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Ben Franklin Academy NewsletterVol. 5, Iss. 13
April 2015
In This Issue
:: Car Pool Procedures | Technology: Featured Special | No Parking Zones | Elementary Science Fair
:: TOMORROW Deadline to Order Field Day T-Shirts/Sponsorships | Tdap Immunizations | Board Elections
:: PTO Nominations Deadline TOMORROW | Mother/Son Event Update | Box Tops Update | Vote BFA a COOL SCHOOL
:: Restaurant Night Out | Way to Go, Volunteers! | Volunteer of the Month | BFA Summer Camp | Calendar
Dear Parents,

Toyota
Toyota Grooves with BFA
BFA accepts a $20,000 check from Groove Toyota's Drive for Education and the Toyota Motor Corporation. From left: Rob Edwards, general manager at Groove Toyota in Englewood; Bob Barber, BFA principal;
Jason Sunahara, BFA Board treasurer; and BFA students.
HUGE Thank You!

 

A huge thank you goes out to Rob Edwards, general manager at Groove Toyota in Englewood, and Toyota Motor Corporation. Rob nominated Ben Franklin Academy (BFA) for a grant that local Toyota dealers award to local schools. Schools are awarded these grants to help fund educational programs, and Groove Toyota wants to partner with non-profit organizations within the community where they operate. As a result of Rob's recommendation and the plan BFA submitted, the school was awarded $10,000 from Groove Toyota. We are so appreciative of the award and excited on how that money will be used to enhance the educational opportunities for all of our students.

 

Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than $500 million to non-profit organizations. The Toyota dealer match supports programs that focus on environment, safety or education. We submitted a proposal to have Groove Toyota's generous donation matched. BFA's proposal focused on technology enhancements that will benefit every student at the school. I am pleased to announce that BFA was awarded a $10,000 match to Groove Toyota's $10,000 original award - a total of $20,000 for BFA! We plan on purchasing more hardware and software that will be used throughout the school. 

 

On behalf of the entire BFA community, we can't thank Rob Edwards, Groove Toyota and Toyota Motor Corporation enough for their generosity and commitment to education. We will provide updates to
Rob on how the money is being spent and how it is improving the educational value at BFA.  

Car Pool
Car Pool Procedures/
Safety Reminder 

 

Parents: Please remember the following in regard to car pool procedures:
  • If your child(ren) is going home with another family, you must send an email to [email protected] with specific instructions as to whom is picking up your child(ren). Emails only to teachers are not sufficient; the front office must also receive an email with this information.
  • Be on school property no later then 3:50 p.m. to pick up your child(ren) in car pool. This week, we have had zero cars in the car pool line at 3:45 p.m., but at 4 p.m., parents arrived late to school and cars backed up on Plaza Drive. Please respect the time of our volunteers and staff by getting to school on time for afternoon car pool.
no parking
No Parking Zones    
 
This is a gentle reminder that there is no parking at any time in front of the school. It has been identified by the red curb, as well as the newly purchased "no parking signs." This area is designated for car pool only. Vehicles should never be left unattended in this area even for short time frames.
Science Fair
Elementary Science Fair

  

We still need volunteers for the upcoming Elementary Science Fair. This is such a fun day for students, and we need your help to make it a success. Sign up today by clicking here to help set up, clean up and/or judge!

The Elementary Science Fair will be held for STUDENTS on Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15, in the gym.
PARENTS are invited to visit the Science Fair during an evening viewing this year from
4:10-6 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, in the gym
.
Come and see all of the hard work of our young scientists! 
Field day

TOMORROW Deadline to Order Field Day T-Shirts       

 

BFA's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), along with our wonderful sponsors, are providing each BFA student and staff member with a free, specially designed T-shirt for Field Day 2015. The deadline to order Field Day T-shirts is Friday, April 10.

To order your child's shirt, please go to the BFA School Store/Academy Spirit Wear by clicking here. Scroll until you see the selection of Field Day T-shirts, which will have the name "Field Day 2015" in it and select your student's grade. Click on the link, choose your child's size, add to cart and fill out any additional pertinent information. Field Day T-shirts will be delivered to your child's classroom in May before Field Day.

BFA Teachers/Staff: Please order your Field Day T-shirts through the same link listed above. Click on "Field Day 2015-Teachers Staff." (You also can do so directly by clicking here.) Choose your size, click add to cart and fill out any additional pertinent information.    
DCSD Logo
Tdap Immunizations for Incoming Sixth Graders
    

Students entering sixth grade must show proof they received the Tdap immunization before beginning the 2015-16 school year. Students who do not have proof of this immunization will not be allowed to start school. For questions or additional information, please email the BFA Health Room. 

Vote ButtonPTO Nominations Deadline: TOMORROW

We are in need of some folks who are committed to making BFA a better place. If you are thinking about volunteering for the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), NOW is the time to act.  It is a great way to fulfill volunteer hours, meet and get to know new people and help BFA.

 

Nominations for the PTO in the 2015-16 school year are available online. The following positions

need caring individuals to fulfill them. Nominate someone or yourself. Click here for the nomination form.  
PTO Open Positions: 
  • Fundraising Coordinator
  • School Lunch Coordinator
  • Business Professionals Committee Chair
  • BFA Online Store Admin
  • Hospitality Committee Chair
  • Spiritwear Committee Chair
  • Teacher Appreciation Committee Chair
  • Volunteer Chair
  • Middle School Fundraising Coordinator
  • Mother/Son Event Coordinator
  • Spirit Night Coordinator 
  • Streets at SouthGlenn Coordinator
For any questions, please contact Halsley Hoff, PTO secretary, via email. For additional information on the BFA PTO election process and job descriptions, click here.     
Box Tops Logo
Box Tops Update

 

Congratulations to Mrs. Olson's preschool class! They turned in more than 700 Box Tops to earn this month's prize. Great job! They were very excited to win pencils and erasers.  

 

As always, thanks to everyone who sent in Box Tops. Be sure to turn them in every month, as they do expire. The next collection date for Box Tops, Campbell's labels, Kellogg's Family Rewards and Coke caps is Wednesday, April 22

Nicolos
Spirit Night Out

 

Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbors - go to Nicolo's on Monday, April 27! A portion of every purchase that day will be donated to BFA. No need to bring a flyer or mention BFA because the restaurant is giving BfA 15 percent of TOTAL sales. It applies to dine in, pick-up and delivery. Purchases must be made between 4:30-8:30 p.m. We hope to see you there! (Nicolo's is located at 9463 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch.)  

Way to Go, Volunteers!    
 
BFA's wonderful volunteers continue to invest their time, talents and energies in the success of our students and community.
This school year, BFA volunteers have logged 18,826 hours! THANK YOU! Your support and dedication to BFA is genuinely appreciated.

 

There are upcoming volunteer opportunities that fit every schedule, including time spent in car pool, classrooms and lunchrooms, as well as on field trips, field days, science fair and committee projects.  Click here for many current volunteer opportunities. Together, BFA can meet Principal Barber's challenge of 100 percent participation.

BFA Summer Camp
Lightning Bolts Summer Camp
    

Do you need full-time day care for the summer? Perhaps you are looking to get a break from your children a few days during the summer? Maybe your kids would like to connect with other BFA kids and enjoy fun, summer social time? Whatever your situation, BFA's Lightning Bolts Summer Camp program is sure to keep your kids safe and entertained. The camp is staffed by people you know and trust.

 

***NEW: Daily registrations for the month of June are NOW open. Remaining registrations for July and August will be added soon.***  


Program details are as follows:
  • Hours: 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Days: Monday through Friday
  • Dates: June 1 through Aug. 14
  • Additional Requirements: BFA Summer Camp is open to any BFA student 5 years old and above.  
  • Registration Fee: $35 per child one-time registration fee (all registered campers receive a camp T-shirt and day pack)
  • Daily Tuition (Non-Field Trip Days): $35 per child per day
  • Daily Tuition (Field Trip Days): $50 per child per day

We will communicate when the detailed daily Summer Camp activity schedule is finalized. There is no sibling discount. 

Technology: Featured BFA Special of the Week  
 
Each week in this newsletter, we highlight one of BFA's Specials and what each grade in the school is learning in that particular Special. This week, we are focusing on TECHNOLOGY.

Kindergarten: Students are busy creating spring-themed activities using Pixie. Students decorated Easter eggs, have made symmetrical butterflies and will be sorting items that grow. Also, students are now able to not only type their name with a capital letter, but they are able to save the changes to their creations, close out of the Pixie program and navigate to either ABC Mouse or Teach Your Monster How To Read once they are done. They open up Firefox, find bookmarks and click on the website of their choice.

  
First Grade:Students are making slideshows in Pixie on the life cycles of butterflies, frogs and plants. They create and label the stages of each cycle, add colorful backgrounds and borders, then narrate each slide to demonstrate their understanding (and for fun with the microphones!).
 
Second Grade:Students used the language arts activities on SheppardSoftware.com to practice punctuation and parts of speech. Following the Hour of Code in December, students are now working through an introductory course at Code.org and are already learning programming concepts, such as conditionals and functions, while practicing problem solving skills.
  

Third Grade:  Students continue to focus on typing accuracy, form and speed. As time allows, they also are working through Code.org's introductory course and competing against each other in engaging math facts, time and money games at Arcademics.com.

 

Fourth and Fifth Grades: Tynker! Using Tynker.com's guided lessons, students are learning to program their own animations, stories and games while designing and building their own characters and scenes. Technology classes at BFA follow International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards, and Tynker's courses achieve ISTE's goals of critical thinking, innovation and computer operations. Students can log in from home to show friends and family what they are learning, as well as their amazing creations! 

 

Electives: In Intro to Programming, this class uses Code.org's computer science curriculum to learn programming concepts, such as functions, variables, loops and conditional statements. The course uses video tutorials and drag-and-drop blocks of code to solve animated puzzles. Students also learn some javascript using CodeAcademy.org. In Mobile Robotics, students are using LEGO Mindstorms kits to design, build and program their own robot to complete various challenges. Mindstorms provides an excellent introduction to engineering. 
Field day shirt

Field Day T-Shirt Sponsorships    

   

Thank you Santa Fe Suds/ Sunaharas' Car Wash, Moody Insurance, Amber Simonis, Sound Relief, Kids Town, Trout Sniper and Max the Dog for becoming Field Day T-shirt sponsors!  

 

There are still a few spots available, but if you are interested, you must let the PTO know by tomorrow, Friday, April 10. If you would like to join in on the fun, you can find more information by clicking here and emailing your sponsorship form to Tiffani Titus, PTO Fundraising Coordinator. (Sponsorships are first-come, first-served.)

  

Field Day T-shirts will be distributed to each student and staff member to wear during BFA's Field Day events. Students also are allowed to wear Field Day T-shirts on Spirit Days throughout the school year.

 

Thank you to our current sponsors. We couldn't do this without you!   

Vote
Board of Directors Elections

 

BFA Parent Voting Group: Board of Directors elections ballots are on the BFA website. Click here to access the ballot. The deadline to cast your vote is midnight, Friday, April 10

 

Please check the box next to the name of the candidate for whom you wish to vote. The candidate with the most votes will take Seat 1 Class A on the Board of Directors. Each family/employee is allowed one vote. If multiple submissions are made with the same family/employee number, both will be discarded.  If you do not know your family number (see your carpool tag) or employee number, you can contact the office.

 

Results of the election will be announced and appointments made on Tuesday, April 14, at the regularly scheduled Board meeting.

 

For the entire Board of Directors Election Policy, click here. If you have any questions, please contact Staci Ferguson, Board secretary, via email.   

update Mother/Son Event Update

  

Thank you to everyone who signed up for the Mother/Son Amazing Race. We are looking forward to a fun event!   
 
***Please keep an eye out for a packet of information that will be sent home in Thursday folders on April 16.***
 
As a reminder:
  • Race Start: 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 18, at Civic Green Park Amphitheater (9370 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Highlands Ranch)
  • Post Race Party: 6 p.m., Lil' Ricci's (located at 44 W. Centennial, Highlands Ranch).  Lil' Ricci's will have gluten free pizza available.
 
In order to make this event a huge success, we need a few more volunteers to sign up for event day. To sign up, click here.  It is a great way to earn your volunteer hours! 
Timbuk Toys
 

Last school year, BFA won Macaroni Kid's "COOL SCHOOL!" contest and received a $500 gift certificate from Timbuk Toys to use for school supplies. Macaroni Kids and Timbuk Toys are holding the contest again, so get out there and vote BFA as the COOL SCHOOL!  

 

You may vote for BFA once daily from now through Sunday, April 26. The school with the most votes will receive the $500 Timbuk Toys gift certificate to use for anything in the store. To vote for BFA, click here.

 

See complete contest rules at the end of this article. Increase your school's chances, and spread the word!  


Contest rules: One vote per day per email address throughout the contest period ending April 26, 2015; ballots with votes for more than one school will not be counted. You must be a Macaroni Kid Highlands Ranch-Parker-Castle Rock-Lone Tree subscriber to vote. If you are not a subscriber and you cast a vote, you will be automatically subscribed. If your school is not listed, use the "other" field to write it in. All schools must be within the Douglas County School District boundaries.
Beffel
 

The PTO highlights one (or more) volunteer(s) each month who has gone above and beyond in his/her contributions to the school. This volunteer receives recognition in this newsletter and on the school website. S/he also has the privilege to park in one of our reserved parking spaces.  


For April, we have chosen Tiffany Beffel. Tiffany moved to Highlands Ranch with her family five years ago for her husband's job at Lockheed Martin. Tiffany has a background in architecture and currently owns her own sustainable building consultancy, Innovative Workshop Consulting.

As a founding family, Tiffany jumped right into the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Committee and has been involved ever since. She leads the BFA Green Team and is currently the STEM Committee's co-chair and communications chair. Tiffany and her family recognized straight away that BFA was the perfect fit for her family because of the teachers, staff and fellow families.

Tiffany is married to James; they have a third grader, Andrew, and a kindergartner, Tyler. When not volunteering or working, Tiffany enjoys being an active baseball mom and being outdoors with her family.

While Tiffany appreciates her recognition as a BFA parent and volunteer, she said her work could never be done without the help of many other outstanding BFA parents and volunteers.

"All success achieved is a direct result of collaboration between the students and parents that I've had the pleasure of working with," she said. 

Tiffany loves to be involved in many BFA activities, but her most favorite is playing the part of her alter ego, Dr. Ben Franklinstein.

Tiffany has logged more than 92 hours to date and with the Elementary Science Fair right around the corner, those numbers will be going up.

Thank you for helping to make BFA a great place and all that you do!
Important Dates / Calendar of EventsCalendar Clip Art
  • BFA Board Elections: Now through midnight, Friday, April 10
  • Deadline to Order Field Day T-Shirts: Friday, April 10
  • Sponsorship Deadline for Field Day T-Shirts: Friday, April 10
  • PTO Nomination Deadline: Friday, April 10
  • Middle School Dance: 7-9 p.m., Friday, April 10, Gym
  • Elementary Science Fair: Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15, Gym
  • Parent Viewing of Elementary Science Fair: 4:10-6 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, Gym
  • Spirit Day: Friday, April 17
  • Mother/Son Event:
    • Race Start: 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 18, at Civic Green Park Amphitheater (9370 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Highlands Ranch)
    • Post Race Party:  6 p.m., Lil' Ricci's (located at 44 W. Centennial, Highlands Ranch)
  • Box Tops et al Collection: Wednesday, April 22
  • No School for Students (Teacher Work Day): Friday, April 24
  • Destination ImagiNation State Competition: All Day, Saturday, April 25, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Auraria Campus
  • Vote BFA a COOL SCHOOL! Contest: Once daily through Sunday, April 26
  • Restaurant Spirit Night Out: 4:30-8:40 p.m., Monday, April 27, Nicolo's (9463 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch)
  • LandSharks Meet: 6 p.m., Monday, April 27, Mountain Vista High School (10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch)
  • BFF Social: Tuesday, April 28
  • At the Bandstand (Fifth Grade Musical): 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 29, Gym
  • Lightning Bolts Summer Camp: 7 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 1 - Aug. 14

Upcoming Meetings

  • Finance Committee: 5 p.m., Monday, April 13, Library
  • Board of Directors: 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, Library
    • Find the latest BFA Board of Directors minutes by clicking here.
  • Parent Teacher Organization (PTO): 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 20, Library
  • Grant Committee: 9 p.m., Monday, April 20, Teleconference
  • Marketing and Community Outreach (MCO) Committee: 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 5, Library
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Committee: 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, Sanders Science Lab (room 145)
  • School Accountability Committee (SAC): 4 p.m., Thursday, May 7, Conference Room

Middle School Sports

  • Girls' Soccer:
    • 4 p.m., Wednesday, April 15, at Platte River Academy
    • 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 21, at North Star Academy

Ben Franklin Academy Calendars 

Sincerely,
 
Bob Barber
Principal
Ben Franklin Academy
Contact Us!
Ben Franklin Academy

2270 Plaza Drive, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

Main Office: (720) 383-4519 or [email protected]

Attendance: (720) 432-9239 or [email protected]

Web: http://www.bfacademy.org/

Fax:  (303) 974-1738  

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.