Week #8
October 21-25
Week #8, October 21-25, 2024
Dear Frankfort Families,
We had a good Week 7! We had
- great turnout for our Scholastic Book Fair with over $5,000 in book sales. Our book sales earn Scholastic Dollars for purchasing books for our school library. A big thank you to our donors helped get books into student hands, and to all of you for supporting children and books.
- an educational Community Helper Fair, with representatives from the Michigan State Police, Benzie County dispatch, Frankfort Fire and EMS, Deputy Maul, and Nurse Elizabeth, all outside, on a beautiful fall day. Students were able to see the tools that the Community Helpers use to assist the public. Thank you to all of the Community Helpers for taking time out of their busy schedules to come educate and interact with our students. A big thank you to Lexi Hospenthal for coordinating all of the presenters for the event.
We have an elementary 12:30 dismissal on Wednesday, October 23.
Grab Some (Winter) Gear: If you need a coat or snow pants for your child, we may have something that will fit. We will be moving all donated coats, boots, snowpants, and more into the gym on Saturday, October 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you are in need of gear for your child, we may have something to help at no charge to you. See the flyer below!
FES is working with Michael's Place to create grief groups to support Frankfort Elementary students who have experienced the death of a loved one. Letters and related Michael's Place forms can be found below.
Below is the link to a elementary appropriate video game called Interland. It's a Google-designed web-based game to help children learn to be safe online. In the game, children play through four mini-games, or "lands", where they learn to be good digital citizens. The games teach kids how to identify phishing scams, share information carefully, and be kind to others. The four "lands" in Interland are:
- Reality River: Learn to avoid being scammed by making the right choice when given three options
- Mindful Mountain: Learn to be careful about how much information you share
- Kind Kingdom: Learn to respect each other
- Tower of Treasure: Learn to secure your secrets
Elementary Counselor, Mrs. Kreft, shared this will the elementary staff, and we thought it was good to share with all of you!
Halloween is coming! We are planning our annual Halloween Parade on Main Street. We will start at 2:30 p.m. from the elementary. Please plan to watch us from 6th Street or Main. As you think about costumes for your child, please think about making it easy for them to walk along the parade route. Masks that cover the face may limit visibility and making falling more likely, and they should be able to layer and wear comfortable, safe walking shoes. Please avoid excessively scary, even if you child isn't scared, another child might be. And please, please, please, no weapons. More information next week as we have better weather information about times and the exact route.
FAQs Attendance letters were sent again this week--we send them about every five absences, and they are sent to everyone with absences not excused by a doctor's note. Appropriately, then, this week's topic is Attendance. What other topics would you like to know about? Let us know and we will address it.
The weather this week will be warmer at the start of the week, but layers are essential with very chilly mornings, and highs in the 50s by recess time. We follow the 50 degree rule: when temperatures go above 50 degrees, students may wear a jacket or sweatshirt instead of a coat, but should have a coat for 50 and below. Over sixty, we don't require they wear outerwear to go outside. Please make sure your child has appropriate gear (coats, sweatshirts, long pants) for all of the temperatures during the day. Thank you for your help!
Move This World for families for families is available for you to use at home. Connect with the same language as we use to talk about emotions and feelings. Check out the login information for families below.
Please! We need to hear from you! Does your child have an airborne food allergy? If so, please call or email Mrs. Aldrich in the elementary office.
We are here to help your child and you navigate preschool and elementary. Please reach out to your child's teacher or to me with any questions or concerns.
Best,
Anne
Anne Gwaltney, Principal
Frankfort Elementary School
Handle with Care
Handle with Care. If your child is coming to school with carrying extra concerns, we can help. Please contact the classroom teacher, me (agwaltney@frankfort.k12.mi.us), or Carrie Aldrich (contact information below) with an email, message, or call to let us know. We will be sure your child has extra support throughout the day.
Community Helper Fair! Thank you, volunteers, for a great day!
Administrative Assistant Carrie Aldrich
Attendance Letters
Attendance letters were sent out this week. These can be upsetting and unsettling. At the same time the school nurse is sending letters to say "stay home if you're sick", and the office sends a letter saying "you have this many absences". It doesn't feel great.
There are multiple purposes behind the letters, but the primary purpose is communication. The letter is a legal requirement of the school administration, and is 1) informational, 2) to invite a conversation, and 3) to problem solve how we can work together to help with attendance. We realize that there are reasons why your child may be absent from school which are reasonable (i.e. family vacations which cannot always happen during the school calendar's vacations or illnesses without a doctor's visit). Sometimes, the letters surprise families with the total number of absences and provide information to work on lessening them.The goal is never to report families for actual truancy charges, but to find a way for the home and school to work together, and in fact we rarely get to the courts with truancy, but follow the process to work to improve attendance.
Read about attendance in the handbook. Attendance is located on page 46. As always, call with questions.
Emotional Building Blocks help children describe feelings. "Cheat sheet" below!
Emogers: strategies to help children self-regulate. Good for home & school!
Elementary Behavior Incentive
Grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade will be working to earn an incentive this fall.
- If a student can go through the first quarter without any Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs), which ends on November 1, he/she can earn a special activity.
- It's a secret for now, but it's a good one!
- The good news is that the students who don't get written up include the vast majority of our students, so it shouldn't be difficult to earn.
- More information will be shared as we get closer to the actual event.
- Please encourage your child to be safe with their bodies, respectful to all people, and responsible by trying to do their best and making good choices.
Preschool: 7:45-2:45
Elementary: 8:05-3:05
Pics of students
October 21-25, 2024
Monday, 10.21
3rd Grade Girls' Basketball, 3:05-5 p.m.
Tuesday, 10.22
Chess Club, 3:05 p.m.
5th Grade Girls Basketball, 3:05-5 p.m.
Wednesday, 10.23
Early Release Wednesday, 12:30 dismissal for students
5th Grade Girls Basketball, 3:05-5 p.m.
4th Grade Girls Basketball, 5-6 p.m.
Thursday, 10.24
K-2 and 3-5 Art Clubs, 3:05 p.m.
4th Grade Girls Basketball, 5-6 p.m.
Friday, 10.25
3rd Grade Girls' Basketball, 3:05-5 p.m.
4th Grade Girls Basketball, 5-6 p.m.
Upcoming:
October 31--Halloween Parade, 2:30 p.m.
November 5--No school for students
November 9--"Can Do Carnival" (see flyer below!)
November 20--Early Release Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. dismissal
November 27--12:30 p.m. Dismissal, Thanksgiving break
Drop Off and Pick Up information🚙🚙
Drop Offs:
- All student drop offs are along Leelanau Avenue.
- Please park on 6th Street and bring your child to the Preschool entrance.
- Preschool drop off is at 7:45 a.m. Preschool teachers will greet students and walk them to their classrooms.
- Kindergarten-grade 5 doors open at 7:55 a.m. and school begins at 8:05. Students dropped off early, will line up by grade to be admitted. In times of inclement weather, students will be invited to stand on tiled areas inside the building until 7:55 a.m.
- Kindergarten and grade 1 enter at the west set of entry doors on Leelanau.
- Grades 2 and 5 enter through the east set of doors on Leelanau.
- Grades three and four walk up the cement steps facing Leelanau and into the doors facing M-22.
- No cars are permitted in the elementary parking lot turn around from 7:45 to 8:10 a.m. to allow buses to move easily through the turn around.
Pick Ups:
- All student pick ups are along Leelanau Avenue.
- Your K-6 grade child will receive a number (with the same number for all students of a single family) for pickups. If your child does not receive a number by the end of the first week, please call Carrie Aldrich at 352-7601 to obtain a number.
- When you pull up, your number will be radioed into the school, and students will be dismissed by number, including families with upper and lower grade children.
- Please continue to pull up as far as possible to help the line move more easily. Adults will help your child get to your car.
- If you are a returning student, the number will be the same as last year’s.
- Preschool pickup is at 2:45 p.m.
- Kindergarten-grade 5 pick up is at 3:05 p.m.
- No cars are permitted in the elementary parking lot turn around from 2:45 to 3:10 p.m. to allow for buses to move easily through the turn around.
There is absolutely NO parking on Leelanau Avenue, morning or afternoon. If you wish to walk your child to or pick your child up from the door, please park on one of the side streets--5th or 6th or along the wire fence on M-22.
Safety is our number one concern during drop off and pickup. Thanks in advance for your patience , care, and consideration during the first week's drop off and pick up. It will be faster after everyone gets used to being in or back in carline.
Click here to see a map of Carline.
Frankfort Elementary is a peanut-nut tree-nut free building!
School breakfast and lunch are free for all students this year!
Students who select the required elements (entree, fruit or vegetable, and milk) eat for free for 2024-2025. Please be sure to fill out the free and reduced paperwork anyway so the school has free and reduced qualifications for reporting and funding. Thank you in advance!
Half Day (12:30) Dismissal
October 23 (ERW)
November 20 (ERW)
November 27 (1/2 day for students and staff)
December 11 (ERW)
January 24 (1/2 day for students)
January 29 (ERW)
February 26 (ERW)
March 7 (1/2 day for students and staff)
March 12 (ERW)
April 16 (ERW)
May 21 (ERW)