This week, we’re highlighting the second group of BFA PTO sponsors in the BRONZE category. We’re very thankful for their generous support and hope you’ll take a few minutes out of your day to learn about these sponsors.   

GELATO & CO., Jonathan Barsness

Gelato & Co. Colorado was born from the family’s passion for Italian culture and cuisine which stems from their Italian origins. After a lifetime of experiencing all small-town Italy has to offer, the family wanted to bring the Italian dessert café experience to Denver. The family shares a mutual passion for authentic Italian gelato, pastries and espresso – in October 2020 they opened their locally-owned and operated shop in Highlands Ranch, CO.

HIGHLANDS RANCH ORTHODONTICS, Dr. Nicole Schiro

Highlands Ranch Orthodontics is a local orthodontic office located less than 2 miles from BFA. They pride themselves on treating their patients like family. They help children and adults love their smiles. They offer early orthodontic care, adult care, braces, and clear aligners. No matter your needs, they are the place for you! Come experience the VIP experience where brighter smiles make brighter futures.

MO EDITING, Marcy Ongert

MO Editing provides copyediting, proofreading, beta reading, and fact-checking for businesses (marketing materials, newsletters, blogs) and individuals (fiction, nonfiction, blogs, personal websites, and other creative endeavors). MO Editing also offers grammar and writing guidance and tutoring for middle, high school, and college students.

Due to an increase in students not picked up during afternoon carpool and not scheduled for Before/After School Enrichment (BASE), we will need to begin charging parents for late pick-ups. Generally, carpool and All Call end by 3:55 p.m. Parents are expected to pick up their students on time--in fact, we'd like parents to arrive on campus by 3:45 p.m. at the latest for afternoon pick-up. Beginning Monday, Dec. 11, students who are not registered for BASE and are not picked up by 4 p.m. will be charged $5 per student for the first offense and $10 per student for the second offense. Charges will continue to go up by $5 per student after each offense.

Furthermore, students not registered for BASE and not picked up by 4:15 p.m. will be charged an additional $2 per minute, per student beginning at 4:16 p.m.

For example, if a family with two kids arrives at 4:30 p.m. to pick up their students, and it is their first offense, they will be invoiced $66. 

Parents can sign up for BASE through MySchoolBucks. To find out more about BASE, see our webpage. 

In addition, we also are having trouble with parents missing the weekly (Friday) deadline to sign up for BASE in MySchoolBucks. Beginning Monday, Dec. 11, families will be charged $5 per student for the first offense and $10 per student for the second offense if they do not sign up their student(s) for BASE by the deadline. Charges will continue to go up by $5 per student after each offense.

For questions, please contact Jen Jones, office manager.

Current BFA families can express interest in the 2023-24 preschool program for the three-year-old and four-year-old classes via the Intent to Enroll form found HERE or on the preschool webpage.

Preschool enrollment for BFA families is on a first come, first served basis, so it’s a good idea to complete the Intent to Enroll form early.

If you are interested in the Ben Franklin Academy Preschool program, please click here for more information—then go to Class Options/Tuition for important information about the Universal Preschool program as well as the class schedule and tuition information for next school year.

If you have questions, please contact the Preschool Director, Lori Hafner.

Incoming Kindergarten Families:

If you completed Open Enrollment for your incoming kindergartner with the intent of your child attending kindergarten at BFA for the 2024-25 school year, please request the Enrollment Packet by emailing Colleen Bobbin, BFA's director of admissions and records. (This includes current BFA preschool students who were open enrolled for kindergarten.)

If your student receives an offer from BFA and you accept it, the Enrollment Packet deadline is 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. By requesting it now, as a BFA family, you'll have a bit more time to gather required documents and fill out the required district forms.

Important Reminders for All:

Parents who completed Open Enrollment should check the EngagED Parent Portal as of 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 11. If there is an offer for your child, and you'd like to accept it, you must do so before 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18.

All parents who accept a BFA enrollment offer must submit the Enrollment Packet by 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 8. Enrollment offers will be withdrawn if the Enrollment Packet is not submitted by this deadline and/or is incomplete.

This month, you have a great reason to indulge in a dozen (or two) Krispy Kreme doughnuts. This December Spirit Night Event is from NOW through Friday, Dec. 15, so purchase some delicious Krispy Kreme doughnuts via our fundraising sales page!  

In addition, until 11:59 p.m. (PT) TODAY ONLY Krispy Kreme and GroupRaise are running a BONUS CHALLENGE where the top 10 fundraising groups with the most dozens sold can earn a bonus donation of up to $250! If you haven’t gotten your digital dozens yet, today is a great day to do it! You can check our progress for the bonus challenge here.

Remember, more than 50 percent of your order price will be donated back to the BFA PTO and we can share this link with anyone because the offer can be redeemed at any location in the country (except in Connecticut). So, feel free to share this with friends and family all over America! Simply buy online, visit your local store and redeem using your code. Treat yourself, or even gift them to friends and family.

After you purchase via the fundraising sales page you will immediately get an email confirmation with a link to access the redemption code. Once you click: "Redeem (of Gift) your Dozens" in this email, you will be able to see all the Digital Dozens associated with your order. From here, you can choose to redeem or gift each dozen individually. You do not have to redeem your digital dozens at the same time. Each has a unique code so you can redeem anytime. 

These Digital Dozens are for a glazed dozen only.

These are perfect for stocking stuffers, holiday parties, gifts, or enjoying at home. Our goal is 100 dozen sold which would mean $800 for the PTO! Please spread the word and enjoy some doughnuts!

Last year, BFA moved our K-8 communications to School Messenger which is the primary messaging system used by the Douglas County School District (DCSD) as it pulls contact information directly from DCSD’s Infinite Campus (IC) system.

We'd like most BFA communications to go through the same messaging system, so beginning in January, we’ll begin sending general communications to preschool families through School Messenger, such as the Principal Newsletter, various reminders, and important notifications. All email communications from Mrs. Hafner and your preschool teachers will remain the same. 

During the month of December, we'll send general school communications both through the legacy system and School Messenger to ensure parents are receiving our messages. If you have any questions, please contact Carrie Keen, communications manager.

Please ask your student(s) to check Lost and Found or stop by school yourself to check for lost items before Thursday, Dec. 21. All remaining Lost and Found items will be boxed up during the school day on Thursday, Dec. 21, and donated.

If your student lost something valuable, such as glasses or jewelry, see the front office staff.

As a reminder, Student Council does their best to return items that are labeled so please put your student's name on water bottles, lunch boxes, jackets and coats.

Make plans to join members of the BFA PTO for their holiday gathering! This FUN event is for all of the adults who make BFA a special community (PTO members AND non-members) and will be held at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at Old Blinking Light (9344 Dorchester St., Highlands Ranch). Dinner will be provided by the PTO, and there will even be a gift exchange! Please visit the sign-up for more details and to RSVP. Happy holidays!

You’re also invited to join the PTO for their December meeting prior to the holiday gathering at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, also at Old Blinking Light.

Band students from BFA and Coyote Creek Elementary will perform together at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at Coyote Creek Elementary (2861 Baneberry Ct, Littleton, CO 80129). These music enthusiasts have been working hard in the after school band this fall and would love to show you all they've learned.

All are encouraged and welcome to attend the free performance! The concert will be fun—with some holiday music included. We hope to see you there!

The Spirit Rock is an opportunity to share exciting events with our school community by painting your own message. Parents, students, and staff may rent the Rock to recognize a student’s birthday, show school spirit, wish a team good luck, thank a teacher, announce an event, etc. It is a great way to spread positive messages and increase excitement! The rate to rent the Rock is $20 per day. All proceeds directly benefit the BFA PTO!

Want to Rent the Rock? Here’s how:

First, reserve the date you want by visiting the ‘Rent the Rock’ sign-up. Then, pay for your reservation through MySchoolBucks.

Have questions? Contact Lindsay Bullock, spirit rock committee manager.