Weekly Newsletter
February 20, 2025
BFA Board of Director Meeting Summary - February 2025
In partnership with Principal Simpson, the BFA Board of Directors is proud to work for the students, parents and patrons of BFA in promoting the mission and vision of the school. The following summarizes action taken during our February Board meeting.
BOD Updates:
School Choice Week
National School Choice Week was Jan. 26 to February 2. Each school day, our students were engaged in different activities. They wrote about what they loved most about BFA and were given stickers and put them on water bottles. Finally, a few students helped make a video about their favorite virtue and what they liked about BFA. You can visit our Instagram Page (@bfamazing) to view the pictures and video.
SAC Spring Survey
The SAC survey will be available to stakeholders on February 27 and will remain open until March 10, 2025. Given prior feedback from parents related to rewards for participation, the SAC intends to incentivize participation by allowing an extra dress of choice if we are able to achieve school-wide participation of 80% or more. Let’s hit that goal, BFA! There will also be a drawing for those who participate and the winning families will receive vouchers for the BFA spirit store.
Board Succession
Board elections will take place in April 2025 and nominations will open February 27 and will close on March 2, 2025. Two seats will be open, including the seats currently held by Sarah Nisbet and Keri Street: one seat will be elected and one seat will be appointed by the Board. Additional information will be included in future newsletters and emails. If you are interested in learning more about what the Board does or have questions, please feel free to reach out to any current Board members.
Financial Oversight:
We unfortunately anticipate a cut to PPR funding next year due to the change in funding formulas related to state distributions. It is anticipated that it could greatly impact Douglas County School District, and BFA, due to the State revenue deficit. Our budget is healthy and we continue to prepare for the potential impacts.
We remain focused on our financial health, including appropriate spending and quality investments. Treasurer Sarah Nisbet provided the financial focus during the meeting. January financials were reviewed and recommended for approval by our Finance Committee. Financial documents are made available on the Financial Transparency page of the BFA website.
Policy Governance:
The Board did not review any policies during the February meeting.
Board BOLTS:
The Board and Principal Simpson recognize that there are BFA students and staff who go above and beyond and achieve excellence in academics, character, effort and/or service both at BFA and within our greater Community. We are proud of these students and staff members and the characteristics they exemplify:
Sydney Carney (Preschool)
Emery Parocazai (3rd)
Audrey Beshany (4th)
Brooks Neumann (5th)
Owen Mihok (6th)
Debra Wylie (5th IA)
Michelle Ziegler (SPED)
Kelley Marie Paulson (Comms)
Emily Pitrone (Student Support)
If you would like to nominate a student to be considered as one of our Board BOLTS in March, please use this nomination form.
March Board Meeting:
The next BFA Board of Director meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 25, in the Middle School Commons.
Haley Maglieri
Bookmark Our Events Calendar Now!
Please visit to get the most updated events or other activities going on.
Important Upcoming Dates
🏫 February 20 - STEM Committee Meeting
🏫 February 20 - Ben's Brigade Meeting
🦣 February 21 - Colorado Mammoth/BFA Spirit Wear Day
🥮 February 21 - Desserts with Dad
📆 February 26 - End of 2nd Trimester
👕 February 28 - AR Dress of Choice (1 - 5 Only)
🎭🎶 February 28 & March 1 - Mary Poppins Musical
🏫 March 4 - SAC Meeting
👕 March 5 - Formal Uniform Day
📸 March 5 - Class Picture Day
🏫 March 5 - CEC Meeting
🏓 March 5 - STEM Family Night
🪩 March 8 - BENefit Bash
Our 2025 School-wide Level UP! Challenge #3
Level UP Challenge: Supporting the Kid’s Heart Challenge! We are in the final weeks.
- Grades Pre-K – 5 had a great start with the Kids Heart Challenge. 🙌❤️ We have raised over $6,500 through donations from our families and friends. ❤️🙌
- Grades 6 – 8 will help raise funds by selling charity t-shirts and joining a Dodgeball team to support the cause.
Mrs. Crowe's Class is in the lead with $644 and 3rd Grade has raised $1,412!
Middle School Kick Off - February 28
Middle School Charity Week: Kicking Off the Kid’s Heart Challenge!
Our 6th–8th grade students will launch their Kid’s Heart Challenge as part of Charity Week! They’ll start by designing and selling charity t-shirts, then wrap up the week with an exciting Dodgeball for Dollars event.
Let's get ready for a heart-thumping, crowd-cheering good time! ❤️🏆
Charity Spirit Week and T-shirt Sales
Charity Spirit Week
To celebrate current and past charity weeks, we are having a Charity Spirit Week.
Monday, March 10: Wear the 2025 Charity T-Shirt! Regular uniform bottoms & socks apply!
Tuesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 12: Wear ANY BFA charity t-shirt. Regular uniform bottoms & socks apply!
Thursday, March 13: Color Out for a Cause. Wear ANY charity t-shirt or color t-shirt AND socks that represents a cause. Regular uniform bottoms apply!
Friday, March 14: Dress of Choice.
Ms. Hankins
Ms. Hankins is thrilled to return to Ben Franklin Academy as an Occupational Therapist on the Student Support Team. She first joined BFA in 2014, stepping away after three years to stay home with her twins, Kate and Jack—now proud second graders. Returning as both a staff member and a mom, she finds even greater joy in supporting her students and celebrating their progress.
Ms. Hankins earned her master’s in occupational therapy from Colorado State University in 2011.
While experienced in acute care, her true passion is working with children. Before BFA, she worked at a center for children with autism, developing a deep appreciation for play-based learning. She loves creating engaging, hands-on activities—like obstacle courses, crafts, and art projects—to help students build motor skills and emotional regulation. Few things are more rewarding to her than seeing a student’s confidence grow.
Ms. Hankins also has a passion for nutrition and wellness. When her children started pre-K at BFA, she returned to graduate school to pursue a degree in nutrition and is on track to earn her Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) license in 2025. She enjoys exploring farmers' markets, local coffee shops, and spending time outdoors with her family—her greatest blessing.
Click here to view her favorites.
Colorado Rapids Attendance Celebration! ⚽
We have partnered with the Colorado Rapids to reward and incentivize attendance here at Ben Franklin Academy by giving students who have not missed more than 2 days, from January 20 - February 21, a complimentary ticket to a Colorado Rapids match with the purchase of an adult ticket.
Students who qualify will receive a ticket link voucher via email to redeem their complimentary ticket with purchase of additional discounted tickets. Vouchers will be redeemable for qualifying Spring 2025 games.
B.A.S.E. Summer Camp
The initial summer camp registration of $35 per child will open on Monday February 24, 2025.
Weekly registrations for the 2025 Summer Camp program will open Monday March 24, 2025, in MySchoolBucks.
Prior to registering for the weeks needed, you must first pay the initial registration fee of $35 per child. As a reminder, this registration fee includes one summer camp t-shirt and one day pack.
After you complete the initial registration for each student, you will be able to sign up for the weeks you need. The cost is $250 per week, per child. We do not offer drop-in care or partial week registrations.
If you would like a copy of the activity calendars (available after spring break) or have any questions, please email Leigh Savoy.
Desserts with Dad
Desserts with Dads is THIS WEEK! - Friday, Feb. 21st from 6:30 - 8:00p.m. at BFA. This free event will be a fun evening for ALL students to enjoy with their father, or other special adult. Join us for laser tag, bingo and plenty of desserts. No RSVP needed. Hope to see you there!
THANK YOU to everyone who has volunteered to help make this evening a success. We couldn't do it without you!
In the event of a school closure, the event may still happen. We will send an update before 2:00 p.m. to ensure everyone is informed about the status of the event.
Tickets still available until Sunday for the 2025 BENefit Bash!
Get Your Tickets to the 2025 BENefit Bash Today! 🎫
Don’t miss out on BFA’s largest fundraiser of the year! Ticket sales for this year’s BENefit Bash will end on Sunday, February, 23. Purchase your tickets here today! The Bash will be held on Saturday, March 8 from 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. at Cielo in Castle Pines.
The PTO's fundraisers help raise money for several different items around the school, ensuring that BFA is always up to date for our teachers and students. This year's fundraising initiatives will go toward updating, replacing, and adding new technology and computers/iPads. In addition, PTO will continue to help fund our annual Lexia Core 5 software licensing, fund several parts of Field Day, and more!
Two Seats Open on the BFA Board of Directors in Spring 2025
The Ben Franklin Academy (BFA) community is seeking leaders who are passionate about and committed to BFA’s mission and vision to serve on the BFA Board of Directors (Board). In the spring of 2025, the BFA community will elect (or re-elect) one (1) director and the BFA Board will appoint one (1) director in accordance with the Board of Directors Election Policy to serve on the volunteer, seven-director BFA Board. We hope to receive a record number of nominations with a desire of having a diverse, talented and dedicated pool of candidates to draw from for BFA’s Board.
The Board encourages all individuals with a passion to serve the BFA community to get involved in the nomination and election process this spring. More details on the election/appointment process, director qualifications and Board needs will be communicated in early 2025.
If you have any questions please reach out to Adam Lucero or Justin Mayhall.
Winter Sports are wrapping 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. Hope to see you at the games!
Home Games Parking: Please remember to park in Athletic spots ONLY. 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.
Girls Soccer Tryouts
The girl soccer season is right around the corner!
In order to tryout, players must be registered and complete waivers through MySchoolBucks, which is open tomorrow. Any players not registered, cannot tryout. 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 soccer cleats. Students will stay their classrooms until they are called to the turf where they will meet their coach. Players are expected to attend all 3 tryouts.
6th - 8th Grade Tryouts:
Tuesday, March 4
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 5
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 6
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Boys Volleyball Tryouts
We are gearing up for boys volleyball season.
In order to tryout, players must be registered and complete waivers through MySchoolBucks, which is open tomorrow. Any players not registered, cannot tryout. 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 in carpool until all call and then will meet their coaches in the Thunder gym.
6th-8th Grade Tryouts
Thursday, March 6
4:00 - 5:30 PM
Callbacks (if needed):
Tuesday, March 11
4:00 - 5:30 PM
Shape the Future of DCSD
The world is changing rapidly and so are the needs of our students. As we develop a bold new strategic plan for our school district, we invite you — students, parents, educators, business leaders and community members — to be part of the conversation. One way is to take this online survey.
Another is to participate in any of the numerous, interactive stakeholder meetings beginning on February 25. Details can be found on the DCSD website.
Those meetings will explore three essential questions:
What emerging challenges and opportunities for schools, educators and young people do we need to prepare for?
What do we want our schools, educators and students to achieve over the next 10 years?
What are our strengths and where must we improve?
Your voice matters, and these discussion forums and survey are your opportunity to help shape the future of education in Douglas County. Together, we will ensure our schools are not just adapting to change but leading the way as we prepare students for success in an unpredictable world.
Join us and make a difference!
Our delicious lunch is provided by DCSD. Check out the menu and select the current month.
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.
