• School Resumes

• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• Middle School - Library Book Check Out 1:00-1:25

• April 20th - 4:00 Board Meeting
  
• May 7th - No School - Teacher In-Service Day
• May 9th - Mother's Day
• May 31st - No School - Memorial Day

Several of our sections are filling up quickly. If you know someone interested in learning more about our program or interested in a customized, virtual tour, please encourage them to reach out to:

Admissions Director, Natalie Bennett:

nbennett@thefranklin.academy

360.733.1750.ext 1509

Salim & Nadia Boulos | 3rd and 5th Grade Parents

We have been with The Franklin Academy since Preschool. Our kids absolutely love going to school and have evolved into responsible lifelong learners. The immersive program at the school is very comprehensive, from stellar academics in the classroom to experiential education through field trips and service projects outside the classroom (we are excited for that to resume after COVID-19). The school's ability to keep our kids safe and keep school going in-person during COVID-19 has been tremendous. The school's engaging curriculum has made our daughter's transition to middle school especially smooth. The fun and educational electives she has been taking this year, from Weight Training, to Nature Exploration, National Geographic GeoBee, Creative Writing Workshop, and many more, have added normalcy back into these unusual times and have given her something to look forward to!

In Makerspace this week, students tested their egg drop contraptions. The goal of this project was to make something that allows an egg to survive a drop of approximately 30 feet. Students were given a budget that they could purchase limited supplies with, some of those items being tissue paper, paper towel rolls, string, cotton balls, straws, rubber bands, and tape. All three teams created a contraption that allowed the eggs to survive!

Ms. Harris

Science Specialist

Mrs. Jorgensen and Mrs. Brewin had a great engineering challenge for their 1st Grade students!

Mrs. Jorgensen shared:

"We had a STEM project in science. We had to build a Peeps Nest that kept the marshmallow peep off the ground. The kids could only use gum drops and toothpicks to accomplish this task! Attached are pictures of the completed nests!"

Great work everyone!

Ms. Dizon shared this:

"We did a couple of rainbow experiments. Last week was “Walking Rainbow” and this week was “M and M Rainbow”. Both experiments created beautiful colors when each color mixed with the other colors."

Classed today enjoyed an Easter Bunny hopped around and helping with events like the preschool egg hunt. There is no doubt lots of joy was delivered to kids and adults alike by this surprise visit.

*Special thanks to our beloved Librarian Treasure Samuel for recruiting her husband's volunteer efforts.

"Students had a great time learning about the Terra Cotta Soldiers of Ancient China today in Social Studies. They were able to recreate their own imaginative version and replicate the idea of each representing unique individual with specific roles. Miniature replicas of these ancient soldiers offered inspiration to work from."

Brekke Bull - Social Studies Specialist

Last week the children’s literature community, and readers everywhere, were sad to hear of the passing of beloved author Beverly Cleary. She was 104! Amazing!

To honor her prolific writing, we have displayed her books in both school libraries and encouraged students to check her books out. At Markell Hall, I have also been proudly telling them that Ms. Cleary started off as a librarian (in Yakima!) and graduated from the same Library School that I graduated from (The University of Washington).

Both Mrs. Snyder and I wanted to reminisce on the impact Ms. Cleary has had on us, so please indulge us for a moment, and feel free to do your own reminiscing!

I reread Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and The Mouse and the Motorcycle countless times when I was growing up, and I can still remember watching the made for TV movie of The Mouse and the Motorcycle on Saturday afternoons. I grew up in the country and without cable, so I had to watch whatever was on the three channels we did get, so I saw that particular movie a lot! I looked up the movie details, and discovered that it is an “ABC Weekend Special” from 1986! It stars a VERY young Fred Savage. Definitely a walk down memory lane! I can also still hear my third grade teacher, Miss Tyler, reading us Ramona Forever every day after lunch.

Mrs. Snyder writes: In elementary school, Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors. In fact, it was my mom who got me started reading her books because she was HER favorite author as a child. Why did I like her books so much? Cleary's writing was often witty and always filled with some sort of adventure and/or dilemma that was relatable.

My personal favorite was Ramona Quimby, Age 8, in large part because of the incident with the egg. (I won't spoil it for you). Why is she still revered as one of the greatest children's authors? Regardless of the decade they were written in, her characters connect with the reader and deal with situations that are still relevant for children, like family dynamics and friendships. If your child isn't ready to read chapter books on their own, they make for great read alouds!

Thank you to the many children’s authors who touch our lives!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Samuel and Mrs. Snyder

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Ramona.

Ramona, who?

Ramona gonna say this one more time, no more knock-knock jokes!

"Today was a fantastic day! I got up at 4:30am, just so I could get to school early & do a prank on the kids for April Fool's day. I made signs to put all over over school, talked to a few teachers, & sent an email to them about my Fruity Hunt! The kids reactions were hilarious! Edit: The sink was filled with white tempera paint and water with the Fruit Loops. I told the kids it was bad milk, so they couldn't eat it."

Rachel Simpson Art Specialist is having some silly fun!

My brother's and his family live in Los Angeles, and when all of our kids were young one of our favorite places to visit was the Skirball Cultural Center. The Noah's Ark exhibit is amazing! I am missing my nieces and nephews after a year of COVID-19 quarantine and I have been reflecting on the fun we have had together, and I wanted to share this special place with you.

Below is some information from the Skirball website and I included the video welcome to Noah's Ark. There are several other storytelling videos on their website.

I hope you enjoy the amazing animals and great storytelling!

Heather Black

About Noah’s Ark

"Extraordinary … A celebration of play, inspiring fascination, reviving wonder."
—The New York Times

Aboard Noah’s Ark at the Skirball™, the award-winning children's and family destination that's the talk of the town, visitors of all generations play, climb, build, explore, make believe, and make friends—all while exploring a floor-to-ceiling wooden ark, filled to the rafters with whimsical animals. Share in a timeless story—and together envision a better world.

Now open for virtual boarding! Announcing Noah’s Ark at the Skirball: The Art of Imagination, bringing the wonder of Noah’s Ark into your classrooms and homes during our temporary closure. Explore this suite of vibrant new digital content, including six videos—now streaming on YouTube for all to enjoy—in which some of your favorite Noah’s Ark educators retell age-old flood stories and guide children through mindfulness exercises. While watching, your class or family can revisit the one-of-a-kind artistry of the Noah’s Ark galleries.

Travel During Spring Break

On March 19, Jay Inslee rescinded his November 2020 Travel Advisory and is now advising Washingtonians and others visiting Washington to comply with the CDC’s Travel During COVID-19 guidance.

Franklin Academy Travel Policy

Please know that The Franklin Academy is not encouraging families to travel at this time. But if you must travel, this is our policy to return to school:

1. Quarantine at home for a full 7 days, and

2. Negative PCR COVID-19 test (no sooner than 48 hours) before returning to school

*If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel

Example Return to School Timeline

• Return home: Saturday, April 10th

• Last day of 7 day quarantine: Saturday, April 17th

• Negative COVID Test: Saturday, April 17th or Sunday, April 18th

• Cleared to return to school Monday, April 19th

Fully Vaccinated and Traveling

At this time, the CDC has not updated their travel recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals. Even though other industries may be seeing an easing in restrictions due to the vaccine rollout, the DOH and CDC have not updated their guidance for schools yet. Therefore, at this time, we cannot update our school policy. This means our travel policy is the same for everyone, vaccinated or not.

How Long Should Someone With COVID Symptoms Stay Home?

Symptom Categories

The Washington Department of Health K-12 guidance for screening individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 states that symptoms consistent with COVID-19 have been broken down into two categories:

• Class A: fever (≥100.4°F), cough, loss of sense of taste/smell, shortness of breath

• Class B: fatigue, headache, muscle/body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea (2 or more loose stools in 24hrs)

Franklin Academy’s COVID-19 Policy

Franklin Academy requires that a student stays home for at least 10 days if they exhibit any Class A symptoms, two or more Class B symptoms, OR one Class B symptom for over 24 hours. In addition, the student needs to be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing drugs and exhibit symptom improvement.

To return to school sooner than 10 days, parents must provide the school with one of the following documents:

• Negative COVID-19 test

• Doctor’s note verifying symptoms are not due to COVID-19

Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school safe and healthy!

Sincerely,

Teresa Hubbell, BSN, RN

The Franklin Academy

If you shop at Amazon.com, this is a great opportunity to raise money for Franklin Academy. Sign up at Amazon Smile and 0.5% of your purchase price will go towards the FA Annual Fund. Here’s how:

1. Go to Amazon Smile
2. In the “pick your own charitable organization” box type in Franklin Preschool
3. Click on the Bellingham Franklin Academy (may still be listed under St. Paul’s Episcopal School through the summer)
4. Very Important! Please make sure whenever you shop on Amazon you go to the Amazon Smile webpage. If you shop on Amazon.com we won’t receive the donation.

A supportive community with STEM focused education in a safe, small class environment for all grades.

Website: https://thefranklin.academy/
Location: 1509 East Victor Street, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 733-1750
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FranklinAcademyBellingham/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARBJZqnuWM2fzJSJOXO6X6qVO60w_ijnQdCgtmUFYZCSwnd0NO7wI_Jgq5_odVo2A3bLV76Yg91UH5TB

Gretchen Bucsko, Head of School: gbucsko@thefranklin.academy

Katie den Hartog, Associate Head of School, kdenhartog@thefranklin.academy

Dawn Regier, Administrative Assistant, dregier@thefranklin.academy

Rachel Lee, Administrative Assistant, rlee@thefranklin.academy

Natalie Bennett, Admissions Director, nbennett@thefranklin.academy