Thursday, Sept. 22, is a Dress of Choice (DOC) Day for all students (unless they have received two uniform violations). Clothes worn by all students on DOC days shall be modest, in good condition, and neat in appearance. See the uniform policy for additional information.

There is NO SCHOOL for students NEXT Friday, Sept. 23, as it is a Professional Development Day for teachers.

The Community Events Committee (CEC) can't wait to host students and their grandparent(s) or special adult from 6:45 – 8 a.m. TOMORROW, Sept. 16, at BFA's Goodies with Grandparents. The festivities begin in the Lightning (small) gym with coffee, juice and light morning treats—then students and their grandparents can participate in activities and take advantage of photo opportunities.

We ask that grandparents please arrive early, as this is a popular event, but no later than 7:30 a.m. to ensure they have time for treats and beverages with their favorite BFA student(s). Grandparents and students may begin leaving the gym at 7:45 a.m. and students should be in their classrooms at the normal time (8:10 a.m.).

Gluten Free options will be available upon request. Please email the event coordinator, Marissa Patterson, with any questions at cec@bfacademy.org.

Thank you to all who have signed up to volunteer and help make this event a success. We couldn't do it without you!

Ticket sales for this weekend’s Franklin Fest have been extended through tomorrow, Sept. 16! No tickets will be sold at the door, so be sure to purchase your tickets TODAY to enjoy this fun filled family event! Tickets are $15 per child, with a maximum of $35 for a family (one child=$15, two children=$30, three or more children=$35), and can be purchased on MySchoolBucks. Dinner is included with the ticket price. All adults and siblings (who do not attend BFA) are free. BFA students and any guests (friends, cousins, etc. who do not attend BFA) must purchase a ticket. 

And remember, students WILL GET WET! With several bounce houses, giant slides and a dunk tank there will be plenty of fun for everyone, with water included in some of our activities! 

Volunteers Needed

We can’t do it without YOU! Volunteers are still needed for this weekend’s Franklin Fest – what a fun way to get some volunteer hours! We hope you’ll consider volunteering to help staff the event, or donating a cake for the cake walk or other baked goodies! Drop off for baked goods and cakes is from noon - 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Thunder (big) Gym. Thank you in advance for your help in making the Franklin Fest a success!

Photo retakes are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 27. If you need a retake or missed the first photo day, this is your final opportunity to have a school picture taken. Please have students bring their photo package/proof sheet to school so they can give it to the photographer.

Parents can also stop by to get a picture taken for their volunteer badge (bring your Driver's License!). Photos will be taken from about 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 

Also, if you already took pictures during BFA Annual Family Check-In and want to order OR if you do not have your proof from the first picture day, please call 720-441-1936 or 1-800-219-0199.

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, Kimberly Hines is the winner of our drawing for her volunteer time in August. She earned hours by volunteering in the art room and library, and has won a $10 gift card. Congratulations, Kimberly! And, thank you for your commitment to BFA.

National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is open to all students in seventh and eighth grade who are interested in volunteering within their community, have a history of excellent academic standing, and are interested in leadership opportunities at Ben Franklin Academy. All students interested in joining NJHS as a new member need to complete a full application as well as the NJHS policy form. Eighth grade students who participated in NJHS during their seventh grade year only need to sign and return the NJHS policy form. 

NJHS applications and policy forms can be found in Mrs. Murphy’s classroom and will be available until the end of the day on Monday, Sept. 26. 

All applications and policy forms need to be turned in to Mrs. Murphy no later than the end of the day Friday, Sept. 30. Late applications and policy forms will not be accepted. 

There is a small fee associated with joining NJHS:

• New Members - $45 
• Returning Members - $35
• Returning Member with t-shirt - $55

New member cost includes membership and a NJHS t-shirt that can be worn to school as a uniform shirt. Returning member cost includes membership, graduation certificate and a graduation medal.

If your child is interested in joining NJHS and has any questions, they can email Mrs. Murphy at kmurphy@bfacademy.org or meet with her either before school or during advisory in room 276. 

Ms. Whelan and Mrs. Harms are looking forward to a terrific season of cheer with our middle school students! Please take a look at the details below and sign up today, as spots are limited.

Who: Students in grades 6-8

What: Cheer/Poms for the 2022 Boys Basketball Season

When: Starts Monday, Sept. 26

Practice: Mondays from 3:30-5:00 p.m.

Boys Home Games: Usually Tuesdays or Thursdays

Registration: Open NOW on MySchoolBucks

Cost:

• $200 (includes poms, sweatshirt, and locker sticker)
• Uniforms will be paid separately, more information to come

Please see the flier and contact Ms. Whelan with any questions.

The music department is looking for volunteers to help with our upcoming musicals. Sewing, costume creation, and set building skills are helpful, but any type of assistance is welcome. This is the perfect opportunity for parents or grandparents to help with our upcoming musical performances. If you are interested, please email Ms. Johnson.

Parry's Pizzeria and Taphouse (9567 S University Blvd., 80126) will be hosting a BFA Spirit Night from 5 - 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Parry's will donate 20 percent of the purchases (dine in and carry out) back to BFA. So, make plans for a pizza night and help BFA! Please remember to let them know you're with BFA so we get credit for your purchase.

Do you know anyone interested in learning more about BFA? We’ve set up our K-8 grade tour schedule for the school year, and are looking forward to meeting prospective parents. Tours are scheduled from September through April, 2023. If you know someone who is interested in BFA but cannot make a tour, please share this video link to listen to what current and former students, teachers, parents, our Principal, and our Board president have to say about BFA!

Questions about K-8 enrollment can be directed to Colleen Bobbin, BFA's director of admissions and records. If you know parents interested in BFA's preschool, they can go to our webpage or reach out to Lori Hafner, BFA's preschool director.

The government has launched its Every Kid Outdoors program, which provides an opportunity for each and every fourth grade student (and their families) across the United States to experience national parks, lands and waters in person throughout the 2022-23 school year for FREE. To obtain your pass, click here. Be sure to bring your printed out pass to the National Park you visit (electronic copies are not accepted) and exchange it for your free pass at the park.

Mountain Vista is hosting their ninth annual one mile elementary cross country race. Come race against other elementary runners in the Mountain Vista feeder area! The race is at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Mountain Vista High School (MVHS) Cross Country (XC) course. Warm up with the champion Vista Nation XC athletes! All racers will receive a Vista Nation XC t-shirt and a finishers medal. They have ribbons for the top 10 boys and girls in each race and a gift card raffle at the end. Snacks will be available for purchase after the race (cash only).

Online registrations and fees ($13) are due on Friday, Sept. 23. After that date, please go to the website to print and complete a walk-up registration form (fee $18). Click here for registration, schedule and information. (When registering, choose “other” for our school.)

Questions? Please email Kimmy Romine.

Volunteers: Please do not show up earlier than your scheduled time for the library. Ms. Williams very much appreciates your enthusiasm, but has already allowed time for you to be trained if you are new to volunteering in the library. We appreciate your understanding, as Ms. Williams has meetings to attend or class prep work to finish when she is not with students. If you arrive early, she may not be available.

Donations: While we would like to take book donations, the district only allows us to enter Library Bound books into our system. If you have books to donate, please check with your child's teacher(s) to see if they might need them for their classroom library. 

Lost/Damage Library Books:

If your child has lost or damaged a book, the book will be charged to your students MySchoolBucks account. We cannot accept replacement books from Amazon or the bookstores. All of our library books have to be purchased through the district's approved vendors so that they have the right binding and barcodes on them.

Breaking News about Book Fair:

Scholastic notified us last month that they will now charge sales tax at all Book Fairs. They were acquired by another company during the summer, and have changed their policy.

If Scholastic can meet our dates, we will have the Book Fair Oct. 10-13. We'll send out more information and the Volunteer Sign Up Genius once they have confirmed our dates.

BFA’s Before/After School Enrichment (BASE) program is already busy and we’re enjoying seeing our returning families as well as meeting our new participants! For your easy reference, click here for an updated handbook.

Normally, we are able to offer a fall break camp for parents; but unfortunately, this year we will not have the appropriate amount of staff to safely and effectively conduct the program during fall break. We apologize for any inconvenience but hope making this determination early will allow parents to make other arrangements for their students. 

If you are a King Soopers or Amazon shopper, you can help earn money for BFA by signing up for King Soopers Community Rewards and Amazon Smile. Here's how:

To sign up for King Soopers Community Rewards:

1. Sign in to your digital account at King Soopers Community Rewards. If you haven't already set up an account, set up your account and link your King Soopers card or phone number to your account.
2. Click on Community Rewards, Enroll Now and search for Ben Franklin Parent Teacher Organization OR enter our code XN773. Click Save.
3. Next time you check out at King Soopers or City Market, scan your card (or enter your alternate ID), and BFA will get money back from your purchase.

It's FANTASTIC how quickly this program adds up and how much our school can earn. Last year (July 2021 - June 2022) the BFA PTO earned $9,475 back from this program! THANK YOU!

To sign up for Amazon Smile:

1. Go to: smile.amazon.com, and click Get Started
2. Enter Ben Franklin Academy Parent-Teacher Organization in the search box, and select BFA PTO as the organization that you want to support.
3. Once you have signed up for Amazon Smile online, you can enable Amazon Smile through the Amazon app, by selecting Gifting and Charity from the menu in the lower right-hand corner, then Amazon Smile.

You can find out more information about the AmazonSmile program including how to link your Amazon account to BFA, click here.

Please email fundraising@bfacademy.org with any questions. Thank you, again, for your support of BFA and the PTO!