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Ben Franklin Academy NewsletterVol. 5, Iss. 17
May 2015
In This Issue
:: Board Corner | Technology: Featured Special | Spirit Day/Jeans Fundraiser | Eighth Grade Graduation Location Change
:: PTO Elections | Save Car Pool Tags | Room Parents for 2015-16 | BFF Social Thank You | Yearbook Delivery
:: Field Day Fun | Thank You, Field Day Sponsors | BFA's Got Talent | Box Tops and More | Summer Camp | Calendar
Dear Parents,  

As you may recall, I issued a challenge earlier in the school year to all parents to complete at least one hour of the required volunteer commitment. I asked everyone to strive to achieve the BFA volunteer goal of 30 hours per family (15 hours for single parent households). In the Jan. 22 newsletter, I mentioned the benefits of volunteering and want to state again how much I appreciate everyone for giving their time to the school. Your dedication and hard work are greatly appreciated, and I want to extend a huge thank you!

 

The goal is to have the red and blue bars smaller than the green bar in the first three categories and the green bar to be bigger than the blue and red bars in the last two categories. I am pleased by the trend I am seeing. More and more families are completing their required hours. We still have a little ways to go with having everyone complete at least one hour of volunteer time. Think about it; it is not too much to ask that everyone complete at least one hour of volunteer time. The number of people who have completed their 30-hour goal is amazing. Almost half of our families have put forth the effort and found the time to help BFA. I have no doubt that by the end of the school year, we will have more than 50 percent of BFA families achieving that goal. We are in the homestretch, and the volunteer opportunities continue to be plentiful. In fact, we will need quite a few volunteers on Friday, May 29, to help move some of the teachers from one classroom to another. More details about this will be in next week's newsletter.

 

Looking at this in a different way, parents have completed more than 20,800 volunteer hours this year! That equates to 10 full time employees. Those statistics are amazing and impressive. This also permits us to continue hiring the best teaching and support staff.

 

I know it is not always easy to find the time to volunteer, but it is very much appreciated.  

Board Corner
 
The following message is from
Kent Barwind, at-large director, BFA Board of Directors. He was recently appointed by the Board, and his new term begins this month.

This past year has been a wonderful experience. It is amazing how many dedicated parents, staff and teachers we have at Ben Franklin Academy. It was the hope of this community that brought my family to BFA four years ago.  It is the realization of this vision that keeps us here today. With four children at BFA, ranging from pre-school to middle school, our family has experienced many of the wonderful traditions that the school has to offer. It is great to see our younger children getting excited about the projects, classes and field trips they will get to experience when they reach the same grades as our older children. As parents, my wife and I are grateful knowing how well the school is preparing our children for high school and beyond. I want to thank everyone for helping build our school into a wonderful community. I look forward to continuing to serve on the Board.
Spirit Day and
Jeans Fundraiser 
    
Spirit Day is Friday, May 15, and your child can wear JEANS or JEAN SHORTS along with his/her spirit wear shirt for $1. All proceeds will go toward middle school fundraising. Middle schoolers will be collecting funds in the morning as students come through the doors. It will be a special treat for your child, and you will be helping fund the Washington, D.C., trip for 2016!
 
On Spirit Day, students are allowed to wear a spirit wear T-shirt (includes former Field Day T-shirts or BFA sports jerseys) along with their uniform bottoms of choice. Your child may wear jeans/jean shorts on May 15 if s/he wants to participate in the jeans fundraiser. If your child chooses not to wear a spirit wear T-shirt, s/he must be in full uniform.
Graduation
Eighth Grade Graduation Location Change 
 
BFA's eighth grade graduation has been changed to Mountain Vista High School in the auditorium. The time and date remain the same, which is at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 27. Mountain Vista High School is located at 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, 80126.
Vote
PTO Elections
   
Voting ends at 11:59 p.m., tomorrow, Friday, May 8, so please cast your vote for next year's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) chairs and coordinators by clicking here. We appreciate everyone who has stepped up to help make BFA a better place!

The PTO is still looking for someone who is great at party planning and would like to join a team to plan the BENefit Bash, BFA's silent auction. If you are interested, please email Ha
lsley Hoff, PTO secretary. 
looking ahead
Save Car Pool Tags for 2015-16 School Year

 

As the school year draws to close, be sure to keep your blue car pool tags for the 2015-16 school year. You will receive a new sticker at registration that you can affix to your current blue tag. Note: Green tags will not be accepted for car pool for the 2015-16 school year. If you need additional car pool tags, you can buy them here. The processing time for replacement tags is approximately two weeks.
Yearbook
Yearbook Delivery 
 
BFA's yearbooks will be delivered on Tuesday, May 19. Please look for Room Parent information on autograph opportunities at the end of year parties. 
Field day
Field Day Fun

BFA's Field Days are right around the corner. The Elementary Field Days are from 8:30 a.m. - noon at BFA on the following dates:
  • Fourth and Fifth Grades: Wednesday, May 20
  • Second and Third Grades: Thursday, May 21
  • Kindergarten (Half-Day and Full Day) and First Grade: Friday, May 22

BFA's Middle School Field Day is scheduled from
9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Tuesday, May 26, at Redstone Park
.

 

We are in need of volunteers for the Elementary Field Days. To sign up, click here. 
talent show
BFA's Got Talent    
 
BFA will be hosting two talent shows on the last day of school. BFA's talent shows will be held on the following dates/times in the gym:
  • 8:45-9:45 a.m., Thursday, May 28, grades K-3
  • 10-11 a.m., Thursday, May 28, grades 4-7
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 entire summer camp time frame (June 1 - Aug. 14) are now available for registration.


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
keyboard-abstract-blue.jpg
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
using the iPads, working on early learning apps - such as Puppet Pals and literacy and math learning apps. Kindergarteners will continue to use Pixie to complete different learning activities that go with their classroom themes, including Cinco De Mayo, Mother's Day and the end of the year. Students have become experts with Pixie and know how to use the different paint tools, stickers and text tools. Once students complete the short learning activity on Pixie, they can go on ABC Mouse, Education City or Teach Your Monster How To Read. Students now have three websites to work with and are able to find these on their own. 

 

First Grade: Students are finishing up the Dance Mat Typing course and using Education City's new computing series to learn about the parts of a computer, technology used at home and many ways people now communicate using technology.

 

Second Grade: Students continue typing lessons using Typing Agent and are working through the introductory programming course at Code.org. Solving puzzles using drag and drop blocks of code, students learn to break problems down into pieces, to be persistent when they get stuck and to think in the detailed, sequential manner that programming requires.

 

Third Grade: Congratulations to Vinisha Tripathi who has worked diligently through the typing lessons and typed 40 words per minute this past week with the keys covered! The typing goal for third graders is 12 words per minute (wpm) by the end of the school year. We have a few more weeks to practice using Typing Agent lessons. Students who achieve this goal in class earn a prize!

 

Fourth Grade: Students are working through Tynker lessons at their own pace, programming animated stories and games, as well as working on typing lessons with Typing Agent. The goal for fourth graders is 19 wpm. Typing Agent will be available throughout the summer for anyone who may need to do a little catching up. 

 

Fifth Grade: Students are also working on Tynker lessons and typing (their goal is 25 wpm). Fifth graders also will spend a class using SketchUp 3D modeling software as an introduction to a middle school elective that focuses on 3D modeling. In addition, we will spend one class doing an introduction to JavaScript.

 

Electives: In Yearbook, students just finished creating videos using iMovie that will be used with the Aurasma app. We will be voting this week on the winner. Anyone who has access to the cover of the yearbook (delivered Tuesday, May 19) can download Aurasma, join the yearbook channel (BFA2015) and scan the cover of the yearbook. Once you scan the cover, the winning video from the yearbook class will appear. Students are also helping organize and distribute the yearbooks. Finally, students are working on creating websites (on a topic of their choice) using the website builder Weebly. In Newscasting, students are hard at work on the last two shows. Students are also working on a choice news topic or animation piece. Students can pick their own topics, create scripts, film and edit their show and design all of the elements needed. Newscasting students work with iMovie, Garageband and Frames.

roomparent
Room Parents for 2015-16 School Year
   

We are already on the search for next school year's Room Parents. If you are interested in being a Room Parent for the 2015-16 school year, please click here to send an email. It is a wonderful and rewarding way to help out BFA, your child's classroom and to get your volunteer hours. 

thank you
BFF Social Thank You 
 
The Marketing and Community Outreach (MCO) Committee thanks the Yaccino family and Old Blinking Light for helping with the BFF Evening Social last week. The Old Blinking Light private room and delicious appetizers provided the perfect setting for parents to enjoy some social time together. Thank you to all the parents who joined us, too. 
thanks
Thank You, Field Day Sponsors
   
We would like to thank the following Field Day T-shirt sponsors for their generosity and continued support! 
  • Santa Fe Suds Car Wash
  • Moody Insurance
  • Amber Simonis
  • Sound Relief
  • KidsTown
  • Trout Sniper
  • Max the Dog
  • Wee Little Walkers
Thanks to their charitable contributions, Field Day T-shirts will be distributed free of cost to students the week of May 11. The PTO did order extra shirts, so if you did not order a shirt for your child, please email the PTO for more information.
Box Tops Logo Box Tops and Labels for Education 
   

Thanks again to all who are diligently sending in their Box Tops every month. Every little bit really helps! We've received about $3,100 this school year from the program and will have many dollars rolling over to the next school year! 

 
We really appreciate those trimmed Box Tops, but please make sure that the date is visible and not cut off. On Campbell's labels, we must have the UPC intact, so don't just send in the "points."
 
If you missed dropping off your Box Tops, Labels for Education, Coke Rewards and/or Tyson Labels last week, don't worry, we have one more official collection date before the end of the school year: Wednesday, May 20.
 
Please send these in with your kids at any time to leave in the tubs in the classrooms. Be aware there are a lot of Box Tops with an expiration date of June 1, so please send them in before the end of school. 
We can't submit expired Box Tops and have to discard any out-of-date ones, so get them in - at 10 cents each, they add up fast.

Kellogs Family Rewards
Kellogg's Family Rewards 
 
Any Kellogg's Family Rewards accounts that have no activity will lose their accumulated points Wednesday, July 15, so if you don't use enough products to make it work, send in the codes (not the whole box, please), and we'll enter the codes for the participating Kellogg's, Keebler and Morning Star products. Many items have bonus points right now. To enroll and for program details, click here.
 
If you have trouble entering codes, be aware that something that looks like a:
  • "2" is probably a "Z"
  • "D" or an "O" is probably a "C," "Q," or "0"
  • "B" is likely an "8"
A small magnifying glass comes in handy for reading lightly printed codes and tiny Box Top dates. 
Important Dates / Calendar of EventsCalendar Clip Art
  • After School Choir and Band Concert: 7 p.m., Thursday, May 7, Gym
  • Eighth Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.: Through Friday, May 8
  • Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week: Through Friday, May 8
  • BFA Talent Show Registration Form Due: Friday, May 8
  • PTO Elections: Through 11:59 p.m., Friday, May 8
  • Field Day T-shirts Distributed: Week of May 11
  • LandSharks Meet: 6 p.m., Monday, May 11, Mountain Vista High School (located at 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, 80126)
  • Middle School Elective Concert: 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, Gym
  • Spirit Day/Jeans Fundraiser: Friday, May 15
  • Yearbooks Delivered: Tuesday, May 19
  • Last Box Tops/Labels For Education/Coke Rewards/Tyson Labels Collection: Wednesday, May 20
  • Field Days
    • Fourth and Fifth Grades: 8:30 a.m. - noon, Wednesday, May 20, BFA
    • Second and Third Grades: 8:30 a.m. - noon, Thursday, May 21, BFA
    • Kindergarten (Half-Day and Full Day) and First Grade: 8:30 a.m. - noon, Friday, May 22, BFA
    • Middle School: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Tuesday, May 26, Redstone Park
  • Dress of Choice Day: Friday, May 22
  • Memorial Day Holiday (School Closed): Monday, May 25
  • Kindie End-of-Year Program (Half-Day): 9:45 a.m., Wednesday, May 27, Gym
  • Kindie End-of-Year Program (Full Day): 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, Gym
  • Eighth Grade Graduation: 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, Mountain Vista High School Auditorium (located at 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, 80126)
  • Last Day of School: Thursday, May 28
  • BFA Talent Shows
    • Grades K-3: 8:45-9:45 a.m., Thursday, May 28, Gym
    • Grades 4-7: 10-11 a.m., Thursday, May 28, 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, May 11, Library
  • Board of Directors: 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, Library
    • Find the latest BFA Board of Directors minutes by clicking here.
  • Parent Teacher Organization (PTO): 6:30 p.m., Monday, May 18, Library
  • Grant Committee: 9 p.m., Monday, May 18, Teleconference

Middle School Sports

  • Girls' Soccer:
    • 4 p.m., Thursday, May 7, at Platte River Academy
    • 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, at North Star Academy
    • 4 p.m., Thursday, May 14, at SkyView 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.