
Third graders in Ms. Boan's and Mr. Pask's classes investigated in Science together! Can you tell what they were dissecting?











So much progress this week on our playground!






Franklin's school newspaper, The Playground Press, meets at lunch and works on articles that interest them. They research, plan for interviews, take notes in their little reporter notebooks and keep their fingers on the pulse of Franklin School!






School Store is up and running! Our students love when they get to make purchases here and it's great practice in making change with money!







Recess and lunch are a time for a needed break from all of the hard work students do during the morning and are a chance to re-energize themselves for an afternoon of even more learning! But, this time is also more than just a break. It's a chance to try new things, take risks, build friendships and practice social skills. Students have time to connect with each other in a less structured atmosphere than the classroom which allows them to learn to play as a team like in basketball and football and to practice winning and losing at 4-square. Indoor recess works different "muscles". Students play Uno, Jenga, Battleship or Monopoly. They build with Legos or enjoy chatting with friends in other classes. Lots of fun and lots of learning as well!











Project Playground has broken ground! Looking forward to greater accessibility and fun! Thank you Project Playground!




Today is World Kindness Day! Franklin students are chalking the walk with messages of kindness and positivity!











Franklin School was very fortunate to have two veterans visit for a whole school assembly today. Mrs. Purdo, a Franklin Mom and veteran herself, arranged for Col. William Morris from the Army National Guard to visit and speak about serving others and his almost 40 years in the military. His service included responding to local needs after Sandy, serving in Iraq as well as Guantanamo Bay. He took considerable time to thoughtfully answer student questions. He was a big hit. Fun fact, driving a tank is as easy as driving a riding mower!











The Westfield Public Schools and Town of Westfield are recipients of the 2024 Green Team Collaboration Award for their joint efforts in creating and promoting sustainable practices in our schools and the community. Full story: https://www.westfieldnjk12.org/article/1868555


The Franklin Band, and their maestro Mr. Staluppi, assembled this morning before school to begin preparation for the winter concerts. The enthusiasm was palpable!








More from Election Day!







Wilson and Franklin teachers got together in the Franklin gym after the 12:30 dismissal to collaborate on data-based instructional decisions. They started to review new reading resources and aligned them with student needs.


Franklin and Wilson teachers are engaging in professional development together this afternoon. There is so much collaborative conversation happening here!





Two Lunch Tuesday is a great way to help others in need. Not everyone has a refrigerator or pantry filled with food. These lunches are so needed and so appreciated by the folks at St. Joes in Elizabeth. We have introduced a friendly competition between the grade levels to see who can make the most lunches. It started with 1st Grade this week with a total of 258 lunches! Let's see what 2nd Grade can do next week! Thank you to everyone for their help and their generosity!









Voting is underway at Franklin School. Students are voting for the next spirit day. Who will win? Crazy Hair Day or Games Day? Students registered to vote. They participated in a primary to help us select the two most popular ideas. Now they are busy making their final decisions! Excitement is in the air!









The orchestra is already meeting before school to prepare for the winter concert! They were working on everything from their sitting position, bow placement and taking their cues from their maestra Mrs. Naylor. That's all before they played a note!







Students in 5D made diyas (oil lamps) for Diwali.



Congratulations to Mel (not pictured), Mason, Miles, Samantha, Nathan, Katherine, Vera, Owen, Sophie and Alex (not pictured) for being noticed by their teachers for demonstrating good character!









Mr. Geyer teaches music and so much more! He's teaching a STEAM class about music engineering. The students created Play-Doh remote controllers after they discovered which objects were conductive. In the second picture, fourth graders created collaborative monsters inspired by the book where the wild things are, using instruments as props, and ending with a monster parade. In the third picture, second graders played a game to the song hop old squirrel and discovered their new note Re.




Student Council is preparing for Veterans Day. These students created a display to celebrate the event and get the word out. We are lucky to have Col. William Morris from the National Guard coming to speak to our students.


