There is NO SCHOOL for students tomorrow, Sept. 23, as it is a Professional Development Day for teachers. Have a terrific weekend!

Would you like to get to know the school administration team a little better? Come mix and mingle with us from 8:30-9:30 a.m. next Friday, Sept. 30, at BFA. We’ll provide sweet treats; please bring your own beverage (and don't forget your Driver's License to check in!). There will not be a formal presentation at this event, rather it’s purely time to munch, mingle and get to know one another better. To ensure we have enough donuts, please RSVP using THIS LINK by end-of-day Monday, Sept. 26.  

As Principal Simpson pointed out in the newsletter last week, since our founding, Ben Franklin’s 13 Virtues have been a key component in our character education program. In the past, the PTO and our administration have rewarded students who demonstrate the Virtues with Virtue tags, classroom acknowledgements, assemblies, drawings, and gift cards. This year, however, the PTO is taking a fresh look at the PTO Virtues Awareness program to see how they can help more effectively and impactfully weave the 13 Virtues throughout our school. 

To start, they’re hoping to get parents involved by providing tools to help incorporate the 13 Virtues into daily conversations with our child(ren). They’ve adapted an idea from a recent article whereby the author simply wrote each virtue on a 3x5 index card and posted it for a period of time on his computer. This reminded him in his daily work interactions to demonstrate that particular virtue. The PTO would like to extend an invitation to our parents to do something similar. All you need to do is print and post the Virtue index card for each month and place it wherever makes sense for your family. (You may need to scale them down to fit on a 3x5 card prior to printing.) Get started today with the September Virtue Cards, Silence and

Justice. 

For many families, putting them in the car is useful because you can talk about them as you drive students to and from school, activities, errands, and appointments. But that’s just a suggestion--please do whatever works best for your family! In addition, the PTO hopes you’ll have a little fun by comparing original definitions of the Virtues to how the founders of BFA interpreted them for our students.

Looking ahead, we plan to make the Virtues more visible around the school, so keep an eye out for the Virtues all around BFA. 

The Community Events Committee (CEC) would like to thank all our BFA families for helping to make Goodies with Grandparents a memorable event last Friday. We had an amazing turnout and loved seeing all the children with their grandparents or special adult.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped set up, decorate, serve food and assist with carpool (thank you Ben's Brigade!). We couldn't have done it without you!

This past weekend’s Franklin Fest was a great success with more than 650 people attending the event! This annual tradition is an excellent example of the BFA community working together to create an amazing afternoon for our families. There were incredible cakes and treats at the cake walk, inflatables, face painting, balloon animals, delicious snacks and pizza, and the new crowd favorite--the dunk tank! 

Thank you to everyone who worked before, during and after the Franklin Fest. We could not have done this without you! Special thanks to our wonderful PTO members--Ewelina Szostak, Christina Dilley, and Alissa Motazedi, for their work planning and executing the event, as well as Annie Burt and the Baking Committee, for all of their amazing cakes and goodies. We appreciate you all and the time you gave to ensure the event was a success!

If you weren’t able to join us for Franklin Fest 2022, be ready for 2023--we can't wait!

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. 

Click here for a PDF of our school’s retake picture day flier. The PDF is hyperlinked directly to our schools online ordering event--just click anywhere on either page of the attached PDF. This will take you directly to our ordering page. You can also access the online ordering portal by going to www.mymjthomas.com and entering our schools event password (located on the second page of the PDF). You may also print this order form and attach a check or cash and bring it in on picture day.

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.

The Discovery Program Application process is now open for the 2023-24 school year. 

The DCSD Elementary Discovery Program is a center-based gifted program designed to meet the needs of highly advanced gifted elementary school students (grades 2 - 6) who require an intensity of instruction and acceleration beyond what can reasonably be expected from gifted programming and services provided through their school.

In an effort to ensure equitable opportunity for families to learn about this program there are three Discovery Program Information Sessions coming up. Please see the linked fliers for more information.

• Discovery Program Information Nights Flyer (English)
• Discovery Program Information Nights Flyer (Spanish)

We're excited to host another book fair from Monday, Oct. 10, through Thursday, Oct. 13, with a preview day on Friday, Oct. 7. Book Fairs are a fun way for kids to explore new offerings by their favorite authors and discover new books. In addition, the school is able to purchase new books for our library based on Book Fair Sales. Click here for our school's homepage, and be sure to check out the book trailers.

Dates and Hours

• Friday, Oct. 7: Wishlist Day for K-5 students, NO SALES 
• Monday, Oct. 10: Book Fair open for sales 8 a.m to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 11: Book Fair open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed during carpool
• Wednesday, Oct. 12: Book Fair open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 13: Last day of Book Fair 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed during carpool

Sales Tax will now be charged on all sales. This is a big change so please remember this when sending students with money and/or setting up an e-Wallet.

National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) will offer babysitting services for children that are no longer in diapers. You will need to take them to the Makerspace Room located around the corner from the Dana Library and sign them in. Parents may not drop off children and then leave the building. 

No child, regardless of age, may be left in the Dana Library without adult supervision during the Parent/Teacher conferences. This is a very busy and crowded time for us, and we hope you'll understand. This includes older students; they may not bring their younger siblings into the library to wait. 

Once again, Scholastic will offer e-Wallet so that your child does not have to bring cash to the Book Fair. 

Students bringing a parent's credit card will need to send in a note of permission specifically stating that the student is approved to use the credit card and what the limit should be. You also can email Ms. Williams, our librarian, at  dwilliams@bfacademy.org.

Please consider volunteering! Sign up today via the SignUpGenius. All Volunteers receive a 15 percent discount.

If you are a new family to BFA this year and haven’t received your welcome gift, please contact Kristin Clark-Bretch, PTO welcoming committee manager, by Friday, Sept. 30. We hope your first year at BFA is off to a great start!

The new school year means another opportunity to promote your business while supporting BFA. Each year, sponsorships allow BFA to continue to grow and to meet the needs of our school, as well as our teachers, staff and students. Sponsorships are on sale now through, Friday, Sept. 30! They are limited in quantity, and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. For details on the various sponsorship options and pricing, click here to view the flyer. If you have questions, please contact Cassie Roberts, sponsor committee manager. 

You get pizza, Parry's gives back! Parry's Pizzeria and Taphouse (9567 S University Blvd., 80126) will be hosting a BFA Spirit Night from 5 - 9 p.m. next 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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.