I am excited to share what a great first couple weeks we have had at Biddeford Middle School! Your children are present, engaged, and already learning as we head into our new school year.

You are likely to have already heard from your child's Tiger Time teacher through phone or email. These first weeks at school are heavily focused on building relationships and helping your child to feel comfortable and confident as a successful student in our building. As we do this together, please do not hesitate to reach out to our staff with questions or concerns.

The care and safety of our students will continue to be our first priority here at Biddeford Middle School. To that end, we have already successfully completed several fire/evacuation drills and have begun our building lockdown procedures.

Parents are reminded of the importance of being familiar with Google Classroom, Infinite Campus, and JumpRope. These are all software programs that can help families stay aware of the everyday happenings in the classroom and support students' academic success.

Sincerely,

Mr. Scott Descoteaux

Principal - Biddeford Middle School

Our school day runs from 8:40am - 3:10pm. Students are allowed to be dropped off at 8:20am. Unfortunately, we do not have supervision for arriving students prior to this time. The buses will not arrive until 8:30am. The school will be locked and will only open at 8:25 am. 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.

Our dismissal process will begin at 3:15 pm. Additionally, I have included a link to the school master schedule in this newsletter, which includes what a day at BMS might look like for your child.

• Wednesday, September 25th - Flu Vaccine Clinic (Consent Form Here)
• Thursday, September 26th - Picture Day
• Wednesday, October 2nd - Early Release (8:40am - 12:50pm)
• Wednesday, October 2nd - Parent Advisory Committee Meeting (4:30 pm - BMS Library)
• Friday, October 11th - Teacher Professional Development (No School)
• Monday, October 14th - Indigenous People's Day (No School)

I've been in education for 30 years. I started as a Physics and Chemistry teacher at Noble High School where I also coached three sports. In 2006, I earned a Master's Degree in School Counseling and have been a counselor for the last 18 years at Noble High.

I love being outdoors in all seasons. I am part of a therapy team with my 8-year-old dog Murphy, who was part of the Animal Assisted Therapy Program at Noble High School. I love pilates, running, and I make about nine different kinds of jam in the summer. I love flowers and my garden, and I also enjoy the beach and spending time with my family.

I am originally from Saco and now live with my family in Dayton. Prior to BMS, I was a Health and PE teacher at Sanford High school for 7 years. I am very excited about my role here at the middle school as a Health, PE, and Cooking teacher!

I am a mom first to two awesome kids; 4 and 2 years old. They keep me on my toes and up to date with the latest wrestling moves. Other than that, I love to hang out with family, watch sports, be by the ocean, and ski in the winter!

Family means the world to me so I am super excited to be teaching along side my nephew Mr. Arsenault at here at BMS!

It is important for all families to open and update information in Infinite Campus. Please familiarize yourself with a document titled “Infinite Campus Release Agreements”. This document contains detailed instructions for you to update your child’s demographic information and to complete the annual release agreements. We are asking you to complete these forms online. You will find your child’s schedule on this website. If you do not have the parent portal account information, it can be found by clicking below.

We hope that your child is beginning to talk about the 7th grade big adventure to the Ecology School in Saco. This trip is a unique opportunity for our students to attend three (3) days of Ecology education. It is a 3-day, 2-night adventure at the Ecology school (River Bend Farm, Simpson Road in Saco). All meals and snacks will be provided to students. They will be staying in dorms on the farm. Please check out the Ecology School Website for more information.

The 7th Grade students will leave from BMS on Monday, October 28th at 9:00 AM and return on Wednesday, October 30th at 1:00 PM.

We would like to invite you to a Google Meets presentation on Wednesday, September 25th, at 3:00 PM. We hope to answer any questions you might have, as we introduce this outdoor adventure. Please find the link to all of the paperwork that must be completed for our great excursion.

* All clothing and bedding should be brought in on the morning of the trip, to the PAC. Please deliver medication in their original containers, with only the amount needed, to school on Friday, October 25th.

Please consider joining the Parent Advisory Council. Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, October 2nd at 4:30pm in the BMS Library. I hope to see you!

Biddeford Middle School will be having an influenza vaccination clinic on Wednesday 9/25/24. We will be partnering with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice to provide this clinic to our students.

Please click on the link below and complete the consent form by Wednesday 9/18/24 at noon. You must complete all fields. Although the vaccine is provided at no charge, there is a cost to administer the vaccine. We appreciate it if you include accurate insurance information. There is no out-of-pocket cost and those without insurance will be vaccinated with the appropriate form completed. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine.

For information about flu and the vaccine, click here. If you need a translated form, are unable to complete an electronic form, or have specific questions about the vaccine clinic, please call the school nurse directly.

The Device Protection Plan is strongly recommended for BMS students. These students are considered to be in a “one-to-one take-home” device program. They are allowed to keep the device with them and may end up with the same device for several years.

For Problems/Issues with Devices:

Students/parents should immediately inform the student's teacher, who will then contact the Technology Department. This will keep the teacher and others at the school aware of the situation and the remedy.

• Tentative Family Night: Monday, September 30th from 6:30-8pm at BMS

Stay informed by downloading the Biddeford Schools mobile app! It will allow parents to choose Biddeford Middle School and receive notifications from us, access the live feed, important documents, emergency notifications, and more! Simply download the relevant app at the link below:

• Download for Android: https://bit.ly/3fu8z4q

• Download for iPhone: https://apple.co/2QFUBST

We may send text alerts in addition to email messages regarding important changes in the school day. Texts will be coming from a 98900 number. Please be advised this is a legitimate number, and blocking it could affect future messaging.

The Biddeford School District has partnered with Talking Points to bring families a two-way translated communication tool. Please see the information below for more information and how to download the app.

• Android users: Download the app here

• Apple users: Download the app here

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.

Click on the image to view upcoming community events, and be sure to bookmark the link.

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