The Bridge Newsletter

November 2nd, 2023

Owl-o-ween Pictures

Staff, students, clients and participants all had a great Owl-o-ween! Enjoy some pictures of a couple creative costumes:

Classroom Highlight: Wolf Creek

By Maggie Jensen

Wolf Creek is off to a great start this year! We are in a good groove with our routines and schedule and have started working hard on our academic units. October brought with it a lot of fun and spooky activities to celebrate Halloween and the change of the seasons. In Science, units focused on the four seasons and spiders. In Social Studies and Social Skills we completed integrated units on ourselves and our families to talk about how we can celebrate what makes us unique and special while always being kind to one another. 

A real highlight from our seasons unit was learning our “seasons dance” where students started as a young tree (spring), bloomed and grew (summer), had our leaves fall to the ground (autumn), and stood tall with bare branches (winter). This activity served as a great active learning experience and also a super fun and silly way to wrap up our unit! 

In Reading and Math the class got to transform into detectives to help solve the Case of the Missing Candy. Each day students worked to complete Reading and Math tasks to earn clues that helped to solve our mystery and return the candy to the animals of Booville before Halloween! 

As a class we also enjoyed having our first classroom party of the year to celebrate Halloween. Some highlights included making predictions of Ms. Maggie’s Halloween costume, designing our own pumpkins, playing BINGO, and of course Trick or Treating around Franklin Center! 

We are very excited to continue on with such a great school year in Wolf Creek!

Career Exploration Class Guest Speaker

The Career Exploration class recently welcomed Mark Zeman of Zeman Construction into our class as a guest speaker. The class is currently learning about careers in Architecture and Construction, and Mr. Zeman graciously offered to come in and speak about his company and what it's like to work in the construction field. He highlighted many career fields - from architects to painters to electrical engineers to plumbers - that have to come together and communicate effectively in order to bring a construction project to life. He even brought in the Franklin Center's original building plans to share with the class!

Coffee and Convos

Franklin Center's Coffee and Convo events provide a fun way to get to know other parents or caregivers in our community. Stop in for coffee and breakfast treats, often made by our Culinary Science class, next Thursday, November 9th at 8:00 am in our beautiful community room.

If you have any questions, contact the Office at office@franklinmn.org

Parent Connection Donation

Hello Parents,

It’s hard to believe that it is already November and school is well under way. We are

excited to introduce our former PTO as Franklin Parent Connection. Some of the

ways we will be connecting throughout the year include events such as the

Book Fair, a spring social for the students, and Teacher Appreciation

Week in May.

Parent Connection events are funded by families. We are asking for a suggested

contribution of $20-$50 per family to cover our yearly events. You can pay by

using Venmo @Donna-Grubka or send a check made out to Franklin Academy

with “Parent Connection” in the memo.

If you are interested in learning more or helping out with Parent Connection events, please email me at donna.grubka@franklinmn.org. We will also have volunteer sign-ups throughout the year for various events.

Thank you for your support. Looking forward to a fun year of connecting!

Sincerely,

Donna Grubka

Parent Connection Chair

SAVE THE DATE! Join us for Danny and Steve's 3rd Annual Holiday Open House

Franklin Center parents Danny Della Lana and Steve Hall invite all Franklin Center parents, caregivers, board members, and staff to celebrate the season on Friday, December 15th from 6:00-9:00 pm at their home, 1920 Pillsbury Ave South, Minneapolis.

We also will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Franklin Center since its founding as a non-profit!

You may park on the street in front of their home, or the parking lot located next door at 204 W Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Questions? Contact Maureen at maureen.maher@franklinmn.org. We hope you can come to build friendships and connections within the Franklin Center community.

Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails will be served at this adults-only gathering. Please RSVP by December 2nd!

Franklin Capstone Early Decision Application

Franklin Capstone early decision application is open now through December 15th for Fall 2024. Both space and financial aid are limited! Head to our website to learn more and apply today!

If you have any questions, please contact capstone@franklinmn.org.

This year, Franklin Center celebrates 20 years of transforming lives. What better way to celebrate than to tell your stories? Here's one amazing story (thank you Aki!).

If you have one to share, email Kelsey.Goth@franklinmn. (It doesn't have to be a long story — it could be as simple as a "before & after" anecdote!)

Unified Basketball

Basketball is back- join our team! Up to 20 Franklin students can join our team with Breck students. Learn new skills, be a part of a team and play in tournaments! Practices are 3:30-4:30 pm on Thursdays, December 7th through February 15th. The regional tournament is January 21st, which will determine if we play in the state tournament (February 15th).

Please register with Special Olympics and on Blackbaud by December 7th. The Special Olympics application can be found here. Register as a Traditional Athlete ("Delegation" is Franklin Center).

Contact Amy Higgins (parent Special Olympics coordinator) if you have any questions about registering with Special Olympics at amykhiggins16@gmail.com or 650-269-7081.

Activity Days

Mark your calendars for our upcoming Activity Days! We've planned an array of exciting activities to keep students entertained and engaged on days with no school. To register, log into your Blackbaud Tuition Management account. Please note: More details to come for 2024 winter/ spring Activity Days. Learn more in the flyer below:



If you have any questions related to after-school activities or Activity Days, please contact Chloe at chloe.herzog@franklinmn.org

Please note there is no AM Owl's Nest on Activity Days. PM Owl's Nest is 3:10-4:30.

Owl's Nest

Owl's Nest is a before and after school program available Monday-Friday. The program provides a safe, fun and productive environment for Franklin Academy students while their parents are at work.

If you have any questions about Owl's Nest, please contact Austin, our Owl's Nest Senior Classroom Behavior Therapist, at austin.gumbiner@franklinmn.org

Session Two Clubs Announced!

Mark your calendars for Session Two Clubs! Registration on Blackbaud will open next Thursday, November 9th. Please review the flyers below and if you have any questions, contact Chloe at chloe.herzog@franklinmn.org

Kade Drechsler, Manager of Curriculum and Instruction

Grace Fitch, Academy Behavior Team Lead

We are thrilled to introduce our exciting new social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, which we will be implementing at Franklin - from the Minnehaha classroom, all the way through High School. While we have been addressing SEL skills and explicitly teaching them each day, the innovative program, known as 'Second Step,' is designed to empower our students with essential social and emotional skills. These skills will not only contribute to their overall well-being and success in life but will also enhance students’ academic performance.

The program aims to create a safe and supportive environment where students can develop the emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills necessary for success at school, at home, and in life. By incorporating executive functioning skills into the curriculum, Second Step also equips students with the tools they need to excel academically and navigate various life challenges effectively. Students receive explicit instruction to support the development of an ability to plan, set goals, organize tasks, manage their time, and control their impulses, among other executive functioning skills. Each aspect of the CASEL Social-Emotional Learning Standards, recommended by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), is covered and continually reinforced throughout the interactive, engaging, and developmentally appropriate lessons. 

Second Step also offers many resources and tools that parents can use to complement their child's education. Visit this website to learn more and expect to receive letters, updates, and questions to ask at home from your child’s SEL teacher. If you have any questions, please reach out! 

Warmly,

Kade Drechsler and Grace Fitch

Donna Grubka

Parent Connections

donna.grubka@franklinmn.org

Kim Snow

Executive Director

kim.snow@franklinmn.org

Kim Strandemo

Academy Principal

kim.strandemo@franklinmn.org