Elmwood Franklin School will proudly welcome alumna Lindsay Acker '12 as the graduation speaker at the Class of 2021 commencement ceremony on June 9.
 
Lindsay Acker '12 (she/her) is a talker and listener, and she comes from long lines of the same. She recognizes herself as a composition of the people, relationships, and communities that pour into her, and she tries to bring that melody with her every day and everywhere she goes. Her relationships, experiences, and studies have led to a passion for transformative and restorative justice, working to reimagine the systems that uphold domination and punishment into ones that thrive on equitable collaboration and accountability.

These passions, in turn, brought her to the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition. At ECRJC, Lindsay's role as the program and case coordinator encourages and supports accountability and healing in communities in Buffalo, NY, through community circles and restorative conferencing. Lindsay also volunteers at the Third Space Initiative at United States Heartland China Association. Here she uses her facilitation and circle keeping-skills rooted in Indigenous practices to create an equitable and empathetic space, undermining conventional power dynamics and advancing the practice of intercultural engagement. Her enthusiasm for the transformative power of stories includes a passion for theater, and in non-Covid times you can find her attending, teaching, acting, or working on and off stage.

Lindsay is a proud 2012 EFS grad and graduated valedictorian from Williamsville South High School in 2016. Following high school, she attended Eastern Mennonite University, earning her Bachelor's degree in Peacebuilding and Development in 2020. Lindsay completed her Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation in 2021 from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University.

February 1 is World Read Aloud Day!

We are challenging all families to read aloud together at home this week and share a reading selfie to social media with #EFSreads2019. We will collect all of your photos and put them into a movie to share with our students and community (make sure to set your photos to public, so we can see them). If you are not on social media, we still want you to participate! Email your photo to msaldanha@elmwoodfranklin.org. Whether you are posting or emailing, please do so by Thursday, January 31 at 10 a.m. On Friday morning, we will come together as a school, read a book aloud, and watch the video of our families’ photos.

Why are we so excited about World Read Aloud Week?

1. We love books!
2. Research shows that reading aloud to children at least three times a week develops stronger reading skills, leading to greater academic achievement in school.
3. Sharing cozy time with a book as part of a bedtime routine is a great way unwind at the end of a busy day.
4. Reading aloud to children models strong fluency skills, such as language development, comprehension, and understanding of language.
5. Focused time with literature helps to enrich the skills that we are building throughout their day at EFS.

​So, curl up with your family and a good book, snap a reading selfie, and send it our way! We can't wait to see what you have been reading!

Eighth grade students were given a series of challenges to encourage them to think creatively and examine problems from fresh perspectives to find solutions. These activities were led by Dr. Cyndi Burnett, Associate Professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State, as part of the students’ preparation for their capstone projects.

Elmwood Franklin School will proudly welcome alumna Lauren Gioia ’90 as the graduation speaker at the Class of 2018 commencement ceremony this June.
 
Lauren joined Sotheby's in 1998 and has been in the art market ever since. She was appointed Director of Sotheby’s Press Office, Americas in 2010, and in 2015, Lauren was promoted to Sotheby's Worldwide Director of Communications. During her tenure, Lauren has been responsible for the promotion of numerous historic auctions, including the sales of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, The Magna Carta, and The Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection.

As Worldwide Director of Communications, Lauren oversees a network of more than 20 international press officers operating in more than ten countries and travels extensively to support Sotheby’s auctions, events, and initiatives. Lauren's responsibilities include all corporate communications connected to Sotheby’s obligations as a public company, as well as the execution of Sotheby’s social media strategy.
 
A graduate of Elmwood Franklin School and Nichols School, Lauren earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Led by Upper School math teacher Claire Barry, sixth grade teams participating in the SIFMA Foundation's Stock Market Game placed second and third in the fall regional competition of middle school students. The Stock Market Game is an online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students in the world of economics, investing, and personal finance.

For the game, students make hypothetical investments totaling $100,000 in real stocks over a 10-week period. Successful teams must work together to make financial decisions, learn how to read and interpret statistics, and monitor the performance of their portfolios. The top three money-making teams are awarded medals.

Elmwood Franklin sixth graders Ian, Petros, and Bryan placed second, finishing with a final equity of $116,567.29, and Katherine and Ella placed third, finishing with a final equity of $115,794.89—both teams outperforming the S&P! Our students also placed sixth, seventh, and eighth out of 152 teams in their division.

Ian, Petros, and Bryan noted that one of the best experiences of playing the game was researching stocks and identifying trends. The students took a big chance investing in Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD). They said they had a hunch it was going to grow, and it did! By the time they were ready to sell, BWLD increased from $104 to $150 a share and their investment paid off! In the end, the students earned $16,567 dollars in a little over two months. Although, Ian reflected on their experience, “[I would] probably not be as successful with real money, because I would be too nervous!”

“The Stock Market Game helps my students build a fundamental understanding of investing through real-world math and economics,” shared Mrs. Barry. “Students need to work together to build and manage a hypothetical investment portfolio based on actual, dynamic markets. They analyze and make decisions, explore the consequences of their choices, and seek new ways to strategize for success. It is an engaging way to develop critical problem-solving and money-management skills that will benefit them now and in the future—and they have so much fun playing!”

While Elmwood Franklin School first graders are enjoying the perks of childhood—singing songs, playing outside, drawing with crayons—they’re also learning some impressive things—story structure, prepositional phrases, vowel diphthongs, place value, fact families, fractions, geography, economic systems, and much, much, more. One of the teachers leading their learning is Judy Jurnack, who began teaching at Elmwood Franklin School in 1979 and has since welcomed more than 1,000 students into her classroom.

Place of birth: Buffalo 

Education: BS in elementary education, Daemen College

Years at EFS: 39

What she loves about first grade: “The kids! They are so curious and eager to learn. It's fun to see the progress they make by the end of each year. Also, I love the hugs.”

What she values most about her job: Judy says it’s the great kids, supportive parents, and amazing colleagues.

What challenges her: “Having to let go of a class in June. You really do get attached to them! Having said that, it's exciting to start fresh each September. Not many occupations can boast that!”

On her own memories of first grade: “Ironically, I have very negative memories of first grade! In fact, my mother had to have several conferences with my teacher, Mrs. Mroz, to talk about my tearfulness. Maybe that's why I've wanted to be a first grade teacher as long as I can remember—to help kids learn and be happy!”

If Judy weren’t a teacher, she’d probably be a: sports writer or commentator 
Hobbies: reading, sports (especially the Sabres and Bills!) home decorating, day trips

Favorite book: Judy particularly loves mysteries by Patricia Cornwell, Jeffrey Deaver, Vince Flynn, and others.

A few things you may not know about Judy:  Her first job was working in the Dutch Shoppe at Fantasy Island, wearing wooden shoes and all. She’s an animal lover despite having been thrown by a horse and knocked over by a 400 lb. pig while visiting a friend's farm. And she started college intending to become an English teacher after being told there would be more job opportunities, but switched nearly at the last minute to pursue her dream of being an elementary school teacher! “It took an extra year of college to complete my program,” she notes, “but thank goodness I listened to my heart!”
​

EFS families celebrated World Read Aloud Day by reading together at home. Thanks for sharing your photos (and books) with us!

The fourth graders' study of immigration culminated in the production of "Journey to America," a collection of monologues and poems written and performed by the students chronicling the immigrant experience.
 
The fourth graders used first-hand accounts and primary source documents including interviews, journals, and letters to understand the immigrant experience throughout history starting with the perspective of Native Americans to immigrants today. This past November, the fourth graders visited Lafayette International High School to speak with 30 students—immigrants and refugees from Tanzania, Egypt, Nepal, Bangladesh, Syria, Congo, Afghanistan, and more—about their experiences moving to the United States. This play is the result of the students’ studies and research and shares the stories of immigrants from all over the world during different time periods—their reasons for coming, their expectations, their experiences, and what they have gained and left behind.

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 80+ Elmwood Franklin School students and parents gave back to the community by participating in our second annual Day of Service to benefit Meals on Wheels. Students from preschool to eighth grade and their parents delivered meals to homebound seniors and disabled individuals in the Buffalo area in the Meals on Wheels program. 

Thank you to Meals on Wheels for WNY for this opportunity to live our mission and to Buffalo Seminary and Nichols School for the use of their buses.