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Franklin Lakes Public Schools
School News and Views June, 2016
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Dear Community Members,
It's hard to believe, but the 2015-2016 school year is coming to an end. As I reflect on this year, I can't help but think of all of the growth our students have made, and the things we, as a school community have accomplished.
We embarked on a 6-month long journey to create a three year strategic plan that brought members of the Board of Education, administrators, teachers and staff, parents, students and members of the wider Franklin Lakes community together to dream about and plan for the future of the Franklin Lakes Public Schools. Our District was accepted as the newest member of the Tri-State Consortium, and we have already begun to participate in visits to other school districts. This is an opportunity for us to network with educators, to share ideas, and to discuss important topics in the educational arena. We also launched our first series of Parent Academies, on topics like school culture, supporting students with executive and behavioral skills, creativity, literacy and STEM initiatives. We continue to enhance our capacity with technology and just launched a new District website.
Our administrators, teachers and staff continue to work together to provide educational experiences to our students, designed to help them to become eager, curious, persistent and successful learners. They have engaged in professional learning opportunities, and shared their expertise with their colleagues. This year, Colonial Road School and High Mountain School opened their doors to the District Administrative Team to engage in a protocol called Instructional Rounds. We all learned a great deal from the experience. In addition, Woodside Avenue School Staff engaged in a collaborative process called Lesson Study, and FAMS teachers worked in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) where they researched topics of interest and then shared what they had learned with the rest of the staff.
Our facilities are better than ever. The District has made renovations to Woodside Avenue School's front entrance, and we are in the process of fully updating the Library Media Center. Planning for the Colonial Road School boiler upgrade is underway, Woodside and High Mountain Road schools are now equipped with air conditioning in their Gymnasiums, and the Wood Shop at FAMS was turned into our new STEM Lab. All of our fields now have lightning detection systems installed, and the security alert equipment was also upgraded at each school.
Most importantly, our students have done some pretty amazing things this year. Students at WAS and HMR and the FAMS Peer Leadership Corps participated in a Save the World event during which approximately 75,000 meals were packaged to be distributed to those in need. Students at all of our schools shared what they have learned through demonstrations, public displays, and in athletic, academic, and creative competitions. Living Lessons, a very special experience, was provided to middle school students this year. This all-day event brought over 40 speakers to the school to share their personal stories, particularly how each was able to persevere to overcome obstacles. Living Lessons is planned every two years by the Middle School administration and a host of extremely generous volunteers. It was a powerful and memorable day for everyone who attended. The District thanks FLEF and the FAMS PTA for their generous funding of this impactful event.
So now it's time for our staff, students and families to slow the pace down just a bit and to enjoy a relaxing summer. I hope you enjoy the time away from school, and treasure all of the memories you make.
I wish you all a safe, and refreshing summer break.
Lydia Furnari, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools |
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District News
Curriculum & Instruction: Advancing Expertise
Franklin Lakes Public Schools takes great pride in  the educators on staff who are committed to the continual improvement of students, themselves, and colleagues both in and out of the District by leading professional development. On the importance of professional development, Hayes Mizell (2010) has noted:
"Good teaching is not an accident. While some teachers are more naturally gifted than others, all effective teaching is the result of study, reflections, practice, and hard work. A teacher can never know enough about how a student learns, what impedes the student's learning, and how the teacher's instruction can increase the student's learning. Professional development is the only means for teachers to gain such knowledge. Whether students are high, low, or average achievers, they will learn more if their teachers regularly engage in high-quality professional development."
As a follow up to the January 2016 issue, please click here to read the latest edition of Advancing Expertise, which recognizes FLPS educators who have provided continued learning opportunities and assistance to colleagues by presenting and providing ideas, activities, and resources in support of improving teacher capacity and effectiveness.
Curriculum & Instruction: Summer Reading: If They Don't Use It, They Lose It!
Did you know that when kids don't read over the summer they are likely to fall behind when they head back to school? These learning losses are often called the "Summer Slide," and, to keep our students' skills sharp, we encourage ALL children to read all summer long.
To prevent reading loss, research supports summer reading both TO the child and BY the child. Research with 1,600 sixth-graders in 18 schools showed that reading four to six chapter books during the summer was enough to alleviate summer loss (Trelease, 2010). Resources to support children and parents with book selection abound, including the Franklin Lakes Public Library's Summer Reading Program, as well as endless children's booklists published on the Internet.
What If My Child Wants a Vacation From Reading? Jim Trelease, advocate and author of The Read-Aloud Handbook (2010), advises parents to:
First, remember that pleasure is more often caught than taught (that means-read aloud to them). Next: * Make sure you (the adult role model) are seen reading daily. It works even better if you read at the same time as the child. * For young children, looking at the pictures in books and turning pages qualifies as "reading." We become picture-literate before becoming print-literate. * Allow children to choose the books they wish to read to themselves, even if they don't meet your high standards. * Don't take that vacation car trip without recorded books on board. They count too! * Set some time parameters, short at first and longer as children get older and read more. * Newspapers and magazines, even comic books, should count toward reading time. All of it amounts to exposure to print. The self-selection, self-interest factor is important here. Let children read what interests them.
The Importance of Reading Aloud As children's listening levels may be up to two years more mature than their independent reading levels, the benefits of parental  read aloud to children of ALL AGES are compelling - even for students as old as 14! As such, parents are encouraged to initiate a daily 15 minute read aloud ritual to build children's academic and emotional foundations. Keeping in mind that the vocabulary of the average children's book is three times greater than that found on prime-time television (Hayes & Ahrens, 1988), the daily ritual of read aloud and conversation further serves to build children's vocabularies.
For more information and resources, please visit:
*Jim Trelease's "Summer Reading: Research shows the most damage to reading skills occurs outside school- during the summer months. But not for all kids."
Technology: New Website Launched
We are very excited to officially announce the launch of our newly designed website. Click here to take a look around! Directly under the beautiful photographs of our students, you'll notice that we have prominently displayed quick links to some of the features parents have requested access to most often. These quick links are also accessible from each school's homepage. One of our new website features is the ability to subscribe to District and individual School calendars. Simply navigate to the calendar to which you'd like to subscribe and click the Subscribe button in the top right corner. We hope that you enjoy the new design and find the website to be an informative and interesting source of information about the Franklin Lakes School District. If you have any questions or comments on the new website, please email us at webmaster@franklinlakes.k12.nj.us
Special Services: Proud Olympians
With the Summer Olympics quickly approaching, Mrs. Colligan's class celebrated by participating in their own Olympic Events. They spent a week learning what takes place during the opening  ceremonies and the various countries that participate. They read about how different the modern Olympics are from the original Olympics in Greece.
Our student athletes prepared to compete in their own Olympics. They made flags from different countries to wave while they marched in their own opening ceremonies. Every day for a  week, they competed in events such as basketball, "hurdle" races, and Frisbee. After each event, a medal ceremony took place and our Olympians listened to the winning country's national anthem as they received their medals. They enjoyed showing off their medals to teachers and friends!
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FAMS News
FAMS: American Scidol!
The Sixth grade students participated in the first American  Scidol(Science Idol) in mid-June. Teams of students created a song that clearly communicated a concept from their science curriculum. They selected a favorite catchy tune that they all knew, picked a concept of study to research, and even created choreography to match. All students performed their songs in their classrooms to secure participants for the final round. The twelve groups that gained a golden ticket then performed their songs on stage in front of tall of their classmates and judges. All students were able to vote for their favorites using Google Forms.
After the votes were tabulated, there was a three-way tie between "One Galaxy", "The Liberty Ladies", and "The Dinosaur  Girls". The groups performed their songs again as part of a "sing-off" in front of a new set of judges, which included FAMS guidance counselors, Mr. Keiser, Mrs. Prunk, and Dr. Furnari. We are proud to announce that "The Dinosaur Girls", consisting of Joey M., Bianca W., Samantha C., and Gabi N., took home the prize as the first ever winners of American Scidol.
FAMS: End of Year Excitement
Our FAMS community was amid a flurry of activity during the month of June, with just as much learning happening inside the classroom as outside of the building. Fifth grade students came to visit our school, meet teachers, tour the building, and hear from current students about what is in store for them in September. Sixth grade students demonstrated their knowledge at the annual Ancient Civilization Day and, most recently, happily performed original parodies at the first annual American Scidol. The Seventh grade travelled to the Bronx Zoo to study habitats that would later be recreated in science class. In addition, seventh graders wowed us with their costumes, photos, food samples and research at the World Language Fair. The Eighth grade completed their academic requirements and set off on a class trip to Baltimore, Washington DC, and Hershey Park. Upon their return, they enjoyed time at the PTA-sponsored Ultimate Sports Day, Awards Night ceremony, and bagel breakfast tied to yearbook signing. Additional FAMS highlights included Field Day and the unveiling of the 8th Grade GT Art mural.
The culmination of our month was 8th Grade Graduation. We are so proud of this class and the high standards they have set for those to follow. Congratulations to all on a fabulous school year. See you in September!
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CRS News
CRS: Final Farewell CRS Class of 2016
Cherishing the memories of a wonderful school year, we would like to take the opportunity to congratulate our Class of 2016 graduates. In the true spirit of our  school and fulfilling our school motto of "Together We Can", we honored all of our fifth grade students in a Moving Up Ceremony that celebrated their spirits, quick wit, and boundless enthusiasm. Together with our families, we celebrated the children and wished them all the best in their future endeavors. It was a pleasure to honor all that our graduates have accomplished and we look forward to all those adventures to come. Lastly, we would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our families and special staff members who have allowed our Proud Pandas to shine over the past six years.
CRS: Colonial Day
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Our fifth grade students hosted a very special Colonial Day. Under the direction of  Mrs. Rightmire, students transported us back into the Colonial Days. Students donned traditional Colonial garb and presented their projects based on the works of those who lived during this important historical time. In addition to providing such historical insight, our Colonial Day experts also performed traditional dances from this time period. We were so proud of all of our students for bringing the Colonial time period to life right before our very eyes. We would like to thank Mrs. Rightmire for helping coordinate such as amazing learning experience.
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HMR News
HMR: Closing the Year with Celebrations!
Prior to heading off into summer, HMR students, families and teachers had the opportunity to celebrate the successes of our students and spend some time together making memories. Our  youngest students were the stars on stage in their Preschool Show celebrating America. Our youngest grades took to the stage to celebrate their learning with beautiful songs and dancing! Many of our grades had publishing parties to share their writing and others celebrations of curriculum and learning, including a Lego Carnival! The fifth graders enjoyed their Picnic and an emotional Moving Up Ceremony. All grades had a party to close the year with the help of our class parents. The HMR Families enjoyed a Backyard Bash to reminisce over the year. We wish all of our families a wonderful summer!
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WAS News
WAS: Field Day Fun
Thanks to Mr. Henshaw and our PTA, our students enjoyed a fabulous Field Day filled will games, fun, and food. Students  came to school dressed in blue and yellow from head to toe! Teamwork and citizenship were on display throughout the day as teams cheered their classmates on while they competed in group and individual events. The afternoon even included a giant game of Tug of War where our teachers showed their strength! Thank you to Mr. Henshaw, Mrs. Bedrin, and all of our parent volunteers that made this day so exciting for our students.
WAS: Colonial Times Comes to WAS
Our gymnasium was transformed into a town square that  resembled Colonial Times as our fifth graders welcomed classmates, teachers, and parents to explore, learn, and create. Each fifth grader took on an occupation from the time period and shared information about their craft. Visitors saw firsthand how candles were made, how food was prepared, and even learned how to play the games that the children their age played long ago. Thank you to Mrs. Preziosi, Mrs. Betrus, and all of our fifth graders for an exciting and informative day for all.
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Franklin Lakes Library News
SIGN UP FOR SUMMER READING CLUB HERE! Click here t o register for and participate in the Summer Reading Club.
SUMMER 2016 BROCHURE
Click here to see the Summer 2016 Children's programs brochure.
For more information for any or all of these programs, please call the Franklin Lakes Public Library's' Children's Department at (201) 891-2224.
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Franklin Lakes Borough News
Franklin Lakes Recreation Summer Camp
June 27-August 5
The Franklin Lakes Recreation Camp is hosted by the Wyckoff Family YMCA for Franklin Lakes campers in Grades K-8. One week camp sessions run Monday to Friday from June 27 to August 5. Cost: $100 per session.
Click here to view the flier and registration form.
Franklin Lakes Safety Town
July 5-15, 9:30- 12:oopm
Safety Town is a program designed to teach children entering Kindergarten in September different strategies about safety at home and in their community. The children will learn about personal safety, traffic safety, fire safety and first aid from members of the Franklin Lakes Police, Fire Department and Ambulance Corps. Click here to view the Safety Town flier and registration form.
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