Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was filled with joy, rest, and quality time with loved ones. The start of a new year is an exciting time to set goals and embrace fresh opportunities. At school, we’ll be focusing on determination—a value that helps create positive and productive habits in and out of the classroom. I encourage you to have conversations at home about the goals your child might like to work on, whether it’s improving reading skills, exploring new interests, or simply being a great friend.

This week our literacy team started a school-wide "Snowball Blitz Reading Challenge" and our students are eager to build a snow globe of reading minutes in their classes. This is a great way to get our third and fourth graders excited to read new books at school. You will also notice a Pizza by Alex Reading Challenge coming up in February (details below), which is a home challenge that focuses on those crucial 20 minutes of reading before bed.

A couple of reminders:

• Snow Gear: In order to play in the snow, students need to bring a coat, snow pants, snow boots, gloves/mittens, and a hat/hood. Without appropriate snow gear, they will still enjoy recess but will need to stay out of the snow.
• Attendance: Regular attendance is key to your child’s academic success and helps build a strong foundation for learning. However, we understand that this is the season for sickness. If your child will be absent, please remember to call the BIS office or contact your child's teacher as soon as possible. By notifying the school, we are able to mark your child's sickness as excused and avoid any attendance or truancy concerns.
• On-Time Arrival: Every day we have roughly 20-40 students arriving late to school. Students who arrive late miss important morning routines, announcements, and academic time. Our goal is to support all students and families with barriers to regular and on-time school attendance. If there's anything you need, please reach out.

Thank you for everything you do and, as always, my door is open if your child needs anything. Together, we can make 2025 a year of growth, connection, and success for every student.

Warmly,

Lindsey Nadeau

Our BIS music teacher is starting an after school chorus called Treble Tuesdays! This club is available for both 3rd and 4th graders and starts in February. The club will meet on Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30 weekly and end in May with a concert. Sign up sheets are available in the office. If you have any questions please reach out to Ms. Wollstadt via email at awollstadt@biddefordschools.me

This at-home reading challenge will take place during the months of February and March. Here’s how it works! Students are asked to read every day at home, for 20 minutes, in February and March, either by themselves or with someone at home. After reading, they color in the pizza for that day. At the end of the challenge in March, turn your calendars into the office. If you read every day in February and March, you'll earn a coupon for a FREE pizza from Pizza By Alex. Use the Tracking Card to track the daily reading progress!

Don't forget these events on your calendars!

January

• Tues Jan 21 - Snowball Blitz Reading Challenge begins (in school reading challenge)
• Fri Jan 24 - Fun Friday (Tiger Den Day)
  
  

February

• Feb 1 - Pizza by Alex Reading Challenge Begins (at-home reading challenge)
• Feb 13 - Snowball Blitz Reading Challenge ends (in-school reading challenge)
• Fri Feb 7 - Fun Friday (Sports Day)
• Wed Feb 12 - Early Release (Dismissed at 12:00pm)
• Mon Feb 17 - Fri Feb 21 - Vacation Week (No School)

Last week BIS celebrated "National Sticker Day" by decorating our own stickers during morning meeting. It was a silly and fun way to start our week!

We’re beginning to get ready for the District-Wide Art Show! This all-schools visual art show will open Wednesday, March 5th 4:30-7:00 pm and will remain open daily through Friday that week. Every BIS student will have work in the show!

Winter small groups are well underway at BIS! We’re working on being good friends, learning new coping skills, practicing mindfulness, and how to deal with our worries and disagreements among friends. If you would like your student to participate in the spring round of groups, please reach out to our school counselor, Ally Guay at aguay@biddefordschools.me. Mrs. Guay can share more about what groups are being offered and which one would be a good fit.

Each month, BIS introduces a new theme at our den assemblies and encourages our students to work on it throughout the month. To kick off 2025, we’re learning about determination. January is a perfect time to set new goals and we’re asking our tigers to show us their determination and demonstrate what they’ve learned so far this year during the winter testing benchmark!

As February approaches, we want to encourage the community to participate in the Read to ME Challenge. This Challenge is an opportunity to contribute to a child’s literacy growth by reading aloud in any language to one or more children for at least 15 minutes. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, reading also builds attention span and emotional development, improves concentration and focus, reduces stress and anxiety, and stimulates creativity and imagination. The more reading encounters children have with caring adults, the greater the probability that they will build the literacy skills needed for future economic competitiveness.

During February, we encourage students, parents, and family members to read to/with a child for at least 15 minutes. Snap a photo or short video (15-30 seconds) and post it with your challenge to others to read aloud for 15 minutes to a child they know. Use hashtag #ReadtoME and tag others.

Mark your calendar! Biddeford’s WinterFest returns for a cabin-fever-busting weekend of snow and fun-filled events for the whole family! This will be a “snow or shine” event the weekend of February 7 through February 9, 2025!

Visit biddefordwinterfest.org for schedule and programming updates, sponsorship information, and more.

The Biddeford School Department has updated its Commitment to Students – Vision 2030 to guide our priority initiatives through the remainder of the decade. This renewed focus reflects our dedication to ensuring every student thrives academically, socially, and emotionally.

Biddeford’s vision is built around three core pillars:

1. Transformative Learning Experiences

2. A Positive Culture and Climate

3. Whole-Child Support
   
   

Our caring teachers and staff are dedicated to nurturing resilient, healthy students who are prepared to excel in any path they choose after graduation. This commitment reflects our belief that together, we can help each child succeed in an ever-changing world. Our school encourages your continued partnership in this important work.

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