State educational leaders, colleagues, family, and friends gathered at UVM on November 14 for the celebration of Vermont's 44th Annual Outstanding Educator Awards. The event shined a bright spotlight on award recipients' accomplishments from school districts and supervisory unions across the state.
Here at BFA Fairfax, we were so incredibly proud to celebrate our very own Linnea Jahn! Congratulations, Linnea, and thank you for all you do for our students and community.
Many thanks to our construction crew! What a " sweet" idea from one of our awesome families!
Operation Happiness Food Drive
Nov 21- Dec 12th
Drop-off locations: The main office of the Elementary and Middle / High school.
Work Based Learning Seminar students from Trimester 1 take a tour of the DEW construction site here on campus.
Todd Poirier, the site Superintendent with DEW, gave the students a tour and introduced them to several sub-contractors performing work on campus. It was a great glimpse into the world of commercial construction and project management.
Fundraising Success! The class of 2028 sold 417 boxes of Krispy Kreme Donuts!
Our drop off and pick up lane was the most festive in town!
The Work Based Learning Seminar class visited Agilent Technologies in Winooski, Vermont on Friday Oct. 25.
Jamie Boutin, a Manufacturing Supervisor and a Fairfax community member, hosted the students on a tour of their facilities. The students toured the machine shop and then the parts assembly area. Mrs. Boutin introduced the students to several different assembly areas, including one staffed by a BFA Fairfax grad!
Agilent is a worldwide leader in medical manufacturing in the support of medical research and laboratories.
They hire students out of high school, offer apprenticeship opportunities, and have an active engineering and design program for their technology.
Thank you to Jamie and Agilent for the great tour!
BFA Fairfax French Field Trip to Montreal
Madame Alana’s Biliteracy French class traveled to Canada for a cultural adventure in Montreal, Quebec. While practicing speaking French in the classroom can be fun– using French to order poutine, or buy a souvenir, or listen to instructions at the museum gave students an authentic experience and they had many opportunities to use their knowledge of French to navigate real-world situations while taking in the culture of the largest French-speaking city in Canada.
Such a fun educational opportunity for our Foreign language department to share with our students.
C'est Magnifique !
BFA high school students participated in our annual Hiram Bellows Day of Service on Wednesday October 23rd. This day of service honors the legacy of the school’s founder and reminds us of the vital role everyone plays in building a strong, safe, and beautiful community. We are so proud of their contributions to our community!
Ms. Becker's students having fun cracking codes in Chasing Vermeer!
Keep up the great work!
BFA Fairfax Student Records Destruction --
STUDENT RECORDS: Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax, Vermont, will be destroying any non-essential materials from student files of graduates from the Class of 2018.
SPECIAL EDUCATION RECORDS: Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax, Vermont, will be destroying Special Education records of students with birthdays January 1 - December 31, 1998 and January 1 - December 31, 1999, as this information is no longer relevant and/or needed for the student’s educational program. Please be advised that some of the information contained in Special Education files may be needed later on for other purposes such as eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits.
If you wish to have these records before they are destroyed, please email the Counseling office at rmasse@fwsu.org. This request must be made prior to Friday, February 21, 2025. Records may only be requested by the student or authorized agent.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2024 National Unity Day
Our middle school wore and shared orange!
A visible message of building commUNITY through kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to prevent bullying.
#UnityEveryDay
Students from Mr. Heald's U.S. History: WWII to Vietnam class learn about the United States and the Soviet Union's involvement in Afghanistan during the Cold War. The students interviewed a first-hand source from Afghanistan for their documentary. When complete, they will screen the documentary for the high school student body.
This morning, in recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day, Fairfax resident Takara Hansell and her children Wraelyn and William led us in an Abenaki traditional dance. We are thankful for their willingness to share about their culture and traditions and engage our elementary learning community. Our students enjoyed learning the dance and seeing the Abenaki traditional clothing.
Fairfax Fire Chief Micah Genzlinger spends time teaching students about fire safety in kindergarten, grade one, grade two, and 1/2 multi-age classrooms. October is fire prevention month. Thank you for taking the time to educate our community!
Tucker Riggs, owner and operator of LSF Forest Products in Fletcher, Vermont, hosted three students on Friday afternoon. The students are members of Work Based Learning Seminar, a class to support students in career exploration. Each Friday the students visit a different local job site to learn about the roles and the different career pathways.
Tucker explained the various steps of the lumber industry as well as outlining how the LSF operation works. The students followed a log from delivery from a local logger all the way to being loaded on a truck for delivery. Tucker shared his wealth of information of the process and also LSF's connection to other local businesses, home builders, and even local farms.
Thank you to Tucker Riggs for a great tour and some great insight and information about the Forestry and Wood Products industry.
Our Forensic science class performed a controlled burn of self made structures for their arson unit. They were assisted with our local fire marshal to evaluate the findings. What an Amazing opportunity to collaborate with the community.
VARSITY BOYS SOCCER GAME KICKOFF TIME 4:30PM MONDAY 9/30
We apologize for a typo that appeared on this week's practice/event schedule. Today's Varsity Boys soccer game vs. Richford is a 4:30pm start (Not 4pm as listed). As of October 1st, all start times move to 4pm. Sorry for any confusion, and see you today at 4:30. Good luck!
Kindergarten Crowning - Fostering Relationships and Mentoring
This past Wednesday, we welcomed our newest students to our learning community at our Kindergarten Crowning ceremony. We have engaged in this tradition for decades and the ritual marks the beginning of our Kindergarten students’ journey at BFA Fairfax. We are thankful for this opportunity to welcome our newest students, as the Crowning Ceremony continues to be a symbolic event that provides a shared experience and fosters a strong sense of belonging.
Avery Maynard and Cohen Dudley, students in Jesse Gaudette's Work Based Learning Seminar class, visited RR Charlebois trucking in Milton as part of their study of local careers and businesses.
Tyler McNally, a resident of Fletcher, Vermont, gave the students an hour-long tour of the various departments at RR Charlebois, including Service and Parts of both Diesel trucks and vans.
Mr. McNally, the service department manager, was himself a graduate of a Technical program through Middlebury High School. He started at RR Charlebois through a Co-op program through the Hannafords Career Center in Middlebury and is proud to still be employed there.
"It is more than a job, but something I love to do," McNally explained. He offered some great advice to the students saying, "find what you love to do and go for it".
Thank you to Mr. McNally and RR Charlebois for a great tour!