Biddeford Intermediate News

December 1, 2021

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Message from the Principal

Happy Wednesday BIS families,

We hope you had the opportunity to spend time with family and unwind over Thanksgiving break. BIS will be hosting the Scholastic Book Fair during library class next week (12/6-12/10). All classes will have the opportunity to shop the book fair during their scheduled time.

We recognize that winter and the holidays can be an exciting, yet sometimes stressful, time of the year. If there's anything we can do to provide additional emotional support for your child, please reach out to any member(s) of our support team to set up a time to talk about their needs and what we can provide.

School Counselor - Ally Guay (aguay@biddefordschools.me)

School Social Worker - Ellen McKenzie (emckenzie@biddefordschools.me)

Resiliency Coordinator - Jess Aberle (jabler@biddefordschools.me)

Below you will find a flyer for Operation Warm and opportunities to request additional support this winter season. We also have a BIS wishlist for any families who are interested in donating towards our students and families in need, BIS snow procedures, and information about inclement weather.

Date Reminders:

December 17 - Fun Friday! BIS Pajama Day
December 23 - Early Release (dismissal is at 12:00)
December 24-31 - Winter break, No School
Students return on Monday, January 3rd

Sincerely,

Lindsey Nadeau

Biddeford Intermediate School Principal

STORM / INCLEMENT WEATHER INFORMATION

How will parents be notified of school cancellation, delays, or early release during a storm?
Click above for everything you need to know.

BIS Winter Weather Procedures

As the snowy weather quickly approaches, we would like to remind families of a few of our important procedures:

Outdoor Play

We will determine the appropriateness of spending time outdoors for recess and physical education activities daily based on temperatures, wind chill, and ice. When able, students will continue to go outside for recess time. If your child needs a coat, please reach out to us.
Students need to be wearing snow pants, boots, mittens/gloves, and a coat in order to play in the snow. These items should be labeled with their name and brought into school in a bag. Recess is a lot of fun when we can play in the snow!

Operation Warm

See the flyer below for McArthur Public Library's Coat giveaway on December 4th! BIS also has some coats available for students in need. Please reach out to Jess Aberle, BIS Resiliency Coordinator, to request assistance this winter (jaberle@biddefordschools.me).

Pooled Testing Holiday Schedule

Looking ahead to Winter Break, the last pooled testing date before the Winter Break will be Friday, December 17th. During the week December 20th, pooled testing will not be conducted or collected in any Maine schools. Although pooled testing will resume the following week we return (January 3rd), anyone participating who is unvaccinated and identified as a close contact from a school exposure would need to either:

quarantine; or,
be tested twice (on separate days) using an antigen test (BinaxNOW) so long as they remain asymptomatic and then resume the normal pooled testing schedule.

Nursing News: Pooled Testing

COVID VACCINE SECOND DOSES

Over the next two weeks, we will host clinics for second doses of the COVID vaccine for youth ages 5-11. The December clinics are ONLY for second doses for those who attended the first clinics in November. Emails were sent directly to parents who have an appointment and reminded to bring their child(ren)’s COVID vaccine card. If you did not receive an email reminder, please verify your appointment by emailing vaccine@biddefordschools.me.

NOTE: If your child is a close contact or not feeling well on the day of the clinic, they should not attend. Please contact their primary care provider to reschedule their second dose and email vaccine@biddefordschools.me so we can adjust the number of doses needed the day of the clinic.