FPAC meeting

Tuesday 1 October

1.45pm

Please come and join us!

Items to discuss include:-  Fall festival planning, parent concerns/questions/input, Principals message/updates.

Fall Festival - Can you help?

Monday Mail....

Out of the mouth of Babies......

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"Hi Baby - how was your day?"
"It was so awesome!!  Mrs Dana came out and played tag with us at recess, it was SO COOL!"
"Excellent - did you tag her?"
"NO!  I would never tag the Principal, I might get in trouble.....I'm not allowed Facebook yet!"

                                      

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LUNCH WEEK!

Bookworm News....

Did you know?

…The old BFCS campus housed a small central library?

…This small library housed over 5,500 books!

…FPAC funded and ran the library.

…All these books are currently boxed up and stored as there is no library at the new campus.

…At the last FPAC meeting there was a vote held on what to do with all the library books.  No point them all sitting in a cupboard!   

...FPAC voted to donate all these books to the school to be used in the classroom libraries.

…Bookcases are on back order and once they arrive and are installed in each classroom, the books will be distributed and each classroom will have a library! 

Distributing the books to the classrooms is going to be a big job, would you like to help?  Please come along to our next meeting if you are interested in helping with this task.

Mrs. Dana is always at our FPAC meetings too, so if you have any questions, comments or concerns that you would like addressed, please come along!

FPAC’s next meeting is on 

Tuesday October 1^st at 1.45pm.

See you there!

UPDATES from Mrs Dana

September 19, 2013

Dear BFCS Gilbert Campus Families,

We have had quite a bit of progress made here at our new campus, so I thought an update and sharing some new information would be helpful.  Here are some matters of business:

1.       Playground Update:  We are all, including my own children, waiting anxiously for the playground to be completed.  I know this has been a frustrating issue for all of us here.  Without the playground area, we have been making use of the back courtyard and parking lot area.  This has been a successful temporary solution, but is not meant to be long-term.  Please know that we are doing everything we can to push this project forward.  Our completion date has come and passed several times at this point, but after a lengthy walk-through with the inspector last week, we were once again assured that the playground would be complete within the next two weeks. 

2.      Building Security and Safety:  We now have the capability to lock up the exterior doors.  This is an exciting time for all of us and our children because we now have the opportunity to secure our building and better protect the students within. 

We need your help to learn and enforce our safety rules!

Here are some guidelines:

            -  First things first, all rules apply to everyone, even if they are inconvenient.  If we don’t have every parent, student, and staff member working together, then it will be difficult to keep our school secure.   Let’s not wait for a tragedy to teach us a lesson here.  Let’s be proactive in preventing issues!

- Always enter the building through the front office and sign in.  We need to know who is on campus!
           
- If you are waiting to pick up a child, we would ask that you stay in the lobby area.  Parents and siblings standing in the hallways just before school ends have become a distraction for the teachers who are diligently trying to wrap up the school day and prepare an entire class to go home for the day. 
       
- Don’t be afraid to refer an adult without a visitor’s sticker to the office.
     
- Do not let people in through the side doors.   
   
- Siblings under the age of 18 are not allowed to visit during school hours.
         
- Pets on campus (even those who are carried) are prohibited as they can present a safety hazard.
     
- The school building is not an appropriate venue for congregating or lengthy visits in the halls.  We welcome volunteers and parents who come to school with purpose and intent to help in classroom, observe, and volunteer.

- Picnic tables are also now provided out in the courtyard area to accommodate waiting parents during band and orchestra. Any unaccompanied student or sibling will be asked to wait at the front of the school near the entry for pick-up. 

3.       After School Pick-up:  For this week, we have the north drive blocked until the end of the day.  Students will be outside at recess until 2:00pm, so we cannot have cars driving through to wait in our temporary playground area.

4.      Drop-off and Pick-up Times:  Please be aware that in the mornings, supervision for students is not provided until 7:45am. In the afternoon, supervision ends with the dismissal of band and orchestra at 3:50pm.  Our aides stay long enough to help with pick-up, but by 4:00pm, students should be on their way home.  

5.       Parent-Teacher Conferences:  If you choose to bring younger siblings with you to your conference, please keep them with you at all times. 

I know this is a great deal of information, but it takes time and patience to learn the routines when a new campus is “blooming”!  Thank you for your help and support!  Remember to thank our teachers as you meet with them this week as they have taught through this extraordinary time in the history of our BFCS Gilbert campus with strength and professionalism.  Enjoy your conferences this week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Diana M. Dana                                                

Principal

Benjamin Franklin Charter School Gilbert Campus

13717 S. Val Vista Dr.

Gilbert, AZ 85296

Office: 480-632-0722

Teacher Appreciation Week - Next Week!

Teacher Appreciation Committee Updates:-

A HUGE thank you to all of you who have signed up to bring in food next week!

FPAC arrange a full lunch each day for the teachers and you have been amazing in volunteering - FPAC appreciate the help and we are sure teachers will be thrilled!

There are few opportunities left - please click HERE if you would like to join this teacher appreciation lunch week!

Dont forget :-

- school is out early next week.

- no band or orchestra all week.

Weekly News

PTC Week - Teacher Apprecaition Update

Parent Teacher Conference week is 

next week, 23rd - 27th September.

During this week FPAC arrange a full lunch for the staff and teachers each day.  We like to spoil them a little to show how appreciated they are, especially during this busy week!

If you would like to bring in something this week please sign up HERE

A huge THANK YOU to the Teacher Appreciation committee members who have signed up already, there are still plenty of slots that need to be filled so please please take a look and see if there is something you would be able to bring in.

REMEMBER -  early release during PTC week!

Who - or what - is FPAC?

Benjamin Franklin Charter School - GILBERT CAMPUS

F P A C

Franklin Parent Advisory Council

WHO:  Parents and/or legal guardians of students at BFCS become members of the Franklin Parent Advisory Council (FPAC).  Each school year, a group of parents make up the board, and officers are elected:  president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. 

WHAT:  Parent forums are conducted monthly.  Everyone is welcome!  Currently, meetings are held at the school on the first Tuesday of each month.

FPAC sponsored events, activities, and programs include, but are not limited to:

● Fall Festival (our only fundraiser)● Teacher & Staff Appreciation

● Art Masterpiece● Music Masterpiece
● Yearbook

● Family Fun Nights

● Field Day● Poetry Contest
● Health Screening● 100th Day Celebration● Box Tops● FPAC Newsletter

● Uniform Sales

DUES:  Annual dues are $20 per family, per school year.  This is a GOOD DEAL considering the many programs sponsored and funded by FPAC.  Best of all, by paying annual dues, you will NOT have to send your child(ren) door-to-door selling anything!  Dues are paid at registration by check or cash.

YOU:  Since FPAC activities, events, and programs are all run by volunteers, we need your help!  You are asked to sign-up at registration for a “Fall Festival” committee (our annual fundraiser), and one other committee to help with one of the activities or programs listed above.  If we all work together then no one has to do as much work! 

For more information, please contact FPACGilbert@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help in making our school great!

Fall Festival is coming......

Email us if you can help!  FPACGilbert@gmail.com

THANK YOU!

Health Screening Help Needed

Health Screening - we need some more help please!

Sign up Here - http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4BA9A823ABF94-health

We are looking for volunteers to help line up the classes and get them through the screening process quickly and quietly.   

Nurse Lari is looking for just a few more helpers please.

THANK YOU!

Health Screening - Can You Help?

HEALTH SCREENING

Tuesday September 10th & 

Wednesday September 11th

8.30am - 11.00am and 12.30pm - 2.45pm

Please consider helping Nurse Smith on the day - lining up classes and helping where needed.

Sign up HERE

THANK YOU!

Weekly News....