Weekly Update
A Message from Principal Simpson
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Dear Parents,
I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful weather! I’ve recorded a video for today’s newsletter--you can watch it here. Also, please save your local community newspaper--the Herald, Independent, Citizen, News Press, etc.--and look for the ad congratulating our graduating eighth graders.
Please feel free to contact me with any comments, questions or concerns.
Mrs. Simpson
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BFA loves its volunteers, and we want to show our appreciation for all of your work. The PTO recognizes two volunteers each month. A volunteer will be chosen as the Volunteer of the Month, and will get exclusive use of the dedicated, reserved Volunteer of the Month spot in the parking lot for their respective month.
In addition, 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.
Thanks to all our volunteers for your continued support of BFA!
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Congratulations Alyssa Gale Freund |
For the month of May, Alyssa Gale Freund has been selected as the Ben Franklin Academy Volunteer of the Month. Alyssa spent a lot of time this year volunteering with the Community Events Committee (CEC). In particular, she spent countless hours coordinating the events for the CEC's part in Kindness Week in April, including the food drive. Thank you, Alyssa—we’re grateful for all your hard work on behalf of the CEC!
Alyssa and her husband, Thomas, have two children - Elliana and Griffin. Their daughter, Elliana, is currently in half-day kindergarten and also attended preschool at BFA last year. Their son, Griffin, is a very active 16-month-old. Alyssa grew up in Golden, Colorado, and graduated with her undergraduate degree in psychology from CU Boulder. After a few “gap years” as a nanny in Las Vegas, she met her husband in San Antonio during graduate school, where they both received a masters in counseling from UTSA. Alyssa currently stays at home with their kids, and has enjoyed volunteering with the CEC during the past year and as a co-room parent last year.
When asked what she likes about BFA, Alyssa responded, "We love Ben Franklin Academy because of the talented and committed people who make such growth in our children possible. It’s incredible how all of the families, teachers, and other faculty work together to make this school so special. We feel deeply grateful to be a part of the BFA community, and know that our daughter is receiving a well-rounded education from spectacular teachers."
Congratulations, Alyssa! We appreciate your dedication to serving the BFA community.
If you know someone who should be considered for volunteer of the month for outstanding volunteerism, please email Mollie Anderson, PTO president.
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This month, Brad Staib is the winner of our drawing for his volunteer time in April. Brad volunteered with Ben’s Brigade and with the STEM Committee, and has won a $10 gift card to Festive Cup Coffee. Congratulations, Brad! And, thank you again for your time and effort at BFA.
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Getting Ready for the 2021-22 School Year |
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School uniforms are an important aspect of BFA culture. They create a level playing field among students and reduce peer pressure and bullying. They also help students to focus on their studies, not their clothes. Uniforms enhance school pride, unity and community spirit and decrease discipline issues. For more information about school uniforms, parents can refer to the Uniform Policy and the Uniform Standards for All Students.
We recently expanded our uniform vendor options so families can choose the best fit, comfort and price point. Next school year, BFA parents will have the opportunity to purchase uniform items from three approved vendors—Educational Outfitters, French Toast and Tommy Hilfiger.
Links to the vendor sites can be found on the uniforms webpage. To get to the uniform page, please click here (and select uniforms at the top of the page) or visit the BFA website, then select parents, policies/uniforms/forms, and finally uniforms at the top of this page.
If there is enough interest, Tommy Hilfiger will offer a one-time try on event for our school to see uniform pieces in person and figure out sizing. Please complete this short survey if you may be interested in participating so we can schedule this event. (This is the same survey Mrs. Simpson previously put in her lead.)
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Backpack Society's Summer Food Program |
The Backpack Society’s Summer Food Program provides food for families with students enrolled at partnering schools, like BFA. This program runs weekly; families can sign up every week or as needed. This program provides groceries to help families get
through the week, not just the weekend.
Please see the flier for additional details.
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Summer Camp
Please Make Remaining Weekly Selections by June 4
Activity Calendar Available
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There is still Summer Camp availability in June and throughout the summer, so please sign up today through MySchoolBucks! If you would like a copy of the activity calendar to see all the FUN things we have planned this summer, please email summer camp.
We'll determine if we can host camp in July/August based on weekly sign ups we receive by end-of-day on June 4. Therefore, please plan to make your weekly selections for July and August by June 4, as without enough campers signed up for each week, we won’t be able to offer the program in July/August. If that's the case, we’ll let you know by close of business on June 8.
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A BIG THANK YOU for Supporting Teachers and Staff |
The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) would like to thank everyone for their incredible thoughtfulness during Teacher and Staff Appreciation week. With your help the teachers and staff enjoyed a week full of treats, flowers, cards, gifts and other surprises!
Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week would not have been successful without the time and effort of many! The PTO would like to thank The Baking Committee for their snack donations and Daisy Troop #66456 for the delicious Girl Scout Cookies. Thank you to Suburban Girl Boutique, Sunlight and Snowflakes, Hidden Beauty Hair, Trader Joe’s, Jen Jones, as well as the Schenck, Johnson, Bellinger, Anderson, and Crowe families who generously donated gift baskets for our staff drawing. Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped make this week possible. It is wonderful to see BFA come together to support the amazing teachers and staff at our school!
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If your student has medication in the health room, please plan to pick it up between 9 a.m. and noon during the last week of school. Only a parent/guardian or a designated adult can pick up medicine. Parents also can request that their student pick up any remaining medicine, but parents must email Teri DeBellis in advance at [email protected] with the request. She will put the medicine in a sealed envelope and send it home with the student. She will not release any medication to a student unless she receives a written request from the parent.
If applicable, you also will need to pick up any medication stored in BASE, as we will not transfer medications to BASE for summer camp this year. All medications that are not picked up by parents will be disposed of (expired or not).
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Sign Up for DCL's Summer Reading Program! |
Due to COVID restrictions, it's been more than a year since we've had a successful, in-person Book Fair to help raise extra money for new books with special library binding. And, with the number of active readers at BFA, we can certainly use extra funds for buying new books and replacing well-loved books! So, we're asking everyone to please consider signing up for the DCL Summer Reading Program--the school with the most sign ups by July 31 will be awarded $500. The entire family can sign up, and those that sign up between May 1 - June 15 are entered into a drawing to win a special prize. Thanks for your support and happy reading!
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Show Your Class Colors Tomorrow |
Let's enjoy the last day of Spirit Week by showing our class colors. Tomorrow, May 14, is COLOR DAY! Each grade is assigned a color to wear--let's color our entire school!
- Kindie - yellow
- 1st - green
- 2nd - dark blue/navy
- 3rd - purple
- 4th - orange
- 5th - white
- 6th - black
- 7th- light blue
- 8th - red
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Elementary Room Parents Needed |
The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is looking for elementary (grades K-5) Room Parents for next school year! Being a Room Parent is a great way to meet your volunteer hour requirement, develop a positive relationship with your child's teacher and become more involved at school. If you are interested, please send an email to Amanda Trenck and Lauren Flint, co-room parent coordinators, K-5.
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Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2021 PTO Elections. We are excited to announce our 2021-22 PTO Team and look forward to serving the BFA Community again next year. Additionally, thank you to the incredible 2020-21 PTO Team for your enthusiasm and volunteerism.
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Thank You Volunteers
Enjoy a BFA-Only Night at Pirates Cove
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Thank you to all the families who have volunteered this year. We sincerely appreciate all that you do for BFA! To show our thanks, the PTO is hosting a volunteer appreciation event - an evening at Pirates Cove – from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 27. All BFA families who have met and recorded their family's volunteer quota (30 hours per family or 15 per single household) will be rewarded with FREE admission for their immediate family to Pirate's Cove. The PTO has rented out the park for the evening of our event, so it will be a private BFA-only event. We hope to see all of our dedicated volunteers there!
Please log your volunteer hours as soon as possible. The deadline for logging hours is May 28. We love to recognize our volunteers so please don’t let your hours go unaccounted. Volunteer hours recorded by May 28 will not only go towards your Pirates Cove admission but a volunteer appreciation thank-you. A volunteer appreciation thank-you will be distributed at Pirates Cove and/or annual family check-in in August. If your family is leaving BFA entirely, and you have reached 50, 75, or 100-hour milestones, please email Denise Battista, PTO vice president. Happy logging!
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CEC Final Meeting of the School Year |
The Community Events Committee (CEC) will hold their final meeting of the school year at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19, at Smokin Fins (1104 Cpl Max Donahue Ln #102, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129). If you are interested in learning more about the CEC, please join them (and maybe even bring a friend!). Please RSVP to the CEC by Tuesday, May 18, so they can adjust the reservation as needed.
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Please join members of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for their end-of-year PTO Meeting! The meeting will be held in person from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 16, at Redstone Park in Highlands Ranch. The PTO will be providing boxed dinners from Modern Market and will have a variety of food options including vegetarian and gluten-free. Please RSVP using the SignUpGenius as space is limited and indicate on your sign-up if you have gluten-free and/or vegetarian dietary needs. They will do our best to accommodate. Hope to see you there!
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SAC is a Great Way to Serve |
The School Accountability Committee (SAC) will have their final parent meeting for the school year at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 20, and you’re welcome to join them. Being a member of SAC provides an excellent opportunity have an impact at BFA by reviewing school policy, advising the BFA Board and school leadership, and administering both the parent and student surveys. In addition, you’ll gain a better understanding of the inner workings of your family's school. Please consider joining them!
At the May meeting, they will review the final three policies and elect next year's SAC officers. If you're interested in joining the SAC and/or putting your name on the ballot for one of the four SAC officer positions, please review the SAC bylaws for information on the SAC's duties and the roles of the SAC officers. Then email the SAC Chair Woody Haynes.
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Extreme Fitness Summer Camp |
Grab your friends and get signed up for this summer's fun, yet intense workouts. Focus will include speed, endurance, as well as total body strength and conditioning. Trainings will be from 9-10:30 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday, June 8-July 8. Whether you are trying to stay in shape during off-season, or you're looking for a fun activity to do with your friends, Extreme Fitness will be a great physical activity to get outside and have fun with others. The camp is open to both current and next year's middle school students (grades 6th-9th). Early bird pricing is $125 per student, so sign up soon. Contact Mr. Macias or Ms. Svensen if you have any questions, or register using this link.
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Look For Volleyball Camp Registration Friday |
Attention incoming 2021 fifth through eighth grade boys and girls...please mark your calendar for the BFA Summer Co-Ed Volleyball Camp which will take place July 19 - July 23 in the Thunder Gym! Registration information will be sent out this Friday. In the meantime, see the flier for additional details.
The camp is for enrolled BFA students only.
Please contact Kristen Haufschild with questions.
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CaveSim Still Needs Volunteers |
Next week, Cave Dave will be returning to BFA and will bring CaveSim to kids in full-day Kindergarten as well as students in grades 1-5. Invented by a caver and MIT engineer, CaveSim makes highly realistic artificial caves that teach STEM concepts. During the programs, students explore 60 feet of cave passages filled with artificial cave formations, and learn a huge amount about caves, conservation, bats, geology, biology, chemistry, and a host of other subjects.
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There are several local high schools that have sent us fliers for their summer camps. See the links below:
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ThunderRidge High School is hosting several athletic camps this summer (scroll down to summer camps).
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Mountain Vista High School is offering a football camp this summer for students in grades 3-8.
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A Handful of Spots Left to See Junie B. |
The middle school musical, 'Junie B Jones' begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22, at BFA. Join Junie B. on her first day of first grade, where many changes are in store: Junie's best friend Lucille has found new best friends so Junie B. makes friends with Herb, the new kid at school. Then, while in 'Mr. Scary's' class, Junie has trouble reading the blackboard — and she may need glasses. Add in a friendly cafeteria lady, an intense kickball tournament and a Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal, and first grade has never been more exciting.
Tickets are FREE but you must sign up to attend the performance.
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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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Ben Franklin Academy
2270 Plaza Drive
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
www.bfacademy.org
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Main Office Phone: 720-383-4519
Attendance Phone: 720-432-9239
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