December 8th, 2024

Hello Franklin Families. Here are your reminders and updates for this week. 
Reminders:
1. If you require free clothing, indoor and outdoor, for your children, there is a Childhood Needs Distribution Centre at the Highland Baptist Church. Appointments are required but please visit the following link for more information. https://www.highlandbaptist.ca/mission-partnerships/cndc/

2. The next Committee of the Whole meeting is on Monday December 9th from 7 to 9:30 pm. Here is the link if you would like to join. https://www.youtube.com/c/WRDSBVideo/live

3. Please remind and promote our expectations or information regarding snow with your children. Play with it, build with it, create with it. Do not throw it. Builders are breakers – you cannot break a snow sculpture or fort if you did not build it. There is no guarantee your sculpture/fort will be there when you return to it as people use park/Franklin lands at various times. Enjoy the snow. Be dressed for the snow.

4. Please remember that if busses are cancelled, schools are still running. There are many classes with only a few students missing so if you can bring your children to school on these days, please do so. Routines and regular bedtimes, especially as we approach holidays, help students with self-regulation.You will need to pick them up at the end of the day though, due to busses being cancelled. (As a reminder, school begins at 9:20 and ends at 3:40).

Updates:

1. Kindergarten Registration launches January 8, 2025 – Before & After School Day Registration will Launch in the Spring
Who:
Any child born in 2020 and 2021 is eligible to attend Kindergarten in the 2025-26 school year
How:
Families complete an online registration
Kindergarten Information found at https://www.wrdsb.ca/kindergarten/

2. Artshine will have one last session at Franklin starting in the new year. Here is some information on it if you are interested. Artshine Winter 2 Registration will begin on Monday, December 9th and end on January 27th. Registrations after this date will incur a Late Registration Fee due to the need for over-the-phone processing. The program dates include: Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, Mar. 6, 20, 27, and April 3. Parents can register and pay for the program through our website, https://www.artshine.ca/pages/lunchtime-and-after-school-programs

Direct Registration Link: https://www.artshine.ca/products/franklin-p-s-kitchener-winter-2-2025-gr-1-6

There is an ‘’Early Bird Sale’’ : From December 9th to December 10th at 11:59 PM, a 15% discount will be automatically applied to all school program registrations with the first 48 hours, and no late exceptions will be made. Please note this is an outside organization who goes through Community Use to book a room in the school.

3. There is a board meeting on Monday December 16th from 7 to 9:30 pm. Here is the link if you would like to join virtually. https://www.youtube.com/c/WRDSBVideo/live

4. Primary students (grades 1 to 3) will be part of a seasonal concert on Wednesday December 18th starting at 12:30 pm till 1:30 pm.

5. Kindergarten students have a seasonal concert on December 19th from 3 to 3:30 pm.

6. The last day of school before the holidays is Friday December 20th. There is no school from Monday December 23rd and Friday January 3rd.

7. The Waterloo Region District School Board will be operating Winter Break Camps on January 2nd and 3rd 2025 and are operating from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m.Before & After school programs will resume normal operating hours 7am-school start and dismissal bell-6pm on January 6th. Franklin has been identified as one of the host sites for camp week.

8. Some families will have received or will be receiving a Public Health Notification regarding vaccinations. If you are receiving one, they will be going home with your child this coming week and or been sent home this past Friday.

Quote of the Day:

“Sleep is essential to learning, memory formation, emotional regulation, and physical and mental development.” (Harvard Medicine Magazine)