Attendance Matters

We recognized students with good attendance and positive office referrals at our assembly today.  We also announced the winner of the November attendance challenge.  Mr. Schmitz's class won the challenge with over 99% average daily attendance for the month.  Way to go!  If you were paying attention, you will remember that they were one of two winners in our October Attendance Bingo Challenge.  We had 5 classrooms who were at 98% or higher.  Our school average was nearly 97%, which is above our district goal of 95%.

We gave gift certificates to students with perfect attendance.  46 students had perfect attendance for the first trimester.  That is more than 10% of our students, quite an accomplishment.

Here is a summary by grade of our attendance for November.  The last column is the one we use, the ADA%.  ADA stands for average daily attendance.

Franklin Elementary School
11/01/2011 to 11/30/2011 = 18 school days

Grade Level	Carry Fwd	Gain	Mult Gain	Loss	Ending	Actual Days	OffTrack	Days N/E	Days Absent	Days Attd	ADA	ADA %
0	66	2	0	0	68	1224	0	16	47.50	1160.50	64.47	96.07%
Subtotal	66	2	0	0	68	1224	0	16	47.50	1160.50	64.47	96.07%
1	68	0	0	0	68	1224	0	0	35.50	1188.50	66.03	97.10%
2	67	0	0	0	67	1206	0	0	48.00	1158.00	64.33	96.02%
3	59	0	0	0	59	1062	0	0	25.00	1037.00	57.61	97.65%
Subtotal	194	0	0	0	194	3492	0	0	108.50	3383.50	187.97	96.89%
4	63	0	0	0	63	1134	0	0	41.50	1092.50	60.69	96.34%
5	71	0	0	0	71	1278	0	0	37.00	1241.00	68.94	97.10%
Subtotal	134	0	0	0	134	2412	0	0	78.50	2333.50	129.63	96.75%
Grand Total	394	2	0	0	396	7128	0	16	234.50	6877.50	382.07	96.70%

The votes are in!

We are excited to announce the formation of a Franklin Elementary School Student Council! Student Council gives students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, plan and perform projects to benefit the school, and encourage a cooperative spirit within the student body. The Franklin Student Council consists of 3 representatives from each 4th and 5th grade classroom.

Interested students filled out an application on why he/she would be good representative and each class voted. We are excited to announce the new members of our Student Council...

Mrs. Vint's class: Karagin, Riley, and Kasean

Mrs. Rush's class: Natalie, Raymond, and Jessica

Mr. Schechinger's class: Alexis, Maxine, and Brooke

Mrs. Gustafson's class: Laura, Charity, and Cameron

Mrs. Aldrich's class: Pandora, Madisyn, and Vanessa

Mr. Schmitz's class: Tyanna, Alenah, and Taylor

Breakfast, the key to learning

This is a message from Nutrition Services. 

Before you send your kids out the door and off to school there may be something they're missing—and it's not their backpacks or lunches. "Numerous studies suggest that schoolchildren skip breakfast more than any other meal of the day," says Melissa Joy Dobbins, MS, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). "That means some kids go as long as 15 hours—or more—without food." That doesn't just leave their stomachs growling, it also impacts their ability to learn.
Kids who fuel up in the morning focus and concentrate better in the classroom and perform better on math, reading and standardized tests. They also have fewer behavior problems and are less likely to be tardy. Conversely, ADA's The State of Family Nutrition and Physical Activity Report: Are We Making Progress? finds that even a child who is well nourished but skips breakfast can have problem-solving difficulties that are serious enough to lower their test taking ability.
If getting your clan to eat breakfast is a challenge try these simple suggestions:

• Nix late night noshing: Many kids aren't hungry for breakfast because they snack at night. Try telling your kids the kitchen is closed after dinner and you'll be surprised how much hungrier they are in the morning.
• Prep the night before: Getting breakfast on the table is tricky for most busy families. Setting the breakfast table at night can make your morning a little smoother. While you're at it, why not put out a few boxes of whole-grain cereal for kids to pick and choose from? All they'll have to do in the morning is pour and add milk.
• Start small: If your family doesn't usually eat anything in the morning, it may take a while to develop the habit. Starting with a mini meal of yogurt topped with low-fat granola or a small slice of whole-wheat toast can make the transition easier.
• Set the alarm 10 minutes earlier: Hectic mornings can make it difficult for kids (and parents) to find time for breakfast. Waking up just a few minutes earlier provides time to squeeze in a quick morning meal.
• Dress first, eat second: Kids are more likely to feel hungry once they've had a chance to wake up.
• Make sure you're well stocked: No time to cook? No problem. Quick-fix foods like whole-grain cereal, string cheese, berries, yogurt, and whole-wheat toast, mini bagels and English muffins make grabbing breakfast a cinch.
• Be a good role model: "Kids mimic their parent's behavior," says Dobbins. "So make it a habit to sit down and eat breakfast with your kids every morning."

by Karen Ansel, MS RD

Attendance Matters

We had our first awards assembly of the year on Thursday.  We recognized students and staff who were here 95% of the time as well as students who received positive office referrals.  Mrs. Johnson took lots of pictures; hopefully those will show up on Facebook or a bulletin board near you.  Next month we will recognize students with perfect attendance for the first trimester.  We enjoyed a musical performance by kindergartners and third graders.  We hope to have musical performances at all of our assemblies this year.  We were pleased to see the parents who were able to attend.  Thanks for coming!

We announced the winners of our October Bingo Challenge.  Mr. Schmitz and Mr. Schechinger’s classes tied, so they both won a popcorn party.

For November we are participating in the Lysol Blue Ribbon Attendance Challenge.  They are offering $25,000 in prizes.  You can learn more about it on their website:  http://www.lysol.com/mission-for-health/schools/attendance-challenge
The focus of the challenge is on keeping healthy so we don’t miss school.

We will have an awards assembly each month.  We are currently working on the schedule for the rest of the year so parents have more notice of the date and time.  We would love to see more parents there to celebrate good attendance with us.

Fire Safety

October is fire prevention month.  Members of the Council Bluffs Public Education team were at Franklin Elementary on Monday, October 10th to teach fire safety to students.  They met with students in preschool through second grade.  First and Second graders visited the safety trailer.  In the trailer they learned how to get out of a house safely in the event of a fire, and were able to practice going out a window.  They also learned about the need to have fire drills at home, as well as at school  Preschool and Kindergarten students listened to the firemen talk about fire safety, and were able to see a fireman in all his gear up close and personal.  Look on our facebook page for pictures.

Internet Safety Workshop

Google and iKeepSafe Partner with School District to Host Internet

Safety Workshop for Parents -- October 4th

You don't have to be a computer expert to keep your child safe online!

 All District parents are invited to participate in a free workshop on

how to protect your children on the Internet. The event will be held

on October 4th, at Abraham Lincoln High School from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Doors will open at 6:00 p.m.

Pre-registration is not required. However, you are welcome to register

by sending an email to:digitalliteracytour@gmail.com. A link to

register online can be found on the Council Bluffs Community School

District website.

Co-host Google will supply snacks and Google goodies as part of this

Digital Literacy outreach. Iowa Senator Mike Gronstal will be a guest

speaker at the workshop.

Book Fair

Franklin Elementary will have a book fair during parent teacher conferences October 4th through 6th.  The books will be available for students to preview on Monday October 3rd.  The book fair will be open until 7:00 pm on the 4th and 5th, and until 6:45 on the 6th.  Parents are invited to stop in during the school day or during conferences.