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Vol. 10, Iss. 9
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March 5, 2020
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Dear Parents,
Our core virtue for March is Tranquility:
Keep yourself from reacting poorly to others. People are not perfect and the world is not fair. Learn to deal with both despite imperfections. Be patient.
Thank you to everyone who has already been displaying this virtue while we switch over to the new carpool system. As with anything new, there are glitches to work out and we appreciate your positive attitudes and smiling faces during carpool. The app developer was here yesterday during carpool and we think we know what happened halfway through. Today we will use both systems again, so be ready to Check-In using the app, but don't be surprised if you also get scanned.
I know there is a lot of concern and media coverage surrounding the Coronavirus. As of right now, there are no confirmed cases in Colorado. We have had instances other of flus and illnesses here at Ben Franklin, but nothing out of the ordinary. I want to assure you that our school is cleaned daily and we are using our Clorox sanitizing machine in classrooms and other areas of the school to try and keep the germs at bay. We need your continued help as well by keeping sick children at home until they are no longer sick. I know there also is some concern among parents about traveling for spring break, and I'd encourage you to go to the CDC
or WHO websites
to get accurate information on travel recommendations as well as other outbreak information.
Our k-5 students have done an amazing job fundraising for the American Heart Association (AHA). Next week, Student Council will be hosting "Charity Week" for the middle school students. Proceeds from sticker sales, the spike-ball tournament, pizza lunch and Dodgeball for Dollars will all also go towards AHA. After next week, we should have a total of more than $20,000 raised!
A couple of weeks ago, I said I'd share my "screen-time" goal with you all. I am trying to decrease my screen-time by 10 percent each week. I hope that some you also set some goals around reducing "screen-time" and increasing "face-time." The weather looks like it will be glorious this weekend, so hopefully, that will help us all get outside and enjoy the sunshine!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Diana Simpson
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BFA loves its volunteers, and we want to show our appreciation for all of your work. Again this year, the PTO will be recognizing TWO volunteers each month. One volunteer will be chosen as the 'Volunteer of the Month,' and will get exclusive use of the dedicated 'Volunteer' spot in the parking lot for their month.
Each month, a second volunteer will be randomly chosen through a monthly 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.
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CONGRATULATIONS BEN AND LYNSEY!
For the month of March,
Ben and Lynsey Humphries have been selected as the Ben Franklin Academy
Volunteers of the Month.
When considering outstanding volunteers at our school, Ben and Lynsey are consistently brought up by multiple sources. Over the years, they have been staples to BFA's volunteerism. We greatly appreciate their participation in school committees and want to be sure we recognize their significant contributions. Ben and Lynsey exemplify
Ben Franklin's virtues of
resolution, sincerity, and humility every year. F
or all of their efforts, we'd like to say thank you and recognize them.
Ben and Lynsey are the proud parents of Joseph in eighth grade. According to them, they are a fun and silly family that is always up for an adventure or trying something new (unless it involves heights as Lynsey is not a fan!). They have been at BFA since it's opening in 2011, and have cherished every minute of being a part of the BFA community. In Lynsey's words,
"It will be hard to join a new school community next year as Joseph moves on to high school. We love so much about BFA, but the incredibly devoted, fun, loving teachers and staff will always hold a very special place in our hearts. We have loved every teacher that Joseph has had and the positive impact they have been in his life. The lessons that Joseph has learned at BFA, he will carry with him for the rest of his life."
Congratulations again Ben and Lynsey. We sincerely appreciate all you do for BFA!
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THANK YOU BRAD AND CARYN!
This month,
Brad and Caryn Staib are the winners of our drawing for their volunteer time in February. They volunteered with the STEM Committee, Morning with Moms, and with Ben's Brigade, and have won a $10 gift card to Chipotle. Congratulations, Brad and Caryn! And, thank you again for your time and effort at BFA.
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The developer has been making minor adjustments to the app this week, but we also need some help from parents to make this new process successful.
Please open the app and Check In when you get to the red flag (between the two red stripes). DO NOT CHECK IN BEFORE YOU PULL UP TO THE CHECK IN ZONE. If you Check In early, there is a chance your student will be mixed up in an earlier release and that will cause confusion for the both your student and the staff managing the dismissal process.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL VIRTUES AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to
Sawyer Henbest (8th grade) and V
era Winkler (8th grade) for displaying our February virtue of
PURITY -
Be pure in thought and deed. White lies, a little gossip, and small, mean words are painful and say more about you than about others. What you think about others is how you will treat them. Develop good thoughts and feelings toward all.
More than 30 middle school students were recognized and entered the drawing last month--great job middle schoolers!
In March, we will focus on the virtue of TRANQUILITY - Keep yourself from reacting poorly to others. People are not perfect and the world is not fair. Learn to deal with both despite imperfections. Be patient.
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SOCIAL STUDIES FAIR: BREAKING BARRIERS IN HISTORY
The eighth grade Social Studies Fair projects that have been coming through the front doors this week look amazing! The eighth grade class has been working hard in their language arts and social studies classes during the past month researching topics spanning the globe and time periods. The eighth graders wrote research papers, created a project, and presented their findings in class with the theme of "
Breaking Barriers in History." Students will be exhibiting their work at the annual Social Studies Fair in the Lightning Gym tomorrow, March 6.
Parents are welcome to visit the fair between 8:30 - 11 a.m. and 12:40 - 2:30 p.m.
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'DI'ing FOR YOUR SUPPORT
DESTINATION IMAGINATION (DI) TOURNAMENT ON SATURDAY
Come cheer on your BFA Destination Imagination (DI) teams at the South Metro tournament THIS Saturday, March 7, at Fort Logan Northgate 3-8 (4000 S. Lowell Blvd., Denver, 80236).
BFA has
two middle school and secondary level teams
competing in the afternoon. Our teams will be demonstrating their problem solving skills in the following category:
Improv Challenge: To the Rescue
- Noon, Fantastic Fajitas...We're Spicy!, Middle
- 1:40 p.m., SSSSTT: SuperSillyous Serendipitous Sophisticated Savvy Think Tank, Secondary
The teams would enjoy your support and it always helps to see BFA faces in the audience rooting them to victory! Everyone is welcome. The entire tournament schedule is available by clicking
here.
THANK YOU to the parent team manager volunteers and team members for your time and dedication to this year's participation in DI. The students have put in countless hours to devising creative solutions for their specific challenges, and the team managers helped guide them along the way. The teams are as follows:
Team Name:
Fantastic Fajitas...We're Spicy!
, To The Rescue, Improv
, Middle Level
Team Members:
Sam Egolf, Evan Heitman, Téa Sunahara and Makenna Washeck
Team Managers:
Amy and Jason Sunahara
Team Name/Challenge:
SSSSTT:
SuperSillyous
Serendipitous Sophisticated Savvy Think Tank
, To The Rescue, Improv, Secondary
Level
Team Members:
Sreehitha Sajja, Tyler Sunahara and Tuhin Sur
Team Managers:
Amy and Jason Sunahara
Good luck to BFA's DI teams!
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THANK YOU FROM BFA AND AHA!
BFA has completed the
American Heart Association (AHA) Kids Heart Challenge and you did an incredible job raising $16,225.14 for The American Heart Association! WOW--thank you BFA!
The donations we raised help fund lifesaving research that benefit people all across the country, like Alexa who has had THREE surgeries on her special heart! You can see her story here:
https://youtu.be/2I1fRcpW7Mg
If you have not turned in your Kids Heart Challenge donation envelope yet you can still turn a check into Mrs. Crespo. And, the top fundraisers from each grade are REALLY looking forward to having some FUN with SLIME, which will happen after spring break.
Thank you for all of your hard work and accepting the challenge to live heart healthy!
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MICI SPIRIT DAY/NIGHT ON TUESDAY
Come enjoy a delicious dinner and support BFA! Mici Handcrafted Italian (9245 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch) will generously donate 20 percent of all dine-in, delivery, and carry-out purchases next Tuesday, March 10, between 11 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. Just be sure to mention BFA!
Help us make this evening a success by sharing this great opportunity with your family, friends and colleagues!
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SO MANY REASONS TO JOIN THE PTO!
Thinking about volunteering with the PTO? There are so many reasons why you should! Here are just a few:
- We make a difference! The PTO has raised funds to provide all types of items for the school, from library books to the MakerSpace.
- We're about involvement, not just fundraising. Fundraising is an important part of what we do, but we're also about creating a strong school community.
- You'll meet new people and have fun! Joining the PTO is a great way to get connected with others and with the school. And, with more than 40 positions, we've got a role that will suit your talents and availability.
PTO elections will be held April 27 through May 1, and we've got a variety of volunteer positions available. The right position is waiting for you! Beginning March 9, nominate yourself or someone you know under the PTO Elections tab on our webpage.
More information on the PTO, including the top ten reasons to join the PTO and j
ob descriptions of the PTO's volunteer opportunities, can also be found on our webpage.
Or, come to one of our monthly meetings held on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanders Science Lab.
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LOST AND FOUND DONATED SOON
Lost and Found will be donated during Spring Break. There are still a lot of nice jackets, lunch boxes, water bottles and BFA uniform items in the pile. Please ask your student to check lost and found.
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DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME TIPS
Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 8, which means we'll 'spring forward' and have more daylight in the evenings.
Fun and Function recently sent some tips on ways to help kids adjust to daylight savings time. Below are several of their recommendations:
- Help your child prepare by talking about what to expect and when it will get darker later
- Shift your child's bedtime 10-15 minutes earlier each night before the clock change
- Increase exercise to help the body adjust and tire by bedtime
- Keep to a predictable schedule
- Use light-blocking shades for visual cues at bedtime
- Limit unnecessary activities for a week after the time change
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SUMMER BOOT CAMP FOR INCOMING 1-5 GRADE STUDENTS
Help prevent some of the inevitable Summer Slide by joining Sarah Harrell, Ellen Cain, and Katie Carvalho for Summer Boot Camp at BFA! They will be hosting Boot Camp sessions for incoming students in grades 1-5.
Incoming first graders will meet for 1.5 hours per day, and all other students will meet two hours a day.
The June and July Boot Camps will meet over three consecutive days, while the
August
Boot Camp (incoming 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade only) is a 1-day camp.
Please visit our SignUpGenius
for more information about exact dates and costs, as well as to sign up. Space is Limited!
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ALL INVITED TO THE MARCH CEC MEETING
The monthly CEC meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. We will be gathering at Old Blinking Light, in the front section of the restaurant, for our meeting. Please join us as we plan for the remaining CEC Events this school year. All are welcome!
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THANKS FOR ATTENDING PARENT SEMINAR
Thank you to all the parents who took time out of their busy schedules to attend the CEC Parent Seminar on Executive Functioning this past Tuesday evening. By all accounts, it was a huge success! Of course it could not be made possible without the expertise of our very own BFA School Psychologist,
Hugh Redford. We appreciate his time presenting valuable information to our parent community. If there is a topic that you feel would be interesting/informative for the larger BFA community for a future Parent Seminar, please feel free to email us at
[email protected].
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BOYS VOLLEYBALL TRYOUTS NEXT WEEK
SIGN UP TO TRY OUT BEFORE FRIDAY DEADLINE
The middle school boys volleyball season begins this spring with their first game on April 7. This year, we'll have two teams coached by Mrs. Haufschild and Mrs. Murphy. We expect to have between 10-12 players on each team. Practices will likely be held BEFORE school throughout the season. If your middle school student wants to be a part of BFA's winning athletic tradition by trying out for our boys volleyball team, please mark your calendar for the following dates:
- Register for tryouts on MySchoolBucks NOW through 9:59 p.m. tomorrow, March 6. No payment is necessary at this time; the coaches would like to know how many kids plan to try out.
- Tryouts will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Monday, March 9, and Tuesday, March 10, in the Thunder Gym. There will be a 15-minute parent meeting at 5:45 p.m. on March 9. (Please note the time change.)
- Callbacks will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, in the Thunder Gym.
- Teams will be announced on Thursday, March 12. Registration details will be provided at that time.
- Practices begin after spring break, with the first game on April 7.
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We're very excited about all the fun things we have planned for summer camp this year! This year, we've split our weekly sign-ups into the following options:
1) Three days of In-House Summer Camp for $105/week, per child; and
2) Two days of Bolts Adventures Field Trip Summer Camp for $100/week, per child.
In
MySchoolBucks, you can choose either option, or choose both In-House AND Bolts Adventures Summer Camps to ensure child care for the entire week. We hope that gives parents the additional flexibility they enjoy, while streamlining the process for parents who need weekly coverage. With this change, the full week cost is $205 per week.
The annual registration fee has not changed, and is $35 per child.
Please click here to register your child(ren); sign-ups for In-House and Bolts Adventures Camps will be available later this spring. The first week of camp will be May 27-29 and will cost $115, as camp will only be three days that week (we will not split out this week into In-House and Bolts Adventures Camps).
Program Details:
Dates: May 27-August 14 (Closed June 29-July 3)
Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Days: Monday through Friday
Summer Camp is open to any 2020-21 enrolled BFA Kindergarten-eighth grade student 5-years-old and above. Your child must be 5 on or before May 27, 2020 to participate.
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Join Ms. Johnson for a FUN after school improvisation class! The Comedy Improv class is for students grades 3-8 and will be held from 3:30 - 4 on Tuesdays beginning March 24 and going through May 12. This class provides an introduction to students wanting to learn the fundamentals of improvisation. Participants will learn the basic tools, rules and philosophy through games, drills and simple scenes.
Sign up today!
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SOCIAL STUDIES FAIR: BREAKING BARRIERS IN HISTORY
Eighth grade students will be exhibiting their projects at the annual Social Studies Fair in the Lightning Gym tomorrow, March 6.
Parents are welcome to visit the fair between 8:30 - 11 a.m. and 12:40 - 2:30 p.m.
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Tours for prospective K-8 families will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays now through
March 31.
We'll also have a tour on April 7 and May 5.
Please note, there will be no tours on
March 17
while students are on break. And, if there is a school closure or delay, there will be NO TOUR.
Anyone going on a tour should bring a Driver's License and arrive a few minutes early so we can scan their license before the tour begins.
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Mici Handcrafted Italian (9245 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch) will generously donate 20 percent of all dine-in, delivery, and carry-out purchases next Tuesday, March 10, between 11 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. Just be sure to mention BFA!
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There is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Committee meeting from
5:30 - 7:30 on Tuesday, March 10, in the Sanders Science Lab.
BFA parents are welcome to attend and find out more about STEM Committee activities at BFA!
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The monthly CEC Monthly Meeting will be Tuesday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. We will be gathering at Old Blinking Light, in the front section of the restaurant, for our meeting. Please join us as we plan for the remaining CEC Events this school year. All are welcome!
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Plan to attend the PTO meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, in the Sanders Science Lab. The PTO members would love to see you there!
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FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
There is a
Finance Committee meeting from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, in the BFA Conference Room
. All parents are welcome to attend.
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Students can wear
Dress of Choice next Friday, March 13,
if they have not had two dress code violations since the last Dress of Choice Day. Clothing should follow the guidelines outlined in the uniform policy.
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Students will be on Spring Break from March 16-20. We hope you have a safe and fun break!
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Ben Franklin Academy
2270 Plaza Drive
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 |
Fax: (303) 974-1738
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Our mission is to create young adults with character like America's founding Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin: well-read, scientifically curious, and civically engaged.
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Our students will excel academically through a challenging, sequenced curriculum that emphasizes math, science, 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 the arts, sports, nature, and character.
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Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Purity and Humility.
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