Biddeford Primary School Newsletter

Dear Families,

We are off to an amazing start to the school year. We have altered our lunch process and students and staff are finding it to be a smooth process. Everyone has been enjoying eating together and building a strong sense of community in the classrooms. Our afternoon drop-off and pick-up routine have settled down. During drop-off, we are asking that parents have students ready to exit the vehicle; adults, please stay in the car. This allows for our process to move along quickly. We are grateful to our Transportation Department for their hard work ensuring our students get home safely and our schedule stays on track.

Our school store is now open on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Students should check in with their homeroom teacher before purchasing from the store. Students need to be on time to be able to visit the store.

School attendance and being on time are important to us. Community building and learning begin right when your child walks into their classroom. Students are considered tardy after 8:05 a.m.

Best,

Mrs. Pitts

• Drop off begins at 7:50 a.m. Please use the designated drop-off lane unless otherwise instructed. Staff members will be available to assist students exiting vehicles; there will be no parking during drop-off.

• Dismissal will be from 2:00 - 2:10 p.m. for pick-ups. (Busses start at 1:50 p.m.) Parents will need to park in the drop-off lane or parking spaces. All students will be waiting outside with their classroom teacher and parents will pick up directly with the teacher.

‘Like’ our Facebook and check out our website for updates and school fun :)

Thank you the Social Justice and Peace Commission of Good Shepherd Parish for their generous donation of over 1,000 snacks for our students! During the month of August, parishioners donated pre-packaged, individually-wrapped snacks (granola bars, raisins, goldfish, various crackers, popcorn, etc.) to support the Backpack Program, including snacks during the day for kids in need. Our students thank you for this generous and thoughtful contribution!

• September 15th: Early Release @ 12:00 p.m.
• October 6th: Early Release @ 12:00 p.m.
• October 7th: Picture Day
• October 8th & 11: NO SCHOOL

FREE Community COVID Vaccine Clinic on Tuesday, September 21st from 3:00-6:00 PM and open to the community (anyone over the age of 12) at Biddeford High School’s Tiger Gym. York County Emergency Management Agency will have all three vaccines available: J&J (one-shot only), Pfizer or Moderna (1st Shot; 2nd shot will need to be scheduled at a different location). Children ages 12-17 are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine and anyone over the age of 18 may choose J&J, Pfizer, or Moderna. No Booster shots are available at this time. Consent forms will be completed upon arrival. Click the link below to sign up.

Dear 1st and 2nd Grade Parents and Guardians,

In an effort to help our school community better understand the benefits and process around pooled testing, our district nurses have put together Nursing News (linked here) which includes all the relevant information to make an informed decision. Individuals who participate in pooled testing are exempt from quarantine in the classroom, bus, sports, or other school-related activities should they be identified as a close contact.

Consents are required to be enrolled in pooled testing (One Form Per Child). Once consents and supplies are received, specific pools will be established by our nursing staff based on numbers per classroom/advisory and Pooled Testing will begin on October 4th.

1. Click Here to Complete the Online Consent Form

2. Enter this Access Code specific to Biddeford Primary School: ANE1H2

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. Thank you for safeguarding our school community.

Sincerely,

Cassandra Jacques, RN

School Nurse

We are thrilled that all youth now have access to free breakfast and lunch (menus linked here). On the other hand, we are extremely concerned about the impact on school funding--$2.5 MILLION in Biddeford last year--that is directly linked to the Meal Benefit Application.

We are asking ALL families to please complete the Meal Benefit Application, regardless of eligibility, as the data provided is used to determine our school funding, including Title 1 funds for special education programs; before/after and summer school programs; discounts on laptop insurance and internet; and teacher's student loan forgiveness. See Maine DOE’s brochure for more information.