Upcoming Events
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Columbus Day Candidates' Night
October 12
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October 13
Strategic Planning
October 14
FLEF Men's Night Out
October 19
BOE Meeting
October 27
Minimum Day (students)
October 30
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Franklin Lakes Public Schools
School News and Views September, 2015
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Dear Community Members,
What a great start to the school year! There are so many exciting things planned at our schools, and for our District. In this issue of School News & Views, you will find out about many of these opportunities for learning, and the excitement they are generating in our schools.
You may have heard me speak at meetings and events about the fact that the Franklin Lakes Public Schools will be engaging in a strategic planning initiative. Many of you have already signed up to participate, by attending strategic planning meetings to be held on October 14th, November 11th, and November 30th , 2015.
A focused group of community, and school leaders, parents, staff and students, will work together to identify the strengths, accomplishments, and challenges of our school district, in order to determine our vision and expectations for the future, as well as to establish goals that will lead us to their attainment.
I would like to invite you to become part of the group that will help us to set a course for the next 3 to 5 years. This is your opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas, and to make a real impact on the future of our schools. Please call Mrs. Gonzalez at the Board Office at (201) 891-1856 ext. 206 to let us know you are interested.
Sincerely, 
Lydia Furnari
Lydia Furnari, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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District News
Curriculum & Instruction: New Teacher Orientation
FLPS welcomed eighteen new members to our teaching staff at our New Teacher Orientation, which ran from August 24th through August 26th. With the support of Dr. Furnari, the administrative team, the Franklin Lakes Education Association, our schools' PTAs, teachers, and the staff of Central Office, the newest members of our Franklin Lakes family learned about the inner workings of our District. A sampling of topics included: Human Resources, District Culture and Professionalism, Technology Access, Information & Resources, Teacher Evaluation, Culturally Responsive Teaching & Legal Updates, Special Education, Mentoring, and Professional Growth & Development. The overwhelmingly positive results from our survey of new staff indicate this was a valuable investment of time and resources for those new to our District.
Technology: FollowMe Printing
Over the summer, the IT team implemented a document output management solution to help reduce cost and improve the  efficiency of the District's printing environments. All school faculty members and students from grades five through eight now use their faculty and student ID numbers to release print jobs from any printer in the District. Unreleased print jobs are deleted from the print queue after eight hours. The introduction of FollowMe printing affords savings through waste reduction (printed but uncollected documents) and printer toner (ink) costs.
Business & Operations: WAS Welcome!
The Woodside Avenue School entryway was due for a facelift and the result is even better than that hoped for! The steps were totally replaced and new plantings added to create a most inviting entryway.
Special Services: A New Year Begins
Programs and Support Services of special needs students have all gotten off to a terrific start. Teachers and students are working very hard together to put the restful summer behind them, and to proceed to have a productive educational year. Dr. Caliso would like to thank the principals in each school building for their tremendous effort to work with Special Services to make this an easy opening of school. Problems were virtually nonexistent. Ms. Troost and Ms. Butler also made a significant contribution by making sure students were properly assigned to bus transportation routes, assigned to classes, and that staff received information to open the school year.
Dr. Caliso is grateful to the teachers, related services personnel and para-educators for their commitment to ensuring that the students attached to Specials Services receive instruction and services with little delay.
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FAMS News
FAMS: A Great Beginning! Welcome Back!
We welcomed all returning 7th and 8th grade students as well as 138 incoming 6th graders. With the many new faces, distribution of laptops, and a new STEM lab, FAMS is a busy place; however, the opening of school could not have gone better! Our faculty and staff are excited about the new challenges and look forward to working with all of the middle school students.
As well as the new student faces, we also welcomed several new staff members to our FAMS family. Joining our 6th grade team are Language Arts teacher Ms. Perri Hammershlag and Science teacher Ms. Jacqueline Thimmel. Additions to our 7th grade team include Social Studies teacher Ms.Nicole Flynn, Science teacher Ms. Alyssa McAloney and Language Arts teacher Ms. Jill Friedman. Ms. Christine Kleinwaks is our new 8th grade Science teacher. Finally, Ms. Gabriela Rezzonico will fill a maternity leave in our Special Education department.
It was wonderful to see so many parents join us for Back to School night, which was held on September 17th. Terrific feedback was shared regarding our dedicated staff, comprehensive curriculum and exciting opportunities that await the students during the course of the year. We hope to see parents visiting again during the Principal's Coffee Chats (September 29 - October 1), teacher conferences, and future PTA meetings.
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CRS News
CRS: Welcome Back to School!
We are thrilled to announce that CRS had a wonderful first  week back to school. All students were warmly greeted by our CRS teachers and have already hit the ground running with their learning! We are so proud of all of our students; particularly our new students who have already begun to make themselves at home in Colonial Road School. Together we look forward to a wonderful year!
CRS: "Together We Can"
As we cherish our blessings, it is important to take the time to thank our parent community for the many ways they have contributed to our successful school opening. Our PTA Board has been working diligently to ensure that students and families are well prepared for the many exciting activities and events planned for this school year. In addition, class parents have already begun to set up each homeroom class for success.
Lastly, our PTA Executive Board, together with Mrs. Gagliardo, recently hosted a New Parent Information Session for all of our new families. We are so thankful to our PTA Executive Board for all of their efforts and to all of the new families that attended. We look forward to all of our new families discovering all that makes CRS such a special school.
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HMR News
HMR: September 11th Project
The students of High Mountain Road School began the school day on September 11th with a school wide Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence. Mrs. Bajzath spoke about the importance of first responders on this tragic day in our history and the impact that they made. The students then got to work on a positive project, thanking our local first responders for all that they do to keep us safe. The Franklin Lakes Police Department, Fire Department and Ambulance Corp have some amazing letters and pictures headed their way with heartfelt messages!
The 5th grade class had a very special library extension. Mrs. Landgraf taught students about a special hero, Welles  Crowther. Welles worked in the World Trade Center and was also a volunteer firefighter at the age of 16. He saved the lives of at least a dozen people before losing his own life on September 11th. His incredible story ends with his parents learning of his heroics through articles later detailed by survivors as being saved by a man with a red bandana. They instantly knew that their son, who carried a red bandana since the age of 6, died a hero. All of our 5th graders went home with a very special red bandana to remind them that heroes are among us every day.
HMR: Back to School Night New Family Tea
HMR hosted a New Family Tea on Back to School Night. This  was a wonderful opportunity for new families to learn more about our school and District. They also had the opportunity to meet other new families. The PTA had members present to act in a 'buddy' capacity and support new parents by providing much of the information we take for granted. The highlight of the event was our speaker, Ms. Melanie DeFazio, school guidance counselor who spoke about transitioning to a new school and gave parents some helpful tips for a successful transition. The parents also took a tour of the school. We are so happy to welcome these new families to HMR!
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WAS News
WAS: Story Pirates Storm Imaginations!
Thanks to a generous grant from the Franklin Lakes Education Foundation, our students took part in an Idea Storm, a creative writing assembly that takes the ideas of our student writers and  turns them into stories on the spot! The Story Pirates' Idea Storm assembly is a creative writing class, a hilarious improvisational show, and a pep rally, all at once. Story Pirates' teaching artists and performers take suggestions from the audience, our students, while helping students identify key elements of composition and narrative structure, such as plot, character, obstacles and resolution.
With an emphasis on creative problem solving and non-violent conflict resolution, the Idea Storm assembly left students with the tools to start writing and the excitement to let their imaginations take the lead. The Idea Storm assembly will be followed by a New Story Show in December where the Story Pirates will return to perform a musical that incorporates and celebrates the writing done by our students!
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FLEF News
Men's Night Out - October 19th
For further information, please click here.
Ladies' Night Out - November 12th
For further information, please click here.
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