Dear Parents-

Next week are our first parent/teacher conferences of the year. These meetings are an essential time for teachers to share how your children are doing academically and socially here at school. This is also a good opportunity for parents to share what they see at home. We look forward to partnering with you to ensure your children have a successful year.

• Grades Pre-K through 5th grade, a sign up link will have been emailed to parents. Please email your student(s)' teacher if you have not received the link.
  
  
• For Grade 6 - 8 parents, the conferences will be conducted in a round-robin style in the big gym. To ensure everyone gets a chance to meet with the teachers, please limit your time with each teacher to five minutes or less. We will be closing the gym from 5:30-6:00 p.m. so the teachers can have dinner. Please be mindful of this break, as any delay in the teachers' dinner may result in a delay in their return to the gym.

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.

We completed our first school-wide Level Up! challenge in September, and everyone knocked it out of the park! The school had an attendance rate of 97.3% for September! Way to go, BFA! As promised, we have added an extra Dress of Choice day to the calendar for October 21. Each classroom also exceeded the 90% goals, so I will be delivering a special treat for each student in all our classrooms after fall break.

Stay tuned for our next challenge!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Diana Simpson

BFA Principal

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.

School Wide Reward

Extra Dress of Choice Reward will be October 21.

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 October 3 for Grades 5 - 8.

Please visit our Preschool Newsletter dated October 3 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 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! To help ease your concerns, here are our registration dates:

1. Current Preschool Families:

• Priority Registration for Preschool 3's and younger siblings will begin with a Google Doc sent out on November 6th, to be completed by November 15th.
• By no later than November 22nd, you will receive information about your child's class placement for the upcoming year at BFA.
  
  

2. Current BFA K-8 Families:

• "Intent to Enroll" for current BFA K-8 families will open on December 4th at 9:00 AM. This will be on a first-come, first-served basis with a timestamp.
• This form will close on December 11th at 9:00 p.m. and after that date any BFA families that hadn’t expressed interest at that time, will need to fill out the “Intent to Enroll” in January with the public and will lose their priority spot.
• Current BFA K-8 families will receive information about their child’s class placement or waitlist status by December 13th.
  
  

3. Public Enrollment:

• On January 8th, the "Intent to Enroll" will become available to the public at 9:00 am If any seats remain open at this point, they will be offered to the public.

5. Who is eligible for universal preschool?

Children in Colorado can receive up to 15 hours per week of free, high-quality preschool during the year before kindergarten through the Universal Preschool Program (UPK). Some families may qualify for additional free hours based on specific criteria. However, BFA only offers the 15-hour option.

If your child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), their services must be provided through a District School, as BFA preschool does not receive state funding to support specialized services requiring professional staff.

For more information, visit Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program or sign up for the class.
"Understanding Universal Pre-K for Parents" Registration Link

UPK Pre-Registration Dates Announced:

• December 17 - February 3: Pre-registration application window for families requesting Continuity of Care placements, sibling attending or child of employee.
• December 17 - February 3: Providers will receive matches each day for eligible family registrations and will be able to accept or decline placements.
• February 3 - 10: Families must accept pre-registration matches.

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!

Please help us provide dinner for our teachers during fall parent-teacher conferences. We will provide soups, salads, breads, and desserts.

If you sign up for a soup, please bring your crock pot so we can keep it warm ~ make sure to label it! You can retrieve it at 7PM on the 10th or contact Sage Felux at to arrange pick up AFTER FALL BREAK.

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.

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 ends soon. We need at least 10 more students to sign up. Check our Grade Level newsletters for more information!

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.

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 or the link below.

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

Arts

Music

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity while building sets? If you are comfortable with drills and saws, email Mrs. Johnson to help build the sets for Mary Poppins musical.

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.

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.

Our Girls A & B Team won the Front Range Charter League championship games this evening. Their hardwork and commitment to the sport earned them their wins.

Both teams won in only 2 sets.

A huge thank you to the dedicated coaches and parents who helped get them there!

GO BOLTS!!!!

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.