January Newsletter

Dear Franklin Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

            You are receiving this newsletter right before we break for Christmas vacation.  On behalf of all the staff at Franklin, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season!  REMEMBER, we begin our Christmas vacation with an early dismissal.  Kindergarten will dismiss at 1:00 and grades 1-5 will dismiss at 1:30.   

Calendar of Events

Below are some dates to mark on your January school calendar.

                        January 4          School resumes at 8:00 a.m. for all students and staff

6             Delphos City Schools Spelling Bee @ Delphos Jefferson Middle

School, 7:00 p.m.

21          2^nd grading periods ends

18          Martin Luther King Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL

22                Winter In-service Day – NO SCHOOL

25        Quiz Bowl @ Shawnee Middle School, 4:30 p.m.

27          Report cards sent home with students

            5^th grade God, Flag and Country contest, 8:45 a.m.

 Franklin Spelling Bee Winners

Congratulations to Jace Stockwell, Brett Bowersock, and Holly Dellinger!  They were the winners of the Franklin Spelling Bee held on December 8^th.  Jace is a 5^th grade student in Mrs. Jennifer McElroy’s class.  He is the son of Jeff and Julane Stockwell.  Brett is a 5^th grade student in Mrs. Becky McClure’s class.  He is the son of Todd and Lisa Bowersock.  Holly is a 4^th grade student in Mrs. Amanda Smith’s class.  She is the daughter of Scott and Michele Dellinger.  Jace, Brett, and Holly will compete in the Delphos City Schools Spelling Bee on January 6^th at the Middle School.  The top Franklin speller at that spelling bee will move on to the Van Wert County Spelling Bee on February 4^th.  The first runner-up will represent our school at the Allen County Spelling Bee on February 6^th.  The second runner-up will be the alternate to the two county spelling bees.  We invite you to come to the Middle School on January 6^th and watch Jace, Brett, and Holly compete to see who will be the Franklin Spelling Bee Champion.

Franklin Quiz Bowl Team

Our 5^th grade quiz bowl team begins its season on Monday, January 25^th.  Members of this year’s team are:  Jakob Blackburn, Jace Stockwell, Lauryn McCann, Brett Bowersock, Kiya Wollenhaupt, Zoey Porter, Tori Schleeter, Kaitlin Siefker.  The team is coached by 5^th grade teacher, Mrs. Jennifer McElroy.  The team will compete against 5^th grade teams from other Allen County schools in a round robin format followed by a season ending tournament.  Below is the team’s schedule.

We wish our quiz bowl team good luck as they start their season and we encourage all of you to come out to the matches and cheer them on!

D.A.R.E. Graduation

Our 5^th grade students will have their D.A.R.E. graduation on Friday, January 15^th.  It will take place in the Robert Arnzen Gymnasium at Delphos St. John’s High School.  Every year the public and parochial schools of Delphos hold a combined D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony for their 5^th and 6^th grade students.  D.A.R.E. is an acronym for Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education.  The program is taught by Sgt. Mike White from the Allen County Sheriff’s Department.  The program teaches positive self-esteem and strategies for saying “no” to drugs and alcohol.  Graduation ceremonies will begin at 1:00 p.m.  Fifth grade parents will get a letter of invitation to this event.  Please return the bottom portion of the letter to school with your child.

Winter Staff In-service Day

On Friday, January 22^th, there will be no school for Franklin Students.  This day has been designated as an in-service day for the entire staff of the Delphos City Schools.  The Franklin staff will be involved in professional development activities throughout the day.  School will resume for students on Monday, January 25^th, at 8:00 a.m.

Fifth Grade God, Flag and Country Contest

All Franklin 5^th graders are required to participate in the God, Flag and Country Contest.  They research and write a three minute speech on the topic of God, Flag, and/or Country. The top three speeches are chosen from each classroom and these students compete for the honor of representing Franklin Elementary at the local God, Flag and Country contest sponsored by the Delphos Eagles on Sunday, February 21^st at 2:00.  Our school competition will be held on Wednesday, January 27^th.  I will publish the names of the finalists and winners in the March newsletter.

“Lost and Found” Items

We have our “lost and found” barrel in the office and there is still a lot of “stuff” in it.  We encourage you to come to school and check it out as time permits in your schedule.  You can view these items every day from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  If your child has lost an article of clothing, we might have it.  At the end of the school year, unclaimed items will be cleaned and donated to a local charity.

Arriving to School after the Bell

            If your child(ren) arrives after the 8:05 a.m. bell, please bring them to the office and sign them in.  Our younger students are not sure about the procedure when entering the security doors on the Southwest corner of the school (lobby).  The teachers have showed them the procedure, but just in case they forget, it would be appreciated that you bring them to the office to make sure they get to where they need to be.

Thank You !!

We would like to take this opportunity to express some big thank yous.  First, thank you to all of you who donated your time to assist us with the COSI on Wheels program in November.  It was a great day for our students.  It could not have happened without those of you who helped with the hands-on activities throughout the day.

Second, we wish to thank all the 5^th grade parents who donated cookies for the reception after the Christmas program on December 3^rd.  Also thank you to those parents who helped to serve at the reception.  Our Christmas program would not have been the success it was without your donations, help and support.

Thought for the Month

You must learn day by day,

year by year, to broaden your horizons.

The more things you love, the more you are interested in,

the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about,

the more you will have left when anything happens.

                                                                                    Ethel Barrymore, 1879-1959

                                                                                    American actress

Damon Ulm, Principal

A Franklin student won a teddy bear in the teddy bear raffle on the last day of school before Christmas Break.