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Dear BFS Community:

My, time flies when you’re working hard and having fun! The school is abuzz with incredible teaching and learning while building strong connections! I am so very proud of our BFS community showing commitment to providing an enriching, safe, and warm environment so that all members feel welcomed and appreciated.

Electricity is in the air! Whether inside the classrooms or at school-wide events, great things are happening big time! As I walk about the school and stop by classrooms to listen in, I am always so impressed with the challenging assignments our teachers prepare and how incredibly our students work as individuals and as learning teams. Be sure to ask your children what they are doing in school – their answer will NOT be “nothing much”! Outside the classrooms, our efforts to build the capacity to lead are evident. Founder’s Day was a stupendous success due to the intricate planning, preparation, and leading by our student council students and their advisers. Then, following a week later, our BFS Global Gathering booths were filled with joyful energy as our PTSO parents and student leadership groups worked together to entertain fair-goers and represent our school.

So what’s new this year? Well, we have allocated resources to new teachers, new curriculum, new courses, new furniture, and new spaces! During our open house and various events, many, if not all, of you have gotten a chance to see our new Makerspace and secondary math classrooms set up on B1. You also got a glimpse of some of our new furniture and curricular materials. Now that our second shipment has arrived, we will have our new elementary desks and tables assembled, set up, and in use by the time you come in for parent/teacher conferences. Middle school students are delighted to read many new (cool) books, and high schoolers have multi-media storytelling, applied engineering, and yearbook to choose as electives.

Facilities, furniture, and curricular materials are vital, but even more so are our teachers. When we hire teachers, we always look at their various certifications, talents, resilience, and positive attitudes to become part of our vibrant community. This year, we welcome Alam Virgen, who not only teaches AP Calculus and other high school math courses, but has also taken over the duty of advising the HS Student Council. His wife, Amanda Virgen, has all gears humming as the new 3rd grade teacher. Courtney Petersen, our new Spanish teacher for grades K5-12 and elementary ELL has brought in experience with teaching collaborations to intensify learning. With many years of experience as an ELL teacher and trainer, Lauren Harvey focuses her teaching on supporting our high school ELL students. Ken Morrison, tech integration specialist and journalism/yearbook teacher is playing an instrumental role in creating a hub for learning in the media center/library. We have also added Mark Lossiah and Dipendra Shrestha as student support aides and to the media center/library to kick it up to greater efficiency and to boost an excitement for literacy.

As you can see, we are always making strategic changes to our program to challenge, support, and peek the curiosity of our students.

Once again, I would like to thank our families for entrusting the dedicated BFS staff with your children’s learning and wellbeing. Working together, we are building dreams through our focused efforts to provide the best education possible for your children; ensuring that all BFS students reach their full potential.

As always, thank you for being partners in our students’ journey in education!

With warm regards,

Diane Lund
Principal

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