Upcoming Events
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Library Dr. Seuss Celebration
March 7
BOE Meeting March 10
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Franklin Lakes Public Schools
School News and Views February, 2015
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Dear Community Members,
While the February temperatures have been at record lows, our schools have been engaged in many new and engaging opportunities for learning. This month saw the start of Read Across America activities, which will continue over the next several weeks. I had the opportunity to read to a great group of second grade students, who were very interested in what I do, and asked some very interesting questions. On another note, preparations for the upcoming PARCC administration continue, including opportunities for students to practice using the PARCC digital platform and available tools.
As we move into the upcoming PARCC administration, I would like to once again assure parents that the data from this year's assessment will not be used for student placement, grading, or promotion. I encourage you to remind children that as with any assessment, the best preparation is to come to school well rested and ready to learn. PARCC should be treated as any other chance to demonstrate students' understanding of the curriculum, as well as their ability to apply what they have learned in new or unfamiliar settings.
Superintendent's Coffee Chats were held at all four schools this month. School and District administrators and I had the chance to meet with groups of parents in a very informal manner, addressing questions concerning topics such as PARCC, curriculum, school safety, parent workshops and homework. Thank you to members of the Board of Education who also attended some of these events. I hope that parents who attended found these chats informative and helpful. I know my team and I learned a lot. 
I hope you enjoy this issue of School News & Views.
Sincerely,
Lydia Furnari
Lydia Furnari, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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District News
Curriculum & Technology: Ready, Set, Go!
Students in grades 3-8 participated in a PARCC Infrastructure Trial, an opportunity for schools and students to prepare for the computer-based assessments being administered this Spring. School guidance counselors, principals, and our Technology Coordinator set up a virtual testing environment that mirrors the PARCC  assessments. Testing devices were confirmed to be properly configured and ready to run PARCC assessments. Students were also introduced to the testing interface, computer-based tools, and the format of the test. Additionally, they gained experience practicing with sample problems in these shortened test sessions. Please note the resources available on our District website to support families in becoming familiar with the PARCC Assessments. Click here for additional information, including links to PARCC tutorials, sample tests, and sample items.
Technology: BOE Meetings Going Green
One of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education goals for the 2014 -15 school year is to 'Go Green' (click here). Our Board of Education is committed "to reducing paper waste by utilizing an electronic delivery of Board materials and attachments for the purpose of conducting Board of Education business". This includes all agendas and minutes of open Board of Education meetings. The Board of Education's technology committee chose schoolboard.net as their solution to help them reach this goal. Community members are invited to subscribe to the Board of Education's schoolboard site. After subscribing, you will receive notifications when school board meeting agendas and minutes have been posted and will be able to view them online. Schoolboard.net has been optimized for all devices, so you will be able to easily view information posted from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
Business & Operations: Cold Weather Thanks
A special thank you goes to our Buildings & Grounds and school custodial staff for all of their hard work during this difficult winter. They've plowed our school parking lots, reduced icy conditions, dealt with burst pipes and frozen fans, and kept the heat coming! Their efforts are appreciated.
Special Services: Spring Musical
Two of our Special Services staff members, Ms. Allison Stein and Ms. Kaitlyn Kayser, are enjoying their role as advisors for the FAMS Drama Club. This year's production if Fiddler On The Roof, Jr. tells the story of a poor dairyman and his five daughters  facing the challenges of anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia. The show tackles the universal theme of tradition in a way that reaches across barriers of race and religion. The cast and crew of 43 students has been working hard since December. There will be three performances: Friday, March 27th at 7:30pm, Saturday March 28th at 8:00pm and Sunday, March 29th at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10. Mark your calendars - we hope to see many members of the Franklin Lakes community and District at the show!
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FAMS News
In sixth grade Science class, students have been studying tornadoes. As a STEM-related project, the students designed and created a blueprint of their own tornado-chasing vehicles. They had to consider scientific tools to gather storm data
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and protective measures that would keep the occupants in the vehicle safe. In collaborative groups, students chose the "best" design to construct in class. They also created an iMovie news broadcast in which a citizen, scientist, and the car engineer were interviewed by a news reporter about a major tornado.
FAMS: FLOW Festivals
The FAMS 7th & 8th Grade Chorus and Band gave fantastic performances at the annual FLOW Festivals. The students from the FLOW area middle schools and high schools came together to perform for each other, sharing their musical talents while enjoying performances by the other ensembles. The Chorus students ended the FLOW Festival with a combined piece performed by all 300 attending chorus students. Our students also get a chance to see former FAMS peers who have continued to perform and grow with their music in high school. The FAMS ensembles put on great performances reflecting the dedication of these students to their artistry.
FAMS: Gearing up for PARCC
FAMS has been gearing up for the upcoming PARCC assessments, which will take place on March 16 - 20th for the Performance Based portion of the test and May 4th - 7th for the End of Year portion. Our PARCC team has taken advantage of every training that state has offered, expanding our knowledge of the test and passing the learning on to our faculty and students during numerous trainings, professional development, and tutorials. The entire school participated in an Infrastructure Trial or "dress rehearsal" on February 20th, during an extended homeroom. The purpose was to ensure that our devices and network run smoothly, as well as provide additional practice time for students and faculty. This also provided another opportunity to identify and correct any problems that may arise during testing. Our Tech Department has been working extra hard, trouble-shooting and updating our networks to ensure a flawless testing experience for our students. FAMS has maintained regular and ongoing communication with the PARCC support staff, so we feel more than prepared for the new test's administration.
FAMS: Mythology
What do the myth of Pandora's Box, drone technology, and possibility of extraterrestrial life have in common? Ask any eighth grade student at FAMS, for they have explored the dangers of mankind's curiosity through video and nonfiction texts within a two-day unit.
Mr. Tom Vranesich, FAMS media specialist, and Mrs. Kate DeRosa, literacy staff developer, co-wrote three different grade-level mini-units to implement in each language arts class at FAMS. As classroom teachers and Mr. Vranesich co-taught these mythology units, students explored the richness of mythology and its thematic connections to paired nonfiction, multimedia texts.
Focusing on the vulnerabilities that face civilizations, sixth graders viewed and analyzed a video about cyber attacks, read an article about the Bourbon Tick, and explored the important message within the myth of Achilles' heel. Centered on the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, the seventh grade unit allowed students to explore the positive and negative influences of technology by pairing this famous myth with an article about cloning and a video about fracking.
While the primary goal was fostering students' critical thinking skills and ability to synthesize ideas across texts, these units also provided authentic PARCC preparation, where students practiced writing about myths and citing textual evidence from multiple sources.
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CRS News
CRS: 3,2,1 Blast Off!
After weeks of preparation and training, the fifth graders at CRS will put their skills to the test as they work together to successfully land a probe on the Moon in their upcoming field trip to Buehler Challenger and Science Center. Students have been  preparing for their Buehler Challenger and Science Center field trip by partaking in hands-on experiments in Science. Students delved into researching minerals that are found on the Moon, how craters are formed, and what supplies and resources would be necessary to travel and survive on the Moon's surface. Students will be divided into teams and work hard to become familiar with the specific skills they would need in both Mission Control and on the spacecraft. We look forward to a very successful landing of a probe on the Moon!
CRS: Lights, Camera, Action!
Another exciting event for our CRS family occurred recently with our PTA sponsored Movie Night. Families were treated to an unforgettable night of the laugh-out-loud comedy 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman'. It was a wonderful night for families to enjoy. Students were able to come in comfortable clothing and curl up with family and friends for a very special evening. We would like to extend a special thank you to our PTA for arranging this memorable event.
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HMR News
HMR: Joy in Our World
The 3rd grade class crafted an amazing work of art to auction at the PTA's Piano Night. The masterpiece was made under the close guidance of parent volunteer, Mrs. Katopodis and our art teacher, Mrs. Cash. The third grade teachers also supported  this project with strong links to our social studies and language arts curriculum. The students worked together to tell a story about our world. It started off with colorful mosaic papers that created the actual map of the world, accompanied by a compass rose. This was followed by student research of landmarks around the world. Then they painted their own interpretations of the landmarks, which border the map. This beautiful piece of artwork was auctioned off at Piano Night with a book organizing the landmarks by continent. The winners of the piece, the Ruffino Family, generously lent it back to HMR for display. We are so proud of our 3rd graders and their successful collaboration in creating a beautiful story of our world to share for years to come.
HMR: Read Across America
HMR celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday on Friday, February 20th. The Read Across America committee worked tirelessly to plan an exciting day for the students. Our theme this year was 'Cozy up with a Good Book!'. To match this theme, students were invited to come to school in their pajamas! Dr. Seuss-inspired hair and hats were also encouraged for the day!
The day was filled with exciting, reading-themed activities for students! Here are just a  few:
- Guest readers from the community
- New classroom books provided by PRIDE
- An assembly with a special presentation from 5th Grade goodwill ambassadors
- Used book drive kick-off
- Character scavenger hunt
- Pajama day
- Free reading time in the library
- Reading incentive program
- Dr. Seuss bookmarks provided by the PTA
This day certainly encouraged our students to love reading! You can keep the love of reading alive at home too by encouraging nightly reading and modeling that behavior as a family.
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WAS News
WAS: Art & Hieroglyphics
Our 3rd graders traveled to Egypt in Art class and created a cartouche of their names while learning how to write in hieroglyphics. A cartouche is an insignia worn or  carried by ancient Egyptian royalty or nobility. Each person had a unique cartouche, which identified the owner and served as a nameplate or emblem. The oval plaque with a knot on the bottom signified, "encircling protection". This lesson reinforced the Visual Art Core Content Standards that all students will understand the role, development, and influence of the arts throughout history and across cultures (Standard 1.2).
This lesson also met our school goal of cross-curricular studies. Students also had an opportunity to work with an interactive website which reviewed hieroglyphics and writing. This part of the lesson linked technology to our lesson. In Art, we are constantly linking our lessons to other parts of our students' curriculum.
WAS: Idatord Central 2015
Once again, the WAS Library, and the students of WAS will be following the mushers in Alaska as they travel the Iditarod trail. Only this year, something extraordinary has  taken place - there is more snow in NJ than southern Alaska!! For the second time in Iditarod history, the trail has been changed. The race will start in Anchorage as usual, but then the mushers, dogs and sleds will be moved up to Fairbanks for the official start and the race will follow the original Serum Run Trail, north across Alaska and into Nome.
Starting on March 7, each class will follow 3 mushers and continue to keep track of their mushers' progress until the last musher leaves the trail (approximately 2 weeks). We will cover math, science, history, and biographies. We will be working with computers, maps, graphs and charts. And, of  course, lots of pictures of our favorite mushers and dogs!
The library has a new map of the Iditarod and loads of information for all ages, so stop by and check to see if your favorite musher is in the lead or will they take home the last place Red Lantern award? What will happen on the new trail? Who will make history? Can't wait for all the new stories to come off the trail! Follow your musher and all news and information about the race here. Mush on!!
WAS: Celebrate 100 days!
Can you do 100 jumping jacks? Would you eat 100 gummy bears? Would you want 100 snakes? These are just a few of the questions that were discussed on the 100th day of school, celebrated on February 12th. Students became  familiar with increasing quantities by counting and recording the days of school since the very first day. By the time the 100th day had arrived, the students were well-versed in counting to 100 by ones, 10s and in some cases 5s. The kindergartners read 100th Day Worries and created a 100th day crown by counting 100 stickers in celebration of this day.
Students illustrated what they would look like at 100 years old. They also wiggled out their sillies by participating in 10 activities such as jumping jacks, claps, and stomps until they reached 100. Each child created a poster displaying 100 items and shared the posters in school on the 100th day as well. While not all kindergartners would eat 100 gummy bears or want 100 snakes, one thing they all will agree upon is that 100 is a lot!
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Franklin Lakes Education Foundation
 Save the date for the FLEF Masquerade Ball Dinner/Dance! Click here to read more about this exciting event and to purchase tickets. |
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Franklin Lakes Borough
First Annual FLOW Green Fair
Saturday, March 7, 2015
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
The Environmental Commissions of Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff are sponsoring the "First Annual FLOW Green Fair." The event is being held on Saturday, March 7, 2015 from 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM at Ramapo High School. Admission is free. Come for an hour or come for the day and enjoy sustainability. Click here to see the flyer for additional information.
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Franklin Lakes Public Library News
Dr. Seuss Celebration
 Family Fun for All Ages
Monday, March 2 @ 4:00 p.m. Celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss with Presley and Melody! Dr. Seuss characterscome alive in a sensational, musical event that will have you singing and dancing along to original songs and pop-tunes! Franklin Lakes residents only. Registration is required and on-going. Please visit or contact the Children's Department at (201) 891-2224 x 120 or via email to register. Sponsored by: The Friends of the Library |
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