BIDDEFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Good Afternoon Parents & Guardians,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2021-2022 school year. I want to reassure you that our district is committed to following all Maine CDC and DOE guidance as we consider the overall public health for the entire school population, the risk of increased 10-day quarantines or a 28-day shutdown due to outbreak, and halting all participation in school activities or sports. It is imperative we all do our part so please remember to:

• Do the self-screening at home (signs and symptoms linked here), keep your child home when sick, and report any symptoms or positive COVID results to the School Nurse, and;

• Send your child off to school with a mask (or two!) as we require universal masking - indoors and on busses/vans - for all, regardless of vaccination status.

The BMS staff is excited about this school year and getting to know each of your children. We feel extremely good about having our students return to school five days a week. We are counting on our parents and community to work in partnership with our school to continue to convey a message of safe practice to all of our students.

I hope your summer was restful and relaxing with some time spent together as a family. As we move through the year, I encourage you to read this bi-weekly newsletter, as well as the Superintendent Updates on opposite weeks, for the latest news relative to your child's education.

Sincerely,

Mr. Scott Descoteaux

Principal - Biddeford Middle School

Our school building will open at 8:20 am. Our dismissal process will begin at 2:45 pm. Students will be asked to wear masks as they arrive and exit our school building. Upon arrival, students will report directly to their Tiger Time teacher and classroom. Breakfast will be available to each student as they make their way to their Tiger Time classroom. Additionally, I have included a link to the school schedule below, which includes what a day at BMS might look like for your child.

For the safety of our students, this once a year process is necessary in order for the school to have accurate, important student information, such as addresses, phone numbers, emergency contacts, permission forms and medical needs.

To access the Online Registration

1. Log into your Campus Parent Portal
2. From the gray panel on the left, select "More"
3. Then select Online Registration
4. Begin Annual Updates

Student team placements and schedules may be found on Infinite Campus.

Accessing Infinite Campus:

It is through Infinite Campus where you are able to find all of the details regarding your child’s team, teachers, and specific schedule. It is very important for parents to stay connected to the school. If you have not yet set up your Infinite Campus Parent Portal or need to make any edits to your information, please do so by clicking on the link below. Step-by-step instructions are available by clicking here.

Tiger Time is a time at Biddeford Middle School where students work directly with an adult in the building. Every student is assigned to a Tiger Time Cohort where they will report directly upon arriving at school. Leading these cohorts are the teachers who will be working very closely with your child. The intent is for these teachers to check on the social-emotional development of your child while maintaining regular contact with you, the family. Throughout the school year, please feel free to ask these teachers questions that you might have regarding all aspects of the school. You will be hearing from them shortly.

Please have a look at each of our teams and grade levels at Biddeford Middle School.

Every student in the Biddeford and Dayton School Departments will be assigned a school-owned device for the 2021-2022 school year with the expectation that students and/or parents will be responsible for returning them in similar condition (Device Protection Plan and cost details here). To begin the year, students in Grades 5-12 will be issued a device that may go home with them each day (as determined by their teachers/building). Students should bring their device to school each day-charged. Devices will be assigned during the first week of school.

In an effort to help our parents better understand the benefits and process around pooled testing, our district nurses have put together the video and “Nursing News” below. Deb Malia, RN, School Nurse for Saco Schools, and Krystal Taschereau, School Nurse for Biddeford Schools, are featured in the video below providing an overview of pooled testing, a weekly flow chart, an easy-to-read quarantine guide, and addressing frequently asked questions.

CONSENT: Consents are required to be enrolled in pooled testing or to receive a rapid COVID test (BINAX Now) if they have symptoms at school. Please open the Nursing News below for more information. Our district is still awaiting our school-specific codes from Concentric for parents to complete the online consents but parents can complete the BINAX Now consents should their child need a COVID test. 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.

QUARANTINE: This year’s guidance around quarantine is complicated with several exceptions so Nurses will evaluate each case individually. If your child needs to quarantine, we will continue to provide access to educational opportunities.

If you have any questions, please follow up with the School Nurse listed below.

Biddeford Middle School is using a new software program for student-athletes to sign up for participation. Family ID is the software program to access if your child is interested in participating in middle school sports. Biddeford High School has been using this program for a few years, so you might be familiar with the program if you have older children. This will be the first time that we use this program at Biddeford Middle School.

Parents will need to create an account within this website, which allows them to upload medical forms, fill out general medical information and select the sport that the student is interested in participating in.

https://www.familyid.com/biddeford-high-school/bms-fall-sports-2021

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--$2.6 MILLION in Biddeford and Dayton combined 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.

All those who complete the form will be automatically entered to win one of five $100 Hannaford gift cards and those who meet certain eligibility requirements could receive additional Pandemic EBT benefits.

Scott Descoteaux, Principal

Email: sdescoteaux@biddefordschools.me
Website: https://biddefordme.sites.thrillshare.com/o/bms
Location: 25 Tiger Drive, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 284-6400
Facebook: facebook.com/ourschool