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BIS Newsletter

March 2024

BIS NewsletterMarch 2024

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

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Happy March BIS Families,

Spring is here! What a wonderful month we're having at BIS. Our 3rd graders attended 360 Allstars at Merrill Auditorium last week and had an incredible time! Students were on the edges of their seats watching their performance. Last Friday, we had a very busy Fun Friday! We played a school-wide BINGO game. Every classroom had a Tiger BINGO board, and every student had a BINGO button. Students (and our most competitive staff) were very excited to hear numbers called. Thank you to our administrative assistants for spending countless hours this winter making buttons for our game.


I also want to extend a big thank you to those who attended and contributed to the 4th and 5th grade Community Souper. Students raised about $1,000 from selling their art bowls!


Wishing you a wonderful start to spring!


Sincerely,

Mrs. Nadeau


Yearbooks are still on sale here: BIS Yearbook

DATES TO REMEMBER

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Don't forget these events on your calendars!


March

  • March 27 - UNE Mentor Field Trip (select students only)


April

  • April 3 - Early Release (students dismiss at 12:00)
  • April 3 - Spring Conferences (3:30-7:00)
  • April 10 - No Blast Program
  • April 11 - April 19 - April Break (students return April 22)
  • April 22 - 26 - District College & Career Week
  • April 26 - Fun Friday (Dress Your Best or Dress for Career)
  • April 30 - Spring Pictures


May

  • May 1 - Early Release (students dismiss at 12:00)
  • May 2 - Author Rajani LaRocca visits BIS
  • May 6-17 - Spring Through Year Testing
  • May 10 - Fun Friday (Luau Day)
  • May 15 - Family Fun Night
  • May 24 - Fun Friday (Red White & Blue)
  • May 27 - No School - Memorial Day
  • May 30-31 - 4th Grade Field Trip (info coming)

BIS Author Visit

The BIS Literacy Team has been busy planning for another amazing Author visit this spring! Author Rajani LaRocca will be joining us at BIS on Thursday, May 2nd. All students will have the opportunity to listen to her presentation about writing and the writing process. Students also have the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Rajani’s books. The book details and options are linked here and forms will be sent home with students. If you are interested in ordering, order forms MUST be received at BIS by March 29th. The proceeds from the book sale will help support the BIS Literacy Team and bring more authors to our school!


Learn more about Rajani LaRocca at https://www.rajanilarocca.com/

WHAT ARE STUDENTS WORKING ON AT BIS?

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Art

3rd Grade - Our students are very excited to finally start their clay project! They’ll be learning to make a pinch pot and will end up with a little tea cup. We’ll celebrate with a tea party when they’re done!


4th Grade - The Community Souper was a great success! 4th and 5th grade students raised over $900 for our city’s food pantries! We’ll now do another clay project, learning a skill this class missed last year (while our clay kiln was under repair), making pinch pots.

Music

3rd Grade - 3rd grade students have started learning how to play the recorder. This experience will help them determine if band is a good fit for them. As students progress through the songs, they can test for belts along the way (this is very similar to karate belts.) Most students have already earned a white belt! After April vacation, 3rd graders will take their recorders home, and they can continue their learning independently.


4th Grade - 4th grade students have been listening to three different classical pieces, all based on the season of spring. We will compare and contrast each piece and explore how different composers use elements to express their vision of spring. After a series of musical composition challenges and activities, students will create their own spring composition.
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Social Emotional Learning

This March have been exploring what a Cup of Courage would look like to them, as well as what it is like to offer Encouragement to your peers. The third and fourth graders have also been tackling big feelings like handling accusations, managing disappointment, and positively reducing anxiety. Calming down can help students manage strong feelings. In these lessons, students learn and practice how to calm down using deep breathing, called “belly breathing.” Belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) helps lower blood pressure and heart rate, both of which calm the body. Once students are calmer, it is easier for them to think clearly and handle challenges.

Physical Education

March is a good time to slow down the pace in PE class, to help us do that, we used a new activity called SLOW MOTIONS. In this unique activity, students were challenged to race each other to the finish line using a variety of locomotor skills in slow motion. To add to the fun, we had last-place races as well, which awarded victory to the last-place finisher instead of the first. Students were surprised to find that going slow actually got them hot and sweaty from using lots of different muscles to keep their motions super slow. I hope everyone asks their students to share this one at home, it’ll be fun for all of their family and friends!
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Library

We have been reading the 10 books that have been nominated for the Maine Chickadee Award. The entire school will be voting to nominate which book they think should win the award.


The Scholastic Book Fair will be held April 1-5. The hours will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 7:30am-1:00pm. On Wednesday, the hours will be 7:30am-2:30pm.

Message from the Counselor

Winter small groups with Mrs. Guay finished recently and our tigers worked hard! We focused on mindfulness, coping skills, self-esteem, how to be a good friend, and how to deal with our worries. If you’d like your student to participate in the next round of small groups set to begin the final week of March, please reach out to Mrs. Guay directly at aguay@biddefordschools.me.


The age-old adage says that “March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb” but our March has been off to a pretty mild start! The start of a new month also brings a new theme and this month, we’re focusing on courage. Our students learned that having courage means overcoming your fears and saying/doing the right thing. We connected our theme to the cowardly lion from Wizard of Oz and his journey to find his nerve, despite the obstacles!

Someday at BIS...

What is a Someday? A Someday is when each student at BIS is asked to choose something fun or meaningful they would like to do at school one day. Our staff works together to give them this special moment before the end of the school year. Here are some of the special moments that we have celebrated recently.


Watching a movie with friends

Playing with Pokemon Cards with friends

Nursing News

On March 1st, the CDC released updated Respiratory Virus Guidance in response to the decreased risk that COVID-19 poses to the population. This updated guidance includes strategies to protect people at the highest risk of getting seriously ill and provides actionable recommendations for people with common viral respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV.


The new guidelines now mirror the flu recommendations of staying home until 24 hours after your child’s fever resolves without the use of fever-reducing medication and symptoms are improving. Although a negative test or 5-day isolation is no longer required, it is recommended that your child practice prevention strategies, such as handwashing, wearing a mask, and keeping their distance from others to reduce the likelihood of spread.


Please take a moment to review the new guidance linked below. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact the school nurse at your child’s school.

School-Specific Events
This spreadsheet contains all important events by school in one place (i.e., picture days, spirit weeks, celebrations, etc.). The link remains the same and will be updated as new information is received.

COMMUNITY LINKS

Resources for Families in Need

Welcome Center/Homeless Resources
The Welcome Center assists new Mainers and students experiencing housing instability who need to register children in schools and/or connect with other community services.

DISTRICT LINKS

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Tiger Pride - Name A Bleacher Row

Be part of our future and remain in our history! Now is your chance to name a bleacher row in Tiger Gym. As part of our deep commitment to providing students with exceptional educational opportunities and diverse extracurriculars, we are looking to acquire a new digital scorer's table to enhance the experience in Tiger Gym. A new score table will improve the gym's functionality and contribute to our events' aesthetics and professionalism. Don't miss your chance to take advantage of this opportunity. To purchase, print the form by clicking on the image and return it with payment, or conveniently purchase your row online: https://bit.ly/3uXe6uN!

Upcoming Community Events
This newsletter contains community events previously e-mailed weekly as attachments.
The link remains the same and will be updated as new information is received.
District Updates
This link features all the past issues of the Superintendent Newsletters.

CONTACT BIS

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Contact Us

Lindsey Nadeau, Principal

Email: lnadeau@biddefordschools.me
Website: www.biddefordschools.me
Location: 335 Hill Street, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 282-5957
Facebook: www.facebook.com/biddefordintermediate

Biddeford Intermediate School