Bulldog Bulletin
October 17, 2025
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 :
- Friday, October 17th - Fun Night (6 to 8 PM)
- Tuesday, October 21st - Bulldog Boosters (5PM)
- Friday, October 24th - Picture Retake Day
- Friday, October 31st - End of the First Quarter
- Tuesday, November 11th - No School
- Monday, November 24th & Tuesday, November 25th - No School, Parent Teacher Conferences
UMaine Speakers
Working Out with Wilcox
Yoga with Mrs. Dupuy
- Mrs. Cousins was honored at the annual ACTEM (Maine Association of Computer Technology Educators) conference last week.
- Mrs. Cousins received the Acheive Award for intergation of technology into her music instruction.
- Congratulations!
- Sixth graders have spent the first several weeks of school working on a variety of skills and concepts. We have spent our time adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing rational numbers as well as analyzing proportional relationships.
- The workshop model ensures that teachers and students have a chance to work as a whole group, small group, and individually.
- In addition to working through the curriculum, students have spent a considerable amount of time practicing their math fact fluency. We are off to a great start and are excited for what lies ahead!
- Students in Mr. Santerre’s accelerated 8th grade social studies classes have been learning about cause and effect in history by studying the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. Students have been learning how events during the Gilded Age led citizens to work to create change, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.
- Studying cause and effect in history allows students to make connections between historical themes and eras. While studying these eras, students have also had the opportunity to work with primary sources and think like historians. For example, by analyzing some of the photography and work of Jacob Riis, students were asked to draw a conclusion about what life was like for people who lived in New York City tenements during the late 1800s.
- Analyzing the pros and cons of Riis’ work can lead to a broader understanding about the importance of responsible civic engagement.
The first Fun Night of the school year is tonight, from 6PM to 8PM.
- Fun Nights are sponsored by the JFDS Student Council, and offer current JFDS students the chance to dance, play games in the gym, and socialize.
- The cost of admission is $3.00, and food & drinks are an additional fee.
- Fun Nights are open only to current JFDS students who are in good behavioral standing. All school rules apply at the event, including the dress code. Students need to be present in school on the day of the dance to attend.
- Questions about Fun Night? Email Mr. O'Connell at maoconnell@bangorschools.net, or Mrs. Lowe at clowe@bangorschools.net.
The 2025-26 School Calendar includes six early release days for professional development. Middle school students will be dismissed at 11:30AM on the following days:
- Wednesday, February 11th
- Thursday, March 12th
- Wednesday, April 8th
- Wednesday, May 13th
Looking to show off your school pride?
Wights Sporting Goods has an ongoing JFDS school store for hoodies, t-shirts, and more.
Chronic Absenteeism - Did You Know?
- Chronic absenteeism occurs when a student misses 10% of the days that they are enrolled in school. In Bangor, for a student attending the entire school year, chronic absenteeism would be 17 days or an average of approximately two days per month. Chronic absenteeism is based on total absences - both excused and unexcused. We look forward to meeting our school goal of 95% attendance by June 2025!
Please click the link below for more information about chronic absenteeism.