Happy Spring to our Franklin Families!

Wow! The month of March literally blew by and here we are, on the cusp of Spring Break, which is

the first week of April. For those of you with travel plans, I wish you good weather and safe travels. March was a very busy month. We saw many parents during conferences, and it is always a pleasure to talk about the progress of your student.

March also saw several wonderful achievements and adventures by Franklin students-in music and

sports. Detailed articles are in the newsletter. TSA went to Seattle to the TSA conference and a group of students traveled to Camp Cispus for an overnight excursion last week. Additionally, another group of students have signed up to go night skiing on Fridays. Many have never skied before so it is quite an ongoing adventure.

April is another busy month. Quarter three ends April 12th . Also, just a reminder, our annual state

assessment, the SBA, is scheduled to begin April 22. We are required to test 95% of our students in

Reading and Math so students need to be present. Please make sure they are well rested and ready to go! In closing, have a well-deserved Spring Break. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and warm up so we can all get outside and enjoy the sun.

With Warm Regards,

Principal Anderson

• Spring Break April 1-5-No School
  
• Quarter 3 ends-4/12
• Staff Development-Early Release at 11:15 pm- Wednesday, 04/24/24

Mark your calendars for a unique celebration of culture, learning, and community engagement at the Japanese Cultural Showcase Family Night happening on April 16th from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the Eisenhower High School Commons.

This event will spotlight the rich traditions and artistic expressions of Japan, brought to life by the talented Japanese exchange students from Yamate Gakuin High School. We are honored to host these 77 students as they share their culture with us, making this night a memorable experience for the entire Yakima School District community.

We are now a PBIS Rewards school. Parents, your child will now be given digital BOLTS. What is PBIS Rewards? With PBIS Rewards, it is fast and simple to recognize a student for complying with the basic rules of conduct. It takes the concept of “Observe and Praise Appropriate Behavioral Actions” and extends it by making it easy to award points to students for positive behaviors. Students can redeem their accumulated points in the BOLT Store for tangible and intangible rewards. Think of it as a student debit card for their PBIS points.

How does my student access their PBIS Rewards? They can access it through their student account by logging into the CLEVER portal.

Congratulations!!! to our Franklin Advanced Orchestra and the Franklin Honors Band for receiving superior ratings at their respective festivals. These are the highest possible scores that an ensemble can receive, meaning that they performed with what the judges perceive as superior technique amongst the various groups they listen to throughout the day, ranging from 10 - 18 groups in one day. It is an extreme honor to receive such a rating, and it speaks volumes about the excellent work that our students do every single day..

Our next and final trip will be on May 5th, when the Jazz Band will go to CWU to perform at the John Mowad Jazz Festival. (Sorry, it is in the middle of testing!)

On March 25-29th students participated in our Franklin Middle School Spring Spirit Week. Students had tons of fun, wearing their PJs, twinning, dressing like a staff member, dressing sporty, and throwing it back old school with their clothes.

Thank you to all who participated. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

Tech students in Mr. McFadden's class began their flight unit by learning the history and fundamentals of flight. Students then created their own gliders in CAD and competed against their peers. They printed out their templates/blueprints and constructed their gliders out of balsa using a variety of tools and techniques. Finally, students are testing their balsa gliders by launching them multiple times, adjusting trim and center of balance with each flight to record their longest flight times.

On March 26th and 27th, 45 sixth graders went to Outdoor School! Camp Cispus, in Randle Washington hosted Franklin M.S. and we had a great time. It was a “shake down cruise” for next year when we hope to take all sixth graders to Outdoor School. A grant that was secured paid for the entire trip and students had an excellent adventure.

Salmon Ecology, Forestry Ecology and a challenge course were the main subjects studied, along with a lot of fun playing basketball, soccer, tag and various other games. The night was capped off with a bonfire, smores, and a great game of two truths and a lie! Mr. Apling took his prom date to the Eiffel Tower? True.

Coaches Marcus Culler, Brandon Denney, Cierra Juarez, Elias Moctezuma, and Richard Casares did a great job teaching our boys how to play the game of basketball. A lot of our boys showed improvement during the season and we are really excited about our young core going into next years boys basketball season. Basketball isn't done yet. They will play in the All City games at Davis High School at 3:30 on Wednesday, April 10th for 3rd and 4th place. Please go out and support.

Shout out to Coaches Allen Davis, Ana Montemayor, Kai Maxwell and Laurel Huth for a great girls bowling season. The girls worked hard learning about bowling and competing with other Yakima Valley Middle Schools. The our Lady Quakers will play in the All City Championship on Tuesday, April 9th starting at 2:00 PM.

• We will continue with our Pick-up and Drop-off protocol from last year for those of you returning.
• 6th-grade parents this is new learning for you. Please pay attention to the routes.
• We will block the turn on 19th from Tieton. Please follow the routes below.
• Please do not come into the parking lot on 19th to drop off students.
• Student Drop off is at the arches on 19th.

Franklin Middle School Dress for Success Code

The primary responsibility for a student’s attire resides with the student and their parent(s) or guardian(s). The Yakima School District expects students to dress in a way that is appropriate for the school day or any school sponsored event. Student dress code requirements reflect fair, equitable and consistent practices for all students, while contributing to a safe and positive school climate. We believe it is one more component of preparing students for success.

Students who choose to dress inappropriately* will be asked to change. If they do not have other attire to change into, parents will be called and asked to either bring appropriate clothing or take their student home. Suspension is a viable option for students who repeatedly ignore dress code.

The following is a guideline of how to wear some articles of clothing, as well as what is viewed as unacceptable.

* Inappropriate clothing is any item deemed by administration as disruptive to the educational process, advertises illegal substances, or promotes/is identified with gangs.

Clothing must cover underwear and cover body areas from the top of one armpit to the top of the other armpit, and down to mid-thigh. Tops must have shoulder straps and be long enough to adequately cover the waistline and not expose the midriff. Jeans with rips/tears higher than mid-thigh that expose skin are not allowed ( if shorts or opaque leggings are worn underneath and cover the skin, then the jeans will be allowed)

Wear shoes that are appropriate and safe for a learning environment-including Physical Education and lots of stairs. No slippers.

Headgear- Appropriate caps and beanies are allowed if they do not cover the ears. Hoods and sunglasses may not be worn indoors.

Clothing and accessories displaying profanity, violence, discriminatory messages, sexually suggestive phrases, phrases or symbols of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs are unacceptable.

Gang related clothing, accessories, symbolism, or jewelry is everchanging and not tolerated. This includes gang symbolism, graffiti, and Old English writing. Gang graffiti drawn or worn on the person, in notebooks, folders, papers, backpacks, or hats will lead to a gang contract and further discipline. We collaborate with the Yakima Police Dept to update changes in gang related apparel. We publish the changes in our newsletter. At this time, the following have been designated as gang related and are not allowed:

• Old English Writing
• The New York Yankee emblem
• Bandanas
• Belts, especially web belts, with the tails hanging down from the waist
• Rosaries
• Too much red or too much blue (i.e. a red sweatshirt with a different colored pant is okay; red sweatshirt with red pants is too much)

Franklin Middle School is requiring that ID badges be worn and visible every day for identification and safety purposes. This helps us easily identify students on our campus. Please make sure your students have their ID badges in their backpacks when they arrive to school every day.

Replacement ID Badges can be purchased in the Franklin office.

• ID Card $3.00
• Lanyards $2.00
• Plastic Covers $1
• Clips $1