Biddeford Intermediate News

Happy Wednesday BIS families,

Last week was an exciting week of firsts here at BIS! We celebrated our first Fun Friday last week by turning the whole school black and orange and our Cross Country team did an outstanding job in their first meet in Saco!

Pooled Testing will begin in our school next week. As Superintendent Ray referenced in his update last week, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah noted the Delta variant seems to be infecting children at a higher rate than adults with overall cases at their highest rate since January. Our district is encouraging parents to enroll their child in pooled testing as those participants would be exempt from quarantine in the classroom, bus, and school-related sports and activities should they be identified as a close contact. If you have not yet completed the consent form and would like your child to participate, please see the information below and utilize our school-specific code.

NWEA Testing: BIS will be working to complete NWEA testing in the coming weeks. The NWEA is now part of the Maine Comprehensive Assessment System and will be our state assessment. Our third and fourth-grade students will be taking their Fall Benchmark Assessment in Math, Reading, and Language Usage in the mornings on Monday, October 4, Tuesday, October 5, and Thursday, October 7th.

The NWEA test is a computer-based adaptive test that helps teachers understand a student’s areas of strength and areas for growth. This means that the test adapts as each student answers questions correctly or incorrectly to try to identify their current achievement level. To support your child in doing their very best, we encourage the recommended hours of sleep, a healthy breakfast at home or at school, and conversations at home about taking their time and doing their best. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have any additional questions regarding NWEA testing.

BIS Picture Day: The BIS picture day is October 5th. More details to come.

October Early Release: We have an early release on Wednesday, October 6th. Students are dismissed at noon.

Sincerely,

Lindsey Nadeau

Biddeford Intermediate School Principal

The BIS Band Program is looking for eager and musical 4th-grade students interested in learning to play a band instrument!

• Signing up for the band in the fall is essential for scheduling and instrument rental.
• Families do not need to purchase an instrument. You have the opportunity to RENT an instrument from Music and Arts.
• If your child is interested in the band but you are concerned about the rental fee, please reach out! We have some school instruments available.
• Check the Thursday folder for more details!

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Band Director Mr. Stebbins (david.stebbins@biddefordschools.me)

Consents are required to be enrolled in pooled testing (One Form Per Child).

1. Click Here to Complete the Online Consent Form

2. Enter this Access Code specific to Biddeford Intermediate School: 5U5KDT

3. Finally, enter your child’s information, and you’re done!
   
   

PLEASE NOTE: Pooled Testing consent is SEPARATE from the BinaxNOW Consent parents completed when registering. Parents may also contact the school directly if they require a printed form be sent home.

Sincerely,

Alexandria Oliver, RN

Biddeford Intermediate School Nurse

As with many other school districts and businesses throughout Maine, we are experiencing a labor shortage among certain positions (specific to our district: bus drivers, substitutes, Ed Techs, and custodians). This shortage has been magnified by the rising competitive wages to attract employees, a lack of available child care options, and concerns around COVID-exposure. Yet, according to a recent New York Times article written by M.I.T. Economics Professor David Autor, many Americans are simply “deciding instead that more time on family, education, and leisure makes for a higher standard of living.”

Here is the good news! The open positions that schools offer not only fulfill the fundamental human need of significance (feel our lives have meaning and we are important) but also allow for a schedule that prioritizes more time for the areas noted above that improve your standard of living. For example, imagine a child’s face light up when an Ed Tech patiently guides a student through a task which ultimately enables them to read on their own or the impact a bus driver has on a child who struggles connecting with others as they consistently provide that smile for the first encounter of the child’s school day. This is what schools bring to the table in addition to school-year schedules and part-time or split schedules. We hope parents will consider applying for, or sharing with friends, the open positions we are trying to fill. Simply click below to apply or call the Superintendent’s Office and ask for Human Resources.

Lindsey Nadeau, Principal

Email: lnadeau@biddefordschools.me
Website: https://biddefordme.sites.thrillshare.com/o/bis
Location: 335 Hill Street, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: 207-282-5957
Facebook: facebook.com/biddefordintermediate