The Bulldog Bulletin features school events, updates on student life, and general information about JFDS.
Be sure to check the JFDS website regularly for news, the events calendar, and more. Download the Bangor App as well to help stay connected!
Here are some upcoming dates to remember :
- Saturday, December 21st - JFDS Cheering Gift Wrapping Event (12:30PM)
- Monday, December 23rd through Wednesday, January 1st - Winter Vacation
- Wednesday, January 8th & Thursday, January 9th - Winter NWEA Testing (Math)
- Tuesday, January 14th & Wednesday, January 15th - Winter NWEA Testing (Reading)
- Monday, January 20th - No School
- Thursday, January 23rd - JFDS Library Author Event
- Friday, January 24th - End of the Second Quarter
- Friday, January 31st - JFDS Cheering Invitational at BHS
y=mx+b
- Does this equation look familiar? It's the slope intercept form for writing the equation for a straight line. All eighth grade students in Bangor take Applied Science for one quarter within the unified arts rotation. The objective of the course is the applications of STEM topics (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
- In the Bungee Barbie lab, students are assigned a Barbie, Ken, or GI Joe. They are tasked with attaching a few rubber bands to their customers and collecting at least 10 data points (x= number of bands and y = the distance their customers fall). Once the data is collected we graph the results and add trendlines to their scatterplots. Using their trendline (y=mx+b), they then estimate the number of rubber bands they would need to get close to the floor without hitting from the top of the second floor stairwell (528 cm or just over 17 feet). The group that gets the closest to the floor without hitting receives bonus points. The Applied Science Barbies have seen many eighth grade groups over the years and most are older than the students themselves. They might resemble a gang of Weird Barbies by this point but we like to believe they wholeheartedly embrace their job and appreciate how it helps to make STEM content germane and fun.
- Questions about Applied Science? Reach out to Mrs. Vassiliev at tvassiliev@bangorschools.net.
As we wrap up our middle school Physical Education basketball unit, students have made tremendous strides in mastering the fundamental skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting. We've incorporated various engaging drills and activities to help improve coordination, teamwork, and basketball IQ. Throughout the unit, small-sided games provided a hands-on opportunity for students to apply their skills in real-game situations.
- One of the highlights of this unit was the special visit from members of the Air National Guard, who joined us for an exciting round of Knockout. The students had a blast competing alongside these community heroes.
- As we approach winter break, we're excited to announce that when we return, we’ll be diving into our next units: Floor Hockey and Fitness. These will provide fresh opportunities for students to stay active and continue developing their physical skills in different settings.
- A quick reminder to all students: sneakers are required for participation, and we strongly suggest wearing a t-shirt, as our gym—the "Dog House"—can get quite warm during active lessons.
- Questions about Physical Education? Reach out to Mrs. Robichaud at krobichaud@bangorschools.net or Mr. Estey at restey@bangorschools.net.
JFDS students are fortunate to experience two world languages throughout their time at Doughty. Sixth graders participate in a quarter of Spanish, while seventh graders learn a quarter of French. Both of these programs are fun introductions to the language and culture of Spanish and French speaking countries. Some sample topics covered include: the alphabet, numbers, beginning conversation, school vocabulary, family members, date(days and months), traditions and holidays. Eighth grade students have the option of taking Spanish or French for a full year. These courses are equivalent to the first year of the language offered at Bangor High School, allowing students to take five years of a language.
- Sixth grade Spanish students recently learned about an important cultural tradition called a quinceanera. It is an important coming of age milestone celebrating a girl's fifteenth birthday. Currently, they are learning how to write the date in Spanish. Eighth graders are learning how to describe their school schedules. The picture shows students engaging in a conversational activity practicing telling time.
- Seventh grade French students have been learning about the calendar and about celebrations and holidays in French speaking countries. We are currently learning about how the New Year is celebrated in France. Eighth grade French students have been talking about school events and activities, and what they like to do after school.
- Questions about Spanish or French? Reach out to Mrs. Erb at kerb@bangorschools.net or Mrs. Dupuy at bdupuy@bangorschools.net.
- JMG teaches students about employability skills. Employability skills are the soft skills students will need to have a successful future career. Some topics we learn in JMG are innovation, collaboration, goal setting, time management, career pathways, and money management.
- In seventh grade we are currently working on our innovation unit. During this unit, students had to use critical thinking and innovation to create a catapult. We had lots of fun!
- Questions about JMG? Reach out to Mrs. Sinkins at tsinkins@bangorschools.net.
- Students have Art every day for one quarter each year they are at Doughty. We try to give as many art experiences as possible using a variety of materials. While students will learn art skills and techniques in the process, the most important focus of the Art program is that students learn to be thinkers and problem-solvers, and have opportunities to be creative and find their own artistic voice.
- A walk through the art studio in December shows students working on developing Mandalas to let go of the need for perfection and to learn to accept and work through mistakes, painting landscapes in the Impressionistic style of Claude Monet to learn to paint intuitively and freely, and designing original creatures then building them out of air dry clay. Students in Art learn the importance of perseverance, how to see their work through from concept to final creation, and are given many opportunities to make personal choices in their work to express themselves in a unique and creative way!
- Questions about Art? Reach out to Mrs. Harvey at charvey@bangorschools.net.
- Maine Studies is a class all about the great state of Maine! Students learn about Maine history, Maine geography, famous Maine people, Wabanaki History, Maine animals, Wilderness skills and a variety of other topics.
- Students learn about Maine animals by exploring the Furbearer Fundamentals box provided by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. This box includes the real pelts, models of skulls, and animal track casts for 15 different Maine animals. Students use their wildlife knowledge to identify each Maine animal! Students also use field guides to help them identify various Maine birds and will learn common bird calls.
- Questions about Maine Studies? Reach out to Ms. Brown at abrown@bangorschools.net.
- Second quarter students have just completed their Ukulele unit and are now moving into our Keyboard Unit. Skills students focus on are key identification, connecting notes in their music to the notes on the keyboard, as well as rhythm and note reading.
- Students access many different opportunities to understand and show understanding from using blooket (which allows for students to practice information by answer questions but in an educational game mode) to weekly song checkins of their choice so students feel successful at the level they are learning, as well as creating music on chrome music lab to then play on their keyboards creating their own melody and chord progressions. Students also have opportunities to work independently, in whole groups, or with a partner to enhance/support all learning styles
- Questions about Music? Reach out to Mrs. Cousins at scousins@bangorschools.net.
- Library Skills for eighth graders meets for one quarter twice a week, and offers Mrs. Patterson, our librarian, the time to teach and review both basic library skills such as how to successfully search within our library's catalog, Atriuum, as well as utilizing the built-in organizational tools within Google Classroom, PowerSchool and Google Calendar. We then move on to more advanced skills around information, news and digital literacy. Among the digital and news literacy topics, students learn how to recognize mis and disinformation as well as how to determine whether an image is authentic or generated by artificial intelligence.
- Did you know that each of our schools in Bangor have an online library catalog? They each may have a slightly different look, but they all operate the same, offering our students a consistent resource K-12.
- Questions about Library? Reach out to Mrs. Patterson at lpatterson@bangorschools.net.
Powerschool Parent Access
Would you like access to the parent portal of PowerSchool? Click on this link to sign up:
https://forms.gle/apRn3BWD2FJEjXWXA
Confirmation of your account will come from techsis@bangorschools.net