THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
HAS NO HEARINGS SCHEDULED
FOR AUGUST 5, 2010.
THE NEXT ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR
AUGUST 19, 2010.
You can also check the agendas for the Zoning Board of Appeals on the Franklin, MA website:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_ZBAAgendas/
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee Meeting - Agenda - 8/10/10
Proposed Agenda for August 10, 2010
Location: Franklin YMCA 45 Forge Hill Road
Start Time: 7:30PM
I. Call to Order / Introductions of New Attendees
A. Introduction of new attendees
B. Review & approve minutes of previous meeting
II. Report from our representative from DCR
A. Gates & Grading
III. Membership Committee Report (Denison, McKeown, Sawyer)
A. Committee to report on membership activity
IV. Report from Finance Committee (Rossetti)
A. Report from Treasurer
V. Report of Fund Raising Committee (Sawyer)
A. Report on fund raising activities
a. Report Road Race Committee by Dave Labonte
VI. Report from Grant Writing Committee
A. Extend committee with more members & participation
VII. Unfinished Business:
A.
VIII. New Business:
IX. Set Date & place for Next Meeting and Adjourn
More info on the Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee can be found here:
http://www.franklinrailtrail.org/
Franklin, MA
Location: Franklin YMCA 45 Forge Hill Road
Start Time: 7:30PM
I. Call to Order / Introductions of New Attendees
A. Introduction of new attendees
B. Review & approve minutes of previous meeting
II. Report from our representative from DCR
A. Gates & Grading
III. Membership Committee Report (Denison, McKeown, Sawyer)
A. Committee to report on membership activity
IV. Report from Finance Committee (Rossetti)
A. Report from Treasurer
V. Report of Fund Raising Committee (Sawyer)
A. Report on fund raising activities
a. Report Road Race Committee by Dave Labonte
VI. Report from Grant Writing Committee
A. Extend committee with more members & participation
VII. Unfinished Business:
A.
VIII. New Business:
IX. Set Date & place for Next Meeting and Adjourn
More info on the Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee can be found here:
http://www.franklinrailtrail.org/
Franklin, MA
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Bill Glynn - sit and chat summary
In his lawn chair, one man was reading near the bandstand on the Town Common. The concerts are scheduled for Weds. Was he waiting for the concert? No, Bill Glynn was waiting for folks to show up for the "Sit & Chat".
They did come. By ones and twos, a total of seven. A mother with her children in Franklin schools who also works as a teacher. A father with children in the school whose wife is a teacher. She was at the boys baseball game, so he came. Two more mothers, coordinators for one of the school PCC organizations. Another mother with two little ones just getting into the school system, curious to understand what their future in the schools might be like. Another mother (also a teacher) brought her son who will be a senior at Franklin High in September (yes, he did want to come along).
Curious, they came to see what the discussion would be like.
Curious, they came to talk about Franklin.
Bill stopped reading when I arrived. The conversation circle we started then expanded with each new arrival. Greetings, small talk (how many kids in school, what school, how did you hear about this, etc.) developed a rhythm, a gentle conversation on a summer evening on the Common.
Were the problems of Franklin solved?
No. There are no easy solutions.
Was it beneficial to talk?
Yes, it was good. There are folks concerned about what is happening. There are folks willing to step up and find out what's going on.
How would I summarize the conversation?
Did I miss something? Maybe, I am not perfect.
I think I got the gist of the conversation. Bill does plan to do this again. His August's schedule is already hectic so maybe in September.
My thanks to Bill for taking the time to have this conversation.
Many thanks to those folks who came and hopefully had their curiosity satisfied.
-------------
Stay tuned into what is happening in Franklin. You can subscribe to what is published here via email. One email each day will arrive in your inbox after 9:00 AM with what has been published since 9:00 AM the day before.
You can get a weekly summary via email by subscribing to Franklin Matters Weekly. It will contain a review of the prior week's events and provide an outlook on the coming week. It is meant to be read (or listened to) in about ten minutes. If there is something that you need to get more information on, there are links to provide the additional details. I have not updated it during the summer. So little is happening (and my own travels have taken me away from Franklin). August is already here, September is just around the corner.
For those on Facebook, you can "like" the "I believe Franklin matters" page. Key bits of information from Franklin Matters get posted there.
Note: Bill Glynn is a first term member of the Franklin School Committee.
Franklin, MA
They did come. By ones and twos, a total of seven. A mother with her children in Franklin schools who also works as a teacher. A father with children in the school whose wife is a teacher. She was at the boys baseball game, so he came. Two more mothers, coordinators for one of the school PCC organizations. Another mother with two little ones just getting into the school system, curious to understand what their future in the schools might be like. Another mother (also a teacher) brought her son who will be a senior at Franklin High in September (yes, he did want to come along).
Curious, they came to see what the discussion would be like.
Curious, they came to talk about Franklin.
Bill stopped reading when I arrived. The conversation circle we started then expanded with each new arrival. Greetings, small talk (how many kids in school, what school, how did you hear about this, etc.) developed a rhythm, a gentle conversation on a summer evening on the Common.
Were the problems of Franklin solved?
No. There are no easy solutions.
Was it beneficial to talk?
Yes, it was good. There are folks concerned about what is happening. There are folks willing to step up and find out what's going on.
How would I summarize the conversation?
- Many folks recognize that education is important. Class size increases are not good. People may be surprised when they see the number of kids in their child's room.
- The teachers are not happy with how Mr Roy (Jeff Roy, School Committee Chair) has portrayed the FEA (teacher's union) in the newspaper. If this is his attempt at winning the power struggle, from the teachers perspective, he is hurting Franklin more than he thinks he is winning.
- The change to the six period schedule at the high school has been both good and bad. Good in that the schedule itself works. Bad in that the schedule change has reduced the variety of electives. Bad in that along with other teacher staffing changes, some forced by the budget cuts, some with individual teacher decisions (i.e. retirements), some programs have seen a great deal of change. The example cited was five language teachers in three years. Other students had benefited from the same teacher for the four years in that language.
- The high school student asked how do students get involved? What are the channels available? All are available. Come to the meetings, view via the web broadcast. If they want School Committee people to meet with them that can be scheduled.
- The conversation started too late to get the information out for this years override. People were asking what's happening, what's coming and when it all came out, it was too much, too late.
- Some folks believe Franklin schools have always been good. They don't realize that in the 70's the school system was not well respected.
- Some parents may be choosing to send their kids to Xaverian and other private high schools. It may be good that they can afford to do so but their students still end up at Westfield or Framingham. The belief amongst some parents is that the preparation at Franklin High is really better than that which could be obtained elsewhere. So while they can afford to pay for a private high school what are they really buying? What are they saving?
- The concern is that while the students education has been preparing them for the evolving world at the high school today, will the preparation of the students in the lower grades now be sufficient to help them be ready for high school when they go there? Bill shared that in his work with college deans, they have expressed that their concern is many students coming to college are not prepared for it. In that case, the parents end up paying for the remedial study for the students. So what have the parents really saved?
- What will the high school be like when today's elementary and middle school students get there? What will class sizes be like then? What programs will be available then? Will it be renovated?
- Would there be two overrides next year? Technically, there could be one override for the operational budget in May/June 2011. There could also be a debt override for the high school renovation later in 2011 (Nov/Dec), if the current state planning schedule holds.
- How do we get the information out? Reach out to the pre-school mothers. Reach out to all the youth sports groups. Continue the forums, the PCC meetings, the standard notifications. We need to find out how to reach the folks to help them realize that it matters to them. To their home values, to their children's future.
Did I miss something? Maybe, I am not perfect.
I think I got the gist of the conversation. Bill does plan to do this again. His August's schedule is already hectic so maybe in September.
My thanks to Bill for taking the time to have this conversation.
Many thanks to those folks who came and hopefully had their curiosity satisfied.
-------------
Stay tuned into what is happening in Franklin. You can subscribe to what is published here via email. One email each day will arrive in your inbox after 9:00 AM with what has been published since 9:00 AM the day before.
You can get a weekly summary via email by subscribing to Franklin Matters Weekly. It will contain a review of the prior week's events and provide an outlook on the coming week. It is meant to be read (or listened to) in about ten minutes. If there is something that you need to get more information on, there are links to provide the additional details. I have not updated it during the summer. So little is happening (and my own travels have taken me away from Franklin). August is already here, September is just around the corner.
For those on Facebook, you can "like" the "I believe Franklin matters" page. Key bits of information from Franklin Matters get posted there.
Note: Bill Glynn is a first term member of the Franklin School Committee.
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA: Concerts on the Common
Reminder:
Wed Aug 4th - Frank Padula Band (6:30 PM to 8:30 PM)
Children's Program: Elaine Kessler, Story Teller (6:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
Franklin, MA
Wed Aug 4th - Frank Padula Band (6:30 PM to 8:30 PM)
Children's Program: Elaine Kessler, Story Teller (6:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
Franklin, MA
FSPA presents Shakespeare on the Town Common, plus
The Third Annual Whatever Theatre Festival
Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) is pleased to announce that the Third Annual Whatever Theater Festival will take place from Wednesday, August 4through Saturday, August 7, 2010. The Festival’s events include Shakespeare on the Common, a medley of one-act plays, The Game Show of Game Shows, and a hilarious and entertaining Soiree.
The Festival’s medley of one-act plays will be presented at Franklin School for the Performing Arts, 38 Main Street, Franklin on Wednesday evening, August 4th at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday afternoon, August 7th at 3:00 p.m. The wonderful collection of short plays ranges from silly and strange to mysterious and thought provoking.
The Festival will feature Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Thursday, August 5th and Friday, August 6th at 8:00 p.m. The play will be staged on The Franklin Town Common and is free to the public.
The cast also will perform The Game Show of Game Shows on Saturday, August 7th at 7 p.m. at The School on 38 Main Street in Franklin.
To conclude the Whatever Theater Festival, the cast will present a Soiree on Saturday, August 7th at 9:00 p.m., also at The School. Guaranteed to be a night full of laughter, the Soiree features both prepared and improvisational pieces. Past soiree numbers have ranged from song and dance numbers to hula-hoop acts!
The box office for the Whatever Theater Festival can be reached at (508)-528-8668. There will be no charge for the Shakespeare performances on the Franklin Town Common. Tickets for the other performances are $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door.
Franklin, MA
Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) is pleased to announce that the Third Annual Whatever Theater Festival will take place from Wednesday, August 4through Saturday, August 7, 2010. The Festival’s events include Shakespeare on the Common, a medley of one-act plays, The Game Show of Game Shows, and a hilarious and entertaining Soiree.
The Festival’s medley of one-act plays will be presented at Franklin School for the Performing Arts, 38 Main Street, Franklin on Wednesday evening, August 4th at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday afternoon, August 7th at 3:00 p.m. The wonderful collection of short plays ranges from silly and strange to mysterious and thought provoking.
The Festival will feature Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Thursday, August 5th and Friday, August 6th at 8:00 p.m. The play will be staged on The Franklin Town Common and is free to the public.
The cast also will perform The Game Show of Game Shows on Saturday, August 7th at 7 p.m. at The School on 38 Main Street in Franklin.
To conclude the Whatever Theater Festival, the cast will present a Soiree on Saturday, August 7th at 9:00 p.m., also at The School. Guaranteed to be a night full of laughter, the Soiree features both prepared and improvisational pieces. Past soiree numbers have ranged from song and dance numbers to hula-hoop acts!
The box office for the Whatever Theater Festival can be reached at (508)-528-8668. There will be no charge for the Shakespeare performances on the Franklin Town Common. Tickets for the other performances are $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door.
Franklin, MA
In the News - rain gardens
Garden to clean stormwater in Franklin
by Additional information on the Charles River clean up can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/costs-of-charles-river-cleanup.html
Franklin, MA
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