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THE ALMANACKFranklin Elementary School PTA Newsletter

www.franklin.smmusd.org • www.franklinschoolpta.org2400 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica CA 90403 • 310.828.2814 • Fax 310.449.1252

January 13, 2014

From the Desk of the Principal, Mrs. Tara BrownHappy 2014!!! I trust that you all had a rest-ful, rejuvenating, enjoyable winter break with family and friends. We have already been back in school a week, and it is nice to be back in our regular routine.

On the evening December 17, in our “Frank-lin Cafeteria Ballroom,” ALL of our 5th grade students performed the Ballroom Dances they had learned over 12 weeks through the Ball-room Madness program for their parents. It was an amazing evening!

A little later in the week, our Ballroom Dance competition team had the opportunity to compete at SAMOHI against all of the other SMMUSD elementary ballroom dance school compe-tition teams. What an exciting day that was! All of our 5th graders attended and cheered on our compe-tition team as they performed the Rumba, Meringue, Swing, Fox Trot, and the Tango.

Our Franklin Compe-tition Team members were:- Christopher Kan- Sophie Rosenblum- Kendall Kelly- Tali Fortis- Sam Kohn- Olivia Hume- Harper Hollander- Alberto Levi- Ethan Dale- Niklas Grube

We are so proud of our team! I am proud to

announce that they won 1st PLACE in the district

competition! In past years we have won 2nd place and 3rd place, so now we have all three trophies. THIS IS SO EXCITING FOR FRANKLIN! Thank you to all of our 5th grade teachers, parents, Ms. Sinfield, and our INCREDIBLE Ballroom Teacher, Mr. Danny, for all of their hard work in making this happen!

Our team will perform a couple of dances at the next outdoor assembly on January 22, 2014 @ 8:30 a.m. on the blacktop, where we will be celebrating the Franklin Value of Sportsmanship. This is per-fect because ALL of our 5th grade students showed OUTSTANDING SPORTSMANSHIP not just during the competition, but throughout the entire 12-week period where they were learning the dances. I am very proud of all of our 5th grade students!

Warmly,Mrs. Tara Brown

Photos by Melissa Walker-Scott

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January 13, 2014

Electronics Recycling DaySCRIP Sales

8:15-9 a.m., Front LobbyCSA Organics Deliveries,

2:30-3:15 p.m.Homework Clubs,

3:05-4 p.m.

12Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

January 2014

13 14 15 16 17 18

20 21 2322 24 2519

27 28 29 30 126

Homework Clubs, 3:05-4 p.m.

PTA Meeting8:30 a.m.,

Room 3

Science Club: Earthquakes 6:30-7:30 pm

Budget Meeting3:15 p.m., Room 3

SCRIP Sales8:15-9 a.m., Front LobbyCSA Organics Deliveries,

2:30-3:15 p.m., near Cafetorium

Early Dismissal1:30 p.m. Walk It! Friday

Walk It! Friday

Pennies for PatientsEnds

SCRIP Sales8:15-9 a.m., Front LobbyCSA Organics Deliveries,

2:30-3:15 p.m., near Cafetorium

Homework Clubs, 3:05-4 p.m.

Sportsmanship Assembly8:30 a.m.,

back playground

Early Dismissal1:30 p.m.

Tech Committee Meeting

8 to 8:30 am, Room 3

Homework Clubs, 3:05-4 p.m.

RECYCLING WEEK!

No SchoolMLK Day

Parent Education: Orthodontics Prevention

8:45 a.m.Early Dismissal

1:30pm

Site Governance Mtg.3:15 p.m., Room 3Homework Clubs

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Walk It! FridayHomework Clubs,

3:05-4 p.m.

Pennies forPatients Begins

Homework ClubsPrimary (1,2,3):

3:05-4pmUpper (4,5): 3:05-3:45pm

Cast Your Ballot! It’s the Annual PTA Honorary Service Awards

At Franklin, we are extremely lucky to be a part of a com-munity comprised of so many parents, teachers and staff who generously give their time and talents to our children. Each year we have an opportunity to recognize select individuals who have given outstanding service to our children and our school.

Please fill out and submit your Honorary Service Awards ballot. Ballots were distribut-ed on Monday, January 6th. If you did not receive one, please ask for one in the Front Office. After filling in your recommen-

dations for Honorary Service Award recipients, please return the ballots to the Front Office on or before this Thursday, Janu-ary 16th. And please be sure to mark your calendars to honor the recipients at this year’s HSA awards on Wednesday, March 12th at 7:00PM in the Cafetori-um.

Franklin PTA will make a dona-tion to the California State PTA in the name of each honoree. The State PTA uses these dona-tions to fund loans and schol-arship programs supporting various education fields.

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The lost and found is cleared out monthly on the last Friday of the month. Please come look for lost items before then. The lost and found is located in the first floor hallway, next to room 2.

January 13, 2014

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Franklin’s Recycling Week is BACK! Jan. 27 - 31Electronic Recycling Day is Tuesday Jan. 28, 8:15am-3:15pmWhy is recycling electronics so important?According to the EPA, only about 25% of used electronics are collected for recycling.

Electronics are made from valuable resources, such as precious metals, copper, and engineered plastics, all of which require considerable energy to process and manu-facture. Recycling electronics recovers valuable materials and as a result, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution, save energy, and save resources by extracting fewer raw materials from the earth.

Bring your old electronics to Franklin!Let’s do our part to protect our resources and our envi-ronment. It’s easy. Bring your used electronics to Frank-lin on Tuesday, January 28th from 8:15am to 3:15p.m. Items can be dropped off via the alley on the WEST side of Franklin Elementary. Enter the alley from Montana. The drop-off location is approximately halfway down the alley. We will help you unload your car and get you on your way.

California Recycles accepts the following items: comput-ers, monitors, television sets, home phones, answering

machines, stereo equip-ment, DVD players, VCR players, computer accessories, floppy and zip discs, scan-ners, printers, fax machines, cables, cell phones and accessories, video camer-

as, power strips, cell phone and computer batteries.

Questions? www.californiarecycles.com or contact Nicole Perkins nicolewperkins@yahoo.com.Hope to see you and your used electronics!

Two interactive and engaging workshops with the City of Santa Monica On Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th, the City of Santa Monica Resource Recovery & Recycling Division will offer workshops to some of Franklin’s classes to raise students’ awareness about recycling, composting and zero waste. “Squirmy-Wormy Vermicomposting” workshop 1/27The workshop will show how worms can eat your gar-bage, and produce great compost while they’re at it. Students will explore their fascinating world. They will also help start a worm composting bin and examine semi-finished worm compost. “Choose to Reuse” workshop 1/28This workshop will challenge students to find alterna-tives to garbage including the creative reuse of ordinary objects.

Plus: A Raffle for Trash-Free Lunch Students!Franklin’s Trash Free Lunch Challenge is still going on. We have a few more months to show that our school is able to reduce significantly and durably the amount of waste produced at lunchtime and win this Challenge.

During Recycling Week, raffle tickets will be rewarding students, who sort out properly their trash at lunchtime and those who bring trash free lunchboxes from home. Winners will be designated at the end of the week and will be rewarded with cool lunchboxes, reusable food containers and water bottles.

Help your kids and Franklin win by talking at home about recycling and packing trash free lunches!

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January 13, 2014

Franklin Families: Our 2014 Online Auction Needs Each and Every One of You!Franklin’s Auction is the 2nd largest fundraiser of the year! Last year our Online Auction raised over $80,000 and we need your participation to make it another suc-cess this year! We are asking that every family obtain at least ONE donation. It’s as simple as asking for a donation when you are shopping, dining at a restaurant, get-ting your hair cut, or taking your kids to lessons. Here’s how to start:

Where do I get a dona-tion form and how do I ask for a donation?

• Pick up a Donation form at the Front Desk or

• Visit our PTA Auction website at http://franklinschoolpta.org/tag/online-auction2014 where you can download a PDF dona-tion forma as well as find insider tips on how to ask for a donation as well as a sample solicitation letter you can download and personalize.

• When you have your donation and completed form, simply drop off your donation by January 31, 2014 at the Franklin Front Office.

What categories sell well at the Auction?

• Gift Certificates to Restaurants, beauty services, health and fitness always are top sellers

• Consider hosting a party for Franklin parents or kids! It’s a great way to meet new people in the community while raising money for our School! Last year Parties generously hosted by Franklin families contributed to the Auction!

Contact Sumi Khatod if you are inter-ested or have questions: skhatod@yahoo.com

• Travel and Getaways – Franklin fam-ilies love to travel! Do you have a vacation home you would be willing to donate?

• Tickets to sporting events, movie pre-mieres, and hit TV show set visits are always hot!

Can I donate online?Yes! You can donate online at www.franklinauction.net and click on “Do-nate an Item” Someone on our Auction Committee will follow up with you to coordinate pickup of a gift certificate or item if necessary.

I want to get involved – can I join the team? Yes PLEASE! We are still looking for people to help. Please let us know if you are interested and want more infor-mation. Feel free to contact us with any thoughts or questions at franklinauction2014@gmail.com. Thanks!

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January 13, 2014

Our Huge Online Auction is Feb. 12-23Franklin parents: we know that you’re creative, we know that you’re connected, and we know that you care about your children’s school!

The 2014 Franklin School Online Auction will be open for bidding February 12-23, and the official countdown has begun to the January 31st deadline for donations! NOW is the time to use your creativity, connections, and caring to help rankling School by bringing in your ONE donation for the Online Auction.

Not sure what to donate? These categories have raised lots of money in our past Auctions:

• Restaurants: This is our best selling category! Ask your favorite eateries for a gift cer-tificate. Don’t hesitate to hit up restaurants outside of Santa Monica as well!

• Beauty & Spa: A donation for a haircut from your stylist, or a gift certificate to a spa

• Camps & Lessons: Reach out to your kids’ camps and instructors-the Franklin com-munity is a great customer base for them!

• Entertainment: Bidders love set visits, concert and sporting event tickets, VIP and backstage passes, signed DVDs and swag from popular shows.

• Food & Wine: A great case of wine, a donation from a special market, or a delicious delivery of your own homemade creation!

• Health & Fitness: Ask your trainers or gym managers for donations! Gym member-ships and free sessions always sell well.

• Parties: How about throwing a party or a class for Franklin parents or families? Past donations include: A Mexican fiesta party for 50; a book club party with a leading Au-thor; a cooking class; a tennis clinic for parents and kids…be creative!

• Professional Services: Reach out to your car detailer, dry cleaner, landscaper, handy man, family photographer, accountant, interior designer…The list goes on!

• Travel and Getaways: Do you own a home or condo in a fabulous location? Please consider donating a stay! Or if you have a favorite hotel/resort please ask them for a donation!

Please do ONE for Franklin School! Donation forms and solicitation tips can be found on the PTA Auction website at http://franklinschoolpta.org/tag/online-auction2014. You can also do-nate directly on www.FranklinAuction.net or pick up a donation form at the Front Office

Please drop off your donations at the Front Office by January 31st!

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January 13, 2014

CLEAN-UP DAY is coming!Yes, folks … it’s already time to get ready for Franklin’s 2014 Clean-Up Day!

Help us beautify Franklin in the New Year: Join us on Satur-day, February 1, any time from 9 am to 1 pm, to clean up the areas where our kids spend the most time: Cafetorium, lunch tables, multi-purpose room, and more.

Snacks and lunch will be served, and the class-room that brings in the most volunteers will get a cool prize! Kids are encouraged to come and clean too – with parent supervision of course!

Sign up for a shift today at: http://vols.pt/oXgJAq

If you are interested in being a supervisor, please contact us, and we will be in touch! Not available on the 1st but want to help out in some way? We are happily accepting donations of “green” clean-ing supplies at the Front Office (box in hallway).

Questions? Contact Clean-Up Day Co-Chairs, Suzanne Goldman (the1suz@aol.com) or Kimberly Peak (drkpeak@gmail.com).

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

launches Homework Survey

As part of its commitment to transparency and collaborative decision-making, Santa Moni-ca-Malibu USD invites all parents to participate in the District’s online Homework Survey. Principals will use the results of the survey to develop and improve each of their schools’ homework plans. Parents with more than one child in the district are invited to take the survey for each of their children. The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Results of the survey will be reported at the group level only and will not identify individual responses.

The Homework Survey can be accessed on the main page of the District’s website and will available until Jan. 31.

Future surveys are planned that will give par-ents further opportunities to give feedback on various aspects of the district and their chil-dren’s schools.

To access the survey, visit http://www.smmusd.org/.

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January 13, 2014

The Franklin Almanack is published every three weeks during the school year, and is available online at www.franklinschoolpta.org/almanack.

For information about advertising and sponsorship, please visit the website or email FranklinAlmanackSponsors@gmail.com

Franklin PTA appreciates the official sponsor(s) of this Almanack issue.

However, the California State and National PTAs do not necessarily endorse them.

Happy 2014! We hope your holidays were fun and relaxing and that you’re ready for the New Year and Science Club! But first, a huge thank you to Dan Kravitz, Kurt Schwengel, and Deanna Sinfield, who helped make our December 18 hands-on laboratories a HUGE success! Nearly 100 Franklin scientists participated in 1½ hour labs beautifully facilitated by Dan Kravitz in Kurt Schwengel’s classroom. For a short period of time, this event was without a home given how busy Franklin’s rooms are, but Deanna and Kurt came through and the labs were super fun!

Now, get ready for the first of our 2014 events! Earthquakes! By SMC, City of Santa Monica Emergency Services, SOS Survival Products, and Adventure 16: Tuesday, January 14, 6:30 to 7:30 pm, Cafetorium

Living in California? Let’s learn about earthquakes! SMC Geology program faculty and students will be on hand to facilitate fun earthquake activities, such as simulation of different types of earthquake waves and intensities! City of Santa Monica Emergency Services will then give us a run down on the most important safety tips to remember. The event will end with the opportunity for everyone to purchase earthquake supplies and emergency survival kits from SOS Survival Products and

Adventure 16 – a percentage of all sales benefiting Franklin!

The Science Fair: Thursday, February 20, 6:30 pm, CafetoriumMark your calendars NOW for the Science Club’s Annual Science Fair … It will be here before you know it! Download your instruction packet at: http://franklinschoolpta.org/sciencefair2014 and don’t forget these important dates:

Wednesday, February 19, 8:00 am: Drop off your Science Project Board between 8:00 and 9:00 am in the Cafetorium. Don’t bring boards to your classroom.

Thursday, February 20, 6:30 pm: Science Fair Open House runs from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Cafetorium – with a raffle at 7:00 pm (must be present to win!). The entire Franklin community is invited to support our young scientists!

Science Club At-HomeAre your kids’ schedules and/or homework making it difficult to attend Science Club events? If so, have we got a program for you! Continuing the spirit of Computer Science Week, your kids can learn an hour of coding at home and get credit for one Science Club event! Just visit http://csedweek.org/, click the “Start” button, and send your completion certificate to Johanna Tobel at johannatobel@gmail.com. It’s that easy and so much fun! My daughter did it

and had a ball! If your kids have already received their certificate, just send it in and we’ll give them credit. Happy coding!

All students in grades K-5 are encouraged to join the Science Club, which meets monthly, 6:30-7:30 pm on a weeknight, or for a weekend off-site outing. The Science Club’s “main event” is the annual Science Fair and we hope all Franklin students will participate, regardless of whether they have attended prior events. Students who participate in five (5) or more Science Club events AND enter a project in the Science Fair will be recognized at our Science Club party in May 2014. Attendance at Science Club meetings/off-site outings rely on parent participation so drop-offs are not allowed. If you have questions or want to be placed on the Science Club email list, please send your contact information to Julia Miele at julia.miele@juno.com.

Earthquakes, the Science Fair and Science Club At-Home!

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January 13, 2014

Parent Education Event: Orthodontics Prevention

Encourage Your Kids to Give to Children Battling Cancer Pennies for Patients is Jan. 13 – 24 Franklin will once again be participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients campaign. Beginning January 13, students will collect pennies and other spare change in honor of children battling cancer. A flyer and collection container will be coming home in your child’s backpack. Students will have the satisfaction of knowing that their spare change made a difference in the lives of children battling cancer. Pennies for Patients is a national campaign taking place in elementary, middle and high schools throughout the country to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. All money raised will help support lifesaving research and services for patients. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to finding cures for blood cancers while improv-ing the quality of life of patients and their families. Please help make this year’s event a success – encourage your children to bring in a little change each day during the 2-week program and help children in need! Please email Leanna Einbinder at leanna.ein-binder@fox.com with any questions.

Live Auction Dinner Party 2014: Back to the ‘80s! Our theme for this year’s live auction dinner party is “Back To The 80’s!” Yeah, total-ly awesome ‘80s! So break out your boogie shoes and your leg warmers and get ready to rock on….

Saturday, March 29th, 2014 @ 6 PM

at the Beverly Hills Country Club.

Tickets go on sale on-line by Feb. 1. Watch for PTA eBlasts for more information. We are in need of ‘big ticket’ items-- (destination vacation

homes; art/jewelry; autographed sports mem-orabilia; sporting event tickets, etc.)-- for our Live Auction. If you have any items to donate, please contact me at: krista@kristatesreau.com Thank you, Krista Strauss, aka your ‘80s lady Live Auction Chairperson

Date: Jan. 29, 8:45 a.m. – 10 a.m.: Joy Moeller, BS, RDH, is a certified Orofacial Myofunctional therapist, a licensed dental hygienist and a former associate professor Indiana University School of Dentistry, and has been practicing orofacial myofunctional therapy for over 30 years. She is an author of over 15 published articles and two books. She currently teaches at UCLA in the Pedo-Ortho residency program, NYU in the Sleep Dentist-ry Post Graduate program, and post grad-

uate courses for speech pathologists, dental hygienists, physicians, dentists and physical therapists all over the world. She is in Private Practice in Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills. For more information: Contact Joy Moeller at joyleamoeller@aol.com.

Our next Parent Education event is Feb 19, 8:45 a.m: How to support your child in the transition to Common Core.

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January 13, 2014

Great Job: Trick or Treat for Unicef

Thank you Franklin students and families for Trick or Treating for Unicef during Halloween. All the money and coins have been counted and we raised $1,304.50!! The money had been sent to Unicef to help needy chil-dren around the world. Happy 2014!

Thanks for a Fantastic Holiday Book Fair Five days. Three authors. Dedicated teachers. Amaz-ing volunteers. Loads of fun. To ALL who helped and shopped, Book Fair was a tremendous success, culminating in record profits and generous donations to Children’s Hospital! The outpouring of support for “Literally Healing” resulted in a collection of over 170 books purchased for contribution to Children’s Hospital. We are grateful to Leanna Einbinder for creating awareness of the program, organizing all the details, and delivering the donations. Franklin is proud to give back to our community. Our appreciation goes to all the families who pro-vided us with yummy snacks to enjoy while we worked & shopped – especially to Michelle Liu and Nilofar Soroushyari for the delicious goodies for our author visits and replenish-ing provisions throughout the week. And a shout-out to Julia Miele for her banking support. Many thanks to our incredible volunteers who transformed the Cafetorium into a well-appointed holiday bookstore, ran the registers like pros, then broke it all down!

Thanks to Elvan Akcora, Victoria Allen, Behnaz Amooyan, Arezou Appel, Jainee Arshakian, Dana Asher, Athena Baron, Jenn Bevan, Erin Einstein Dale, Amy Daly, Erin Daryabeigi, Carol Doiron, Leanna & Sandie Einbinder, Kelli Haas, Ann Hoover, Angelika Jensen, Jennifer Kennedy, Elizabeth Kopple, Karen Kushi, Julie Levi, Ellen Mark, Laura Martin, Joycelin Mueller, David Norman, Christine Ong, Mande Raiher, Michelle Richards, Rona Rodrig, Luba Rosenblum, Katie Rosenfeld, Stacy Salzman, Kristina Schauer, Laurel Shepard, Tam Smith, Kristi Springer, Brenda Tscharner, Rebecca Walker, Wendy Woodhall, Loring Wou, Nancy Wu and Melissa Zelenovic. A special nod to Faruque Sikder for his dedication, down to packing the last box (& delectable lunch notwithstanding!) And we couldn’t have done it without the help and support of Barry, Bette, Varso, Martha, Murphy, Julio, Deanna, and Tara, as well as all of our great teachers!- Your Book Fair Co-Chairs, Kim Orchen Cooper & Leda Mul-holland

Thank You, Franklin Families!

Thanks to the Franklin community’s generosity, we raised more than $1,200 online (plus we collected some actual turkeys) for the Westside Food Bank during our annual Franklin Turkey Trot at Thanksgiving. The Westside Food Bank was so appreciative and thankful, and we’re sure that all the families who enjoyed those turkey dinners over the holiday were equally grateful. Thanks so much to everyone for your donations, and we hope you had a wonderful holiday season!

www.NorthOfWilshireHomes.com

Happy New Year 2014 !!

Todd Mitchell Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 1608 Montana Avenue, CA 90403

310.899.3521

Would you like to know your home’s current market value?

Contact me to find out! Todd@ToddMitchellNow.com

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January 13, 2014

Congratulations on Another Exciting Franklin Spelling Bee

Congratulations to all the Franklin Spelling Bee participants! We are especially proud of our top ten finalists who studied so hard and did an amazing job.

Best of luck to our school champion, Brennan Jacobs, who will be representing Franklin Elementary at the Regional Bee in February.

Many thanks to Paula Flynn, Tara Brown and Deanna Sin-field for their continued help and support, and to our judg-es, Officer Erika Aklufi and Mr. Danny Ponickly.

A very special thanks to Rosti Tuscan Kitchen in Santa Monica who sponsored our Bee and generously provided a beautiful trophy and prizes for ALL our Spelling Bee partic-ipants!

Help support Franklin School and the 2014 Auction by becoming a Family Sponsor! Opportunities available from $125-$5,000. Your generous donation will be acknowl-edged on the Online Auction web-site as well as in the Live Auction Party program. Any donation over $1,000 receives tickets to the Live Auction Party. Sponsorships are tax-deductible and directly benefit Franklin and our students.

To view all sponsorship levels and current generous sponsors, visit the Franklin PTA Auction website: http://franklinschoolpta.org/tag/online-auction2014.

For sponsorship questions, please contact Ellen Genco at ellengenco@verizon.net.

The Franklin Online Auction is Looking for Family Sponsors!