Upcoming Events
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Parent Academy - Approaches to Parenting: Session 1
Rabid Readers 4th Grade Book Club at FLPL
March 8
Parent Academy - Family Literacy: Session 1 FLPL Family Reading Night
March 9
BOE Meeting
March 22
Hidden in Plain Sight FL Municipal Alliance
March 22
Parent Academy - Approaches to Parenting Session 2
March 23
Good Friday - no school
March 25
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Franklin Lakes Public Schools
School News and Views February, 2016
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Dear Community Members,
February has come and gone, and spring is just around the corner. Our students have been engaged in a variety of activities in the areas of Literacy, Science, STEM, Instructional Technology, and the Arts. You will be able to read about some of these great opportunities in this month's issue of School News & Views.
On February 23, 2016, the Franklin Lakes Board of Education approved the calendar for the 2016-2017 school year. You will find the 2016-2017 calendar posted on our District website. Also, please keep in mind that in the event that we do not need to use "snow (inclement weather) days" in 2015-2016, we will add up to 2 vacation days to the Memorial Day weekend, and shorten the end of the 2015-2016 school year by 1 day if a 3rd day is available.
Our teachers have been involved in a wide variety of professional development opportunities. They continue to share what they learn with their colleagues, and to use this learning to enhance their work with our students. Some areas of focus are the use of educational technology, differentiation of instruction, and data analysis.
The first in a series of Parent Academy offerings takes place on February 29, 2016, and will be followed by several other events. You will find information about some of these events in the Curriculum & Instruction article below. On March 9th, the Franklin Lakes Public Schools and the Franklin Lakes Public Library are teaming up on "Family Reading Night". This is a night for families to come together to hear stories read by several readers (I get to be one of them!). There will also be a bookmark station, and time for parents and children to visit the Children's Room to take out favorite books or to find new stories to explore. On April 19, 2016, we will be holding a panel discussion on the book Creative Schools, by Sir Ken Robinson. This event, specifically for our parents, features a panel of guests who will discuss the book, and respond to questions about how our schools work to support student creativity. Franklin Avenue Middle School teachers and students will then present some of their work as "Demonstrations of Learning". There will be additional events scheduled this spring, focused on our OLWEUS Anti-Bullying Program and STEM programming.
I hope you enjoy this edition of School News & Views.
Sincerely,
Lydia Furnari, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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District News
Curriculum & Instruction: Parent Academy Launch
The District is pleased to launch a new initiative to further strengthen the Home and School relationship: the FLPS Parent Academy. This complimentary program will call on experts both within and outside of the District to explore topics of interest to our community. We are excited about this endeavor and hope that you will join us in the coming months.
Our first offering is a two-part series, led by guest speaker Ms. Sharon McCarthy, exploring key parenting topics to support parents' efforts in raising GREAT kids. The first session will focus on parenting to elicit positive behavior and academic results; it will be held on Monday, February 29th at FAMS at 6:30pm. The second session will offer parenting protocols to develop children's organization skills; it will be held on Wednesday, March 23 also at FAMS at 6:30pm. To see the flyer, including including registration information, please click here.
Technology: Day of Professional Development
January 18th was a professional development day for all staff in the Franklin Lakes School District. Topics for workshop sessions were carefully selected based on the needs of all staff, including paraeducators and administrative assistants. A total of 28 hands-on workshops were run, facilitated primarily by our own teachers who were excited to share their expertise.
This win-win format was celebrated by our Franklin Lakes Education Association. Sharon Milano, FLEA President, wrote: "In the time that has passed since our most recent Professional Development day, I have had the opportunity to speak to a number of my colleagues across the district about their PD experience. The reviews could not have been more positive! The overwhelming feeling was that the teacher-led workshops were a huge success and something that we would very much like to continue in the future. Having had the ability to select and attend workshops that provided an authentic opportunity to apply educational technology to our areas of expertise was time well spent. I wanted to thank you not only for the tremendous amount of planning and preparation that undoubtedly went into the day, but for recognizing and utilizing the creativity of our teaching staff. The level of collegiality throughout this district is something that I have always been proud of and it was a pleasure being able to enjoy the wide-scale showcasing of our collective talents. On behalf of the teachers and staff who participated in these workshops, kudos on a job well done!".
Technology: Exciting Learning with iMovies
Mrs. Amoroso, FAMS Language Arts teacher, attended the NJECC conference at Montclair State University in January. Inspired by what she had learned, she collaborated with the other 7th grade Language Arts teachers, Ms. Aiello, Ms. Medrzychowski, and Mrs. Friedman, to close out the second marking period by hosting an iMovie Oscar Day.
Each student designed an iMovie trailer to bring their independent novel to life. The students had to embed sound, video clips, photographs and textual evidence into the trailer in order to captivate their audience. Once all the students viewed the trailers, each individual had to cast a vote for best picture, best directing, best sound and video effects. All students enjoyed the day and had a blast using their creative skills to take on the roles of directors and producers for their novels! Click here to see an example of the students' exciting work ( Conspiracy file icon at the bottom).
Business & Operations: Climate Control at CRS
The District will soon be going out to bid on a new heating system for Colonial Road School. A malfunction in the motherboard, or brains, of the system prompted the replacement.
Special Services: Novel Approaches
Ms. Caesar's 7th grade English class read the novel Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea. The novel was about an innovative teacher and his teaching strategies for a diverse group of students who each had their own circumstances. Students decided not only to rate the book, but to also write a journal on
 one of the characters as they read the book. Each journal entry represented a different month in the novel. The students wrote about the characters' thoughts and opinions on the teacher and the other students. Then, they also wrote about this dynamic teacher and how his methods of teaching changed them for the better. The students rated this novel a 9.5 - 10, making it one of the highest rated books so far this year.
Special Services: Solar System Fun
This year, Mrs. Colligan's class studied the solar system. In January, they visited Longo Planetarium at the Community College of Morris County. FLEF graciously funded the trip for the students. The  demonstration highlighted the constellations and characteristics of each planet. When the class came back from the trip, they pretended to be astronauts who had discovered new planets in the solar system. Each child created a model of their new planet and wrote a description of life on that planet. Their new planet included a variety of characteristics from the planets they learned about at the planetarium. All of the students enjoyed the experience and looked forward to making their own unique planets.
Special Services: System Integration Completed
The Department of Special Services recently finalized the integration of IEP Direct into our student management system, Genesis. Parents will now be able to access their children's IEPs and progress reports by going to the "parent portal" on Genesis. Directions have been sent to all parents of special needs students as well as speech only students. Teachers will no longer email progress reports home.
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FAMS News
The 7th/8th grade concert band put on a great performance in the annual FLOW Band Concert on  February 12th at Indian Hills High School. The middle and high school bands came together for an evening of music, allowing the students and their families to share in the talents of our county. The concert ended with over 400 combined students playing Stars and Stripes Forever. Congratulations to the students for their great show!
FAMS: Pep Rally Action
The student body at FAMS swept away the January doldrums with an exciting pep rally to celebrate the winter season. After the introduction of our boys' and  girls' basketball teams and our cheerleaders, our faculty competed against the student players in an exciting game. Students were on the edge of their seats as the male and female faculty edged out a one-point victory at the final buzzer. The pep band entertained everyone with some upbeat selections and the cheerleaders performed their choreographed dance number. Students from each grade level competed with the teachers in a 3-point shooting contest and the egg-on-a-spoon relay. Fun was had by all, as demonstrated by the student's wide smiles as they embarked on their weekend!
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CRS News
CRS: Hands on Science
Third grade students were introduced to the Young Consumers Program, which is conducted through a partnership with the ShopRite of Oakland. This exciting program allows schools, families, and ShopRite Supermarkets to partner together in an effort to enhance students' math, language arts, critical thinking, and social skills by engaging students in a variety of activities aligned with the Common Core.
Our partners from ShopRite spent an hour with each third grade class to explain the ins and outs of the Young Consumer Program and provide an opportunity for the students to participate in some hands-on, minds-on activities. To test and develop memory skills, our partners from ShopRite taught the children a poem. Each part of the poem has a corresponding motion to help the children remember the words. After only a few repetitions of this poem, students could remember the words and motions with ease. Ask your third grader, "Where do all the daisies go?" to test their recall of the poem!
Next, students were given 7 tangrams and guided to create a square using all seven pieces. The tangrams were then manipulated to create a rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid, and right triangle. Characteristics of each polygon were explored and students utilized their math vocabulary to describe these shapes with words such as parallel, congruent, right angle and more.
To conclude the tangram activity, students used the seven tangram pieces of varying size and shape to explore fractional parts of the whole square. The final activity is a third grade favorite! Known as "pancakes", students became acquainted with The
 Tower of Hanoi using foam disks of different sizes to stack like pancakes. With guided questioning, students were able to understand the mathematic formula used to figure out the least amount of moves it would take to move all of the pancakes from one side of their game mat to the other, patterns in movements, and "secrets" of the game. The children surely had a lot of fun while enhancing their scholastic abilities and interpersonal skills as well!
CRS: Native American Assembly
Recently, our fourth graders enjoyed a PTA sponsored assembly showcasing how the Lenape  Native American tribe lived and worked so many thousands of years ago. This high-energy history tour sparked the interest of all students as it demonstrated the mystery and magic of the Lenape culture. The students had a hands-on opportunity to explore numerous artifacts including tools, masks, clothing, furs, crafts, and games. Students were delighted to have this very special experience, as it was the perfect way to culminate their Native American study.
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HMR News
HMR: Family Bingo Night
Bingo! HMR families happily gathered together for a fun Bingo Night. Parents and children studied their  Bingo Boards and were serious about the game. The evening was filled with some healthy competition and also team building! Children had an integral part in the success of the event with leadership opportunities to call the numbers and make choices. The PTA provided snacks and hosted the event. Families are eagerly anticipating future family events!
HMR: K Celebrates the 100th Day of School
Kindergarten students celebrated the 100th day of school! They came to school dressed like they were 100 years old and learned about life 100 years ago compared to life today. They also participated in activities throughout the school day centering around the theme of the 100th day of school. The theme was integrated into reading, writing, math and social play.
HMR: Think Station Updates
The HMR Think Station continues to expand and grow, thanks to the generosity of FLEF! In case you don't know about the Think Station, it is a space in our school that is aligned with an understanding of how children's brains learn best. The room includes furniture and a spatial configuration that fosters collaboration. The room already contained dry-erase tables to increase active engagement and literacy, stability balls and standing desks, and a podium to practice public speaking. The shelves are stocked with hands-on instructional materials to increase problem solving, creativity, communication and many other vital 21st Century Skills.
FLEF has funded the addition of HOKKI Stools and  Pedal Desks! HOKKI Stools are an ergonomic seat that alters stationary sitting into productive movement, ideal for supporting thinking. Students are moving, even when they seem to be sitting still. Pedal Desks have us cycling and learning in the Think Station. The simple,  resistance-free motion of the desk offers students the freedom to cycle at their own pace while engaging their leg muscles, lower back and core. Physical movement increases well-being and encourages the physical and intellectual development processes. Students are also more alert and engaged using this active furniture.
The HMR Think Station supports how the brain learns. The students and teachers are engaging in practicing 21st Century Skills that can then transfer back to their classrooms. Many wrote FLEF Grants for their classrooms this year to have this type of furniture available to children all day! This is an exciting opportunity for our school community to continue to learn more about effective practices in education. Thank you, FLEF!
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WAS News
WAS: Spreading the Love with our Have a Heart Food Drive
The students of Woodside Avenue School opened their hearts this month as they donated and collected items f  or our Have a Heart Food Drive. The PTA partnered with New Jersey Food and Clothing Rescue to create a list of needed items and reach out to our school community for donations. The fifth graders in Mrs. Preziosi's class demonstrated their leadership skills as they collected donations and kept track of all items on our school graph! New Jersey Food and Clothing Rescue thanked our school for the generous donations and are thrilled to be able to provide for families in need.
WAS: Peace, Love, Books! Feelin' Groovy Book Fair
Our Book Fair was a huge success! Not only did all students get to shop for fabulous new books, but families also had the opportunity to visit our school  and go shopping for books with their children. Excitement about visiting the Book Fair was palpable as students anxiously awaited their chance to see the library transformed into our very own bookstore! Thanks to the PTA and our school community, numerous books were also donated to our teachers and our classroom libraries for students to enjoy for years to come. Thank you to all who worked so diligently to make the Book Fair a huge success!
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Franklin Lakes Education  Foundation News
APRIL 15th April in Paris
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Franklin Lakes Public Library News
 4th Graders - Do you love to read?
Join us in the Rabid Readers book club Kick off on Tuesday, March 4th at 4pm.
Parent Academy: Family Literacy Session 1
Family Reading NIght March 9, 2016
Join Dr. Lydia Furnari and other community leaders at the FL Public Library for a Family Reading Night at 6:30pm!
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Franklin Lakes Borough News
"Hidden In Plain Sight"
March 22, 2016, 7:00 PM
The Franklin Lakes Municipal Alliance is co-hosting "Hidden In Plain Sight" at Indian Hills High School with the Bergen County Municipal Alliance Program, the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School District, the Oakland Municipal Alliance and the Township of Wyckoff. You will not want to miss this county-wide symposium that will allow the audience to walk away with much needed knowledge and tools regarding our youth and substance abuse.
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