There is no school for students on Monday, Oct. 31, as it is a teacher in-service day. Enjoy the long weekend!

Each year the Foundation for Douglas County Schools asks parents and students throughout the district to nominate teachers and support staff for the coveted Apple Awards. 

This is a great way to honor our wonderful teachers and staff, while highlighting the innovative work they do to challenge and inspire students. Again this year, your nominations will be submitted as a video or written testimonial that will be posted publicly on a customized webpage for our school.

We hope you'll click on this link (scroll down; you'll find BFA in the Charter Schools list) before the nomination window closes on Nov. 13, and nominate your favorite BFA teachers and staff for these prestigious awards. We’d love to have a RECORD number of nominations to show our teachers how much we appreciate them.

Next Tuesday, Nov. 1, marks the first day of our 2022 Spirit Week! Each spirit day is a different letter for the word KIND, to align with our motto for the school year. Below are the themes for Spirit Week:

Tuesday, Nov. 1

Kozy day - Wear your comfiest clothes, such as sweatpants, PJs and fuzzy socks.

Wednesday, Nov. 2

Independence day - Show your national pride by wearing red, white and blue.

Thursday, Nov. 3

National Sports Team Day - Wear a jersey or sweatshirt from your favorite sports team. Please wear uniform approved bottoms. 

Friday, Nov. 4

Disney Day - Dress up as your favorite Disney character.

These days are always so much fun for students and staff alike. If students choose not to participate in the theme for the day, they should wear their uniform. Thank you to our Student Council for planning the Spirit Week! 

It is almost November, which means…it's time to get ready for our annual Veterans Day celebration! We look forward to this event and the opportunity to honor veterans and active duty service members in our families and community.

As a reminder, the celebration will be held Friday, Nov. 11, at BFA. Please see the attached invitation for additional information.

We need volunteers to make this special day a success. Please help us fill the remaining volunteer spots as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to volunteer!

Wall of Honor Forms - Deadline: TOMORROW, Oct. 28

The last day to submit Wall of Honor forms is TOMORROW, Oct. 28. This is a special way to display our honored veterans throughout the halls of BFA. Please return all forms to the front office by tomorrow, Oct. 28, and do not use original pictures.

Veteran Assembly and Brunch Attendees - RSVP by Thursday, Nov. 3

We invite all BFA family and community members who are active duty service members or veterans to be honored guests at our Veterans Day celebration and brunch. Please RSVP to cec@bfacademy.org no later than 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3.

Parents - We Hope You Can Attend!

We are excited to welcome BFA families back for our assemblies! Please help us show our students how important it is to honor our veterans and service members by attending one of the assemblies. Thank you!

Zell’s Creperie (2229 Wildcat Reserve Parkway A4, Highlands Ranch) is hosting a BFA PTO spirit night from 3:30 - 8 p.m. TONIGHT, Oct. 27. Zell’s is new to the area, but it looks delicious; and they will generously donate 15 percent of your purchases back to the BFA PTO. Please remember to let them know that you’re with BFA so we get credit for your purchase!

Our September spirit night at Parry’s Pizzeria raised more than $350 for the BFA PTO! Thank you to everyone who supported it. Let's see if we can make the Zell’s Creperie spirit night even better! Thanks for your continued support.

The PTO is hosting TRUNK OR TREAT tomorrow, Oct. 28! It's going to be a fun day for ALL preschool through eighth grade BFA students. Students can wear their costumes to school all day--but remember, costumes should be appropriate for school (no revealing/offensive clothing, costumes with pretend blood/gore, or pretend weapons). Also, please no masks or face paint since students will be in costume all day; however, students can bring a mask to wear while participating in Trunk or Treat.

Throughout the day, classes will be invited to step outside with their class and participate in Trunk or Treat. And, parents-–we know you enjoy seeing the kids in costume as much as we do, so please feel free to come watch your children at Trunk or Treat. You may park in the upper parking lot; Trunk or Treat will be held in the main lot. To find your child’s Trunk or Treat time, click here. (Some preschool time slots were recently updated.)

If you have any questions about the Trunk or Treat, please reach out to Erin Wiley, PTO Trunk or Treat committee manager. Thanks in advance for all of your support!

K-5 Halloween Classroom Parties will take place from 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 28. Party volunteers will be limited to a max of four adults per classroom, and can arrive at 1:30 p.m. to set up. All volunteers should have their Driver’s License for check-in and should not bring younger siblings. Also, volunteers should bring their own supplies.

Please keep in mind carpool scanning begins promptly at 3 p.m. each day, so do not block carpool lanes if you are volunteering.

If you have any questions about the elementary party coordination, please reach out to 

Anne Chacon, PTO room parent coordinator.

We’re always looking for ways to give back to our community and are extraordinarily grateful for your support in these endeavors. This fall, our staff Service Committee and the CEC would like your support for two very deserving organizations.

As part of our KIND-themed Spirit Week, the BFA staff Service Committee would like to invite our community to join in supporting the SECORCares (South East Community Outreach) food pantry in collecting desperately needed toiletry items. In addition, the CEC is collecting donations for Volunteers of America Colorado (VOAC). VOAC is dedicated to helping those in need transform their lives; they support and empower Colorado’s most underserved residents through more than 50 distinct human service programs.

From Nov. 1-11, we’ll be collecting the following items for SECORCares and VOAC:

• Soap (body wash and bar soap)
• Toothpaste and toothbrushes
• Hand/body lotion
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Facial tissues
• Toilet paper
• Deodorant
• Feminine hygiene items
• Diapers
• All sizes of mens clothing, socks, underwear and undershirts

Donations bins will be available at the main entrance, and items can be dropped off at the middle school dance as well. If an online purchase is more convenient, VOAC also has an Amazon wish list available. All items dropped off at school will be evenly divided between the organizations.

Thank you for helping us to spread kindness not only to our staff/students, but to those in need within our community.

Thank you to all our parents for supporting the Book Fair, as well as our wonderful volunteers! We sold $20,000 worth of items which will give us $4,600 in cash to buy books from our approved vendor and about $600 in Scholastic Dollars.

We appreciate you!

The 2022-23 BFA online directory, DirectorySpot, is ready! To access the directory, you will need to download the free DirectorySpot app available through the App Store and Google Play. You should have received an email from DirectorySpot with your one-time password, which will allow you to log on.

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

Student Council is excited to host a middle school dance from 6 – 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. See the invitation below for details, and be sure to review important guidelines for the dance, including drop off and pick up times. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Oct. 28, through MySchoolBucks!

Student Council will need help from the BFA community to set up and clean up the dance. Parents, if you are interested in helping, please sign up here.

The Community Events Committee (CEC) will be holding their November meeting at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Nov. 1, at BFA in the Dana Library. All BFA community members are welcome whether you are interested in volunteering, learning about our upcoming events, or simply getting more information. Don't forget, you earn volunteer hours for attending! Please RSVP if you plan on attending.

Make plans to join us for a fun spirit night at Skate City in Littleton (5801 S. Lowell Way, 80123) from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. This is a private event for our school community. The more skaters we have in attendance, the more money we will earn for the BFA PTO. Hope to see you there!

Each month, a volunteer will be randomly chosen through a drawing to win a fun, surprise gift. Just log at least ONE hour of volunteer service in the month prior to the drawing, and you’re eligible to WIN!

This month, Anastasia Bukhtiyar is the winner of our drawing for her volunteer time in September, and has won a $10 gift card to Starbucks. She enjoys volunteering in the classroom, as well as taking kiddos to the library and recess.

Congratulations, Anastasia! And, thank you again for making a difference with your volunteer efforts!

There will be a School Accountability Committee (SAC) Meeting 4:30 p.m. next Thursday, Nov. 3, in the BFA Conference Room with an option to Zoom in (Meeting ID: 742 2054 0929; Passcode g11RNR).

Feel free to join them as they review the Financial Accounting and Reporting, Continuing Disclosure, and Parent Communication Policies.

The 2022-23 yearbook sales have launched. Be sure to order yours early for the best pricing! Right now, yearbooks cost $30 per book, but the price will go up to $35 after Winter Break, and $45 after Spring Break. See the flier for details.

You may also order a yearbook dedication (ad) for your student. Dedications are $15 for 1/16 of page and $30 for 1/8 of a page. What a fun way to help commemorate a great school year!

Order and pay for your 2022-23 yearbook and dedication today!

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 exciting how quickly this program adds up and how much our school can earn. From July to September of this year, BFA has earned $2,427 back from this program!

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 contact Andreya Flanigan, PTO fundraising coordinator with any questions. Thank you, again, for your support of BFA and the PTO!