October 24
A Word from our Board President
BFA Board of Director Meeting Summary - October 2024
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 October Board meeting.
BOD Updates:
Fall Parent Survey
The Fall Parent Satisfaction Survey is anticipated to be made available to families today and will remain open through November 4th. The SAC has worked very hard to develop a survey that focuses on the classroom. This allows our staff to better understand what is working and what could be improved, thereby improving student outcomes. Your participation and feedback is important and appreciated! Let’s LEVEL UP and increase participation from last year’s 259 valid responses.
Uniform Policy
As you may recall, the Board revised the Uniform Policy during the September meeting. The revised Uniform Policy is available on the website. As previously indicated, hair tinsel is no longer permitted and will be enforced as a violation now that we have returned from Fall break. Crocs are also not permitted footwear. Please pay close attention to changes in athletic wear, including sports hoodies.
Financial Oversight:
Treasurer Sarah Nisbet provided the financial focus during the meeting. The 2023/2024 draft audit (performed by a third-party) was reviewed. The new laws pertaining to TABOR were also discussed and we will ensure timely compliance of the amounts required to be reserved. A special thank you to Halsley Hoff for all of her work on the audit - it is time consuming and she certainly deserves to be recognized. September financials were also reviewed and recommended for approval by our Finance Committee. We remain focused on our financial health, including appropriate spending and quality investments.
Financial documents are made available on the Financial Transparency page of the BFA website. Once finalized, the final audit will also be uploaded for you to review.
Policy Governance:
The Board reviewed two policies during the October meeting. The following briefly summarizes changes you can expect to see in the updated versions. The updated policies will be available on the Policy page of the BFA website on or before November 1, 2024.
Staff Dress Code Policy
Minor changes were made to this policy. Staff members are permitted to wear jeans on Fridays and participate in Dress of Choice days. They are also encouraged to participate in spirit and theme days.
Board of Directors Election Policy
Very minor stylistic changes were made to this policy. In the event you are new to BFA or have not previously been part of our election process (which occurs in April), please note that we only permit one vote per family number.
No policies are scheduled to be reviewed at the November meeting.
November Board Meeting:
The next BFA Board of Director meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 19, in the Middle School Commons.
Board BOLTS:
The Board and Principal Simpson recognize that there are BFA students 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 the characteristics they exemplify:
Ms. McElroy (2nd grade Teacher)
Austin Knight (2nd grade)
Noelle Swanson (3rd grade)
If you would like to nominate a student to be considered as one of our Board BOLTS in November, please use this nomination form.
November Ballot
Funding Needs in our School District
Did you know that the Douglas County School District has 92 schools and a $300 million backlog of capital investments that are needed in these buildings? Did you know that 85% of BFA's 8th grade students will attend a Douglas County High School? Did you know that BFA would benefit from any district wide security upgrades that are funded by this bond? Please take a couple of minutes to watch this brief video where our Superintendent explains in more detail.
Have You Turned in Your Ballot?
Election Day is fast approaching. Please be sure to turn in your ballot by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5. You can track the status of your ballot and find the locations of ballot boxes and other polling centers. Remind your friends, family and neighbors to turn in their ballots as well!
Want to learn more? Visit our DCSD page!
Bookmark Our Events Calendar Now!
Please visit to get the most updated events or other activities going on.
Important Upcoming Dates
🎃October 31 - Trunk or Treat, PreK - 5th Class Parties
🏫November 1 - School Closed for Teacher In Service Day
⏰November 3- Day light savings
📥November 1 to December 1 - Open enrollment for kindergarten families
🇺🇸November 11 - Veterans Day
🦃November 25 to 29- Thanksgiving Break
Fall Survey
The purpose of the Fall Survey is to give staff an early snapshot of students' educational experiences so modifications can be made as needed over the coming months. The Board of Directors also uses the survey data for evaluation. Your participation is very appreciated and contributes to the success of the school.
Survey Dates:
Open from now through Nov. 4.
One survey per household and use your Family number (carpool tag) to vote. If you need the number, email the Front Office Staff.
Incentives:
2 hours volunteer time for filling out
Extra dress of choice for 80% class participation
We Want Your Blood - Community Blood Donation Begins This Week VIRTUALLY!
The Community Events Committee (CEC) is organizing BFA's fourth annual blood drive. To better meet your donation needs, the event will be held virtually this year and it begins this week! Donate at your convenience anytime between Oct. 25th - Nov. 9th at any Vitalant location.
To schedule an appointment, visit Vitalant and use blood drive code SaveLife-4988-S. If you have any questions please contact CEC.
Give Thanks - With Pie
The Community Events Committee (CEC) is holding their annual Pie Appreciation Event this November. This has become a delicious tradition to thank our BFA teachers, administrators and staff for their care and commitment to our students. We hope you will join us by contributing a pie for their Thanksgiving table.
Each staff member will select a pie of their choice and the CEC will purchase the pies; however we can't do it without your help! We are requesting $15 donations to cover the cost of each pie. You can purchase (donate) a pie via MySchoolBucks between now and Nov. 7th. Please visit MySchoolBucks or use the QR code to donate. We thank you in advance for your generosity!
BFA’s 4th Annual Trunk or Treat is taking place next Thursday, October 31st! It's going to be a FUN day for ALL preschool through eighth grade BFA students! Thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer and donate treats. We are still in need of treat donations to make sure all of the students get treats at each trunk. Please see the Signup Genius and consider supporting by donating treats for our students!
Or, if you don’t have time to buy candy, consider making a monetary donation of any amount on MySchoolBucks that will go toward the purchase of candy. All physical donations can be dropped off in the BFA front office and online donations made now through Monday, October 28.
Throughout the day next Thursday, classes will be invited to step outside and participate in the Trunk or Treat where volunteers will be distributing trinkets, candy, popcorn, and fruit snacks from the trunk of their own vehicle parked in an assigned spot. ALL parents are invited to come and watch your children at Trunk or Treat! Please see the schedule for when your child's class will be participating.
All of our volunteer spots are currently full for hosting a trunk and running candy the day of the event, but please keep checking back for openings as there is always some turnover as we get closer to the event.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Abby Jensen, PTO Trunk or Treat Committee Manager.
A HUGE Thank you to our PTO for hosting TRUNK OR TREAT next Thursday, Oct. 31! It’s going to be a FUN day for ALL preschool through eighth grade BFA students! Students can wear their costumes to school all day–but remember, costumes should be appropriate for school (no revealing/offensive clothing, costumes with pretend blood/gore, or pretend weapons). Also, please no masks or face paint since students will be in costume all day; however, students can bring a mask to wear while participating in Trunk or Treat.
Throughout the day, classes will be invited to step outside with their class and participate in Trunk or Treat where volunteers will be distributing trinkets, candy, popcorn and/or fruit snacks from the trunk of their own vehicle parked in an assigned spot. This year ALL parents are invited to come and watch your children at Trunk or Treat! You can park in the upper lot; Trunk or Treat will take place on the main lot.
K-5 Halloween Classroom Parties will take place from 2-3 p.m., Oct. 31. Please see each Room Parents' communications regarding more information.
The Colorado Rapids are back in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs! Be there at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park as this young and hungry Rapids team led by Djordje Mihailovic, Rafael Navarro, and Cole Bassett take on LA Galaxy on Friday, November 1 at 7:30 PM in Game 2 of Round One.
As an exclusive offer for Ben Franklin Academy families, their first playoff ticket is HALF OFF with the purchase of at least one ticket to the game. A portion of each ticket purchased will be donated back to Ben Franklin Academy . Don’t miss the first Rapids playoff game at home since 2021 as the team looks to bring MLS Cup back to Colorado!
There are group ticket discounts available for Rapids home playoff games in 2024, starting at just 10+ people. CLICK HERE to learn more on how you can create once-in-a-lifetime memories by participating in an on-field experience or enjoying a home playoff game from a premium hospitality space.
Questions or need help purchasing? Feel free to reach out to George or 303-727-3595
Book Fair Wrap Up - Message from Ms. Williams
Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers that helped with the Book Fair. There is absolutely no way we could have a successful fair without all of you. I had parents/grandparents that stopped in everyday just to make sure we had plenty of coverage.
I appreciate all the ice tea that you guys brought me to keep me going until the end of each day.
We had great feedback on the No Cash Book Fair, everyone really liked not having to worry about their students losing money and being able to have a little better control on what and how much their kiddos were buying.
As I mentioned, the Fair was very successful. We sold over 2,800 books (our community ROCKS!) which will allow us to bring in another $6,200.00 worth of books into our library.
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.
Volunteers Needed!
1st: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA8A62FABF5C52-50895521-1stgrade
2nd: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA8A62FABF5C52-50895550-2ndgrade
3rd: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA8A62FABF5C52-50895574-3rdgrade
4th: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA8A62FABF5C52-50895605-4thgrade
The bulletin board: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA8A62FABF5C52-51041711-science
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.
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.
Nominate your 2024 Apple Award Nominee Today!!
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.
DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is offering highly discounted tickets to their community performances of Elephant & Piggie “We are in a Play!” on: Sunday, October 27th at 1:30PM and 3:30PM; Sunday, November 10th at 1:30PM; Saturday, November 23rd at 3:30PM.
Brought to you by DCPA’s Theatre for Young Audiences program, tailored for Pre-K through 3rd grade audiences but welcomes all ages. Tickets are only $5.75 per person (Reflects base ticket price of $5, plus a $0.75 service fee). Please see attached flyer on how your families who may want to attend can purchase tickets!