August 2025
Dear BFA Students and Families,
Welcome to BFA! I hope you had a restful and fun summer and are ready to embark on the new school year. A new school year brings about so many emotions, some being excitement and nervousness. I am extremely excited for you all to be back to school since BFA is just a building without you in it. If you are experiencing nervousness, the teachers, staff, and administration are here to support you and to ensure that your high school experience is welcoming and engaging.
Here at BFA, we are committed to providing a well-rounded education that equips students with skills needed in a rapidly changing world. A well-rounded education is more than handing in assignments and taking quizzes. It is about communicating and engaging with others while problem solving and learning. It is this commitment that has led us to the decision that BFA will be a cell phone/ personal device free school starting this school year. The State of Vermont has passed legislation that prohibits cell phone and personal electronic devices at school from arrival to dismissal starting in 2026. BFA has decided to tackle this issue in the upcoming school year due to the overwhelming research that states that these devices have a negative impact on learning, social emotional health, and peer interactions. We believe this change will have a positive impact on our community as we learn how to connect and communicate with each other in ways that do not involve a screen. I know you all have many questions, so please take time to read through the BFA Phone Procedures and Frequently Asked Questions. If your questions have not been answered, please reach out so we can clarify.
As principal, I believe in high expectations with support in place so that we can all meet the expectations that lay before us. It is our goal to make sure those expectations are clearly communicated. Some expectations, among others, that I plan to discuss during the first few days of school are: Phone Procedures, which I just outlined, and Students are not to use, or be in possession of, Tobacco, Alcohol, or Drugs on school grounds (please read the BFA Playbook which is linked on our website). At BFA, we utilize Vape Detectors in our bathrooms. Again, I believe high expectations should include high support, so if anyone is in need of support, please reach out to us.
BFA communicates information in a multitude of ways, such as the BFA Webpage, www.maplerun.org/o/bfa, where you can find Daily Announcements, Student/Parent Handbook, Events, News, Administrative Newsletter/Blog, as well as a link to our BFA Facebook page.
You will be receiving an email from the BFA Information Technology Department with your Powerschool Login information. Once you have received this Login information, you can access all the necessary forms needed for the start of the year. There are directions on how to access it on our webpage titled Start of Year Info & Forms. Please fill out the following forms to ensure we have up to date information.
Without this, you may not receive important communications that we send out (i.e emergency, school cancelations, etc. )
There is a tab on our web page titled, “Start of Year Info” that provides any instructions you might need in order to access and complete the forms. If you need paper copies of these forms, we will be happy to send them to you, so please let us know if needed.
While the school year is fast approaching, there is some essential information relevant to the beginning of school. Please take the time to read through this letter as it contains many details.
9th Grade Orientation is on Monday , August 25, 2025 5:00-7:30pm
The first day of school for 9th grade is August 27th.
All BFA students attend on August 28th.
