Biddeford Primary School Newsletter

Dear Families,

BPS has been having a lot of fun while we are learning! We had an outstanding book fair, fun dress-up days, and special treats for our hard-working staff. We will continue with a Polar Express day on December 22nd in which students can wear warm pajamas!

Take part in our winter break reading challenge; students complete as many reading activities as they can over winter break. Return the sheet to school and earn a book token.

I would like to reiterate what Superintendent Ray wrote in his December 10th update regarding the reduction of quarantining close contacts during the second half of the school year thanks to our vaccination clinics. If your child has been fully vaccinated, please complete the Google Form below and upload a photo to assist our School Nurses with contact tracing. Fully-vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine if identified as a close contact so long as they remain asymptomatic. Also, if your family plans to travel for the holidays, please be aware of travel guidance and testing requirements (linked here).

Our district has also been fortunate to receive some grant funding to assist those in need. If your child is in need of warm winter gear, please reach out to me, our Social Worker Ms. McGeoghegan, or our Resiliency Coordinator Mrs. Goulet and we will do our best to assist.

Warmly,

Margaret Pitts

December 17th- Wear a festive top, sequins, or holiday colors!

December 22nd- Wear holiday or cozy jammies!

December 23rd: Early Release

December 24-January 1st: NO School

January 12th- Early Release

January 17th -Holiday- NO School

Our tiger cubs look forward to participating in games that Mr. Philbrook creates for our physical education curriculum. He not only creates fun and engaging activities but also teaches students how to lead a healthy lifestyle by eating right and exercising. Mr. Philbrook is a team player and helps out within our BPS community whenever needed. He is our favorite "traffic cop" during arrival and dismissal!

A shout out to all school Nurses (especially our Nurse Cassie ) for their dedication, perseverance, hard work, and ability to adapt as they have navigated COVID-19 over the past 20 months. Much deserved recognition as they received the Maine School Boards Association Distinguished Service Award.

Clynk bags will be available to students all month! Full CLYNK bags can be returned to any Hannaford so feel free to share with your family and friends.

Micro-Adventures are small expeditions focused on getting students outside, enhance academic standards learned in the classroom, and working collaboratively. They are low-cost, easy-to-run activities that ALL students experience!

Naming adjectives to describe what is in Santa's bag!

What is a Someday? A Someday is when a student or staff member is asked to select something they would like to see happen at school before the end of the year. Students and staff choose something fun and meaningful to them and our BPS team works together to give them this special moment before the end of the school year.

Play his ukulele!

Looking ahead to Winter Break, the last pooled testing date before the Winter Break will be Friday, December 17th. During the week of December 20th, pooled testing will not be conducted or collected in any Maine schools. Although pooled testing will resume the following week we return (January 3rd), anyone participating who is unvaccinated and identified as a close contact from a school exposure would need to either:

• quarantine; or,

• be tested twice (on separate days) using an antigen test (BinaxNOW) so long as they remain asymptomatic and then resume the normal pooled testing schedule.