Franklin Middle School

Good Morning Franklin Middle School Families: Due to internet and phone issues our office is closed today, Thursday, August 12th. Mrs. Baca jbaca@gm.sau18.org Mr. Trafton jtrafton@gm.sau18.org and I kdarsney@gm.sau18.org will be working from home and monitoring email if you need to get in touch. We are planning to reopen tomorrow during our normal Summer Friday Hours 6:30-12:30. Have a great day! D

Dear Franklin Families, I hope you are enjoying the summer and looking forward to the warmer weather next week as much as I am! I would like to thank all of our students and families that participated in our extended summer school programming. It was great to see student's smiling faces learning with their peers. I am also happy to report that we had 0 reported cases of COVID-19 during our summer session. As we prepare for the opening of school on September 7th, I wanted to share with you where we are with the pandemic and its impact on our planning. Please know that I am monitoring community transmission rates, Franklin's vaccination rates, and Franklin's active case counts continuously as this is a fluid situation as we head back to school in the fall. We remain committed to our plan communicated at the end of June in providing full day in-person learning for all of our students. You will recall that we were dismissing one hour early each day last year so that we could provide remote learning. That will not occur as I do not expect that remote learning will be continued this fall. In regard to our mask usage, safety protocols and cleaning procedures, we are working on our plan and will release a draft of the plan to the public on Monday, August 16th for public comment and input. We anticipate more guidance midweek from the NH Department of Public Health in regard to these issues. What we know for sure at this point is that masks are mandatory on all school buses per federal mandate. If the transmission rates and case counts rise, I expect that masks will be implemented to some degree when we reopen schools in September. The Franklin School Board will be meeting on August 23rd at 6:00 in the Franklin High School cafeteria to discuss and approve the plan. The public, as always, is welcome to attend. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions and enjoy the rest of your summer. Sincerely, Dan LeGallo SAU 18 Superintendent

Dear Franklin Families, Our food service department will continue to deliver meals using our buses 5 days a week through September 3rd. Additionally, hot meals will continue to be served at our middle school cafeteria window until 12:00 each day. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Dan LeGallo SAU 18 Superintendent

Good Morning FMS Families The Franklin Middle School office will be closing today, Wednesday July 28th, at 9:00 a.m. We will reopen tomorrow, Thursday, at 6:30. Have a great day! Mr. D

Thank you Franklin Fire Department for visiting our school today! The kids really learned a lot about your work and fire safety! More pics: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nziq7orU2kgBfSDM7

Good Morning FMS Families As you know, we are having Summer School here at FMS from Monday, June 28 to Thursday, August 5. School is Monday-Thursday from 8:15 to 12:15. We provide breakfast and lunch, but please be sure to send your child with water or a refillable water bottle and a snack. There will be no school on Monday, July 5 to celebrate the Independence Day Holiday. There is still a limited number of openings. If you are interested please contact the school. Have a nice, safe Independence Day Holiday and say hi to your kids for me! D

Egg Drop Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LKp1GFi95T4QED4j9 Sorry about that! Thanks again Jillian!

On Friday, June 11, Franklin Fire brought their Platform Truck so the Grades 4-6 Winni Middle Students could test their skills with an EPIC EGG DROP!!! (Sadly, I cannot report that no eggs were harmed!) Thank you grade 4 Conrad's mom, Jillian Tarr for great pictures!

On Thursday, June 10, we hosted our first Amazing Gr8 Outdoor Celebration!!! Thank you Outdoor New England (ONE), Smitty's, Dairy Queen, Altitude Trampoline Park, Gunstock, Pizza Chef, FunSpot, Dipsy Doodle, Art Escape, Arnie's Place, and NH Distributors, for generous donations of raffle prizes, and especially Franklin Fire Department for an outstanding Cookout!!! Many thanks to our dedicated Gr8 Teachers, Staff and Counselors for giving up their evening to make it happen and our incredible Mrs. Baca for putting it all together!!! https://photos.app.goo.gl/CSv6XUjs3TzMYKjz5

Good Morning FMS Families Sorry for the late notice but we spent all day yesterday preparing for Grade 8 Graduation and it was awesome! This morning at 8:00 we will be broadcasting Academic and Athletic Awards on our YouTube Channel. Tune in to: https://bit.ly/3cX4stm Have a great summer, thanks for a great year, and congratulations to the FMS and FHS classes of 2021! Mr. Trafton and Mr. D

Good Afternoon Grade 8 Graduation tonight!!! The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on YouTube https://bit.ly/3cX4stm Congratulations FMS Class of 2021!! Mr. Trafton and Mr. D

Good Afternoon 8th Grade Families, I am pleased to share with you that we are going to be able to open up 8th grade graduation on Monday evening at the middle school to all who would like to attend. We will still have 4 reserved seats for each family but other family members are welcome to attend and sit in the extra seats or bring chairs and sit out on the soccer field. It is predicted to be a hot evening Monday so be sure to bring some water and we will have water available for the students. Looking forward to celebrating our 8th graders on Monday night. Sincerely, Dan LeGallo SAU 18 Superintendent

Good Afternoon Franklin Families, We have received updated guidance today from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the use of masks in school. Due to low community spread of the virus, DHHS recommends removing the mask mandate indoors for staff and students. Starting tomorrow, mask use will be optional in the schools regardless of vaccination status. Masks will still be required on the school buses at this point in time. Please inform your student's school if you would still prefer that your child wear a mask while indoors. This guidance will apply to our summer school program as well which begins on June 28th. Please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely, Dan LeGallo SAU 18 Superintendent

Here's a link to more Class Day Parade Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/szD9A9wxTgNYaH59A

On Thursday, June 10, in keeping with the Franklin NH tradition of the last Class Day Parade in America, Franklin Middle School held our own neighborhood parade! Thank you our many devoted fans and to those who contributed photos, especially Hunter LaFlamme's dad, Robbie! Here's the link to more pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AYWO_sAz7kSfAT1gtdbAc65t10hvwVBO?usp=sharing

The Paul Smith School Parade is ON for 1:00 pm today! We look forward to seeing you there!.

Al’s Village Pizza and FHS Male Athlete Of The Week

Al’s Village Pizza and FHS Female Athlete Of The Week

Dear Franklin Families, I have received updated mask guidance from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) regarding outdoor mask usage. I have included a link below to their latest guidance document. Please refier to this website for details. https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/covid19/documents/school-call-presentation-060221.pdf The guidance recommends that masks no longer need to be worn outside in the school setting regardless of a student or staff member's vaccination status (slide 11 of the guidance document below.) The guidance does suggest we continue to social distance outside to the extent possible. Effective at the end of the day today, per the DHHS guidance, we will no longer require staff or students to wear masks while in an outdoor school setting. This includes recess, athletics, after school outdoor events such as the prom this Saturday night, outdoor graduations, parades etc... Our mask policies remain unchanged in the indoor setting. Masks will still be worn by all indoors when 6 ft. distancing cannot be maintained. Please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely, Dan LeGallo SAU 18 Superintendent

Good morning! With June events and summer coming up, it is a good time to pause and remember that as we celebrate our young people, their accomplishments, and rites of passage, our first priority is to keep them safe. Most underage drinkers get their alcohol from adults. In 2004 the NH Legislature passed a law (RSA 644:18) to hold “hosts” of parties responsible for the actions of underage participants. This law can be applied to any adult. The attached flyer from the Franklin Mayor's Drug Task Force provides more information about adults' responsibilities when it comes to limiting access to alcohol and other substances. If you are concerned about substance use or abuse in your child, you can reach out to Jamie Bryant at jbryant@gm.sau18.org at any time. Mr. Bryant provides supportive counseling, referrals, and resources to students who are struggling or at risk. For more information about preventing underage drinking or getting involved in the task force, go to https://www.franklinnh.org/mayors-drug-task-force -- Barbara Slayton, LICSW (she, her, hers) Coordinator of School Wellness SAU 18 119 Central St. Franklin, NH 03235 (603) 934-3108 x 4415