BFA Preschool Newsletter-Oct 24

I hope you all had a fantastic and rejuvenating Fall Break! It was wonderful to see our students return this week with so much enthusiasm and so anxious to be back at school. We are looking forward to some fun weeks of learning ahead of us.

We kindly remind you that all children must be walked to the preschool door for morning drop-off. Please do not drop them off from your car and let them walk up on their own. It’s important to personally connect with the teacher at drop-off, especially since it can get quite busy with school-age children arriving. Walking your child ensures their safety and helps us keep everything running smoothly.

Additionally, we’ve noticed that several children this week have not been checked in upon arrival. Please remember to complete the check-in process right away. Setting a reminder or alarm can help get back into the routine after the break. I’ve had to send out reminder texts, which delays my ability to complete lunch counts and attendance reports, so your timely check-ins are greatly appreciated.

If these steps are not consistently followed, we may need to implement a sign-in sheet for each parent to sign upon arrival. I’m confident that with everyone's cooperation, we can avoid adding this extra step to our busy mornings.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping our children safe!

As we move into the coming week, it promises to be a bustling time with our Halloween parties on the horizon. Please take a moment to read the important information below regarding these festivities. Hopefully, you've already received emails from our dedicated room parents outlining how you can contribute and get involved to make these events extra special.

Thank you for your continued support, and we're looking forward to a spooktacular Halloween celebration!

🎉🏠October 11 - Professional Development Day- NO SCHOOL

🏠October 14 - 18 - Fall Break- NO SCHOOL

🎃October 30 & 31 - Halloween Parties

🎂October 30 - Happy Birthday Mrs. Eframo

🏠November 1 - Professional Development Day- NO SCHOOL

⏰November 3- Day light savings

📥November 1 to December 1 - Open enrollment for kindergarten families

👀November 4 and 5 - Vision Testing

📥November 6 - Enrollment for CURRENT preschool families. **Email will be sent with a google doc form to fill out

🇺🇸November 11 - Veterans Day

📥November 15 - Current preschool families enrollment google docs form DUE

👂November 19 and 22- Hearing Assessments

🦃November 25 to 29- Thanksgiving 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.

4. Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program

• BFA Preschool will be renewing our application for the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program for the 2025-26 school year, aiming to offer free or low-cost preschool opportunities for many of our families. Those interested in enrolling their children in BFA Preschool are required to complete an ‘Intent to Enroll’ form available on our website.
• Upon submission, if a seat is available in any of our classrooms, we will guide parents through the enrollment process both at BFA and for the UPK application. In the event that seats are not immediately available, your child will be placed on a waitlist. Should a seat become available, we will promptly notify you.
  

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.

We are so blessed to have gained a few fantastic volunteers through our recent request:

First, a huge thank you to Amy Marks for volunteering to create our end-of-year slideshows for our preschool classes. This is a big task, and her help allows our staff to focus on creating even more special memories to share with you at the end of the year.

We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Lindsay Steinbeck for assisting our teachers by preparing materials from home when needed by the teachers. Her contribution is a huge relief for our teaching staff and helps us to free more time for our teachers to be plan great learning experiences.

If you’d still like to volunteer—whether you’re looking to earn volunteer hours or simply want to give your time—we are still in need of additional support. Here are a couple of areas where you can help:

1. Help from Home
Our preschool team is looking for parents who can assist with cutting and preparing materials for teachers. This is a great way to support the classroom from home, and teachers will reach out as needed.

2. Creative Touch for Dramatic Play
If you enjoy being creative, we would love your help enhancing our dramatic play center. We have themed activities planned for each month but are always open to new ideas. Choose a theme that inspires you, and we’ll provide the materials to help you get started.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Please let us know if you’re interested in lending a hand in any of these areas. Your support means so much to our preschool community!

🎃Our first classroom party is right around the corner, if you haven’t from your room parent yet to see on ways you can help out you will be shortly if they still need help.

Here are some important details about the Halloween parties:

1. Children arrive at school already dressed in their Halloween costumes, if they are choosing to dress up. We will NOT be putting on costumes after their arrival. Please consider how your child will manage using the restroom with their costume. If necessary, make modifications for their comfort and convenience, as party days can be a bit overwhelming for the little ones.

2. We ask that preschool students do NOT wear masks, as this can be a safety issue when trying to move around. The K-8 students are allowed to wear masks during the Trunk and Treat, but we are not allowing preschool students. No facial makeup may be worn that covers the entire face. NO accessories may be brought that resemble any type of weapon. Please keep other accessories to a minimum as it is hard for our little ones to manage all the items during the party and can be misplaced.

3. Parents of Mrs. Olson's class, please ensure your child brings spare clothing or wears clothes underneath their costumes, as they will be taking off their costumes after the party. If the costume is large and will not fit in their backpacks, please pack another bag for the costume.

4. Preschool 3's and Mrs. Olson's Pre-K MWF classes, we'll have a Trunk-n-Treat event shortly after drop-off (around 8:35 am). The children will enter the school, drop off their backpacks, and pick up their treat bags before heading out to the preschool parking lot for the Trunk-n-Treat activity. All parents are invited to participate in the trunk-to-treat event for our preschoolers. The more trunks the more fun it is for the preschoolers.

5. Preschool 3's and Mrs. Olson's Pre-K T/TH classes, we'll have a Trunk-to-Treat event at the end of the party beginning at 9:30 in large school parking lot. All parents are invited to come to that part of the party to see the children in their costumes as they parade from trunk to trunk.

6. We kindly request that you do not bring Halloween buckets. We will provide bags for the children on party day, and we do not have enough space in the classroom to store additional buckets, especially on a busy party day.

7. If you are volunteering for our Halloween party, please check in at the office before entering the classroom. We'll need to scan your driver's license through our system, and you'll be provided with a badge if you don't have a volunteer ID. Please note that younger siblings will not be allowed to attend the parties.

8. Volunteers can begin setting up the classroom at the specified times listed below. Please do not arrive before the designated time. Only the assigned volunteers and the room parent will be permitted to attend the party. If you are not volunteering for the Halloween party, there will be opportunities to volunteer on other dates.

Preschool 3’s: Party organizers can start setting up at 7:45 am. The party should be completed by 9:30 am to prepare the children for the rest of their day.

Olson: Party organizers can start setting up at 7:45 am. The party should be completed by 9:30 am to prepare the children for the rest of their day.

Eframo: Party organizers can begin setting up at 12:15 pm. The party will start at 12:30 pm with Trunk and Treat, followed by the party.

We want to express our gratitude to everyone working hard to make this a fun day for our preschool children. They are very excited, and our staff is equally thrilled. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or if there's any way, we can assist you.

This week, our Pre-K Happy Campers have started their CKLA unit on families and communities. We’ve been discussing who is in their families, which has sparked some wonderful conversations. The campers are also learning about the letter "Ee" and had fun reading Elmer.

To build on their rhyming skills, we worked with the rhyme Rain, Rain Go Away, focusing on recognizing and creating rhyming words.

Of course, it wouldn’t be fall without some festive art! The campers have been busy making adorable mummies and colorful candy corn using tissue paper as part of our Halloween and fall-themed crafts.

This week, our T/TH Preschool 3’s and Busy Bee T/TH classroom had an exciting visit from Station 18’s fire truck! The children had an amazing time learning about all the equipment firefighters use and reviewing what to do if there’s a fire at home. The most thrilling moment came at the end of the visit when the firefighters received a real emergency call. The kids got to see them spring into action, quickly putting on their safety gear, and driving off with lights flashing and sirens blaring!

I’m still working hard to arrange a similar experience for our MWF classrooms along with our M-F classroom. Despite sending emails to all our preschool families and a request in the school newsletter, I haven’t yet found a firefighter volunteer from our BFA community. South Metro District can only accommodate one school visit per year, which has been a challenge since we have two different groups of children. I've submitted a special request to the department and have not yet heard back from anyone willing to volunteer. Please know it’s not for lack of trying!

Our Preschool Website can be found here.

It has wonderful information for parents and students. You can find lots of information on what is your student's daily schedule, the Curriculum we teach and information about our teachers.

We are actively updating the website so you have access to more information. So, visit often as we are continually updating the webpages each day.

October's Virtue is...

Humility – Be mindful of others before yourself. Treat them as you want to be treated. Think about how you can help others before being asked. Let others speak when it is their turn.

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.