deposit information that accelerates payments to millions of people,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “These further enhancements will help even more taxpayers. We urge people who haven’t received a payment date yet to visit Get My Payment again for the latest information. IRS teams worked long hours to deliver Get My Payment in record time, and we will continue to make improvements to help Americans.”

“We encourage people to check back in and visit Get My Payment,” Rettig added. “These enhancements will help many taxpayers. By using Get My Payment now, more people will be able to get payments quickly by being able to add direct deposit information.”

How to use Get My Payment


Available only on IRS.gov, the online application is safe and secure to use. Taxpayers only need a few pieces of information to quickly obtain the status of their payment and, where needed, provide their bank account information. Having a copy of their most recent tax return can help speed the process.

As a reminder, Get My Payment is a U.S. Government system for authorized use only. The tool is solely for use by individuals or those legally authorized by the individual to access their information. Unauthorized use is prohibited and subject to criminal and civil penalties.

For taxpayers to track the status of their payment, this feature will show taxpayers the scheduled delivery date by direct deposit or mail and the last four digits of the bank account being used if the IRS has direct deposit information. They will need to enter basic information including:

• Social Security number
• Date of birth, and
• Mailing address used on their tax return.

Taxpayers needing to add their bank account information to speed receipt of their payment will also need to provide the following additional information:

• Their Adjusted Gross Income from their most recent tax return submitted, either 2019 or 2018
• The refund or amount owed from their latest filed tax return
• Bank account type, account and routing numbers

Get My Payment cannot update bank account information after an Economic Impact Payment has been scheduled for delivery. To help protect against potential fraud, the tool also does not allow people to change bank account information already on file with the IRS.

A Spanish version of Get My Payment is expected in a few weeks.

Watch out for scams related to Economic Impact Payments


The IRS urges taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams related to the Economic Impact Payments. To use the new app or get information, taxpayers should visit IRS.gov. People should watch out for scams using email, phone calls or texts related to the payments. Be careful and cautious: The IRS will not send unsolicited electronic communications asking people to open attachments, visit a website or share personal or financial information. Remember, go directly and solely to IRS.gov for official information.

More information


The IRS will post frequently asked questions on IRS.gov/coronavirus and will provide updates as soon as they are available.

This was shared from
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-enhances-get-my-payment-online-application-to-help-taxpayers
 

Franklin, MA: School Committee Meeting - Agenda - Apr 28, 2020

Vision Statement

The Franklin Public Schools will foster within its students the knowledge and skills to find and achieve satisfaction in life as productive global citizens.

Per Governor Baker’s Executive Order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A sec. 20, the public will not be allowed to physically access this School Committee meeting. Members of the Public can access the meeting via remote conference. The School Committee reserves the right to implement additional remote participation procedures and will notify the public of these procedures as soon as practicable.

LOCATION: Remote participation via ZOOM -- link below

Link to Join Meeting:  https://zoom.us/j/94329059693

OR Call-in Phone Number: Call 1-929-205-6099 and enter the Meeting ID: 94329059693 then press #

“The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.”

I. Routine Business
A. Review of Agenda
B. Citizen’s Comments

In the spirit of open communication, “the Committee will hold a public participation segment (also called Citizen’s Comments) about matters not related to an agenda item at the beginning of each regular School Committee meeting. The Committee will listen to, but not respond to any comment made…. A Committee member may add an agenda item to a future meeting as a result of a citizen comment…. The Committee will hear public comments related to an agenda item when the Chair deems appropriate during the Committee meeting. Topics for discussion during the meeting must be limited to those items listed on the Committee meeting agenda for that evening…. ” - from Policy BEDH

C. FHS Student Representative Comments
D. Superintendent’s Report

II. Guests/Presentations
A. none

III. Discussion/Action Items
A. FY21 Budget Vote
I recommend adoption of the FY21 Budget in the amount of $68,767,873.00 as discussed.
https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-district-budget/pages/fy-2021-budget

B. Policy – First Readings
I recommend moving the following policies to a second reading at the next meeting as detailed:
JFABD (New) – Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights and Services JFABF – Educational Opportunities for Children in Foster Care
JBB – (New) – Educational Equity

C. Policy Elimination
I recommend elimination of Policy JS – Education of Students Identified as Homeless as discussed.

IV. Discussion Only Items
A. Closure Update

V. Information Matters
A. School Committee Sub-Committee Reports (e.g. Ad Hoc Supt. Evaluation, Ad Hoc Facilities Analysis, Budget, Community Relations/Public Schools Advocacy, Policy, Transportation)
B. School Committee Liaison Reports (e.g. Joint PCC, Substance Abuse Task Force, School Wellness Advisory Council)

VI. New Business
A. To discuss any future agenda items

VII. Consent Agenda
A. Approval of Minutes
I recommend approval of the minutes from the April 14, 2020 School Committee Meeting as detailed.
B. Approval of Minutes
I recommend approval of the minutes from the March 10, 2020 School Committee Meeting as detailed.

VIII. Payment of Bills Dr. Bergen

IX. Payroll Ms. D’Angelo

X. Adjournment

The agenda and associated documents released for this meeting can be found online
https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee/pages/april-28-2020-school-committee-meeting-packet

Franklin, MA: School Committee Meeting - Agenda - Apr 28, 2020