For the month of April, Heather Kimball has been selected as the Ben Franklin Academy Volunteer of the Month. She is being recognized for all of the time she spent volunteering earlier this year with the Veterans Day slideshow! She's an excellent example of outstanding volunteerism and we're very grateful for all her hard work!

The Kimball family moved back to Colorado in 2016 and literally drove straight to BFA as their first stop into town. The kids had already missed the first couple days of school and they wanted a tour before the school day ended and before starting that following Monday. This is their seventh year at the school and they couldn’t love it more! They have four kids who have attended the school: Brooke (now at AHS as a freshman), Tanner (7th grade), Wendy (4th grade) and Peyton (1st grade).

When asked what she loves about BFA, Heather said: “We love BFA because of the teachers and staff! They are the best around and have made such a difference for my kids. Dan and I appreciate how much they want parents involved and in the school as much as possible! The curriculum they use made me come, but the people made us stay!” 

Congratulations, Heather. We're so happy to have your family at BFA and are grateful for your volunteerism!

If you know someone who should be considered for volunteer of the month for outstanding volunteerism, please email Janelle Nichols, PTO President.

Tomorrow, April 14, is NUGGETS SPIRIT DAY to celebrate a fantastic season--our Denver Nuggets clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in the Western Conference! Students may wear a Denver Nuggets (or other basketball team) shirt with regular uniform bottoms.

Thursday, April 20, will be a Dress of Choice (DOC) day for all students who have not received two uniform violations since the last regular DOC day.

There is no school for students on Friday, April 21, as it is a professional work day for teachers.

Morning BASE will not be available on Friday, April 28, due to the CEC Burritos with Bros event.

Please take a few minutes to cast your vote in the 2023 Ben Franklin Academy (BFA) Board of Directors election. To learn more about the candidates, please visit the Board Election webpage or click here to watch the candidate question and answer session from March 21. 

Members of the BFA School Voting Group have until 11:59 p.m. (MST) on Sunday, April 16, 2023, to cast their vote for Seat 5, Class C and Seat 6, Class C. Results of the election will be announced and the appointment for Seat 7, Class C will be made on April 18, at the regularly scheduled Board meeting. 

Your vote is important - click here to cast your vote in the 2023 BFA Board of Directors election.

Please contact Board Director, Haley Maglieri, if you have any questions.

The 2023 BFA Science Fair is quickly approaching! Our third and fifth graders are beginning to work on their projects and would love for you to come see their interesting hypotheses, fascinating experiments, and sometimes surprising conclusions--all presented on a singular trifold poster board.

These wonderful demonstrations of scientific genius will be presented Monday, May 8, through Wednesday, May 10, in the Lightning Gym. Judging for the Science Fair will take place on Monday and Tuesday, May 8-9, with an opportunity for families to join us to view all of our student's amazing experiments from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9.

After carpool has finished on May 9, bring your family to the Science Fair! All students will have a chance to view the experiments on Wednesday during the day.

Mrs. Flint, our Science Specialist, and Mr. Nolting, our STEM Coordinator, are looking forward to seeing you all there!

The School Accountability Committee (SAC) is accepting nominations for the 2023-24 school year. To nominate yourself or someone you know, please complete the 2023 BFA SAC Nomination Form starting today, April 13, through Wednesday, April 26, and make plans to attend the next SAC meeting on Thursday, May 4.

Calling all BFA moms and their sons! The mother-son social event will be held from 3-8 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, at Path Movement! Tickets are on sale NOW through April 21 on MySchoolBucks. 

Tickets are $25 per couple and $5 for each additional participant (with a maximum of $35 per family), and include dinner. Please note that ticket sales are time specific based on the age of your child. Times may be adjusted based on total participants in order to accommodate everyone. Boys may bring their own nerf guns; nerf ammo will be provided. 

There is limited availability, so be sure to get your tickets early!

Please contact PTO Social Coordinator, Ewelina Chrzanowski, with any questions.

PTO collections for teacher and staff appreciation gifting are now open and continue through this Sunday, April 16, with gift cards being distributed during Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week (May 8-12).

This convenient, online program replaces room parent collections and facilitates convenient group gifting. Each family makes one payment through MySchoolBucks for all of their teacher and staff gifts. At the end of collections, each staff member will receive an email with the total collected on their behalf and is able to select gift cards they would like to receive.

To place your RaiseRight order and pay with credit card, visit MySchoolBucks.com. Staff are grouped by grade or category; click here for a current staff list. Select the appropriate grade or category to open the group window. Use the dropdown menu to select the staff member you’re gifting and enter your gift amount in the Amount to Pay box. You may designate how much you would like to give to each teacher/staff member in whole-dollar increments. (You may also elect to have your student's name only, not gift amount, shared with the recipient when you place your order.) Repeat as many times as needed until all of your staff gift orders have been placed. And, don’t forget to Check Out when you’re all done!

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. 

If you have questions, please visit the PTO webpage or contact Rebecca Mullenix, RaiseRight committee manager.

Make plans to support one of our wonderful PTO sponsors at the next BFA spirit night from 12-6 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, at Robeks in Parker (12235 Pine Bluffs Way, 80134).

They will give back 20 percent to the school for those who mention BFA in their order, so we hope you’ll stop by Robeks to enjoy their smoothies, juices, toasts, and more!

You're welcome to print out this flier with all the details.

The CEC is excited to host all students and their fathers (or other special adult) for a morning of fun from 6:45 - 7:45 a.m. Friday, April 28. The morning will begin in the Lightning (small) gym with burritos, donuts and refreshments. Festivities will continue in the Thunder (big) gym with games and photo opportunities. We ask that you arrive no later than 7:30 a.m. as this is a popular event. Fathers and students may begin leaving the gym at 7:45 a.m. so students can head to class. Students should be in their classrooms by the normal time (8:10 a.m.). Gluten free options will be available upon request.

Parking for the Event

Please park in the upper lot to allow our teachers and staff the opportunity to park in the lower lot. Should the upper lot fill completely, overflow parking will take place in the “B” carpool lane. "A" carpool lane will remain open for regular morning carpool drop off.

For those not attending, morning carpool will take longer so please be patient.

Volunteer Opportunties

Volunteers are needed to help make this a special event. Please see the sign-up for available volunteer positions. We thank you in advance for any assistance you are able to provide.

There will be NO BASE care the morning of April 28 due to this event.

Make plans to join us for the final spirit night of the year from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, at Skate City in Littleton (5801 S. Lowell Way, 80123). 

This is a private event for our school community. The more skaters we have in attendance, the more money we will earn for BFA. Hope to see you there!

It's time to get registered for BFA's Summer Camp! The initial summer camp registration is open in MySchoolBucks (use your desktop or laptop--not the app). Please note, summer camp attendees need to register each summer before using the program. Registration costs $35, and includes a t-shirt and a day pack.

If you have a new incoming BFA student or Kindergartner to register, please reach out to summercamp@bfacademy.org to learn how you can register your child. 

The summer camp activities and field trip calendar is available; please email us to see it.

This summer, we’re able to offer parents the low weekly fee of $200 per child, per week because BASE received a grant last year from the State of Colorado. We’re very happy that we can still use the remaining funds this summer to keep costs down, but next summer, we will have to increase our fees.

Summer Camp will be open from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The first day of camp is Wednesday, May 31, and camp will run through Friday, Aug. 11. We will be closed July 3-7 for the holiday week. We will go on two field trips per week and have lots of other fun activities during the week.  

Come join Mrs. Flint at Science Camp this summer! Incoming second through sixth graders are welcome to participate in one or more sessions. There are four different camp themes—National Parks, Chemistry, Ocean and Forensics—and each camp includes lots of terrific activities so kids will have fun and learn a little science along the way! Choose from several different weeks and two different times. Spots are limited so see the flier, and click on this form to sign up today!

Girls of all abilities are encouraged to attend the Summer Basketball Camp from 8 – 11 a.m., July 10-13 at BFA. Incoming fifth through eighth grade girls will work on furthering the development of dribbling, shooting, offensive, and defensive skills through drills, game situations, and fun activities! See the flier for more details and complete the registration form.

Boys of all abilities are encouraged to attend the Summer Basketball Camp from 9 – noon, July 31 - Aug. 3 at BFA. Incoming fifth through eighth grade girls will work on furthering the development of dribbling, shooting, offensive, and defensive skills through drills, game situations, and fun activities! See the flier for more details and complete the registration form.

Incoming students in grades 5-8 interested in learning how to make lotions, bath bombs, soaps, and other fun products, please join us for a four-day Chemistry Camp 4 Future Entrepreneurs! The camp is from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. June 19 – 22 at Ben Franklin Academy.

Ms. Svensen and Mrs. Paulson will teach you how you can make your own great products and learn from an industry professional while investigating how daily hygiene products are made. Click on this link for more information and to sign up.

Any incoming middle schooler interested in playing soccer this summer, can sign up for the Soccer Kick-Arounds and join us every Tuesday morning for some friendly soccer games. Games will be from 8:30-10 a. m. on Tuesdays, May 30 - August 8. Click on the Kick Arounds link for more information and to register. 

Join us for a fun and exciting Biology Camp from 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. June 12-15 at BFA. We will learn interesting facts and then dissect various organisms, while we look at characteristics of life around our school, rivers, and oceans. The camp is hosted by Ms. Svensen and is open to all incoming 5th-8th graders. 

Join us for a fun and exciting Chemistry Camp from 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. July 10-13 at BFA. Each day will have a different theme around chemistry. If you love anything that fizz, bubbles or explodes, this is the camp for you! The camp is hosted by Ms. Svensen and is open to all incoming 4th-8th graders.

All incoming 2023 BFA 5th-8th grade BOYS and GIRLS are welcome to register for the co-ed volleyball camp held at BFA! Mrs. Murphy is hosting the day camp from July 24-28, with a morning session for beginners and an afternoon session for experienced players.

In addition, there are evening clinics on July 24, 25, and 26 for those who want to focus on specific skills. The evening clinics run from 5:30 – 7 p.m. To find out all the details, please see the flier; to register, complete this form.

2023 BFA Summer Soccer Camp run by Ms. Svensen is open to any incoming student in grades 5 – 8 for 2023-2024 school year. Soccer camp will focus on mastering soccer's essential skills, and using individual ability in 1v1, 1v2, 2v2, 2v3 small group settings essential for the building blocks of the full field game, both indoor and outdoor.

The camp is scheduled from 8:30-11 a.m. July 17-20 on the BFA turf and large gym. Whether you want to play for BFA or want to try something new, it's a great opportunity to play some soccer with other middle schoolers this summer. 

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make Amigurumi Dolls? Or just learn how to crochet? This three-day camp hosted by Mrs. Paulson and Mrs. Jones will get you started for only $100. This camp is for incoming 4th graders to outgoing 8th graders, and runs from noon to 3:30 p.m. June 12 - 14 at BFA.

During this camp, students will learn the basics of crocheting, while making cute worry worms, an Amigurumi Chick, and one additional animal that students will select at camp.

Space is limited to 25. The early bird discount is $75 and runs through May 15. Click here to register.

Ms. Whelan and Mrs. Harms are very excited for their Summer Cheer Camp! It’s for students headed into grades 3-8 who are interested in Cheer/Poms.The camp will be held from 9 a.m. – noon, June 26-30, at BFA. For more information and to register, see the flier. Please contact Ms. Whelan and Mrs. Harms with questions.

Ms. Konesky is offering a Photography Camp this summer to help students ages 9+ learn about shutter speed, ISO, aperture, composition and more! It’s going to be a blast with walking photography trips to Flyin’ B park, along the canal trail, and in the surrounding neighborhoods. The camp is from 9 – 11:30 a.m., June 5-9, at BFA. See the flier for all the details, and click here to register.

Help prevent some of the inevitable Summer Slide by joining Sarah Harrell, and Ellen Cain, for their 5th annual Summer Bootcamp at BFA!

They will be hosting BFA Bootcamp sessions in BFA's Outdoor Classroom for incoming Kindies as well as first, second and third graders. 

Incoming Kindies will meet for 1.5 hours per day, and all other students will meet 2 hours a day. The June and July Bootcamps will meet over 3 consecutive days.

Space is limited, so please see their sign up for additional information and to get registered.

Mrs. Tickle is offering a SUPERHERO STEAM CAMP this summer from 9-11:30 a.m., June 12-16, at BFA. The STEAM Camp is for students CURRENTLY in grades 2-4.

To find out more information, see the flier. Space is limited, so be sure to register today!