The Mid Year PTA President Report
Dear Franklin Friends and Families –
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the first half of the year as we move into the final few, very, fast-paced, months of school. Our Franklin community continues to come together to do so many fantastic things for our kiddos and, for that, I thank you all!
As I began this year, in my second term, as your PTA President, I focused on wanting to continue what we started last year by focusing on our Franklin Community. In the Fall, I watched us all come together at our Back-to-School Picnic and then again with our first ever All Campus Camp Out - wow, was that fun, and kudos to the parents who slept over! We have had some very informative Parent Eds, like Inclusion Matters and Homework Skills. The Mile Club, Art Cart, and Gardening Club meet weekly. Students competed in the annual Reflections art contest, and we continued with Library Crafts, Book Club, Book Cafe, our annual Book Swap, and our beloved Holiday Book Fair. We sponsored a BMX Anti Bullying Assembly, which I am sure your kiddos raved about! And the Science Club meets monthly, in fact, last week they went to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
We competed in the city-wide Bike It, Walk It, Bus It to School event. And while we didn't take home the Golden Sneaker this time, hundreds of our families participated in a moving caravan from Douglas Park to Franklin. This led to our campus wide annual fundraiser, the Franklin Move-a-thon, our most successful fundraiser yet, with almost 100% school wide participation. The success of the Move-a-thon allows our PTA to generously provide our school with continued, robust programming and enrichment which I mentioned above and will below.
I am very proud that we were able to update the exterior of our school with a new modernized Franklin school mural. This is truly a gift from the PTA as it represents our school's core values. It showcases Ben Franklin, his inventions, and how they are represented in the present day. Next, you will see the garden being planted.
Field Trips for all grade levels have been scheduled and the places they will go are impressive!
TK - Cayton Museum and Underwood Farms
K - Eco Station and Cayton Museum
1st - Leonis Adobe and the Morgan Wixson Theater
2nd - Getty Center and Malibu Lagoon State Beach
3rd - Santa Monica Conservatory, Santa Monica History Museum and Santa Monica City Hall
4th Grade - San Juan Capistrano Mission and Knotts Berry Farm
5th Grade - California Weekly Explorer (reenactment of American Revolution) and CELP
Now for a run down for the last half of the year!
Science Fair will be held Thursday, March 21st
5th graders will head off to Catalina the week we are back from Spring Break for the 3-day overnight camp, April 8-10
Math Olympiad will take place again with competition on April 13th
Math Intervention is now being offered for students who are in need of additional support
Multicultural Fair will be bigger than ever on Thursday, April 18th. Last year we had a HUGE turn out with 26 host tables ranging from Australia to Vietnam, 6 performing groups ranging from KPop to Tae Kwan Do, and over 400 “tourist” students and their families! It’s sure to be the event of the spring.
Movie Night will be on April 19th
Play It Safe Assembly (stranger danger and tricky people) on April 26th
Our second School Beautification will take place on April 27th
Honorary Service Awards recognizing parent volunteers on May 8th
School Mural and Garden dedication on May 9th
Spring Book Fair, May 21st - 23rd
5th Grade Culmination is June 10th, 5th Grade Party is on June 11th
Last day of school is June 12th
Our parent volunteers on the PTA work to make this happen with our school administrators. You too can join in this fun by doing the following:
Join the Franklin PTA - $10 annual membership fee
Join the PTA Executive Board, there is still time
Donate to the Annual Fund
Sign up for the Franklin Flash weekly newsletter
Visit our website www.franklinschoolpta.org for the latest happenings and school calendar
Attend our monthly PTA meetings
How is that for busy and robust?!?! We truly have something for everyone.
Have a great second half of the year!
Ann Bash
PTA President
Franklin Elementary School
