Friday, October 25, 2024

Friday, October 25, 2024, Administrative Update

Upcoming Events

Photo Retakes October 30th

If you would like to have retakes or if you missed having your picture taken the first time, please do so next Wednesday (10/30). This will be your only chance for this school year. We ask that all students and staff have their photo taken for school ID and yearbook purposes, even if you choose to not order photos.

** If you are having retakes: Please return the original package of photos you received to the photographer at that time.
** If you had your photo taken in September, but did not order photos and would like to at this time: You may still order photos.

Order forms are available at this link or from the Main Office. This year Whipple’s is also offering an online ordering option. Order forms and payment may be turned in to the photographer next Wednesday, or to the Main Office after that date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING RETAKES:
● If you are having retakes due to poor expression - No charge
● If you are having retakes due to hair or clothing - The cost will be 50% of the original package price (For example: If you paid $36 for the original package but did not like your hairstyle, you would pay $18 for retakes).

Halloween Dance

Halloween Dance
BFA GYM
Friday Nov 1st, 2024
7-10pm
Concession Stand Available

$7 admission
$5 admission with non-perishable (mac & cheese, pasta sauce, cereal, etc)

Costume Contest (Win a Yearbook!!)
Most Scariest
Most Creative
Most Funniest

Spotlight on Seniors

Class of 2025 Fall Photo

Seniors Will Massy and Jacob Kittell @ SMC NEACAC College Fair 2024

On Wednesday, October 9th, BFA school counselors accompanied 43 sophomores, juniors, and seniors to St. Michael's College for one of New England's largest college fairs. BFA students had valuable conversations with representatives from 200 colleges, universities, and programs. This event is one of many supported by the school counseling office to help students explore their futures.

Future events: GlobalFoundries, October 25th
Huskey, October 30th
Homeland Security and Border Patrol, Nov 20th
Vermont State Nursing training programs, Dec 11th

2024-2025 National Honor Society Inductees

We are excited to announce the 2024-2025 inductees into the Champlain Chapter of the National Honor Society at Bellows Free Academy. The induction ceremony will take place this Sunday, October 27th, at 4:30 PM in the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

To qualify, students must maintain a GPA of 3.7 or higher, complete 20 hours of community service as juniors and 30 hours as seniors, and demonstrate exceptional leadership and character. The final selection is made by a five-member faculty council.

We are also pleased to welcome Stephanie Hodgeman and Nate Archambault as the new advisors for our NHS chapter.

Congratulations NHS Inductees 2024-2025

Archambault, Tate O'Connor

Bernard, Molly Catherine

Boyle, Grady M.

Charron, Addison Mae

Demar, Abigail V.

DeSorgher, Marie Kathleen

Foster, Emma Grace

Hurteau, Samuel Arthur

Hurteau, Tobias Grant

Jamison, Leah

LeBlanc, Alexis

Lewis, Mattison

Matas, Natalie Jean

Parah, Molly Gladys

Parent, Adaline

Phillips, Miles Christopher

Powers, Lilah Shay

Quintin, Kylie

Ramirez Sanchez, Phillip David

Rashid, Isma

Smith, Jillian Ray

Soter, Jacoby Collopy

Tetreault, Rebecca Lauren

Powder Puff Results

We are so pleased to announce this year's total for the 2024 Powder Puff Game. BFA-Saint Albans, MVU, and our wonderful community were able to raise $34,911.07. This money goes towards scholarships at both high schools in Jim Bashaw's name, Camp Ta Kum Ta, and The Jim Bashaw Cancer and Catastrophic Fund. The players volunteered at Camp Ta Kum Ta, listened to speakers, attended practices to learn plays and positions, raised sponsorship money, sold prize raffle tickets, conducted 50/50 raffles at various sporting events, sold event t-shirts, and of course the Boosters had their amazing Concession Stand open. Every penny raised is put back into the community and every adult involved volunteers their time. We couldn't be more proud of our seniors, who on top of their regular Fall responsibilities, put themselves second and our community first. They participated in something that is bigger than themselves. We encourage anyone to donate either their time or money to both Camp Ta Kum Ta and The Jim Bashaw Cancer and Catastrophic Fund. It is "always cool to send a kid to camp"!

Respectfully,
Jenny Parent, Powder Puff Coordinator/Coach

Unified Sports at Norwich

BFA Unified Athletes spent the morning of October 9th at Norwich

and brought home 7 medals… and tons of smiles!!

4 Gold

2 Silver

1 Bronze

BFA Dance

BFA Dancers had such a fun time performing at Lamoille Union High School's Benefit Recital. $1930 was raised for the foundation "For the Love of Dogs". Here are some pictures from the performance. PC: Moments by Jess

Indigenous Peoples' Day Projects

In observation of Indigenous Peoples' Day, students in our World Language classes researched Indigenous nations from around the world, creating slideshow presentations to share with peers. Spanish classes focused on Indigenous peoples of the Americas, while French students chose from groups native to Quebec, Africa, Oceania, and French Guiana.

Students researched a range of cultural topics including the community's location, history, language(s), arts, cuisine, lodging, beliefs, and other customs. Based on their findings, students then explored the relationship between the Indigenous group's local geography and their culture. Next, students engaged in intercultural reflections, comparing and contrasting the culture of the focus group to their own home culture(s).

For those interested in local Abenaki events, there is also an upcoming Abenaki campfire at Shelburne Farms on November 9th (registration required). More locally, check out the Facebook page "Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi Community Events" and mark your calendars for the Missisquoi Abenaki Heritage Celebration happening in Swanton in the spring.

Custodian Appreciation Day

Interact students baked and delivered 13 dozen brownies to the custodial staff on Custodian Appreciation Day.

If you see Lilah Powers, thank her for organizing and doing the leg work!

Fall Business Employment Tours 2024

Did you know that over 50% of our students will enter the workforce immediately after graduation? BFA and NCTC are teaming up with Franklin County Industrial Development to offer exciting opportunities for career and training exploration this fall. These tours are a unique chance to visit local businesses, discover in-demand industries, and learn about career paths available right here in our community. Don't miss out! Check out the schedule and encourage students to sign up for these valuable experiences.

Let's prepare for success together!

Classroom Photos

Students making and showing their completed cutting boards from Wood Design and Fabrication classes.

First-year Culinary Arts students made candy apples this morning!

Medical Professions students, Karina Early and Sophia Wolfe, participated in an urinalysis lab.

Jewelry creation during Enrichment.

Cross Country

at Franklin County Championships

Senior Teddy Tremblay won the boys' race, completing the 5,000-meter course in 17:50.06. Tremblay's teammates Jacoby Soter (18:50.35) and Toby Hurteau (18:50.62) finished second and third.

Marie DeSorgher finished second in 24:56.91, and her teammate Nora Tatro finished third in 24:58.60.

Comet Golf

From lt to rt: Emma Stone, Addie Parent, Jillian Mathieu, and Peyton Burnor.

Bobwhite Golf

We are headed to NEW ENGLANDS!

Congratulations to Ethan LaPlume and Gavin Benoit for qualifying for the New England Championship on Oct. 28th @ Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT!

Comet Soccer

Comet Volleyball

The No. 2 Comets hosted the No. 15 South Burlington Wolves for a first-round girls’ volleyball playoff match on Wednesday, Oct. 23. BFA won all three sets and moved onto the quarterfinal round of playoffs. Congratulations Comets!

Save the Dates

Winter Sports Online Registration

Online Registration: Opens October 28th

Winter Sports Parents Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 20th @ 6:30 PM BFA Gymnasium

Here is the link to our online registration:

https://sites.google.com/a/maplerun.org/athletics/online-registration?authuser=0

Beauty and the Beast

Our Bellows Free Academy Theatre Company is excited to present Disney's Beauty and the Beast on November 21st-24th with shows on Nov 21st, 22nd, and 23rd at 7:00 PM and a matinee on SUNDAY, November 24th at 1:00 PM. All shows are at BFA in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $6 for students, seniors, and faculty/staff and $8 for adults.

Come out and support your community, while having a fun-filled night at the theatre!

Order your tickets online now at TicketLeap!

Purchase Tickets Here

Friday, October 4, 2024

Friday, October 4, 2024, Weekly Administrative Update

STUDENTS, JOIN ROBOTICS TEAM!

BFA Robotics Team MEETING 10/8/24

Enrichment TIME: 9:45

LOCATION: A116B (Engineering room)

How to attend? Sign up for Robotics in Adaptive Schedules

First things first, No Experience Needed! If you would like to be part of the BFA Robotics team that will design and build a robot to compete in the state and world championship, don't miss your opportunity to be part of the team which is entering its 10th year of the design build competition.

FIRST Robotics ~ What it is:

FIRST is an international organization with more than 350,000 participants worldwide, offering the opportunity to promote interest, and expand curiosity and learning as students work to further their knowledge of robotics, computer programming, and problem-solving while demonstrating gracious professionalism.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Are you heading to college next year? Follow the link below to see some regional colleges offering a range of scholarships, from 5, 10, 20, 30 thousand to full tuition for 4 years. FIRST has over 100 industry providers offering more than $80 million in scholarships to 600 winners last academic year.
Check out the 24-25 competition on youtube.

Team needs ~no experience needed!

Artists....Media specialists.....Designers.....builders.....Programmers

So if you're interested in working towards great scholarship opportunities, while having a great time come to the 1st meeting to check it out.

Contact: Mr. Symula if you have any questions.

psymula@maplerun.org

hEALTH FORM REQUEST

We are so excited that your students are at BFA and look forward to supporting their health and wellness. To help us do that, you must complete their Annual Health Form. This form, along with the verification and reduced lunch forms, must be completed every school year. Please go to this link for directions on how to access and complete this form in PowerSchool.

Please note that you can verify if the form has been received this school year by viewing the submit date in PowerSchool. If the form was submitted last school year, please verify the information and resubmit.

We prefer that you complete the annual health form in PowerSchool. However, if you cannot complete the online form, please print and fill out this pdf copy of the Annual Health Form and return it to the school nurse. If you would like to have paper forms mailed to you instead, please contact Teri Brunelle, tbrunelle@maplerun.org.

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter, as it is vital to our efforts to ensure your student's safety and well-being.

BFA Nurses
802-752-2260
bfanurses@maplerun.org

ap Biology

AP Biology uses bubbles to learn about the properties of cell membranes.

Homecoming week summary

"WOW!! What a fantastic week! Widespread participation in the themed spirit weekdays, outstanding pep rally, Spike Out Cancer volleyball fundraiser for the Jim Bashaw Fund, parade, football game, boxes of cereal collected for the food shelf, and tons of money raised for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta and the Jim Bashaw Cancer and Catastrophic Illness Fund through the annual BFA-MVU Powder Puff game (this year, complete with halftime fireworks and post-game bonfire)! So proud of our school and our students! Spirit Week/Homecoming has become a week of fun for the students and a way to help out our community. BFA and our students are making a positive difference and that's truly awesome!!"

Comments were provided by teacher, Karla Kane.

Spirit Leaders (L-R): Bonni LUNNA, Sophia Allard, Ruby Kennedy, Emma Caster, Kylie Quintin, Maggie Dunigan (Bobwhite), Amelia Weber, Mackenzie Smith

Seniors

Juniors

Sophomores

Freshmen

Maggie Dunigan (left), Ella Dunigan (right)

Assistant Principal Sara Kattam, Principal Polly Rico, & Assistant Principal John Bratko

Powder puff

I attended the recent Powder Puff game to watch my granddaughter, Isabella, and I decided to take a few photos. I photographed the whole game and uploaded a few of them to my online gallery. My hope is for you to share them with the players, coaches, parents, school, etc., and everyone may download them free of charge. If anyone wants to purchase printed product, they can use the shopping cart with a modest price list or have them printed at their favorite lab after they download them.

Here's the link to share with everyone: www.waynetarr.com/bfa/mvu/powderpuff/2024

Here's the password that's needed to enter the gallery: PP2024

This was a wonderful event that was just a lot of fun for everyone! Thank you for all your time and efforts to make this event a success!

Best wishes,

Wayne

Wayne Tarr's Studio of Photography
802-524-3800
PhotogVT@hotmail.com
www.WayneTarr.com

Thank you 10e Photography for taking photos as well. Click here to view: https://www.10ephoto.com/powderpuff24

Thank you, Boosters!!

cereal drive results

We are proud to announce the sophomore class as the winners of the cereal drive contest with 42 boxes of cereal. All four classes contributed to 101 boxes of cereal with an additional 18 boxes from faculty and staff. A special thank you to Ms. Goldsbury and Ms. Turner in the main office for making an additional large contribution. All cereal has been delivered to the Food Shelf!

College application event

On October 2nd, 70 Bellows Free Academy (BFA) seniors participated in BFA's annual College Application Event. Supported by their school counselors, the Northwest Career & Technical Center (NCTC), and admissions counselors from the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the University of Vermont (UVM), Saint Michael's College (SMC), Norwich University, Vermont State University, and Champlain College, students worked together to complete their college applications.

The event was filled with positive energy as students collaborated, supported one another, and turned what can often be an isolating process into a shared experience. This annual event serves as a testament to the strength and unity of the BFA community, helping students take the next step toward their futures with confidence and support.

Congratulations to all the seniors for their hard work and dedication!

Stephanie Hodgeman, School Counselor