Welcome! This is the Principal Newsletter that is sent to families every Thursday throughout the school year. It's important to you because it contains information about summer activities, uniforms, opportunities to get involved at BFA, and tasks to complete this summer in preparation for next school year.

In addition, we’ve created a webpage especially for you to help answer some of the questions you may have about BFA. You can go to the Getting Started at BFA: Helpful Information for New Families webpage now, or find the webpage later by going to the BFA website and looking under the Parents tab.

We'll be providing a lot of information during the next few months, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please contact us at info@bfacademy.org.

School uniforms are an important aspect of BFA culture. They create a level playing field among students and reduce peer pressure and bullying. They also help students focus on their studies, not their clothes. Uniforms enhance school pride, unity and community spirit and decrease discipline issues. For more information about school uniforms, parents can refer to the Uniform Policy and the Uniform Standards for All Students.

We have three uniform vendor options so families can choose the best fit, comfort and price point. BFA parents will have the opportunity to purchase uniform items from three approved vendors—Educational Outfitters, French Toast and Tommy Hilfiger.

Links to the vendor sites can be found on the uniforms webpage. To get to the uniform page, please click here (and select uniforms at the top of the page) or visit the BFA website, then select parents, policies/uniforms/forms, and finally uniforms at the top of this page. 

We recommend that parents purchase uniforms early, as sometimes there is a delay in receiving items. Also, please be sure to purchase a Formal Uniform for your student as students are required to wear their Formal Uniform on the first day of school, the first Wednesday of each month, and on field trips. A Formal Uniform is a navy polo shirt with the BFA logo and tan pants, shorts, skirt or a skort.

Please note, Educational Outfitters is currently having a sale. See the uniform webpage for fliers from our other vendors detailing ways to find out about their promotions. In addition, the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) normally hosts used uniform sales throughout the school year. 

By end-of-day today, May 11, make sure you can log in to the EngagED Parent Portal.

• Parents of current DCSD K-12 students have a Portal username and password.
• Parents who have never had a K-12 DCSD student created a Portal username and password when they completed Open Enrollment.

During the summer, there are two required steps BFA parents/families need to complete for every K-8 student. If you don’t know your username and password, you won’t be able to complete them.

• Mid-July all DCSD parents will log in to the EngagED Parent Portal to complete Express Check-In; and
• In August before school starts, your family will complete BFA Annual Family Check-In, in-person at BFA.

Parents will also need their username and password to access student teacher assignments/schedules in August.

Additional details about these processes will be in future communications. If you cannot log in, please email BFA’s registrar, Colleen Bobbin, by end-of-day today, May 11. 

For the month of May, Molly Velasco has been selected as the Ben Franklin Academy Volunteer of the Month. She is being recognized for all of the time she and her family, especially her mom, Mary Jo Brewer, have spent volunteering at school and behind the scenes! Their family is an excellent example of outstanding volunteerism and we’re so grateful for their support!

Molly and her husband Rob have three kids: Ben (rising Junior at Purdue University – Electrical Engineering), Olivia (Senior at Mountain Vista, attending CU in the fall – Leeds), Adam (Eighth grade – attending Mountain Vista in the fall). Rob and Molly both work for Nordic Consulting in their ERP Services division. They’ve been married for 23 years and moved from Indiana to Colorado in 1996.

Their family signed up for BFA before there was even a location for the school, and when asked what she likes about it, Molly said: “We loved the dream that the original board and founding families had of a school with an excellent curriculum that also emphasized virtues and values. It was the best choice we have made in our children’s education. I truly believe that the foundation they received here has been one of the contributing factors to their successes and happiness thus far. We took a chance on this school for the curriculum and had the added bonus of the most amazing teachers, staff and community. The opportunity to be so involved in the school fosters such a supportive community. The teachers here have made a deep impact on my children that will last a lifetime. I couldn’t be more grateful for our experience.”

Molly wants to share this volunteer of the month honor with her mom, Mary Jo (pictured below), who has volunteered on behalf of their family since Molly went back to work a few years ago. When asked about her mom, Molly said that she, “loved coming to the school for various events like Grandparents Day, Veterans Day, class plays and school musicals. So, when she had the opportunity to be more involved through volunteering she jumped at the chance. One of her favorite hobbies is sewing, and she has enjoyed making the costumes for several of the plays, including 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Little Mermaid.' Everyone at the school has made such an impression on her, from the office staff who took the time to know who she was and who she 'belonged to' to the kids who 'always look so cute in their uniforms.' She loves seeing how happy everyone at the school is.”

Molly’s parents live in Parker and have been a huge support to their family. They moved to Colorado in 2002 and have been married for 56 years. They have three daughters, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Congratulations again to Molly and Mary Jo! Thank you for all that you and your family do for BFA!

If you know someone who should be considered for volunteer of the month for outstanding volunteerism, please email Janelle Nichols, PTO president

Thank you so much to all of the families who have volunteered this year. Volunteers are a big part of what makes our school great. We literally could not do it without you! This school year, BFA volunteers have logged more than 12,000 total hours into Help Counter. We can't thank you enough for making this another great year of volunteerism at BFA! 

This week is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week and the PTO has been recognizing all of our amazing teachers and staff who lift us up and make BFA such a special place for our children. 

To finish out the week, we’d love to have your student(s) fill out this questionnaire, bring in a flower, or even greet their teacher(s) with a high five TOMORROW, May 12.

The STEM Committee is so excited to announce their upcoming 2023 STEAM Expo will be held from 9:15 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Friday, May 12. This is a FANTASTIC BFA tradition for our students and a FUN volunteer opportunity for our parents!

If you have any questions about the event or are interested in stopping by, please contact STEM Coordinator Kyle Nolting. The event is catered towards our students but we are happy to invite parents who are interested! 

This is also a great chance to get those final volunteer hours of the year in! Please visit the STEAM Expo Sign-Up and pitch in to help make the Expo a success.

STEAM Expo Class Schedule:

• 8:30-9:15 - Vendor/Volunteer check in and set-up
• 9:15-10:15 - Preschool, Kindergarten, and Fourth
• 10:15-11:15  - Seventh and Eighth Grades
• 12:00-1:00 - Second and Sixth Grades
• 1:00-2:00 - Third and Fifth Grades
• 2:00-3:00 - Preschool, p.m. Kindergarten, First Grade

On Friday, May 12, please be conscious of multiple exhibitors parked in the pre-school parking area and more than usual movement happening during carpool drop-off and pick-up. Look closely and you may even see some mini-horses, musical instruments, robots, or a fire truck!

Get ready for a STEAM-filled day!

Next week, Cave Dave will be returning to BFA and will bring CaveSim to kids in grades K-5. Invented by a caver and MIT engineer, CaveSim makes highly realistic artificial caves that teach STEM concepts. During the programs, students explore 60 feet of cave passages filled with artificial cave formations, and learn a huge amount about caves, conservation, bats, geology, biology, chemistry, and a host of other subjects. 

There is no need to sign up, and there is no cost to families. If you would like to help out, please see the volunteer sign up. The event will be outside, so please dress accordingly.

Please email Mrs. Flint if you have any questions.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 PTO Elections. The PTO is excited to announce their 2023-24 PTO Team and they look forward to serving the BFA community again next year. Thank you to the incredible 2022-23 PTO team for your dedication, enthusiasm and volunteerism.

Thinking about volunteering for the PTO? There’s still time! The following position is currently open for next year:

Franklin Fest Committee Manager

If you’re interested in volunteering for this position or want to learn more, contact Erin Crowe, PTO secretary.

If your student has medication in the health room, please plan to pick it up between 9 - 11:30 a.m. on the last day of school. Only a parent/guardian or a designated adult can pick up medicine, unless the parents/guardian requests that their student take home the remaining medicine. This should be done in writing by sending an email to Mrs. Paulson in our Health Room by Friday, May 20. Please see the letter from our health room for details.

BASE MEDICATION: If applicable, you also will need to pick up any medication stored in BASE, as we will not transfer medications for summer camp. 

Any medication left at school after the school year ends will be disposed of per CDPHE rules and regulations governing schools.

Attention eighth grade families, please save the date for the Annual Eighth Grade Dinner coming up from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, in the Middle School Commons. This will be a catered dinner for eighth graders only, brought to you by the PTO. If you are interested in helping during the dinner, please contact Ewelina Chrzanowski, PTO Social Coordinator.

We are in need of several volunteers to help with the elementary field day activities. If you are interested, please click here to sign up!

Questions? Contact Janelle Nichols, Elementary PE Teacher.

The 2022-23 yearbooks will be distributed on Friday, May 19. If you haven't ordered one yet, there will be a few extras available for purchase in Ms. Svensen's classroom after distribution for $50, cash or check (made out to BFA PTO) only.

Thank you to the middle school yearbook staff for all their hard work on the 2022-23 yearbook! 

In August 2023, there will be changes to the way BFA’s Before/After School Enrichment (BASE) program will operate. We are moving to a mandatory pre-registration system, similar to what the summer camp program uses.

After taking into consideration the parent feedback we received, we decided to change the weekly registrations to daily registrations. 

Next year, parents will need to register one week in advance for the day(s) their student(s) need care. Registration should be completed by the Wednesday prior to the week care is needed. Drop-in care will no longer be an option. This is to ensure appropriate staffing. 

The BASE rate change also is necessary. We have not increased rates since BFA opened in 2011, and staffing costs during those same years have increased dramatically. There will be 45 spots available each day. Once the 45 spots have been filled, you will not see a drop-down option in MySchoolBucks for that day.

You can choose from the following options:

• Morning BASE (6:45 - 7:45 a.m.), at a cost of $7 per day, per child.
• Afternoon BASE, (4 - 6 p.m.), at a cost of $14 per day per child. This is the new flat rate.

Before using BASE, each family must pay the $25 yearly registration fee and update their ELV account. 

If your child(ren) in grades K-7 will not return for the 2023-24 school year, please email BFA's registrar, Colleen Bobbin, TODAY, May 11. Specific information and, in some cases, forms are needed to initiate the withdrawal process. In addition, if a new school requires records, this will allow us time to prepare them before the new school year.

Attention Readers! All library books need to be returned by Wednesday, May 17. Charges for lost and damaged books will be in your MySchoolBucks account if the books are not returned or there is damage that cannot be repaired. (Please don’t send cash to school to pay for lost/damaged books.)

Also, please do not send in a replacement book for one that has been damaged or lost. We order special library bound books through the Douglas County School District (DCSD) vendor and, as part of their service, the vendor sets up the books in our system.

It's time for the Douglas County Libraries (DCL) Summer Reading Program--DOG DAYS of Summer. Let’s help DCL achieve their community reading goal AND raise money for our school library to purchase new books!

Registration is OPEN NOW for students, siblings, teachers and parents!

Be sure to include our school name and your student(s) grade when you register so our school gets credit. We'd love to win the $500 prize and purchase new books for our library! See the flier for details.

Moderation is our last virtue of the school year. Ben Franklin’s original definition is to “avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.” BFA’s interpretation is to “keep yourself in balance. Focus both on accomplishing things in which you excel and those you do not. Try new things.”

It’s thought that Franklin’s original definition highlighted his desire to “emulate the sensible [person] who was moderate, cultivated, sociable and self-disciplined” (Cameron Gunn). In addition, it is thought this virtue is about living with intention, making timely choices and setting healthy boundaries.

When we review and reflect upon the list of 13 virtues, moderation underlies almost all of them. For example, we cannot have an organized and clean environment if we have too many things. In different ways, Franklin's 13 virtues encourage us to moderate our actions so we become people of character who intentionally try new things and impact the world in positive ways. Because of this, it’s rather ideal for BFA to place this virtue last, as if it’s a capstone virtue!

From humble beginnings, as a young man in his twenties, 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. He truly lived up to the notion that we can “have it all, just not all at once” (Betty Friedan).

Please ask your student to check the Lost and Found! The last day to claim items is May 25. All Lost and Found items will be packed up and donated after morning carpool on the last day of school.

And, if you or your student left something at Path Movement during the Mother-Son event, please check BFA’s Lost and Found.

The PTO is looking for Room Parents (K-5) for next school year! Being a Room Parent is a fun way to get your volunteer hours in, develop a great relationship with your child's teacher and get involved in the school. If you are interested, please send an email to Anne Chacon, the PTO room parent coordinator.

Did you know that one of the BFA PTO's traditions is a private summer event at Pirate's Cove for families who complete their recommended volunteer hours? That's right! Your entire immediate family can attend a private BFA night at Pirate's Cove on the PTO!  

Not only that, if you earn 50, 75 or 100 volunteer hours, you will be awarded special BFA logo'd items (distributed at Pirate's Cove check-in) to show our appreciation for going above and beyond. So, mark your calendars for this year's Pirate's Cove BFA Night which will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday, June 25. Be sure to log those volunteer hours. You don't want to miss it!

Please note: No additional tickets will be sold. This is an event for those for families who have completed and recorded their family’s recommended volunteer hours (30 hours per family or 15 hours per single household) in Help Counter by midnight Wednesday, May 31, ONLY. No exceptions will be made.

Thank you to all the families who have volunteered this year. We sincerely appreciate all that you do for BFA! 

It's time to get registered for BFA's Summer Camp and sign up for the weeks you want! The initial summer camp registration is open in MySchoolBucks (use your desktop or laptop--not the app). Please note, summer camp attendees need to register each summer before using the program. Registration costs $35, and includes a t-shirt and a day pack.

The individual weeks are starting to fill up quickly, register now to reserve your spot!

If you have a new incoming BFA student or Kindergartner to register, please reach out to summercamp@bfacademy.org to learn how you can register your child. 

The summer camp activities and field trip calendar is available; please email us to see it.

This summer, we’re able to offer parents the low weekly fee of $200 per child, per week because BASE received a grant last year from the State of Colorado. We’re very happy that we can still use the remaining funds this summer to keep costs down, but next summer, we will have to increase our fees.

Summer Camp will be open from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The first day of camp is Wednesday, May 31, and camp will run through Friday, Aug. 11. We will be closed July 3-7 for the holiday week. We will go on two field trips per week and have lots of other fun activities during the week.  

Have your kids asked about the music lessons that happen during school? Harper Arts is thrilled to be returning next school year to offer music lessons and coaching at BFA. Students will continue to have the option to have piano, guitar, ukulele and voice during the school day! Students are approved to participate in this during DEAR, recess, specials, electives (middle school) and advisory (middle school). There will also be a limited number of spaces available after school. The cost of this program is $155 per month for the school year (small supply and book fees apply as well). These prices are based on one student for 20-minute lessons. Sibling discounts are available. Unlock your passion and potential with Harper Arts at BFA! 

Click here to sign up today! 

BFA offers a variety of summer camp opportunities whether your student is interested in chemistry, science, crafts, sports or just getting out of the house and having fun!

Click below to see all the options.