Dear Parents-

School safety is a top priority here at BFA, and we work closely with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the school district security team to ensure that we comply with all protocols and regulations. As part of our compliance agreement, we have two lockdown drills each year. We have one in the fall and one in the spring.

Our first lockdown drill will take place next Wednesday, October 2. Extra law enforcement presence on campus that day will support our drill. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the time of the drill. If you arrive at school and the lockdown signs are on the door, we can only let you in or let your students out once the drill is complete. These drills typically take between 15 - 20 minutes.

To prepare for the drill, we have a whole staff training that morning at 7:30 a.m. For all of our staff to participate, we will have a slightly delayed start to school that day. October 2 Carpool will start at 8:00 and end at 8:28, with all students needing to be in class by 8:30. There is also no morning BASE that day. Our teachers have been talking with the students about what they can expect during the drill. In addition, we will send an email to all parents once our drill is over.

Tomorrow morning, you may see (and hear) Deputy Jensen arrive on campus with her siren and lights activated. She donated a ride to school as part of the auction last year, and tomorrow is the day!

Next Monday evening, September 30, Superintendent Kane is hosting a Zoom meeting for our feeder area to discuss the bond on the ballot for November. Unfortunately, I cannot attend the meeting, but I encourage all of you to zoom in to hear how the potential bond will impact the district. See below in our Community Events section for more information.

Laura Tickle, our Elementary Technology Teacher, was recognized by Tech4Learning as an Innovative Educator. Congratulations, Mrs. Tickle!

Tomorrow is Dress of Choice Day. Please make sure your children are in compliance before dropping them off at school. Here is what our policy says regarding DOC:

"Dress of Choice days (DOC) shall be scheduled periodically as a reward for those students who have not received two (2) Uniform Policy Violations between the previous DOC day and the upcoming DOC day. Clothes worn by all students during the DOC days shall be modest, in good condition, neat in appearance, and meet appropriate length requirements. Students are not allowed to wear pajama items or clothing that contains wording or images that could be interpreted as racial, vulgar, disruptive or offensive in any way. Revealing clothes are not acceptable (e.g., tank tops, midriffs, sleeveless, etc.). The final decision as to the suitability of DOC clothing will be up to the Principal."

Have a great weekend,

Diana Simpson

We have partnered with the Colorado Rapids to reward and incentivize attendance here at Ben Franklin Academy by giving students with perfect attendance in the month of September, a complimentary ticket to a Rapids match with the purchase of an adult ticket.

The Rapids boast one of the most family-friendly and fun game day experiences in town. From celebrating the goals together, to the roar of the stadium crowd, to the hot dogs at halftime, Colorado Rapids games are where memories can be made. Students who qualify will receive a ticket link voucher to redeem their complimentary ticket with purchase of additional discounted tickets. Vouchers will be redeemable for Rapids home games on 10/2 & 10/5.

We are still strong with our percentages. Last week's overall attendance for K - 8 is 97.3%. Which is 1% better than last week.

Here is a breakdown per grade:

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated September 26 for Grades K - 4.

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated September 19 for Grades 5 - 8.

Please visit our Preschool Newsletter dated September 26 for Pre-K 3s and 4s.

Please see all the wonderful things our School Committees are doing in this week's Committee Newsletter. This includes, Community Events Committe (CEC), Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), School Accountability Committee (SAC) and STEAM Committee.

Laura Tickle, our Elementary Technology Teacher, was recognized by Tech4Learning as an Innovative Educator.

Tech4Learning Innovative Educator (TIE) program recognizes the work that exceptional classroom teachers, trainers, aides, community organizations, principals, and more are doing with Tech4Learning products. These outstanding educators provide Tech4Learning with product feedback, share great templates and curriculum activities, and serve as models for effective integration.

Congratulations, Mrs. Tickle!

Teaching has always been a passion of Mrs. Tickle, and she loves being a member of the Ben Franklin Academy staff. She has taught for 15 years, teaching fourth grade and currently is the K-5 Specials technology teacher. Technology is important to BFA and Mrs. Tickle is able to help effectively integrate technology into the hands of students at BFA.

Mrs. Tickle received her Bachelor’s degree in 2009 in Elementary Education from Purdue University. She has her certification in Linguistically Diverse Education from the University of Colorado at Denver, as well as a Masters in Information and Learning Technologies from the University of Colorado at Denver. She also received an award for ‘Outstanding Student in the Program’ at the end of her Masters program course work. This ILT program not only allowed Mrs. Tickle to grow with her own personal education, but it helps bring many of the latest ideas and projects related to technology into the classrooms at BFA.

A Colorado native, she loves working out, watching football and spending time with her family.

Click here to see her favorite's list.

Our picture retakes for PreK to 5th, 7th & 8th Grades will be October 9th.

6th Grade students will have their picture retakes on October 24th during advisory.

Students who have yet to get their pictures taken will be called down individually.

Attached is a PDF of our school’s RETAKE Picture Day Flyer.

If you missed ordering pictures for your student, you can contact MJ Thomas to still order.

The past couple of weeks, we have noticed a few dangerous incidents during morning and afternoon carpool. We would like everyone to take a moment to read this message to ensure all our students arrive and leave our carlines safely.

1. Morning carpool typically starts at 7:45 a.m. however, please DO NOT move or allow students to get out of the car until you see a staff member in the crosswalk. A Lane may begin to move forward when you see a staff member at the main crosswalk. B Lane may allow students to get out of the car when you see a staff member in the side crosswalk. We have noticed students getting out of cars as early as 7:42 a.m. and no staff member at the crosswalk.
   
   
2. Morning drop off: Hug and Kiss your students inside the cars. Once they leave the vehicle, they need to get to the sidewalk. Once they are out of the car, please wave, if needed. If you notice they forgot something, you need to stop your car completely before your student approaches your car. You can also bring the item to the office later. Please do not move your car with your student close.
   
   
3. Students need to be in their classrooms by 8:15 a.m. so please be on property by 8:10 a.m. We recognize that traffic can make students late. If you are dropping your student off at 8:14 a.m., your student will be tardy. Parents need to park and get out of their car to sign in students. We have noticed a lot of students dropped off and parents not coming in to sign them in. Middle School parents: Please note that students must go to their lockers first. This adds additional time to their mornings, which makes your student late.
   
   
4. Stay in your lane: Single lanes are in the morning and double lanes are in the afternoon. Once you arrive in the morning, stay in single lanes. Students can get out of cars on both sides. In the afternoon, once scanned, do not switch lanes. Stay in your double lane. If a car needs to drive around another car, wait until a staff member is there to help you.
   
   
5. Kindness goes a long way. Please do not honk or yell at another student, parent, or staff. Students are getting in and out of cars but can drop or forget something. Allow the car in front of you room to drop off or pick up their students safely. Our staff is there to help you. If you leave your tag up, they know you need additional assistance.
   
   
6. We see an average time of 5 minutes for drop off and 10 minutes at pick up. It is our goal to get every car safely and efficiently through carpool each day. If we experience any significant delays, we will contact you through email, text, and our PikMyKid app.
   
   
7. Take a moment to review our Carpool webpage.

We are thankful for all your calls and suggestions. Our Front Office staff is here to listen and help. Please email them with any concerns or questions.

While this is not new, we would like all our cars to use the Car tags along with PikMyKid. We would like you to hang them from your rear view mirror so our employees can see your name. Keep the tag up until your student(s) are in the car. Then you can take it down to show that you are ready to go. This also allows us to recognize that you still need a student or you are ready to roll.

If you are missing any tags or need an additional, we are printing them for those who email Traffic. A free set of 2 can be requested until September 30. After this time, you can purchase replacements on MySchoolBucks. Carpool tags will be sent home with your student when they are ready.

Once you arrive off Plaza Drive and you find that the other lane is empty, before 3:45 p.m., you can change into that lane. Don't worry if you have already announced. Staff can quickly move your delegation to the other lane.

Our Highlands Ranch location and book drop will be closed Sept. 16-30 for interior repairs. Upon reopening, there will be occasional building entry and exit detours during roof replacement. This expansive library features interactive children’s areas, flexible meeting and community spaces with state-of-the-art technology, laptop borrowing, and a furnished terrace with shade structure.

Book Fair will be held the week of October 7 thru October 10, the same week as Parent-Teacher conferences. See our Book Fair Newsletter for more information.

Fall break is just around the corner. If you would like for your child(ren) to attend our week long camp on Oct 14-18, please register them through your MSB account.

Registration Is NOW OPEN. We need at least 20 more students to sign up. Check our Grade Level newsletters for more information!

Bookmark Our Events Calendar Now!

We are so fortunate to have an active community. We hope to see you all very soon at one of these events.

Our Veterans Day celebration will be here before you know it. This event is always popular and important to BFA as we are proud to honor our veterans and current service members. Please read below for time sensitive requests. An informative email regarding the Veterans Day assemblies will be communicated as the event approaches but you can access most of the information now by visiting the Committee Newsletter.

We offer many before and after school Fine Arts clubs throughout the year. We update our webpage frequently, so look often.

Arts

Music

Fall Sports were in full swing this week. Our game schedules will be up on Events Calendar for Girls Volleyball, Boys Soccer, Co-Ed Cross Country and Landsharks.

Visit our Athletics Page for more information about our Athletics Programs at BFA.

Parents-when you are attending functions after school, as a courtesy, please do not park in the 6 clearly marked parking spots for the BASE parents during the hours of 4pm-6pm.

Our delicious lunch is provided by DCSD. Check out the menu for the first weeks of school.

If a student has a specific dietary restriction or allergy, parents must contact DCSD Nutrition Services to arrange an allergy/restriction lunch section.

BFA does not provide breakfast at this time.

Staff and families from Ben Franklin Academy and other area schools are invited to a special virtual meeting.

Monday, September 30

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Virtual Meeting

Register

Join DCSD Superintendent Kane and many of the principals from the schools listed above for this important community meeting.

Attendees will hear:

• Factual information about the Bond initiative that will appear on the November 2024 ballot.
• How the 2024 Bond would impact the schools in the ThunderRidge HS feeder area.
  
  

The Foundation has many events with discounts coming up. Please click on the flyers for more information.

Join Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Highlands Ranch Metro District park rangers to learn the basics or advance your angling skills. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will provide fishing rods for each participant to use and take home. This is a catch and release event.

Saturday, Sept. 28

8-11 a.m.

Fly’n B Park

$15 ($18 for nonresidents)

Discounted group rate available for registrations of 3 or more.

Register Here

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.