Next Wednesday, Oct. 4, is class picture day and photo retake day. It's also a Formal Uniform Day for students so they should wear their navy polo shirt with the BFA logo and tan pants, shorts, skirt or a skort.

After picture day, parents will be sent an email with instructions from Jostens, or they can go to https://shop.jostenspix.com to view and order pictures.

Come and get it! Pictured here are all items that do not have a name on them and cannot be returned to the owner by Student Council. All unclaimed items will be donated on Oct. 12.

The Franklin Fest is from 3 - 7 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 30 at BFA, and we can't make this event happen without YOU! Volunteers are needed to help with setup and tear down, inflatables, food, and check-in. We’re also in need of more cakes for the ever-popular cake walk! We hope you’ll consider volunteering to help staff the event or donating a cake for the cake walk! Volunteering for Franklin Fest is a fantastic way to support these types of amazing community events and earn hours towards your recommended family totals.

Please contact Ewelina Chrzanowski, PTO social coordinator if you have any questions. 

The BFA BASE program will offer a Fall Break Camp from Oct. 16-20 to help our parents during break. It will be similar to our summer camp, with lots of fun activities and we hope to go on a field trip to Anderson Farms on Thursday, Oct. 19! There is still space available, but you must register through MySchoolBucks for the entire week. Registration closes on Oct. 12.

Note: we must have at least 10 additional families register to conduct the camp. If we do not have enough registrations by Oct. 6, we will let families know by Oct. 9.

Camp will be open from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you have any questions please email Leigh Savoy at base@bfacademy.org.

The Book Fair will be held from Oct. 9 - 12.

• Monday, Oct. 9, and Wednesday, Oct. 11, the fair is open from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 10, and Thursday, Oct. 12, the fair is open from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. and from 4 – 8 p.m.
• Check out the Book Fair videos (K-3 is first, scroll down for 4th grade and up).

National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) will offer Parent-Teacher conference babysitting services for children who are no longer in diapers. This is intended to help parents attend conferences and/or buy a gift at the book fair--parents may not drop off children and then leave the building. 

No unattended children/students are allowed in the Dana Library while parents attend conferences. (Unattended children may be allowed multiple expressos and possibly be given a stray cat or dog to take home. Kidding, of course, except about the no unattended children part!)

We strongly encourage parents to set up e-Wallets for their students to prevent lost money and broken hearts. Set up an eWallet account with your credit card, use funds from a previous eWallet, or invite family to contribute. Funds are available immediately and can be saved for future use.

Volunteers are needed! Please read the intstructions in the sign up message before you sign up. 

Moms, do you need an escape? The Community Events Committee (CEC) is excited to host a Magical Night with Moms for all students and their moms (or special adult). Join us and find out if you can unlock the clues and escape the room.

We look forward to seeing you from 7 - 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, at BFA for entertainment and fun! Light desserts and magician entertainment will be featured in the Lightning gym. Clue/escape rooms will be featured in the Thunder gym.*

*Please note, escape rooms will only be available from 7-8 p.m.

Mrs. Bauer would like pictures of BFA students being active for her bulletin board in the Lightning gym.

If you have a picture you would be willing to share, please email it to Mrs. Bauer. Ideally, she'd like to have pictures by Oct. 13--but can always add a few more pictures to the bulletin board as she receives them.

Thank you!

The Community Events Committee (CEC) will hold their October meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Living the Dream Brewery (12305 N. Dumont Way, 80125). If you are interested in helping with future events or simply want to learn more about what the CEC does for the BFA community, they would love to have you join the fun. Please RSVP if you plan on attending so they can plan accordingly.

We’re excited to announce boys basketball tryouts start next week!

• Wednesday, Oct. 4 - Sixth grade only from 4 - 5:30 p.m. in the Thunder Gym
• Thursday, Oct. 5 - Seventh and eighth grade from 4 - 5:30 p.m. in the Thunder Gym
• Monday, Oct 9 – Seventh and eighth grade call backs are from 4 - 5:30 p.m. in the Thunder Gym.

You must register for tryouts on MySchoolBucks by Oct. 3 to participate in tryouts. Bring a water bottle and athletic shoes for tryouts. Games start Oct. 26, and will normally be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We will announce practice times after tryouts. 

BFA’s 2023-24 online school directory will be available on Friday, Oct. 6. If you would like to update your family's information for the directory or opt out, you need to act today! You have through today, Sept. 28, to do the following:

• If your child goes by a nickname or shortened name, contact the PTO at ptovp@bfacademy.org.
• If you have recently moved or changed an email address or cell number, update your information in the Infinite Campus database AND email Colleen Bobbin, the school's director of admissions and records, at registrar@bfacademy.org.
• If you DO NOT want any or all of your personal information listed in the directory, please contact the PTO at ptovp@bfacademy.org. You may OPT OUT completely, or partially. If you take no action, your information WILL BE INCLUDED in the directory.

If you have questions, please contact Alissa Motazedi, PTO vice-president.

We are already starting to plan for our Veterans Day celebration and need your help! 

Veterans Video - Deadline: Friday, Oct. 13

During our ceremonies we play a tribute video that features YOUR family, friends and loved ones. If you have photos or videos of veterans or current service members you would like included in the video, please complete this form. Videos must be no longer than 30 seconds. Please contact Heather Kimball at hkimball23@gmail.com with any questions. The deadline to submit digital pictures or videos for the video will be Friday, Oct. 13. Please note, no late entries will be accepted due to the time intensive nature of producing this video.

Veterans Wall of Honor Forms - Deadline: Friday, Oct. 13

We love decorating the halls of BFA with patriotic decorations, art, flags and service branch Wall of Honor displays to show our respect for those who have or are currently serving our country. We invite BFA families to complete a Wall of Honor form for loved ones who are veterans or active duty service members. Forms can be downloaded and printed here. If you have previously submitted a form in the past, there is no need to resubmit. We have all forms from prior years that will again be on display. Please return all Wall of Honor Forms to the front office no later than Friday, Oct. 13. Please do not use original pictures, as they will not be returned.

BFA’s third annual Trunk or Treat is taking place on Tuesday, Oct. 31. It's going to be a FUN day for ALL preschool through eighth grade BFA students! Throughout the day, classes will be invited to step outside and participate. Volunteers will be distributing trinkets, candy, popcorn, and fruit snacks from the trunk of their own vehicle parked in an assigned spot. Parents are invited to come and watch your children at Trunk or Treat! We’ll send a schedule as we get closer to the date.

To make this event amazing for the students, we need donations for the individually wrapped snacks and candy—remember, we have almost 1,000 kids visiting 25 cars. Please see the sign-up and consider supporting this event by donating treats for our students! We're requesting bulk items (200 + pieces) as well as standard sized bags (50+ pieces). All donations can be dropped off in the BFA front office from Monday, Oct. 23, through Friday, Oct. 27.  

We are also looking for volunteers to help organize the treats and host a car at Trunk or Treat. If you’re interested in helping organize or distribute items, please see the volunteer sign-up.

New this year: Anyone who donates candy/snacks gets their name entered in a Halloween/Fall raffle, so please put your name on your treats when you drop them off. It’s a small thank you for your continued support! If you have any questions, please reach out to Erin Wiley.

As we wrap up the first full month of the school year, the PTO would like to give a quick update on their Virtues Awareness Program and introduce the virtues to all of our new BFA families. Since BFA first opened its doors, there has been a long tradition of helping our students and community understand, and put into practice, the 13 virtues that Ben Franklin himself lived by. From his humble beginnings as a young, twenty-something, Ben Franklin started writing and practicing his 13 virtues and went on to become an inventor, publisher, framer of the Constitution, and international historical figure in his later years. What a great role model for our students!

Each month there will be one or two of Ben Franklin’s virtues that the staff and students will be focused on learning, practicing, and modeling. Please take some time at home to discuss the monthly virtue(s) and recognize when you see someone demonstrating this virtue. The students will be bringing home stickers that correlate with the virtue of each month. The stickers can be placed on water bottles, folders, bikes, etc. as a visual reminder of what they have learned. 

The students and staff have been focusing on two virtues this month: Silence and Justice. The BFA interpretations of these Ben Franklin virtues are:

Silence -There is a time and a place to speak up and a time to listen. You learn more by listening than speaking.

Justice - Be respectful. Give everyone a chance to work or play. Give others a chance to express themselves. Share. Remember that others are counting on you, so live up to your duty.

As we head into the weekend, we hope that each family will take some time to review the virtues that students have learned this month and talk about them in relation to your own family’s values. 

There is an important meeting hosted by the Alliance of Douglas County Charter Schools from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, at Parker Performing Arts Charter School. The forum will provide an opportunity to hear from director candidates for the Douglas County School Board of Education. Click here to see a copy of the Douglas County School Board Candidate Forum flier.

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, 2024. 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 former 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.