Growing Green & Gold Pride BFA: Friday, January 22, 2021 Weekly Administrative Update

Dear BFA/NCTC Community:

Today marks the last day of the first semester with a fresh start for all students occurring this Monday. This new semester brings new hope and renewed promise as not only will new classes and learning opportunities be had, but societally there looks to be light at the end of the tunnel as we progress towards spring.

In typical BFA fashion, the troubling events at the Capitol gave rise to a positive new after school club led by Ms. Schubert and Mr. Rider. The stated purpose: The Bellows Free Academy Social Justice Club works to establish an understanding of the current domestic and global issues that concern the human rights and social justice of all citizens. We focus on current events, understanding the past historical issues, and problem-solve for the future. We work to educate all students at BFA on Social Justice Issues. Please see either teacher for more information, including meeting times.

Another terrific new opportunity starting the second semester is an afterschool Orchestra Club on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:45-3:30 under the guidance of Mr. Charpentier. The Orchestra Club will meet in Mr. Bushey’s room. As we continue to bring an ever-increasing music presence back to BFA, this is one more positive step in doing so.

As many of you have heard me say, BFA continues to be a model for successful hybrid learning and our recently held virtual BFA Experience is one more example. While all of us would have greatly preferred an in-person experience inside our school, our newly created BFA Experience allowed the opportunity for students and parents to meet with our teachers, view videos on our offerings, and interact with Guidance and Administration. It was terrific to see some of our future students and families in the various chat rooms engaging with our staff. The site will remain on our website so that the informative videos may continue to be viewed. Do feel free to reach out to any of us at BFA should you have questions.

A new rail system has been installed in the connector with hopes of soon showcasing student work. One of the many, many life changes we look forward to when guidelines go away and we return to a greater sense of normalcy is having the community into our building to see firsthand some of the amazing accomplishments of our students. We also look forward to having community work displayed alongside our students. All of these new clubs and experiences, including those shown below, offer meaningful new ways for students to engage in their school while we get ever closer to the light awaiting at the end of the tunnel.

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Brett Blanchard

Principal

PHOTOS & MORE INFORMATION

Reminder to Students from Mrs. Kattam:

HAPPY LAST DAY OF SEMESTER 1!!

REMINDERS:

Beginning Monday, school starts at 7:30 am. Doors will open at 7:15 for drop-off.
Check PowerSchool for your S2 class schedule.
Keep an eye on your email for the new Google Classrooms links from your S2 teachers.
Finish your Q2 PLP and share it with your advisor if you haven't already done so.

Meal Pick Up Information:

Students are offered meals to take home to help with the days they are not in school. The 5 days worth of food consist of individual items and bulk items such as a loaf of bread, lunch meat, and milk. Meals are available for parents to pick up on Friday’s between 12:00-1:00 in the north building. Students may pick up after school in the cafeteria. Parents and students may sign up for these meals by emailing Mrs. Brunelle at tbrunelle@maplerun.org or by calling her at 527-6404. This will put you on a weekly list. If you are unable to pick it up, please call to suspend your order for that week. If other pick-up arrangements need to be discussed, please call her. We understand that people sometimes forget to sign up or situations change so we will have some extras made up just in case.

BFA Freshman Parent Orientation:

We are inviting parents of 8th-grade students to learn about BFA, Athletics, NCTC, and more!
This YouTube Live event will take place on January 27th from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Click this link to join: BFA Freshman Parent Orientation

VSAC Scholarships:
Need help with the VSAC scholarships? The Senior VSAC Scholarship Event will be held in the BFA Library during Enrichment (10:20-11:00 a.m.) on the following dates:
January 26th, 2021 – Blue Cohort
January 29th, 2021 – Green Cohort