Committee News November 5
Did you know we are updating our Calendar almost everyday?
Important Committee Events
November 5 - SAC Meeting
November 6 - CEC Meeting
November 7 to 15 - Freedom Service Dogs Donation Drive
November 8 - Krispy Creme Digital Dozen Fundraiser Begins
November 10 - Raise Right Program Begins
November 11 - CEC Veteran's Day Celebration
November 13 - PTO Meeting
November 17 - Raise Right Program Ends
November 19 - BFA Board Meeting
November 21 - STEM Family Engineering Night
November 22 - Krispy Creme Digital Dozen Fundraiser Ends
Monthly Meeting on November 5, 2024
Please join us on November 5 at 4:30 p.m. for our SAC monthly meeting. Join in person or online. Zoom information is on the top of every agenda. You can find the agenda and minutes on their webpage.
Join SAC!
We are still looking for parents to join our SAC committee. It is a great way to help and leave a footprint at BFA. Email our SAC Chair, Karen Ramon if you are interested.
Veteran's Day
We hope to see you NEXT week at our Veterans Day celebration. We will host two ceremonies:
- 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. - traditional ceremony including grades 4-8
- 11:45 - 12:30 p.m. - smaller ceremony including grades K-3
Seating will take place 15 minutes prior to each assembly start. We are excited to host our honored guests, and we believe kids and adults alike will enjoy our speakers and presentations.
We ask Veterans and their guests to please allow enough time to park and check-in prior to the start of the event. Don't forget, the front office will need to scan the Driver's License of our guests in the front office.
Freedom Service Dogs Donation Drive
This year our Veteran Day donation drive will benefit Freedom Service Dogs (FSD). Freedom Service Dogs is a Denver-based nonprofit that transforms lives by partnering people with custom-trained assistance dogs. Their clients include veterans and active-duty military with PTSD, children and teens with autism, and people with physical disabilities. Since 1987, FSD has graduated hundreds of client-dog teams at no cost to their clients. We will be collecting online donations to benefit Freedom Service Dogs in all their efforts. To donate or learn more about FSD, please scan the QR codes below and check out our FSD flyer. One of our assembly speakers will be a FSD client, Chris, who will be accompanied by his assistance dog, Noodle.
We will be collecting online donations from November 7 through 15 to benefit Freedom Service Dogs in all their efforts.
Community Blood Donation - Still Time to Donate!
Did you know every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood? You have just over one week to donate towards our community blood donation. To better meet your donation needs, the event is being held virtually this year. Donate at your convenience anytime between now - Nov. 9th at any Vitalant location.
To schedule an appointment, visit Vitalant website and use blood drive code SaveLife-4988-S. If you have any questions please contact CEC.
Our Parent Teacher Organization looks forward to an amazing year full of events, fundraisers and sponsorships.
Our next PTO meeting is November 13. Hope to see you there!
Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens "Spirit Night" Fundraiser from November 8-22
This month, you have a great reason to indulge in a dozen (or two) Krispy Kreme doughnuts. From November 8-22, over 50% of your order price will be donated back to BFA when you purchase via our fundraising sales page! Simply buy online, visit your local store & redeem using your code. Treat yourself, or even gift them to friends and family.
We can share this link with anyone, and the offer can be redeemed at any location in the country (except Connecticut). So, feel free to share this with friends and family all over America!
After you purchase via the fundraising sales page you will immediately get an email confirmation with a link to access the redemption code. Once you click: "Redeem (of Gift) your Dozens" in this email, you will be able to see all your Digital Dozens associated with your order. From here, you can choose to redeem or gift each dozen individually. You do not have to redeem your digital dozens at the same time. Each has a unique code so you can redeem anytime.
These Digital Dozens are for a glazed dozen only.
These are perfect for stocking stuffers, holiday parties, gifts, or enjoying at home. Our goal is 75 dozen sold which would mean $637 for the PTO! The link will go live this Friday, November 8, so please spread the word and enjoy some donuts!
BONE DRY ROOFING (Henney Family)
BFA SPECIAL: Free inspections and estimates & 10% off repairs
Your roof is a shield against the elements, providing your home with comfort and security. From major leaks to minor repairs, Bone Dry Roofing has the largest fleet and most experienced crews to provide customers with prompt service and complete satisfaction. Our roofs come with a lifetime guarantee*, and we commit to revisiting your home in five years to inspect our work and resolve any issues at no cost. We also offer dedicated commercial roofing services, ensuring that your commercial properties receive the same level of attention and quality workmanship.
Order Your Yearbook and Dedication Today for the Best Pricing!
The 2024-2025 yearbooks are on sale now! Be sure to order yours early for the best pricing. Right
now, yearbooks cost $45 per book. Don’t wait, as prices will go up to $50 after November 15!
You may also order a yearbook dedication (parent tribute ad) for your student. Dedications are $35
for 1/8 of page if you order by November 10. After that, the price for dedications will go up to $40
(if ordered by 12/31) and then to $45 (from 1/1 until the last day to order, 1/26). These ads are a fun
way to help commemorate a great school year!
This year, we will again be using Jostens for our yearbooks. You can order and pay for your 2024 -
PTO Spirit Wear Store Opened NOW! Get Your Cold Weather Gear and Holiday Gifts!
The PTO’s online spirit wear store (in partnership with locally owned and operated Denver Athletic) will be open now through November 17. No orders will be accepted after the store closes. You can place your order and pay online through the Denver Athletic website. All orders will be delivered before Winter Break, and there is an option to mark that your purchase is a gift so that it will be delivered to the front office for pickup and not to your student. Any items not picked up from the office before Winter Break will be delivered to the classroom.
Not only do we have classroom-approved sweatshirts, fleeces, and spirit day shirts (remember,
every Friday is a spirit wear day!), there are additional tops, shorts, hats, and more! Show off your
school spirit and support the PTO by placing an order today.
If you have any questions, please email Gen Townsend, PTO spirit wear committee manager.
The 2024-25 Online Directory is Available Now.
The 2024-25 BFA online directory, DirectorySpot, is available now! To access the directory, you will need to download the free DirectorySpot app available through the App Store and Google Play. You should receive an email from DirectorySpot with your one-time password, which will allow you to log-on.
If you have questions, please contact Andreya Flanigan, PTO Vice-President.
Got Something or Someone to Celebrate? Rent the Spirit Rock!
The Spirit Rock is an opportunity to share exciting events with our school community by painting your own message. Parents, students, and staff may rent the Rock to recognize a student’s birthday, show school spirit, wish a team good luck, thank a teacher, announce an event, etc. It is a great way to spread positive messages and increase excitement! The rate to rent the Rock is $20 per day. All proceeds directly benefit Ben Franklin Academy!
Want to rent the Rock? Here’s how:
First, reserve the date you want by visiting the ‘Rent the Rock’ Sign Up Genius. Then, pay for your reservation through MySchoolBucks.
Have questions? Contact Lindsay Bullock, Spirit Rock Committee Manager.
2025 BENefit Bash – Auction Items Needed!
The BENefit Bash is the PTO's primary fundraiser this school year. It's a BFA tradition parents look forward to, so we hope you'll save the date! This year’s Bash will be “A Night in Tuscany” held on Saturday, March 8, at Cielo at Castle Pines.
It takes a lot of support to host the Bash--so whether you're new to auctions/events or a veteran Bash volunteer--we could sure use your help!
In addition, we are in need of silent and live auction items! We are looking for a variety of things:
- Physical merchandise or gift certificates for products and/or services
- Tickets for sporting events
- Timeshares / Vacation Rentals
- Special experiences / tours
- Wine / Liquor
- Monetary Donations
Or, if you are connected to any business or person that may be a potential donor, an introduction to them would be amazing as well! Your generosity can make a significant impact on the lives of our students, as the funds raised from these auctions are used directly for improvements at BFA.
If you have something you would like to donate, know of a potential donor, or to volunteer, please reach out to the PTO Fundraising Coordinator, Erin Wiley. Thank you in advance for your support!
SAY THANKS--HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING WITH RAISERIGHT
Again, this year, we will be using the RaiseRight staff gifting program to facilitate convenient group gift-giving. Through this program, each family makes one payment for all of their teacher and staff gifts. Then, each teacher/staff member receives an email with the total amount collected, and selects which gift cards they would like to receive. By consolidating donations, we are able to provide teachers and staff with meaningful gifts.
This program allows the PTO to purchase the requested gift cards at discounts ranging from 2 - 21 percent, depending on the retailer. That discounted amount comes back to BFA from RaiseRight, and will be used for PTO funded programs at school.
Families will be able to place RaiseRight orders via MySchoolBucks and pay by credit card. You may designate how much you would like to give to each teacher/staff member in one-dollar increments. Collections will take place November 10-17.
Participation in the RaiseRight program is completely voluntary. You are welcome to participate with any amount, or alternatively gift the teachers and staff on your own.
The gifts will be given to the staff the week before Winter Break, and will be in lieu of any other class gift/collection. Look for more information in future newsletters regarding details on how to contribute to your teacher's gift!
Questions? Visit the PTO webpage or contact Jacqui Condon, RaiseRight Committee Manager.
PTO Virtues Awareness Program-November’s Virtues
The days of falling leaves, family gatherings, and less daylight are officially upon us. It is a season of honor, gratitude, and preparation. As we celebrate our Veterans this coming week and prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, there might not be two better virtues for our students and families to focus on this month than Sincerity and Tranquility.
The BFA interpretations of these virtues are:
Sincerity- Be kind. Say kind words and treat others as you want to be treated.
Encourage each other to succeed.
Tranquility- Keep yourself from reacting poorly to others. People are not perfect and the world is not fair. Learn to deal with both despite imperfections. Be patient.
We can help our students practice these virtues at home by modeling them: speaking kindly about others, having patience when carline isn’t running smoothly, tempering our reactions to frustrations, and giving words of encouragement when we see them practicing these virtues.
May this be a season of renewing our sense of self-control and patience to ensure that our students get the best examples of how Ben Franklin practiced treating others.
STEM Family Night- FREE Event
Our first STEM Family Night of the Year
is November 21, 2024.
We are so excited to announce our upcoming Family Friendly Engineering Night hosted by the BFA STEM Committee! Get ready to put your engineering skills to the test at our Balloon-Powered Car Competition! 🏁🎈🏎️
For the fall 2024 event, we will be building balloon powered cars, with teams’ cars competing against one another! This event will be held on Thursday, November 21st from 5pm - 7pm. This is a FREE event welcome to all BFA students and families! For the event, competitors will design their own balloon powered cars using household materials. Each team will construct one race car and compete to see whose car can travel the fastest and furthest. Ribbons will be awarded to teams for speed, distance, and creativity. The event will include an informational presentation and a preview of competition rules along with some light snacks will be provided during the event.
To help supply the materials for this event, we are requesting a donation of recyclable bottles! Please drop off in the bin by the main entrance doors!
Sign up to participate in this free, fun, STEM-tastic evening of friendly competition at BFA!
Join the STEM Committee
Excited about creating fun experiments? Love tinkering with technology? Join the BFA Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Committee! We generally meet via Zoom on evenings of the 3rd Thursday of the month. Earn volunteer hours by participating from your phone or computer! Inspire the innovator in you and your child!
Check out the flyer or the STEM webpage for more information.