BIS Newsletter
January 2023
Message from the Principal
Happy New Year BIS families,
January is off to a quick start. We are jumping into 2023 with a new monthly theme. This month we are focusing on loyalty. In addition to promoting loyalty to friends, family, and ourselves, we celebrated our lifetime loyalty to the Biddeford Tigers! Thank you to our Biddeford Tiger for joining the assemblies last week. During our assemblies, we also reviewed winter recess procedures, talked about goal setting for 2023, and celebrated their hard work so far on their NWEA assessments.
In addition to our celebrations, we are setting some goals for 2023. Most mornings, we have roughly 20-40 students arriving late to school. Students who arrive after morning announcements (7:50am) are considered late. When students arrive late, they miss essential morning routines and academic time. In addition, they often feel less connected to peers and miss important school and classroom announcements. We are hoping to lessen the number of tardy students at BIS through partnering with caregivers. If there is anything we can do to support you and your child with attendance or coming to school on time, please let us know!
From now through April vacation, we will be closely monitoring tardies at the office and finding ways to recognize improvements. Keep your eyes out for some of our attendance initiatives, raffles, and opportunities for those who have outstanding school attendance or show improvement!
Sincerely,
Lindsey Nadeau
Biddeford Intermediate School Principal
Dates to Remember
BIS IMPORTANT DATES
- January 9-Feb 3: Winter NWEA Benchmark
- January 23-27: The Great Kindness Challenge
- January 27: Fun Friday - Decades Day!
- February 1: Early Release Day (BIS dismisses at 12:00) & Read to ME Challenge Kicks Off
- February 17: Fun Friday - Patterns Day!
- February 20-24: February Break - No School
- February 20-24: Read to Me BIS Vacation Challenge *see below*
- March 15: District Art Show
COMMUNITY DATES
- January 18: Substitute Job Fair (3-6:30pm) @ Biddeford Regional Center of Technology
- January 19: Free Community Meal (4:30-6:30pm) @ Bon Appetit
- January 25: School Committee Meeting (7pm) @ BHS Little Theater
- February 3-5: Biddeford’s WinterFest
- February 15: Youth Full Maine Food Distribution (10am-12pm) @ Rotary Park
WHAT'S GOING ON AT BIS?
Guidance
Mrs. Guay and Ms. Aberle began another round of small groups this week! Students will be talking about what it means to be a good friend, will practice mindfulness and coping skills, and will learn all about what it means to have good self-esteem. Our first monthly theme for 2023 is loyalty- ask your student who made a special visit to January’s assembly!
BIS will be celebrating The Great Kindness Challenge the week of January 23rd-27th! The Great Kindness Challenge is celebrated across the world and encourages students to be kind, include others, and spread positivity!
Music
3rd-grade students - We are starting off the year by composing animal raps. Students will compose a rhythm and then add lyrics. We will send home the animal raps when they are complete, and students can perform their songs for families. Keep a look out for upcoming information about our recorder unit at the end of the year.
4th-grade students - We are starting off the year by composing nursery rhymes (which are really raps!). Students will compose a 4-measure rhythmic pattern and add lyrics. The lyrics need to be appropriate for younger students. I’m going to use some of the 4th-grade raps in my kindergarten classes at JFK. In this way, 4th-grade students will help teach music to kindergarten students. :)
Art
Mark your calendars for the District-Wide Art Show on March 15th at BMS.
All our 3rd and 4th-grade students will have artwork on display!
3rd-grade students have been working on painting self-portraits. They learned how to divide the face into quadrants that help place facial features properly. They enjoyed using mirrors to study their own facial features before drawing them and later painting everything in. These portraits are spectacular; they REALLY look like the artists who made them!
4th-grade students revisited the color wheel. This year they learned how to make tertiary colors by mixing one primary color with one secondary color. They showed their understanding by mixing colored frosting to make a frosted cookie color wheel! Next, we’ll begin a printmaking unit. Our first project will be printing with vegetables.
Library
Physical Education
Someday at BIS...
This month we continued celebrating our students through Somedays! Some of the Somedays we have celebrated this month were - being Mrs. Nadeau’s helper for the day, playing dodgeball, having lunch with friends, enjoying a class movie, and having extra recess!
READ TO ME CHALLENGE KICKS OFF IN FEBRUARY
As February approaches, we would like 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. Reading aloud to children not only provides a bonding experience with caring adults, but the simple act of reading aloud to a child 15 minutes a day for five years results in 27,375 minutes of language exposure which can put children on the path to high literacy achievement.
In today’s fast-paced, technologically driven world, it is not uncommon to overlook the impact that reading to children has in building their language and supporting reading and writing achievement. 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 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.
Any students who take photos of videos of them reading over February break should also send them to BIS Literacy Specialist Karen Quigley at kquigley@biddefordschools.me to be recognized at BIS after break! We are hoping to have a long list of kids to shout out for their dedication to reading over vacation!
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR MAINE TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Nominations are now open for the 2023 County Teachers of the Year and 2024 State Teacher of the Year! Members of the public are encouraged to nominate educators by February 5th who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and who inspire the achievement of all students. The 2023 County Teachers of the Year will be announced in May. The 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year will be selected from the 16 county honorees. For criteria and nomination forms, visit https://www.mainetoy.org/.
Parenting Education & Resources
The "Ask The Experts" webinar series kicks off 2023 on Tuesday, January 31 at 11:30 am with a panel of experts addressing youth access to health information online and the importance of digital health literacy. To register or for more information, click here.
Biddeford Winterfest: February 3-5
Our Social-Emotional Support Team
Please reach out to our team throughout the year for support with your child. We are eager to work with you and your child while they are at BIS.
Ms. Mckenzie: emckenzie@biddefordschools.me
Mrs. Guay: aguay@biddefordschools.me
Ms. Aberle: jaberle@biddefordschools.me
Contact Us
Email: lnadeau@biddefordschools.me
Website: https://biddefordme.sites.thrillshare.com/o/bis
Location: 335 Hill Street, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: 207-282-5957
Facebook: facebook.com/biddefordintermediate