August 9, 2022

Dear Franklin Families:

Welcome to the 2022-23 school year. My name is Wendy Wax and I am a retired SMMUSD administrator with 46 years of experience, 27 of which have been in SMMUSD! Needless to say, I started quite young! I am thrilled to be able to return to Franklin as your Interim Principal while the search for your permanent leader continues. In that I agreed to work four (4) days a week, (I am the nanny for my first grandson on Thursdays), I am excited to let you know that Barry Yates, a colleague and retired principal from our District, has agreed to fill in on Thursdays and any other time we need him. (I also have a short vacation planned and paid for). I highly respect Barry and know we will be a reliable team. Some of you may know him from Summer Adventure or when he worked at Franklin as an administrator in years past. Together, we will work with Sheri Hynding, our hard-working Assistant Principal, to assure your children get the stellar education you have come to know at Franklin.

Change is hard for most of us and these times can be unsettling. We can assure you that we will work hard to transition from the lovely Mrs. McGregory and then get our newly selected leader up to speed. Please be patient with all of us.

Our PTA leaders and members have been working hard on behalf of our students, families and staff. We know that parent and community involvement along with engagement and consistent attendance will prepare our young people to be responsible, successful and caring citizens.

We would like to welcome a few other people to our Franklin Staff. Breahna Lowe and Krikor (Koko) Mesrobian will be teaching 4th grade. Jamie McClung will join the third grade team and our new TK teacher will be Holly Hodges, who was our former Instructional Coach. We are in the midst of interviewing an Office Specialist and will announce the person once selected.

The drop-off and pick-up procedures at Franklin will mirror our last few years. Our TK and Kindergartners will drop off from the gate off of Montana and 25th street and our 1st-5th graders will drop off at the Idaho East gate. Drop-off will begin at 8:15 AM. We are a closed campus and have a wonderful valet system where cars can pull up along Idaho, receive adult help out of the car, and be directed towards the Idaho East gate.

When picking up children, teachers will walk the students to their gates.

• The TK/K will be picked up in their classrooms. The gates off Montana will be opened.
• Grades one and two will be dismissed from the Idaho East gate at 2:45 p.m.
• Third grade will be dismissed from the Idaho East gate at 3:00 p.m.
• The fourth and fifth graders will be dismissed from the Idaho West gate at 3:00 p.m.

As we open school, you will receive many emails, digital information and an opening packet sent home with your child(ren) which requires completion with a return date by August 29th. These communications contain important information and we hope you will seriously consider investing what is comfortable for you in your child’s education. Your commitment makes a huge difference in the quality of our school’s programs. The PTA donations support the “stuff we need” and the SMEF (Santa Monica Education Foundation) donations support staff. Additionally, we stay committed to providing many opportunities for parents to be involved in the Franklin Community. Please be generous with your time as well, if you are able.

We look forward to an exciting year knowing together we will ensure each and every student receives the best well-rounded education in order to become a capable, confident lifelong learner.

Let’s go Franklin Bolts!

Warmly, Wendy Wax, Barry Yates and Sheri Hynding, Administrative Team