September 18, 2020
Join the Randall Scratch Club - Virtual Edition!
For students in 4th and 5th grade, the popular Scratch Club has switched to Zoom for this semester. This PTO-sponsored club is taught by UW Computer Science students who share their love for computer programming with the kids using the Scratch programming language. It is coordinated and facilitated by a parent volunteer, Lisa Grueneberg (lisagrue@gmail.com).

Scratch Club will be held via Zoom on Wednesdays 3:30-4:30 starting September 30th. 

For more information and to sign up, click here. The registration deadline is Friday, September 25th at 8am.
Class Coordinators - We Need You!
All classes are still looking for at least one Class Coordinator!
The new Class Coordinator Program is designed to help classes build community through dedicated volunteers building connections between caregivers, students, and families with a particular awareness of reaching out to families who are less connected, marginalized, or struggling with virtual learning. We want this program to contribute to equity and inclusion at Franklin and Randall. 

We are looking for one or two caregiver volunteers from each classroom. This program is new and will adapt as it comes into being, but the four main roles we see are:

  1. Develop “Parent Buddies” or a Caregiver Meet-up Forum.
  2. Facilitate Social Connection Outside of Classroom Time.
  3. Act as Another Source of Support for Caregivers.
  4. Help to Create a More Equitable Classroom Community.

For more information please click here.

Please contact communityengagementfrpto@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer or if you have any questions.
Thanks for a Great Community
Engagement Meeting!
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Thanks to everyone that came to our virtual Community Engagement Meeting on Tuesday. We talked about virtual learning, Class Coordinators, equity and inclusion, and talking to our kids about racism. We recorded both the board meeting and the Community Engagement meeting, so if you missed it and want to check it out, look for it within the next week. 

Here are some resources we shared and discussed (click on the underlined bulleted entries below to read more):




  • We talked about watching or reading these books with our children and encouraged each other to do so.
Want to learn with other caregivers? Pick up a copy of So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (paper copy, ebook, and audiobook all available) and join us for a book discussion on September 29th at 7:30 PM. Please email Karen at karendreyfuss@gmail.com to register.

The Franklin 411 web page is also a great resource for connecting to Franklin staff, MMSD, and virtual resources 

I hope to see you at our next Community Engagement event!
Join Cub Scouts Pack 302!
The great outdoors are still open, and so is another year of Cub Scouting! Pack 302 is now accepting boys and girls ages 5 through 10 to join Cub Scouts. For this year, the pack will begin with small-group, outdoor activities safely conducted under the supervision of volunteer leaders and other parents. Virtual and individual activities will occur throughout the year as well. The methods might be different, but the purposes of Scouting are the same—teaching youth lifelong lessons in leadership, citizenship, the outdoors, and lots of other skills. 

Applications can be started here, or search for Pack 302 at BeAScout.org. Annual dues are typically required, but financial assistance may be available. Any questions about membership or activities can be sent to pack302madison@gmail.com. 
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To support the Franklin-Randall PTO while shopping on Amazon, use the Franklin-Randall Amazon Smile link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/20-0572517
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Goals of the Franklin-Randall Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) include helping children, parents, teachers and schools build a strong and positive school community.