From the Desk of Principal Simpson

January 21, 2021

Weekly Update

A Message from Principal Simpson

Dear Parents,

Teaching kids Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues is one of our foundational principles at BFA. Our virtue for January is Resolution:

Keep your word.
When you have a task, get it done.
Turn in your homework on time and be prepared.

Coming back from the long winter break is the perfect time to discuss this virtue as students might need a reset and/or some prompting to reestablish their healthy work habits and routines. Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up in a few weeks; but please take some time to review Gradelink today. Second trimester ends on Friday, Feb. 19, so now is the time to discuss any missing assignments or study habits that might need to be revisited.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be on Monday, Feb. 8, and Wednesday, Feb. 10. That is a slight shift from what was previously on the calendar. K-5 teachers will have sign-ups out by Monday, Feb. 1, and middle school teams will communicate their plans for conferences that week as well. All conferences will take place virtually.

We will have classroom Valentine's Day parties on Thursday, Feb. 11, so you'll hear from your student’s teacher soon regarding what his/her class is doing to celebrate and how you can help. Unfortunately, we still cannot have volunteers in the building for the parties.

Next week is Spirit Week. It should be an entertaining week full of creative outfits and some extra fun to wrap up January. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the students participating.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Simpson

BFA News

Great Job Spelling Bee Participants!

Congratulations to all the students who took part in the Spelling Bee last Friday! We're proud of all our competitors:

4th grade: Sawyer Anderson and Elias Lidstone

5th grade: Liliana Molieri and Anya Motazedi

6th grade: Camden Neumann, Madelyn Anderson and Architha Kannojoo

7th grade: Rocco Cali and Milah Lindvall

8th grade: Evan Roper

And, a huge shout out to our winners, Evan Roper and Madelyn Anderson! They will compete at the district spelling bee on Saturday, Feb. 6. We are not sure if it will be via Zoom or in person, but we wish our spellers good luck!

And, thanks to Ms. Poleschook for coordinating the Bee once again this year!

Calendar Notes and Spirit Week Reminder

Next Wednesday, Jan. 27, is a remote learning day for all students.

And, please mark your calendar for the upcoming Spirit Week! It begins on Monday, Jan. 25, and runs through Jan. 29. Below are the themes for each day:

Jan. 25 - Show your Sparkle: Dress your Best Day

Jan. 26 - Warm and Cozy Day: PJs/comfy clothes

Jan. 27- Remote Wednesday (Dress of Choice!)

Jan. 28 - Beach Day

Jan. 29 - Tacky Holiday/Ugly Sweater (December Holidays OR Valentines tacky)

Join the DanceFit Movement and Raise Money for BFA

The PTO’s Ben Franklin Academy DanceFit fundraiser will kick off on Monday, Feb. 8--that's in just three weeks! DanceFit is the PTO’s main fundraiser for this school year, and they’re very excited to bring students this fun event. Their goal is to raise $45,000 for STEAM Enhancements including stage lighting and sound improvements. They’ve asked our friends at Boosterthon to power our fundraiser to make it more profitable, fun, and easy for everyone. They have worked closely with them to ensure this event follows the safety and health guidelines of our school, and will be inclusive for all students, whether in-person or remote.

Boosterthon DanceFit is a fun, new program that gets students moving and grooving as they raise funds to help our school. DanceFit was created in partnership with Just Dance – the beloved video game. This fundraising option will be implemented virtually and socially distanced at school. It culminates on Friday, Feb. 19, with a 35-minute, action packed dance and fitness activity that students will absolutely love!

Here’s what all students can get excited about:

Fun, engaging character development lessons
A high-energy event to give our school a much-needed boost of fun!

All communication and resources given out at school also will be sent to families via email so that everyone has the opportunity to fully participate in the fundraising and character development program.

Key dates to remember:

Monday, Jan. 25: Giving Opens, Register on FUNRUN.com, SHARE and GIVE!
Monday, Feb. 8: Fundraiser Kick Off
Friday, Feb. 19: SAVE THE DATE for Event Day!

The PTO understands if your family feels you’re not in a position to financially support the school at this time. Families can support our school by simply SHARING about our fundraiser with friends and family online. Sharing IS supporting.

Thank you for supporting our school through the PTO Ben Franklin Academy DanceFit fundraiser.

STEM Math Masters, Grades 5-8

The STEM committee is organizing a Math Masters Session at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Students can improve mathematical thinking and problem solving skills by trying their hand at a series of age-appropriate math problems (grades 5-8). Then join on Zoom with Matthew Deutsch, a professional engineer and mathematician, to work through the solutions and get some tips on improving your mathematical know-how. Sign up today!

The STEM committee would like to help remote and in-person students by providing additional opportunities through fully remote events. Please reach out to the STEM committee at STEM@bfacademy.org if you would like more information or to get involved as a parent volunteer!

Tours for Prospective Parents Resume

We’re very excited to have the opportunity to show prospective K-8 parents around our wonderful school. We’ve added tour slots through mid-February, so please share our tour webpage link with any prospective BFA families you know. For your information, the upcoming tours are scheduled on days when K-8 students are remote.

Make a Difference, Participate in SAC

Would you like to be involved in reviewing policies that drive the direction of BFA? Please, join SAC at their monthly School Accountability Committee (SAC) meeting as they review: Inventory Management Policy, Book Donation Policy, Volunteer and Visitor Policy, and final review of Parent Survey Questions. The SAC is meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan 28, via Zoom. The details of the Zoom meeting are available on the BFA calendar.

If you would like information about serving on the SAC or participating in the Zoom meeting, please contact Woody Haynes at SAC@bfacademy.org.

We all need to buy groceries and most of us need gas for our vehicles; but did you realize that with just a few minutes of administrative work, you can support BFA while making all these regular purchases? Here's how:

Sign in to your digital account at King Soopers Community Rewards. If you haven't already, set up your account and link your King Soopers card or phone number to your account.
Click on Community Rewards, Enroll Now and search for Ben Franklin Parent Teacher Organization OR enter our code, XN773. Click Enroll.
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.

Last year, our earnings from October to December equaled $2,075.89. Please keep linking your card to BFA, shopping, and scanning!

For more information, please visit King Soopers Community Rewards website. As always, thank you for your support of BFA and the PTO.

Registration Still Open for Middle School GIRLS Basketball Tryouts

Coach Macias has some exciting news this time...

After hours of phone calls and meetings we finally received approval from CDPHE, Tri-County Health, and CHSAA that middle school sports and activities will be allowed this year with certain guidelines and yes...there are a lot of them.

1. No fans at the games.

2. Players, coaches, and refs will have to wear a mask (no gators) on the court and on the bench. If a player has preexisting health concerns they will not be able to participate per CHSAA.

3. Players will bring individual water bottles and it has to include a straw to drink under the mask.

4. Temperature checks will be issued before practices and games before entering a gym.

5. A spreadsheet will be filled out before every practice/game of each student that attends an event. Coaches will hand the spreadsheet to the home team before entering the building.

6. COVID-19 waiver form must be signed by parents and players. You can find this form on the athletic webpage under HOME. Click on COVID-19 waiver.

7. There will be 12 players on each team plus two coaches for BFA. (24 total players this year for BFA).

8. No playoffs and no make-up games.

9. There will be 15 minutes between games for cleaning. All players must leave the building before the other team can enter the building--both home and away teams.

10. B team players will not arrive at a school before 5:10 p.m. both home and away.

11. At any given time CHSAA can suspend or cancel the activity.

Registration for BOYS tryouts has closed; they will be held from 4 - 5:30 p.m. tonight, Jan. 21, and Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Girls will have tryouts from 4 - 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, and Wednesday, Jan. 27. (Please enter through the northwest gym doors.)

Registration for GIRLS tryouts are OPEN NOW. You need to register for tryouts using the MySchoolBucks portal, otherwise your student will not be able to attend. Your student also needs to bring the completed COVID-19 form from the Athletics webpage to tryouts. Once the coaches decide on teams, you will get a separate email from one of us to register for the team your student has made.

Practice/Games: We'll need to be creative and flexible with our schedule. Boys and girls will practice one day during the week either on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Tuesday and Thursday will still be game days. As of now, games will start the following week of Feb. 2.

Please email Coach Macias if you have any questions.

Upcoming Events

BFA Board

Nominations Due Soon

Who do you know?

This spring, the BFA community will elect one director, and the Board of Directors (Board) will appoint one director.

The ability of our charter school to carry out our mission and vision depends upon the strength of our organizational foundation, beginning with our Board itself. To have a diverse, talented, dedicated, and passionate Board that is also representative of our families means that YOU must speak up!

The Board is challenging each and every BFA family to nominate at least one qualified candidate this February.

BFA's Guiding Principles

Mission:

Our mission is to create young adults with character like America's founding Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin: well-read, scientifically curious, and civically engaged.

Vision:

Our students will excel academically through a challenging, sequenced curriculum that emphasizes math, science, the arts, and literacy. We will be a data-driven institution, focusing on individual students. Our students, teachers, parents, staff, and leaders will be held accountable for the success of our school. Finally, we recognize that an education is incomplete without fostering social emotional development, character, sports, and nature.

13 Virtues:

Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Purity and Humility.