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Weekly Update
A Message from Board President Haley Maglieri
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BFA Board of Director Meeting Summary - Nov. 2023
In partnership with Principal Simpson, the BFA Board of Directors is proud to work for the students, parents and patrons of BFA in promoting the mission and vision of the school. The following summarizes action taken during our November Board meeting.
Thank you to our student tech support for this month’s meeting: JD Kim (5th grade)!
BOD Updates:
Mill Levy Passed!
The passing of the mill levy override is an outstanding result for our BFA staff who work incredibly hard for the success of our students and our school. The funds will help us close the salary gap between Douglas County and other metro area school districts. The district has announced an average of 9 percent for salary increases; but at BFA, we anticipate being able to provide at least 10 percent (if not more). Thank you to our community who voted and helped this ballot measure pass!
Fall Parent Survey
As mentioned last month, the SAC proposed a fall parent survey focused specifically on the classroom environment(s). This will provide our teachers with data and actionable feedback from our parent community earlier in the school year. This will be in addition to the annual SAC spring survey. It is anticipated that this survey will be provided to families following Thanksgiving break. An enormous thank you to Erika Kranz and Lara Chatterton for their hard work in preparing an efficient and organized survey.
Charter Renewal
The process of renewing our charter school contract continues. Last week, we submitted our waiver requests. Principal Simpson will be attending the DCSD School Board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 12, to share a presentation about our school. The BFA community is encouraged to attend to show support.
Board Succession
The Board Succession Committee is looking for interested parents to join the nomination committee in preparation for this year’s Board elections (held in April, 2024). Please contact Adam Lucero or Keri Street for additional information.
Financial Oversight:
Treasurer Sarah Nisbet provided the financial focus during the meeting. October financials were reviewed and recommended for approval by our Finance Committee. We remain focused on our financial health, including appropriate spending and quality investments.
The draft 2023/24 budget was reviewed and is anticipated to be approved during our December meeting.
Financial documents are made available on the Financial Transparency page of the BFA website.
Policy Governance:
The Board did not review any policies during the November meeting. No policies are scheduled to be reviewed in December.
Executive Session:
From time to time, you may see reference to an executive session on our agendas (as was the case for this month’s meeting). For those that may be curious, executive sessions allow the Board to discuss and consider certain issues in private as enumerated by law. Those issues include (without limitation) confidential matters, security arrangements/ investigations, personnel issues or conferences with our attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice. Due to the sensitive and private nature of these issues, these sessions are not open to the public. However, please know that no adoption of proposed policy, position, resolution, rule, regulation or formal action occurs at any executive session that is not open to the public.
Board BOLTS:
The Board and Principal Simpson recognize that there are BFA students who go above and beyond and achieve excellence in academics, character, effort and/or service. We are proud of these students and the characteristics they exemplify. Our Board BOLTS for November are:
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Emmett Ongert (3rd grade)
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Lainey Pierce (8th grade)
If you would like to nominate a student to be recognized as one of our Board BOLTS in December, please use this nomination form.
November Board Meeting:
The next BFA Board of Director meeting will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 19, in the Middle School Commons.
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We are filled with profound gratitude as we extend our heartfelt appreciation to BFA parent Dr. Megan Read for her extraordinary generosity in volunteering her time and expertise at our preschool for the past several years. Dr. Read goes above and beyond by devoting her precious days off from her demanding role as a Doctor in Audiology at Sound Relief Hearing Center to conduct hearing tests for our preschool children at BFA.
The impact of her selflessness and dedication is immeasurable, especially considering the vital role hearing plays in the speech and articulation development of our little ones. Dr. Read's expertise contributes significantly to the foundational aspects of hearing sounds crucial for reading and writing.
Her yearly commitment is nothing short of inspiring. We express our deepest thanks for her unwavering dedication to the well-being of our preschoolers and the broader BFA community. Dr. Read's kindness and invaluable service do not go unnoticed, and we are truly grateful for the positive impact she continues to make on our littlest students!
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We're Grateful to these SILVER BFA PTO Sponsors! | |
This week, we’re highlighting the second group of our sponsors in the SILVER category; we’re very thankful for their outstanding support and hope you’ll take a few minutes out of your day to learn about these businesses.
LAND QUEEN, Christianne Blevins
Land Queen is a trusted Real Estate Brokerage and Consulting Firm with areas of expertise including: acreage properties, development land, as well as water for Buyers, Sellers, Investors and Exchangers.
LEGACY MARTIAL ARTS, Jason Strong
At Legacy Martial Arts, their priority is to help each student become better versions of themselves. Their expert instructors will listen to your goals, and help you achieve them, in a fun, exciting, and welcoming environment. Learn more about their facility, programs, and community on their website.
MAGLIERI MEDIATION, Haley Maglieri
Maglieri Mediation offers modern, cost-effective conflict resolution by utilizing a virtual platform. They offer mediation services for homeowner and neighborhood association disputes, contractor non-compliance, personal injury, landlord-tenant, employment, general liability, construction, healthcare, real estate and contracts. Their mediation services are efficient, confidential and affordable.
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Tomorrow, Nov. 17, is a regular Dress of Choice (DOC) Day for students who have not had two uniform violations since the last regular DOC day. And, next week, Nov. 20-24, is Thanksgiving Break so there is NO SCHOOL!
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!
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Spirit Night at Zell's Panini and Crepes | |
The PTO's November Sprit Night is TODAY, Nov. 16, at Zell's Panini and Crepes – BOTH locations! Zell's will donate 20 percent on orders placed back to the BFA PTO.
The Spirit Night event will run ALL day at BOTH locations:
- 2229 Wildcat Reserve Pkwy Suite A 4, Highlands Ranch (hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m.); and
- 7521 S University Blvd, Centennial (hours are 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.).
You must mention that you are there for the BFA fundraiser. Online orders may be placed through www.zellscrepes.com (no 3rd party platforms); note on your order that it is for the BFA fundraiser.
Please spread the word. We hope to see you there!
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Open Enrollment and BFA Preschool Enrollment | |
All BFA families who have INCOMING K-8 students, including our current BFA preschoolers, MUST complete Open Enrollment between Nov. 1 – Dec. 1 to receive first-round priority and be eligible for a BFA offer. Plan to complete the process before Thanksgiving break as BFA will be closed and DCSD IT Support will have limited staffing to address any technical issues.
*CURRENT K-7 BFA students, returning for the 2024-25 school year, will automatically be enrolled. Please do NOT complete Open Enrollment for these students.
Visit the DCSD Open Enrollment Webpage to access the EngagED Portal to complete Open Enrollment, as well as for the most up-to-date information, instructions, and answers to commonly-asked questions. Remember: Parents need to add “@p.dcsdk12.org” to their current user names when logging into EngagED. For example, if your user name is absmith, you will enter absmith@p.dcsdk12.org. Your password will remain the same.
After reviewing this webpage, if you have additional questions or cannot login to the EngagED Parent Portal with your existing credentials, please email our Director of Admissions and Records, Colleen Bobbin no later than Friday, Nov. 10.
2024-25 Preschool Enrollment
Preschool Enrollment for the three-year-old and four-year-old classes will take place via the preschool webpage on the BFA website. Preschool enrollment for current BFA families will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Preschool enrollment for the general public will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
If you are interested in the Ben Franklin Academy Preschool program, please click here for more information.
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Thanks for Attending Our Veterans Day Celebrations! | |
Our Veterans Day event is always special, and this year was no different. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to recognize and honor the men and women who have served, and are currently serving, our country. Several of our guests stopped in classrooms after the assemblies to personally speak to our students about their experiences. If you haven't seen the slideshow presented at the assembly, you can view it here.
We would like to recognize our key supporters that helped make the day possible:
- Jade Buckler, speaker and BFA father
- Mason MacDonald, MC and demonstration leader
- Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 1106
- Douglas County Sheriff's k9 Unit
- Andy Michaud, played the bagpipes
- Mark Stallins, trumpeter
- Kelly Enders and her team at Starbucks
- Jamie Johnson, taught students the military anthems
- Heather Kimball, created the video
- Students in National Junior Honor Society
- CEC lead Nikki Busto and all our amazing volunteers
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Through your generosity, the Community Events Committee (CEC) collected more than 630 items to donate to veterans at the VA hospital! The donations, whether big or small, will have a positive impact for the veterans who receive them.
In addition, the Pie Appreciation Event was a success! Thanks to your donations, all our teachers, staff and administrators will go home with a delicious pie for their Thanksgiving table, compliments of our amazing school community.
From all of us at BFA, special thanks to the CEC who coordinated the Pie Appreciation Event, picked up more than 100 pies, and spent the morning organizing and distributing all the pies to staff!
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Get Your Spirit Wear Items Now -
Hurry, Sales End Sunday
| The PTO Spirit Wear store is OPEN and there are terrific new items, just in time for chilly weather and the holidays! Be sure to check out the new joggers and sweatshirt options; and keep scrolling to see the new youth caps and beanies. Also, pay special attention to the notes about items that are approved for the classroom. Click here to start shopping. All orders need to be in by Sunday, Nov. 19, when the store will close again so items can be processed. Merchandise will be delivered to your student’s classroom before winter break. | | |
Say Thanks with RaiseRight | |
Again, this year, we will be using the RaiseRight staff gifting program to facilitate convenient group gift-giving. Through this program, each family makes one payment for all of their teacher and staff gifts. Then, each teacher/staff member receives an email with the total amount collected, and selects which gift cards they would like to receive. By consolidating donations, we are able to provide teachers and staff with meaningful gifts.
This program allows the PTO to purchase the requested gift cards at discounts ranging from 2 - 21 percent, depending on the retailer. That discounted amount comes back to BFA from RaiseRight, and will be used for PTO funded programs at school.
Families will be able to place RaiseRight orders via MySchoolBucks and pay by credit card. You may designate how much you would like to give to each teacher/staff member in one-dollar increments. Collections will take place Nov. 27 - Dec. 3.
Participation in the RaiseRight program is completely voluntary. You are welcome to participate with any amount, or alternatively gift the teachers and staff on your own.
The gifts will be given to the staff the week before Winter Break, and will be in lieu of any other class gift/collection. Look for more information in future newsletters regarding details on how to contribute to your teacher's gift!
Questions? Visit the PTO webpage or contact Rebecca Mullenix, RaiseRight committee manager.
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November Drawing Winner - Cari Jordan | |
Each month, a volunteer will be randomly chosen through a drawing to win a fun, surprise gift. All you have to do to be eligible to win, is log at least ONE hour of volunteer service in the month prior to the drawing.
This month, Cari Jordan is the winner of our drawing for her volunteer time in October, and has won a gift card to Starbucks. Congratulations, Cari! And, thank you again for helping out around school!
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We Appreciate Trunk or Treat Volunteers! | |
Trunk or Treat was another huge success! The kids had a great time, and it was fun to see them all in costume. Plus, we had some wonderfully decorated trunks this year.
We are so grateful to the volunteers who made this a fun, festive event for our students! Thank you to everyone who worked to organize treats beforehand, hosted a trunk during the event, helped with set up and clean up, and to anyone donated treats. We could not have done this without you! And special thanks to Erin Wiley, PTO Trunk or Treat committee manager, for all of her work organizing the event!
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Support BFA while you Shop | |
If you are a King Soopers shopper, you can help earn money for BFA by signing up for King Soopers Community Rewards. For details on how to sign up for King Soopers Community Rewards visit their webpage or click here for instructions.
It's CRAZY how quickly this program adds up and how much our school can earn. From July - Oct. of 2023, BFA earned $5,341 back from this program!
Please contact Andreya Flanigan, PTO fundraising coordinator, with any questions. Thank you, again, for your support of BFA and the PTO!
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Mission:
Our mission is to create young adults with character like America's founding Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin: well-read, scientifically curious, and civically engaged.
Vision:
Our students will excel academically through a challenging, sequenced curriculum that emphasizes math, science, the arts, and literacy. We will be a data-driven institution, focusing on individual students. Our students, teachers, parents, staff, and leaders will be held accountable for the success of our school. Finally, we recognize that an education is incomplete without fostering social emotional development, character, sports, and nature.
13 Virtues:
Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Purity and Humility.
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