BIS Newsletter

October 2022

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Message from the Principal

Happy October!

We have had so many proud moments at BIS already this fall. Congratulations to our Cross Country team for an outstanding season! This year, over 1/4 of our school participated in the program - WOW. Thank you to our incredible BIS team coaches Mr. Aiken, Ms. Keimach, Ms. Kalagias, and Mr. Molleur for dedicating their time and passion to providing this experience for our kids. Thank you to our families for your support and to our colleagues at CK Burns, Dayton Consolidated, and St. James Schools for collaborating and allowing this program to become what it is! We are very fortunate for our "village" here at BIS.

As we finish up our final NWEA test sessions, we want to give a big shout-out to our students for their hard work and resilience through our Fall math and reading assessments. Our Parent Teacher Conferences will be taking place at the beginning of November. Keep your eyes out for communications from your child's teacher regarding scheduling your conference time.

Our staff is participating in Positivity Wednesdays at BIS and is encouraging families, community members, and local organizations to join in the fun when possible (info below).

Next week is School Meals Celebration Week! Thank you to our Nutrition Staff at BIS for everything they do to ensure our students are fed at school.

Have a safe and healthy October!

Sincerely,

Lindsey Nadeau

Biddeford Intermediate School Principal

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Dates to Remember

BIS IMPORTANT DATES

OCTOBER

October 28: Wear Red for National Red Ribbon Week

NOVEMBER

November 2: Early Release Day & Parent Teacher Conferences
November 8: Picture Retake Day
November 11: No School/Holiday
November 18: Sports Day
November 22: Early Release Day
November 23-25: Thanksgiving Break/No School
November 28-December 2: Scholastic Book Fair

COMMUNITY DATES

October 22: Pumpkin Harvest Festival (11am-4pm in Downtown Saco)
October 23: UNE’s Trunk or Treat (3-5pm in Harold Alfond Forum Parking Lot)
October 31: Heart of Biddeford’s Creepy Craw (3-5:30pm in Downtown Biddeford)
November 6: Daylight Savings Time Ends - Set clocks back one hour
November 8: Election Day

District & School Events

Send a photo of you, your family, your colleagues, or even your entire workplace celebrating Positivity Wednesdays to be shouted out on our school page! Email Kelsey Langill @ klangill@biddefordschools.me to show your participation!

WHAT'S GOING ON AT BIS?

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Guidance

We’ve been very busy at BIS working on our monthly themes! So far, we’ve practiced being respectful in September, and we’re working on taking responsibility in October. Mrs. Guay, Ms. Aberle, and Ms. Mckenzie have been joining classroom morning meetings to review these themes with all of our students.

We have also been conducting “minute chats” with every BIS student! This gives us the opportunity to get to know each student and get a gauge on how their year has started.

Small group work will begin next week with Mrs. Guay and Ms. Aberle! We conduct small groups 3 times/year and run each group for 6-8 weeks. We work on topics such as social skills, coping skills, mindfulness, and how to deal with our worries, just to name a few! If you would like to refer your child to a small group, please reach out to Mrs. Guay or Ms. Aberle directly.

Social Emotional Learning

What a great start to the year! We’ve been learning some strategies to help with focus in class including how to interact (or not) with other students when they are struggling to do the right thing, how to correctly select and use a fidget, and how to assertively and respectfully ask for what we need before we have a big feeling about it. Coming up, we’ll talk about coping strategies to deal with stress and how to regulate when you have big emotions!

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Music

Music classes at BIS have been ROCKING! We are:

Learning how to find our “head” voice and to match the notes of the song with our voices.
Composing rhythmic patterns for our Drumtastik ball songs.
Trying out a variety of African drums and learning about where the songs come from (Ghana) and what the translations mean.

Next up: Students will start piano lessons in November. They are SO excited about this! If you have a piano or a keyboard at home students can take home photocopies of the music they learn at school. They just have to ask. :)

Art

In Art class, we’ve really been digging into our Art To Remember projects! By now you’ve seen information about this annual project in Thursday Folders. Order forms will be sent home at the end of this month.

3rd-grade students created observational drawings of beautiful sunflowers which they then painted with watercolors. Concepts covered include observational drawing, watercolor techniques, and warm vs cool colors.

4th-grade students have been drawing Maine animals and adding color with colored pencils. Concepts covered include drawing with shapes, colored pencil techniques, and texture.

Next up: get ready to go outside! Art classes will be held out on the nature trail behind the school for the next few weeks. Please dress accordingly.

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Library

Heads up: Our annual Scholastic Book Fair is coming to BIS on November 28 - December 2!

This month in the library, we’ve been reading books about animals; Nerdy Birdy and Mouse In The House, for example. Nerdy Birdy, and its sequel, Nerdy Birdy Tweets, explore self-esteem, being yourself, and friendships.

Physical Education

Wow, PE has been on the move! Our big focus for the start of the year has been on playground/small area games. The goal is to give students a “toolbox” full of activities they can use at recess, at home, in the park, or any place safe to play with a few friends. Our efforts started with a traditional type kickball/frisbee baseball game and have progressed to a much more active small area version of 2 cone ball. Lots more new and exciting fast-paced games to come in this unit!

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Someday at BIS....

Our Someday wishes are coming true! We have started our Someday program this month, and it has already been a blast making our school dreams come true. Sometimes all it takes is something simple, like spending time with a friend or teacher that we don't get to see often, to bring some extra joy to our day.

Red Ribbon Week at BIS

Red Ribbon Week Letter

How can you help your child's attendance?

Ask questions - If you're uncertain about school events or start times, please reach out to your child's teacher or call the school to ask. If you aren't receiving school notifications, reach out so we can ensure our contact information for you is accurate.
Set a regular bedtime and morning routine - If your child is struggling with sleep, talk to their pediatrician or call and speak with our school nurse. Engaging in relaxing and non-stimulating activities (reading together, coloring, journaling, etc.) before bed is a great way to wind down the night and support a strong sleep schedule.
Reach out for support - We are aware that some students struggle with school anxiety, report belly aches in the morning, exhibit signs of school refusal, or are experiencing barriers that make attendance difficult some days (transportation concerns, resource insecurity, medical needs, etc).

We believe that sometimes it takes a village. We are here to support you and your child. Please reach out to your child's teacher and/or any of our amazing support staff at BIS to collaborate!