October 10

Dear Parents-

Thank you to everyone who attended the conferences on Tuesday. We hope you found these meetings informational and a collaborative way to discuss your child's strengths and growth areas. We look forward to seeing more parents here this evening.

Before heading off into fall break, we must revisit a few things about carpool. We have noticed an increased number of cars going through the preschool parking lot during morning drop-off. This is not allowed and is very dangerous. Many small children move about in that area and could easily get hurt. Please only use Zones A and B for morning drop-off.

We are still seeing several people get out of their cars during morning drop-off to either unbuckle or help children get out of their cars. Now that kids are used to school and parents are more used to carpool, this is causing more disruption. Please take some time over break to practice working on their buckles with your children. It's also helpful to leave backpacks and other school items out of the trunk or places where students can't reach them quickly. If you still need to get out to assist your child, please pull out of the carpool line, pull into a parking spot, and walk them to the front doors.

Parking in reserved spots, even for a minute, is inconsiderate and can cause significant inconvenience for those who genuinely need the space. Reserved parking spots (whether for individuals with disabilities, company vehicles, or designated services) are allocated for a specific reason. By occupying these spaces, even briefly, you may prevent someone with legitimate needs from accessing them, potentially leading to unnecessary delays. Respecting these reserved spots and following parking rules is essential to ensure everyone has the appropriate access. Remember, a momentary convenience for you can result in a significant disruption for someone else.

One other trend we have noticed during morning carpool is many students are bringing in drinks from Starbucks, Dunkin, Dutch Bros, etc. Many of these drinks are large and are completely full as they come into the building and are not able to be finished before going to class. We have also seen an increase of energy drinks being brought in. The only drink students should be bringing to school is water in their water bottles. These other drinks are starting to cause messes throughout the school and distractions in classrooms. Please limit the fun drinks to the car ride to school or as an after-school treat. We appreciate your support!

Remember that we added an extra dress of choice day on Monday the 21st for the school crushing the Level UP! Challenge!

I hope everyone has a wonderful fall break! I can't wait to hear about everyone's adventures!

Diana Simpson

There is no school October 11 to 21, 2024. Enjoy Fall Break!

Congratulations to our entire School. Our overall percentage for attendance was 97.3%. We are thrilled to have your commitment to keep our students here during school hours. Each classroom also was over 90% and will earn a prize. Details to come later.

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated October 10 for Grades K - 4.

Please visit our Bi-Monthly Newsletter dated October 3 for Grades 5 - 8.

Please visit our Preschool Newsletter dated October 10 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 Committee (CEC), Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), School Accountability Committee (SAC) and STEM Committee.

As of today, you will find the 2024-2025 Apple Award Nomination link LIVE on the FoundationDCS.org website.

The 2024-2025 Apple Award Nomination window will be open from Monday October 1, 2024 through Sunday November 11, 2024. We invite our DCSD students, teachers, staff and community to join us in nominating their favorite teacher(s), principal, classified employee and department employee.

The Nomination window closes on November 11th.

It is that time again when we donate all items from lost and found. Please take a moment during Parent Teacher Conferences to look through all the stuff. We do our best to look for names on items and those items will be delivered to your student, however, if we can't find a name, it will be donated.

After October 11th, all items in the Lost and Found will be gone.

Open Enrollment (OE) for the 2025-26 school year begins Nov. 1.

For the 2025-26 school year, do you have a:

• child entering kindergarten? You MUST complete OE during the first window (Nov. 1 - Dec. 2) to be eligible for an offer.
• child entering 1st-8th grade who currently attends a different school (not BFA)? You MUST complete OE during the first window (Nov. 1 - Dec. 2) to be eligible for an offer.
• child is a current BFA K-7th student? Do nothing. Your child will automatically be enrolled at BFA for the 2025-26 school year.

**Additional details about OE will be available after Fall Break.**

Many parents have expressed interest in preschool registration for the upcoming 2025-26 school year, and it's incredible how quickly it approaches! Click on our Preschool Enrollment Page for more informaton.

Firefighter Needed for Preschool Fire Safety Talk

Our preschool is looking for a firefighter to come in and teach our youngest learners about fire safety. If you're part of the BFA family, this is a fantastic way to earn volunteer hours while making a real impact on our little ones.

It's an easy and rewarding opportunity! We're hoping to have a firefighter speak about fire safety, demonstrate the gear they wear, and show how they put on the oxygen mask—explaining that while they may look a little scary, they’re there to keep everyone safe.

We're specifically looking for someone available on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday to speak to three different classes, each for about 30 minutes. We were able to get South Metro for our T/TH class, but they can only visit once per school per calendar year, and we want to give all of our children this important experience.

If you're able to help, please reach out to Lori Hafner. We’d love to connect and provide this opportunity for our little ones!

As a charter school, we set our academic calendar. Each year, the Board votes on next year's calendar. There are four proposed calendars up for discussion this year.

• Calendar Option A is the option most similar to Douglas County, with the same start date and major breaks but an earlier end date.
  
  
• Calendar Option B has a later starting date but shorter fall and Thanksgiving breaks while still ending before Memorial Day.
  
  
• Calendar Option C has a later start date, no fall break, complete Thanksgiving break, and ends before Memorial Day.
  
  
• Calendar Option D has a much later start date (after Labor Day), no fall break, complete Thanksgiving break, and ends in early June.

Please provide your feedback using this survey. I will share community and staff feedback with the Board at the October Board meeting. They will then vote on next year's calendar.

1. Our Preschool Parking Lot is for drop off and pick up for our Preschool Families. If you do not have a preschooler, please go through our normal carlines. This is not for K - 8 students, unless they have a preschool sibling going to school
   
   
2. BASE Spots are reserved for Parents picking up their students during BASE Hours. Please park in other spots during those times.
   
   
3. Athletic games are an important part of our BFA experience. We want everyone to come watch our teams. As a convenience for hosting, BFA families can park in the upper lot, allowing more closer spaces for our visiting teams who may not know where to go.
   
   
4. Parents should be staying in their cars during carpool. We recognize that we still have younger students who are in carseats who may need extra assistance. In the morning, we ask that parents park in our parking lot and walk them to the crosswalk.
   
   
5. You might have noticed that there are reserved spots in the front row of our parking lot. These are reserved 24/7. Please do not park in the reserved parking spots. We are noticing a lot of cars in those spots lately. Remember, a momentary convenience for you can result in a major disruption for someone else.

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 Want Your Blood - Join CEC in our annual blood drive.

Give Thanks - With a Pie - Buy a pie for staff. Flyer went home in Thursday folders for K-5 and in Google Classrooms for 6-8.

Find out more about what CEC is doing by visiting our Committee Newsletter or webpage.

Save the Date for our PTO BENefit Bash! March 8, 2025.

Trunk or Treat is coming up on October 31, 2024

Yearbook prices are going up. Get yours TODAY!

You can find out more information for each PTO event in this week's committee newsletter or visiting our PTO webpage.

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

Arts

Music

Winter Sports were gearing up. Our game schedules will be up on Events Calendar for all our upcoming sports.

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

Congratulations to our A & B Boys soccer teams.

This has been a great season and our players built an everlasting bond with their teammates while build confidence and enjoy the excitement of playing as part of a team.

We are proud of each and every player!

The boys basketball season is right around the corner!

In order to try out, players must be registered and complete waivers through MySchoolBucks, which is now open. Any players not registered, cannot try out. After teams are finalized, a payment will be invoiced for the season through MySchoolBucks and includes a sweatshirt, warm-up, and locker sticker.

On tryout days, players should bring water, change of athletic clothes, and shoes. Students will stay their classrooms until all-call and then will meet their coaches in the Thunder gym.

6th Grade Tryouts:

Monday, October 21

4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

7 & 8 Grade Tryouts:

Tuesday, October 22

4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Callbacks (if needed):

Wednesday, October 23

4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

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.

Join the Susan G. Komen for the More than Pink walk on October 12, 2024. Click on the flyer below.

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.