November 21

Our Charter Contract is available on the Douglas County School District’s website. The Waiver Request Addendum is attached to the contract which details waivers of District policies.

Please visit to get the most updated events or other activities going on.

Important Upcoming Dates

📏 November 21 - Report Cards available in Grade Link

👕 November 22 - Dress of Choice/Spirit Wear/Crazy Sock Day

🦃 November 25 to 29 - Thanksgiving Break

🏫 December 2 - Final Day for K-8 Online Open Enrollment

👕 December 2 - Dress of Choice from CEC Fundraiser

💻 December 3 - No Tech Tuesday

👕 December 4 - Formal Uniform Day

🏫 December 4 - Pre-K Open Enrollment for BFA Families

🎼 December 4 - 2nd Grade Musical

🎼 December 5 - 5th Grade Musical

💌 December 6 - Thank An Aide Day (New Date)

🏒 December 6 - Colorado Avalanche Spirit Wear Day

🎼 December 10 - After School Choir Performance

⛄December 23 to January 3 - Winter Break

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated November 14 for Grades K - 4.

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated November 22 for Grades 5 - 8.

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated November 22 for our Pre-K 3s and 4s.

Mr. Redford provides daily support for our students' social-emotional needs and is always ready to step in when needed. His office is a warm and inviting space where students feel comfortable, complete with a "Chair of Tranquility" to help them regulate and find calm. He loves working at Ben Franklin because he is able to get into the classroom on a daily basis and teaches social emotional learning to students. Additionally he teaches bully-proofing to our fourth grade students.

This is Mr. Redford's eleventh year at Ben Franklin Academy as the licensed school psychologist and 15th year with Douglas County. He received his Ed.S. in School Psychology from UCD and began working with students in 1996.

Mr. Redford just celebrated his 26th anniversary with his wonderful wife. His daughter graduated from Berkeley and his son is at UCSD. When he is not with his family you can find him at the ice rink playing ‘old-man’ hockey.

Click here to find his favorites.

Our 1st Trimester has been a time of incredible growth and learning for our students! From hands-on projects to creative activities, they’ve embraced new challenges with enthusiasm. As the trimester wraps up, report cards are now available in Gradelink for families to review and celebrate their students' progress.

Our school code is 656. You received a flyer and an email at the beginning of school with your parent username and password.

You can also download Gradelink App from the Apple Store, Google Play or Amazon Appstore

The First Round of Open Enrollment (OE) for the 2025-26 school year closes at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, December 2. This process is open to families who live inside and outside of Douglas County, but we want to make sure our BFA families have the info today!

For the 2025-26 school year, will you have a child

• entering kindergarten​?
• entering 1st-8th grade who currently attends a different school (not BFA)​?
  

If yes, you MUST complete Open Enrollment (OE).

Please use the following OE resources to understand the OE process and answer questions you might have:

• DCSDs Open Enrollment page
• BFAs New K-8 Enrollment page

Parents, if you didn't order school photos, you still can! You can sign up to view and order school photos by clicking the link.

SIGN UP TO VIEW AND ORDER SCHOOL PHOTOS

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

Our first STEM Family Night of the Year is TONIGHT.

Get ready to put your engineering skills to the test at our Balloon-Powered Car Competition! 🏁🎈🏎️ for our upcoming Family Friendly Engineering Night hosted by the BFA STEM Committee!

Last chance to sign up to participate in this free, fun, STEM-tastic evening of friendly competition at BFA!

Together as a BFA community we raised $3,308.80 for Freedom Service Dogs. THANK YOU for your generosity towards this life-changing organization. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from the Veterans Day themed spirit wear raised an additional $577 that will also go towards Freedom Service Dogs. In total, we raised $3,885.80!

While we did not meet our donation goal of 80% family participation, we did receive generous contributions overall. Therefore, we are proud to announce an EXTRA DRESS OF CHOICE for the entire school on December 2.

A HUGE thank you to CEC, Amanda Trenck and Britney Hubbart and all the BFA families who donated so each of our staff has a delicious pie to take home for the Holidays.

What a wonderful treat!

Let’s show our appreciation for all of BFA’s amazing aides with ‘Thank an Aide Day’! We would love to have your students help us shower the aides with thanks by bringing in a small token of appreciation on Friday, December 6 – a card, flower, or one of their favorite things. A list of each aides’ favorite things can be found here. Click on the Instructional Aide Tab.

Mark your calendars for the PTO’s December Spirit Night on December 9 at two Zell's Panini and Crepes locations. Zell's will donate 20% back on orders placed at either their Highlands Ranch or Centennial locations (all day!) to the BFA PTO.

Tell your cashier that you are there for the BFA fundraiser or make a note on your online order to get credit for your purchase (no 3rd party ordering platforms please). See below for location and hour details, and get ready to enjoy some delicious crepes, panini, and more! Zell’s is one of our valued BFA PTO sponsors, so please spread the word and show your support. We hope to see you there!

Highlands Ranch Location

Hours: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

2229 Wildcat Reserve Pkwy #A4

Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

Centennial Location

Hours: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

7521 S. University Blvd #D13

Centennial, CO 80122

Just a reminder that there is no BASE the following dates.

November 18 - 22 - No BASE

December 13 - no morning BASE only

December 23 - January 3 - No Base

Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

Do you like rock climbing and volunteering? We would love your help. Saturday, December 7, Mrs. Nichols will have the BFA annual "Rock Wall" training. We are looking for 5 - 6 volunteers who can come get trained and volunteer throughout the school year.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, email Ms. Nichols for more information.

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

Arts

Music

Wednesday 12/11: Concert starts at 6:00 p.m., student call time is 5:40 p.m.

Tuesday 12/17: No Choir Practice

Wednesday 12/18: After School Choir field trip

• Please sign the permission slip on MSB before 12/18
  
• dress in formal uniform with optional holiday accessories

Winter Sports are gearing up. Our game schedules will be posted in our Monthly Calendar for all our upcoming sports. Visit our Athletics Page for more information about our Athletics Programs at BFA.

Boys Basketball schedule is now available. We hope to see you there!

When attending after school athletic games, 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 lost and found will be cleared out on December 20.

Please pop in and take a look before it is all donated.

Just a great reminder that the weather can change fast in Colorado.

Layers and coats should always be sent with students. It is very rare for us to have indoor recess for an entire day and those early morning recesses can get chilly. Don't forget to label items. It can be 25 degrees at 10 a.m. and 55 degrees at 2 p.m.

BFA follows the direction of the Douglas County School District (DCSD) regarding school closures/delays due to weather so if DCSD decides to close school for the day, then BFA will be closed as well. The Douglas County School District has been divided into three areas: Highlands Ranch, Parker and Castle Rock. It is possible for the district to close or delay school in only one of the areas. This is rare, but it is possible.

Please remember to give yourself extra time to get here. Unless there is a delayed start, we expect our students to be in their seats and ready to learn at 8:15 a.m.

If a Snow day is announced by DCSD, Ben Franklin Academy will be closed. All activities scheduled for that day will also be canceled, including BASE, athletics and extracurricular activities.

Sometimes, the weather is not severe enough for a closure, but may be significant enough to have a delayed school start. If the district calls for a delayed start, school at BFA will start 90 minutes later than normal.

If it’s been announced that BFA is on a 90-Minute Delayed Start, the following is the schedule:

• BASE: Before school care opens at 8:15 a.m. Please do not drop off your child earlier than 8:15 a.m. for before care, as no one will be at BFA to supervise your child.
• Before School Activities: All activities are canceled.
• Carpool: Carpool on a delayed start day begins at 9:15 a.m.
• School: School starts at 9:45 a.m. Students are expected to be in their seat and ready to learn by 9:45 a.m.
• Half-Day Kindergarten: Morning kindergarten starts at 9:45 a.m. and ends at the normal time. Afternoon kindergarten times do not change – normal start/end times apply.
• Preschool: BFA preschool will open at 9:40 a.m. and dismiss at the normal time. Afternoon times do not change – normal start/end times apply.

DCSD & BFA will always post notifications via email, text, website and Social Media. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram and make sure your information is updated in Infinite Campus.

All school closures can be seen on most of the local TV channels in the morning. You also may call the DCSD weather line at 303-387-SNOW (7669) to hear the latest updates on school closures or delayed starts.

If you see on the TV or hear on the weather line that Douglas County is listed as closed or delayed start that means all of the schools are closed or delayed. If you see or hear that the Parker area is closed or delayed that means that Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock are open.

You always have the option of keeping your child home if you feel that the roads are unsafe even if the school is open. This will be listed as an excused absence.

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.

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.