Pioneer Post

We acknowledge and are mindful that Bidwell Jr. High School stands on lands that were originally occupied by the first people of this area, the Mechoopda, and we recognize their distinctive spiritual relationship with this land, the flora, the fauna, and the waters that run near campus. We are humbled that our campus resides upon sacred lands that since time immemorial has sustained the Mechoopda people and continues to do so today.

Monday, February 17:

• No School - President's Day

Tuesday, February 18:

• KLEAN visit to McManus Elementary
• The Addams Family Musical Class in the Rock Room TTh 2:50-4:30 pm
• Cheer Practice Covered Area and Rock Room 5-7:30 pm
• Boys Basketball HOME Games: 7th Black vs 7th A Marsh 5:30 pm; 8th Gold vs 8th B Marsh 6:30 pm; 6th Gold v 6th Ishi 7:30 pm

• Impact Mentoring in Room 404 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
• Cheer Practice Covered Area and Rock Room 5-7:30 pm
• Boys Basketball HOME Game: 6th Black v 6th Achieve 5:30 pm

• The Bidwell Concert Band will be playing at the CUSD Board Meeting

Thursday, February 20:

• 8th graders/Incoming freshman to visit PVHS

• AAPI Club Meeting Room 305 2:50 - 3:50 pm
• The Addams Family Musical Class in the Rock Room TTh 2:50-4:30 pm

• Cheer Practice Covered Area and Rock Room 5-7:30 pm

• PVHS Viking Showcase Night PV CFA 6:00 pm

• Cheer Practice Covered Area and Rock Room 5-7:30 pm

Saturday, February 22:

• Saturday Success Academy - (Sign-up Form)

Monday, February 24:

• CJSF Big Buddies visit the elementary school
• Girls on the Run Meeting Room 406 2:50-4:50 pm

• The Addams Family Musical Class in the Rock Room TTh 2:50-4:30 pm

• Cheer Practice Covered Area and Rock Room 5-7:30 pm

Tuesday, February 25:

• 8th graders/Incoming freshman to visit CHS

Wednesday, February 26:

• BJHS Spelling Bee in the Library

Thursday, February 27:

• CHS Open House Showcase for incoming freshman at CHS Lincoln Gym 6:00 -7:30 pm

Friday, February 28:

• Black History Month Poetry Slam during both lunches
• Starry Night Dance in the Bidwell GYM 6:30 -8:30 pm - Tickets Here
• Bidwell Junior Club Volleyball Fundrasier at Panda Express

Student Bell Schedule

Minimum Day Bell Schedule

2024/25 Student Calendar (Updated 5/22/24)

2024-2025 Behavioral Policies and Procedures

Please remember to contact the Attendance Office if your student is going to be absent via email at: aleonard@chicousd.org or call 891-3080 Ext. 41115. Please include your student’s name, the date of absence, and the reason for the absence.

In order to ensure the greatest likelihood of students fulfilling our mission at Bidwell—of being academically, emotionally, and behaviorally ready for high school and beyond—we have a 96% minimum attendance goal for each and every student. Please work with your student to encourage them to get to school even for a class period or two if they have the sniffles, are feeling a little under the weather, or even going out of town for some appointment or trip. 96% means no more than SEVEN all-day absences for the school year. It really does make a difference in terms of their overall academic behavioral and emotional readiness and greatly reduces the stress that they experience from falling behind and missing school.

Bidwell Families,

In order to help all students maintain positive momentum as the school year progresses, we will be offering Saturday Success Academies on the following dates:

2/22, 3/8, 3/29, 4/12, 4/26, 5/10, 5/17

The purpose of these academies is to provide productive, fun environments for students to strengthen their connection to our school while completing missing assignments and raising their grades under the supervision of a certificated staff member. Besides time for work completion and help, students will have access to engaging enrichment and/or recreational activities as well. Saturday Success Academy is not designed to be a punishment but rather another opportunity to help each and every Bidwell student achieve our goal of at least 95% attendance, zero missing assignments, and zero failing grades. You will receive an invitation if your student has multiple absences, multiple missing assignments, and/or multiple failing/in-danger of failing grades. Space is limited so we will prioritize invitations based on need. Please contact me if you don’t receive an invitation but would like your student to attend Saturday Success Academy.

If you would like to sign up your student for the next Saturday Sucess Academy, complete this sign-up form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFef5FJIRJsxIEJWYMVuOMFcW8w33jDtqhhGeNtphKzu6O6A/viewform

David S. McKay

Principal

Bidwell Junior High School

(530) 521-9228

DMcKay@chicousd.org

Parents, please take a minute to watch and discuss these important introductory videos/slides regarding Bidwell School Culture and Expectations. 😊

In recent talks with students, the phenomena of “the teacher wanting it more,” than the kid has been a reoccurring theme. Mr. Mckay has put together a video to address this topic.

Here are a few reminders regarding the dress code.

Bidwell’s Best Winners: Week of 2/10/25 – 2/13/25

• Mr. Briggs - Audrey Kiraly
• Mr. Carlsen - Avery Atchison
• Ms. Carlson - Monty Struthers
• Ms. Crowson - Kyler Zuckerman

The following students are our NO TARDY / 95 % Attendance winners for this week:

• Grace Williams
• Peyton Stevens
• Analia Castillo-Siplin
• Olivia Bush

There were 883 students last week with No Tardies!!

Mr. Janosz waits for his students to arrive and greets them at the door each day. In addition to his greeting, he's got a big smile on his face. During Nutrition Break, he makes his way into the hallway and assists with supervision which is a huge help to administration. At lunchtime on rainy days, he graciously opens up his classroom to host some of our more energetic students. During this time, students are shooting hoops and Mr. Janosz is tutoring others in math. Impressive! For this reason, I am happy to award Mr. Janosz with the Out and About Award.

Congratulations Mr. Janosz!

-Marjorie Kucich

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, the inaugural Poetry Slam of Bidwell Junior High will be held on Friday, February 28th during both lunches in the library. The Poetry Slam is open to all students who attend, Bidwell Junior High. The deadline to notify Mr. Siplin of your intent to participate is Wednesday, February 19th.

Guidelines-

• Choose a poem from the list of resources provided by the library or Mr. Williams (Room 306)
• Read a poem of an African American poet (Ex. Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, etc.) or
• Compose a poem of your own
• Time Limit- Three-minutes or less
• Option to read at one or both lunches
• Recite poem in front of Mr. Siplin and/or Mr. Williams before the Poetry Slam to practice intonation, pace, etc.
• Invite at least two staff members to the Poetry Slam
• Deadline to notify Mr. Siplin of your interest is Wednesday, February 19th by the end of the school day

Bidwell's "Starry Night Dance" will be held on Friday, February 28, 2025, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the Bidwell GYM.

Dance tickets can be purchased online at https://bidwelljuniorstudentstore.myschoolcentral.com/ or in person during lunch the week of the dance until they sell out. Tickets are $7 for non-members and $5 for ASB Members.

Each ticket is associated with a student ID#, please ensure you are selecting the appropriate student name when making the purchase. Instructions to create an ASB web store account can be found here.

No tickets will be sold at the gate. Online tickets will be sold until 6 pm on the dance day, if available. Students will type in their ID # or present their Student ID card for entry at the gate.

The Pi Day Challenge will be happening again this year!

And this year, the winner gets to choose between pi-ing McKay or Siplin!!!

March 14th Ms. Long will be holding the Pi Day Challenge during both lunches in the library. The Pi-ing of Mr. McKay AND Mr. Siplin will be the same day, March 14th.

Practice Sheet

Pi Day Challenge Video

A group of volunteers are working hard to create a CUSD Club Volleyball program to replace the previous program that lost funding. This would be CO-Ed. We’re getting so close to making this possible for our middle schoolers but desperately need your help!! Chico Junior and Bidwell Junior need coaches and some support on the Board.

WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT COACHES!

Please spread the word and STEP UP if you can help!! Email Chicoclubvolleyball@gmail.com for more details. Thanks in advance. 🏐

We are excited to share a new mental health resource available to all students in California – the Soluna app. This free app is designed to support the mental well-being of students by providing easy access to tools, resources, and strategies for managing stress and mental health.

If you are interested in volunteering with Chico Unified School District, please compete the Online Volunteer Form.

Website: http://bjhs.chicousd.org/
Location: 2376 North Avenue, Chico, CA 95926, United States
Phone: (530) 891-3080

For urgent issues, please contact Administration directly at:

David McKay, Principal, (530) 521-9228, dmckay@chicousd.org

Durell Siplin, Assistant Principal, DSiplin@chicousd.org