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| Ben Franklin Academy Newsletter | Vol. 3, Iss. 9
March 2013 | |
Dear Parents,
To bus or not to bus? That is the question. We have seen an increase in the number of students not knowing whether they should be riding the bus home on any given day. Our goal always is to be sure we have the right students on the bus before they are released from Ben Franklin Academy property. Because we are chasing down kids to get on the bus, we need to hold the buses longer than we would like. As a result, we have to delay the release of the car pool loads making car pool run longer. Please make sure your child knows if s/he is to ride the bus home. Thank you! After School Coordination and Transportation In addition, please remember to coordinate with your student(s) on a daily basis of your plans for pick up and drop off to reduce the likelihood of confusion. Also, please make sure you email your child's teacher and front office if you are picking up/dropping off your child at times that are different from regular school start/end times. Changes to Route 66, Roxborough Park Beginning tomorrow, the stop at Roxborough Community Park will be moved to the south end of the park by the shelter because of safety concerns. The parking lot can be very icy this time of year, and it would be safer to have the students at the far end of the park as the bus comes in. Also, please have your student(s) at the bus stop five minutes early and to stay back from the bus until it is completely stopped. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
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BFA Geography Bee Finalist 
Congratulations to Austin Singleton! After winning our school competition, he took the written qualifying test for the state competition and scored within the Top 100 in Colorado. He will compete at the state level at the University of Denver on Friday, April 5. Nice job!
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Regional Science Olympiad
 BFA team takes third place
On March 2, 15 of our sixth and seventh graders traveled to Fort Collins to compete in the regional Science Olympiad competition. Thirty-eight teams with 15 students per team competed in 23 events. Teams could consist of students in sixth through ninth grades. In our inaugural year, we had significant accomplishments from the 13 events in which we chose to compete.
Our Ben Franklin Academy team earned third place and a bronze medal in the mousetrap car competition, and we are proudly displaying the winning vehicle and earned medal in the front lobby. The team also took fourth place in the meteorology competition and seventh in the forestry competition. In more than 60 percent of the events the Ben Franklin Academy team chose to compete, we were proud to be on the top half of the leader boards.
The Ben Franklin Academy team is as follows:
Nic Capucci, Henry Dunkleberger, Brenden Geiselhardt, Tyler Greenberg, Dennon Harkey, Mark Keplinger, Samar Masood, John McCoy, Matthew McCoy, Issa Nieto, Caleb Rickel, Holden Romero, Adam Sepan, Alex Warren and Abi Wolf.
The team had a great time in Fort Collins and is excited to add all of the events to its competition portfolio for next year.
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Lost and Found 
The Lost and Found has grown once again. Please remind your student(s) to check the Lost and Found for any items that may belong to him/her. We also encourage you to pay the Lost and Found a visit the next time you are in the building. We will donate all remaining items to a local charity just before Spring Break. (See related Name Bubbles article below.) |
BFF Policy Q&A Forum 
Please join the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) for a Ben Franklin Friends (BFF) Policy Q&A Forum from 9-10 a.m., tomorrow, Friday, March 8, in the school library. Bring your favorite early morning beverage, and join other Ben Franklin Academy parents for this social. The Baking Committee will provide snacks.
Principal Barber and Ben Franklin Academy Board Members Paige Brock and Matt Matherly will be on hand to answer questions. Hope you can join us, and children are welcome! Please email the PAC with any questions.
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Mother/Son Event
The PTO is hosting a Mother/Son Event starting at 6 p.m., THIS Saturday, March 9, at Fun City in Littleton. Tickets are $10 per person at the door and include laser tag, mini-golf, bumper cars and arcade games. Dessert and drinks will be provided. Click here for details.
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Got Yearbook Photos? 
We'll Take 'Em
We are in the final days of yearbook editing - hooray! If you have photos that might be great for the yearbook, please send them to Kristine Haas or your classroom yearbook photographer. The deadline for photo submissions is THIS Sunday, March 10. The more pictures we have to choose from, the better the yearbook will turn out. Please feel free to contact Kristine with any questions, and thank you for your help!
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Landsharks is Back
The Landsharks Spring Track Series is a six-week school program led by Coach Meredith Plumb and parent volunteers. It is open to students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The cost of the program is $49 per runner. Click here to register or for more details.
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The BENefit Bash
The BENefit Bash Silent Auction and Dinner will be held from 5:30-11 p.m., Saturday, April 27, at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. This fun and important event cannot happen without the contributions of our parent community. Click here for details on the event.
Sponsorship packages and catalog advertising options are available for the BENefit Bash. Be sure to ask your company if it would like to contribute! Click here for details on sponsorship; click here
for information on catalog advertising. If you have an item or service you can contribute to the event, please contact Julia Porterfield, donation team lead, or enter your item directly into the Auction Catalog.
Tickets are now available for purchase online. If we sell 200 tickets by Friday, March 15, Principal Barber will buy doughnuts for the entire school!
We are still in need of volunteers to help organize this great event. For a list of available volunteer positions, click here or email the committee. Our next planning meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Monday, March 11, at the Target Starbucks in Town Center.
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PAC Blanket Drive Update
The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) is happy to announce we collected 82 blankets for the Blanket Drive, 27 of which were collected and donated by the Clendening family. Thank you Amber and family for your continued support of and generosity toward Ben Franklin Academy. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will receive 40 of the blankets, and the remainder will be donated to the DFM Annual Blanket Drive. Thank you Ben Franklin Academy parents for your blanket donations to help Colorado's homeless.
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Volunteer Thank You Gifts
 Over the next several weeks, the PTO will be sending thank you gifts for volunteer hours completed. This will take several weeks for us to organize and send home with your student, so please be patient. We will continue to send these home throughout the rest of the school year. As you volunteer more, we will continued to send incentives home. This is based on hours per family number.
The gifts/number of hours volunteered are as follows:
- 15 hours: Reusable BFA bag
- 30 hours: Lightning bolt car magnet
- 50 hours: BFA Bucks to be used at the online store for spirit wear
- 100 hours: BFA insulated tumbler
Thank you for all of your volunteer time!
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Newsletters
Middle School and Preschool
If you are a parent of a Ben Franklin Academy student in middle school or preschool, you can get more in-depth information by clicking on the link or icon below.
 | | Click here for the Middle School Newsletter |
 | | Click here for the Preschool Newsletter |
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Regional Science Fair
 BFA Student Progresses to State Competition,
Six Students Receive Special Recognition
On Feb. 27, Ben Franklin Academy's Middle School sent 12 students to the Regional Science Fair at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. One of them, Zach Worthing, was nominated to compete in the state Colorado Science & Engineering Fair, which will be held April 11-13 at Colorado State University. Congratulations!
In addition, six of the 12 Ben Franklin Academy students who participated in the Regional Science Fair were recognized for their projects. The students (and their projects) receiving acknowledgement include:
- Audrey Butler/Trillions of Triops
- Henry Dunkleberger/Gear Mania
- Adam Sepan/Bombs Away
- Chase Sieradski/The Spin Factor
- Emma Walilko/Lighting up the Dark Side of the Moon
- Zach Worthing/Common Beverages and Tooth Decay
We wish Zach the best of luck and are very proud of our extraordinary showing at the regional competition! Also, thank you to Mrs. Denham and the members of the STEM Committee who helped these students prepare for the regional event.
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TCAP Schedule
Students will continue taking TCAPs throughout the building over the next week. Third through seventh grade students will be testing March 12-14. Make-up tests will take place the week of March 18. Please see the chart below for specific testing times for each grade level. If at all possible, please schedule appointments outside of these testing times.
March 12-14 Schedule
Grade | Timing for Tests
- 3rd grade | 9-10 a.m.
- 4th grade | 8:30-9:30 a.m.
- 5th grade | 9-10 a.m. and 10:30-
11:30 a.m. - 6th and 7th grades | 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Be aware that some testing starts at 8:30 a.m. Students who are tardy on these testing days will not be able to test with their class.
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Staff Appreciation Week
Let's honor our awesome staff! Staff Appreciation Week will be held March 11-15. Click here for more details.
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PAC's Got Your Back
Q: Why are there so many Douglas County Sheriff patrol cars in the Ben Franklin Academy parking lot?
A: The Douglas County Deputy Sheriffs are completing routine paperwork in elementary school parking lots across the county. They are doing so to have a positive presence in the elementary school community and provide extra security without the extra cost to the county or schools.
Each week, the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) will have a Q&A in this newsletter regarding policies or procedures at Ben Franklin Academy. If you have questions you need answered, please feel free to contact the PAC, and we will answer your question via email.
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Summer Camp 
Ben Franklin Academy will be offering a Summer Camp program. Do you need full-time day care for the summer? Or perhaps you are just looking to get a break from your children a few days during the summer? Maybe your kids would like to connect with other Ben Franklin Academy kids and enjoy fun, summer social time? Whatever your situation, our Summer Camp program is sure to keep your kids safe and entertained.
Program Details
- Dates: June 3 - Aug. 20
(closed the week of July 1) - Hours: 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
- Days: Monday through Friday
- Age Requirement: BFA Summer Camp is open to any child 5 years and older.
- Cost:
- Registration: One-time $35 per child registration fee (all registered campers will receive a camp T-shirt and day pack)
- Daily Tuition: $35 per day per child for non-field trip days and $45 per day per child for field trip days
We are planning the following weekly themes:
- Summer Safety and Local Heroes
(June 3-7) - Young Actors Studio (June 10-14)
- Nature Detectives (June 17-21)
- Animal Adventures (June 24-28)
- Fun and Games (July 8-12)
- Scientists, Architects and Engineers
(July 15-19) - Cooking (July 22-26)
- Kids Biz (July 29 - Aug. 2)
- Pioneers and The West (Aug. 5-9)
- Arts and Crafts (Aug. 12-16)
- Summer Wrap-Up (Aug. 19-20)
Please click here to read detailed descriptions of the weekly themes.
The detailed schedule and registration will be released in the next couple of weeks. Until then, be sure to register your child(ren) now, as space is limited. To register, click here.
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PTO Elections 
Want to get more involved in school? Join the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) - make new friends and give back to your school community. Click here to find out how.
The nomination process for the 2013-14 school year has begun. Click here to nominate yourself or someone else. No prior experience is necessary. The positions of president, fundraising coordinator, school lunch coordinator and treasurer are up for election on the Executive Officer Board. For a list of all available positions, please click here.
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Box Tops Update
 Thanks to everyone who answered the call and searched for Box Tops in their pantries, freezers, grandma's house and everywhere else! We collected an extra $250 and made our submission for February $824 total! It would be great to win the grand prize ($25,000), but even if we don't, Ben Franklin Academy is still a winner. Collecting Box Tops means extra money for the school. We've significantly increased our submissions over last year ( 102.4 percent). We collected 43,149 Box Tops from March 1, 2012, to March 1, 2013, which equates to $4,314.90. Thank you for all of your support, and special thanks to all of the ladies who help with checking for expired dates, trimming, counting, bundling, gluing and printing - it helps tremendously! Even though the contest submission has ended, keep clipping - our next collection date is Wednesday, March 20. |
 Stick with Name Bubbles
 Now that you've purchased those great uniforms from the Used Uniform Sale, you want to make sure you hold onto them for awhile, right? Never lose your kid's stuff again (or at least find it easily in the Lost and Found)! You can with Name Bubbles - personalized, self-adhesive labels that are fun, durable and made to stay put through the laundry and dishwasher. When you buy Name Bubbles, 20 percent of the proceeds go directly to Ben Franklin Academy! To order, go to NameBubbles.com, and choose your favorite labels. Most importantly, enter BFA2012 in the Promotional Code section when you are ready to purchase, and click "Apply" to activate the code, as this is how the school receives credit for its sales. You can order Name Bubbles any time throughout the year, but get your order in soon to be included in the spring fundraising check (April). For more information, click here. |
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Important Dates
- PAC Policy Q&A Forum: 9 a.m., Friday, March 8, Library
- Mother/Son Event: 6 p.m., Saturday, March 9, Fun City
- Spirit Day: Friday, March 15
- Box Tops Collection: Wednesday, March 20
- Dress of Choice Day: Friday, March 22
- Spring Break: March 25-29
Upcoming Meetings
- PTO: 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 7, Library
- SAC: 7 p.m., Thursday, March 7, Rm. 144
- Finance Committee: 5 p.m., Monday, March 11, Library
- BENefit Bash Volunteers: 6:30 p.m., Monday, March 11,
Target Starbucks Town Center - Grant Committee: 9 p.m., Monday, March 11, Teleconference
- Board of Directors: 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 12, Library
- PAC: 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14, Library
- Marketing Committee: 6 p.m., Monday, April 1, Conference Room
- STEM Committee: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 3, Library
Ben Franklin Academy Calendars
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Sincerely,
Bob Barber
Principal
Ben Franklin Academy |
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Contact Us!
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Mission: Our mission is to develop 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, 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 the arts, sports, nature, and character.
13 Virtues: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Purity and Humility.
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