Dear BFMS Students and Families,

As we move into October, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for the continued support we’ve received from our school community. Together, we have navigated some challenging situations this fall, and your patience and collaboration have been key to ensuring a strong start to the year.

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for our Early Out day on October 10th, and make plans accordingly. Additionally, our fall activities are in full swing! I encourage you to check the school calendar for upcoming events and show your support for our students as they participate in a variety of activities.

Additionally, we are looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 17th and 22nd from 4:15-8:15 PM. This is a great opportunity to connect with your child’s teachers and discuss their progress as we move forward in the school year.

Thank you again for being such an integral part of the BFMS family. Let’s continue to make this a great year!

All my best,

Mrs. Kirstin Hanson

Principal

8th Grade Principal

Ben Franklin Middle School

Our first Early Out Day of the 2024-25 school year is Thursday, October 10th followed by no school on Friday, October 11th or Monday, October 14th.

Below is the schedule we will run on Early Out Days. Busses will run 2 hours early as well.

Fargo Public Schools will have 4 Early Out school days for students this school year. Students will be dismissed two hours early at each building.

The dates of the early out days are:

Thursday, October 10

Friday, December 20

Friday, February 14

Friday, March 14

We understand that early release days may cause some inconvenience for parents and guardians, but this is an important step towards improving our teaching practices and ultimately benefiting our students' learning outcomes. We appreciate your understanding and support in this matter.

The early dismissal will allow our teaching staff to gather in an extended Professional Learning Community (PLC). Teachers will be focusing on analyzing student data, setting goals for student learning, and reviewing and planning research-based instructional strategies for students who need support and those who need enrichment. Teachers will collaborate with grade or content-level peers to review, reflect, and learn from each other in meeting students' needs.

There will be NO SCHOOL next Friday, October 11 and Monday, October 14 due to a vacation day and the Indigenous Peoples' Day holiday.

Classes will resume as regularly scheduled on Tuesday, October 15.

Ben Franklin Middle School, along with all Fargo schools, is engaged in an ongoing continuous improvement process, of which all stakeholders are a part.

Surveys provide school leaders and teachers a window into the perceptions of all stakeholders. The results of this survey will help us identify areas of strength and those that need improvement in regard to the school’s climate and culture. The results will enable us to make improvements focused on building positive school culture.

This survey is anonymous, takes about 15 minutes to complete, and is smartphone compatible, too. The deadline to complete the survey is October 31st, thank you in advance for your participation.

Pictures and student IDs will be handed out this week for students to take home.

Picture retakes will be on October 9th.

Students that were absent on picture day and any new students will already be scheduled for retakes. If retakes are needed for students who did get their pictures taken on the original day but desire a retake, you will need to see Mrs. Berg in the main office to return your picture envelope by Tuesday, Oct. 8th, so we can get you on the retake schedule.

http://Scherling.PreOrderPhotos.com/?AccessCode=E76JA4

You can find more information on Liz's Closet linked here.

Fargo Public Schools is excited to introduce the Mental Health Series Platform from ParentGuidance.org, a powerful new resource designed to support family mental health and well-being. Experts agree that adult involvement is important in a child's success. When caregivers have helpful tools, it benefits children, strengthens families, and contributes to a thriving community.

The Mental Health Series features virtual events each day in October, discussing a wide variety of topics. This month's focus session is "Helping Your Child to Succeed" with live sessions on Tuesday, October 2 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. There is also an "Ask a Therapist" live session on Wednesday, October 23 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. View the full calendar. Register at this link or contact info@cookcenter.org for registration help and support.

The North Dakota state legislature passed HB 1087, requiring all students to demonstrate proficiency in civics as a requirement for high school graduation.

Every middle school in the district will be offering that test to students in grade eight this year. The information on the civics test is closely related to the material covered in eighth grade American History. Students who do not demonstrate proficiency (70% or above) will have the opportunity to take the test again during high school. There is no penalty for taking the test multiple times and there is never a fee to take the test.

The questions for the civics test are taken from the federal government’s Naturalization Test.

If you have questions or would like further information, please feel free to contact one of our 8th grade history teachers. Jessica Rice 8-1 (ricej@fargo.k12.nd.us), Ryan Gravalin 8-2 (gravalr@fargo.k12.nd.us), or Samuel Hammond 8-3 (hammons@fargo.k12.nd.us).

Every student locker is equipped with a combination padlock loaned by the school. Students cannot use personal locks on their lockers.

Lockers should be kept locked at all times and combinations should not be shared with other students.

As the year has gotten underway, we see students who are sharing lockers and locker combinations. Student locker combinations are also student PLD combinations. Please speak with your BFMS student about keeping this information private as it has potential to put them at risk of being in violation of school policies should the people they have shared their combination with be making inappropriate choices.

Lost or stolen locks will be paid for by family. The charge for a lost lock is $8.

Gifted Services Paperwork Update from Kim Rensch, Gifted Services Facilitator:

Families of students in middle school gifted services may find their child’s fall individualized learning plan (ILP) or spring progress report in PowerSchool’s document storage area. ILPs are uploaded into PowerSchool document storage after semester 1 in January, while spring progress reports are uploaded after the end of the school year. Both ILP’s and progress reports from the 2023-24 school year are now available.

Due to the volume of students in middle school gifted services, it is not possible to fill each ILP or progress report with the kind of personalized information families would have seen at the elementary level. Please direct specific questions about your child’s progress to their classroom teacher.

The PTO will be feeding our staff during October conferences. Please sign up to bring items for a taco bar at: https://signup.com/go/whJWxxi

or donate via venmo @BenFranklinFargoPTO.

Our next meeting is November 4th at 6pm in the Ben Franklin library.

Ben Franklin has a hired a full time school nurse!

Jacki Kruse officially started her position at Ben Franklin this past week.

Mrs. Kruse can be reached at bfnurse@fargo.k12.nd.us or (701)446-3640.

Medication Reminders:

If your student will be taking medication 2024-25 school year and has a doctor’s appointment this summer:

* please get a prescription for the medication from your provider. You may also ask the pharmacy to make a 2nd bottle that will be labeled appropriately for administering at school.

* If your student should need to take medication at school anytime during the year, please get a prescription from the provider, original bottle from the pharmacy (no zip bags or envelopes!) and parent, please bring to the school nurse.

Want to join us for Spirit Wear Friday during the 2024-2025 school year by purchasing and wearing your own gear to show your Ben Franklin support?

Ben Franklin's School Store is here to help. Follow the link below to find items for purchase. Please note all orders will come directly to your home address as this is a third party company.

• At the end of the 2024-2025 school year 60%, or 530, BFMS students will be proficient on 100% of the Skills in All Content Areas.

• At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the average score of secondary students who believe all students are treated with respect will increase compared to the 2023-2024 school year.

• By the end of the 2024-2025 school year 90%, or 797, BFMS students will identify a trusted adult as measured by counseling minute meetings twice per year.
• Behaviors reported to occur in the classroom will decrease from the start to the end of the 2024-2025 school year as measured by the PowerSchool reporting form and/or EduClimber Data.
• The number of periods of TRU-IS (In School Truancy) will decrease as compared to the 2023-2024 school year as measured by PowerSchool Attendance Report monthly.

Communicating with parents and families is always our goal at Ben Franklin Middle School.

You may subscribe to Ben Franklin's Newsletter and Daily Announcements on our website by going to “Content E-Alerts” on our website. Parents/guardians can sign up to receive alerts about new Daily Announcements, Newsletters, etc., for each school your students attend. E-Alerts are sent to users who have subscribed to a homepage or website section of interest. You will receive an email notification that content has been modified.

You may also want to add our school calendar to your personal calendar. This will help you stay informed about all the activities that are happening at Ben Franklin.

Kirstin Hanson, Principal

Jennifer Olson, Assistant Principal

Matt Quintus, Assistant Principal/Activities Director

Jacob Snyder, Dean of Students

Website: https://www.fargo.k12.nd.us/benfranklin
Location: 1420 8th Street North, Fargo, ND, USA
Phone: 701-446-3600