BIDDEFORD HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Dear Biddeford High School Students, Staff, and Families,

Our first few weeks of the school year have been off to a fantastic start, and I want to take a moment to share how proud and excited I am about all that is already happening at BHS. The energy in the building has been incredible—we are so glad to have everyone back and engaged in learning, leadership, and school spirit.

This year’s Clubs and Activities Fair was a huge success, with over 250 students signing up to get involved. From student government to special interest clubs, our Tigers are finding ways to connect, grow, and lead beyond the classroom. We also have more than 250 student-athletes representing BHS across our fall sports teams, showing commitment, perseverance, and teamwork on and off the field.

We are now gearing up for one of our most beloved traditions—Homecoming! Our football game and dance are right around the corner, and we can’t wait to celebrate with our community.

Finally, I want to recognize our student leaders, mentors, ambassadors, and tutors, who are already making a positive impact on our school culture. Their dedication to helping others and modeling Tiger PRIDE truly makes a difference.

Thank you to our staff, families, and community for your ongoing support in making Biddeford High School a place where every student can belong, achieve, and thrive. Here’s to a strong start and an even stronger year ahead!

With Tiger PRIDE,
Martha Murray
Principal, Biddeford High School

• September 17: Picture Day

• September 18: BHS & COT Open House & Biddeford & Saco Rising Family Engagement Event from 4:30-6:30pm at Biddeford High School’s Cafeteria

• September 23: Picture Re-takes

• September 24: Odyssey of the Mind Information Night at 6:30pm (BMS Cafe) & School Committee Meeting at 7pm (BHS Little Theater)

• September 29 - October 3: Homecoming Week

• October 1: EARLY RELEASE - 12:25PM dismissal

• October 1: Fall NWEA Testing (8-10th grade); Future Planning Sessions (11-12th grade)

• October 3: BHS Flu Clinic

• October 4: Homecoming Dance - BHS Tiger Gym

• October 10: NO SCHOOL

• October 13: NO SCHOOL (Indigenous Peoples' Day)
  

• October 15: PSAT's (optional for 10th, 11th grade)

Wednesday, September 24th

6:30-8pm at BMS Cafe

• No cell phones during class.

• Enter classroom = put cell phone in provided container.

• It stays there until the block ends (bell to bell).

• If you temporarily leave the room, it still stays in the room.

• You can leave it in your locker or leave it at home.

• This is school board policy.

High School Parking and Center of Technology Transportation

Significant Parking Changes - EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:

• For Students Traveling to/from the Center of Technology: Students should plan for additional travel time due to construction delays throughout the city.

• All student parking must be in the designated lot across from the high school

• ALL parking on the school side of Maplewood Avenue is PROHIBITED

• No parking is permitted in fire lanes or pick-up/drop-off areas

• Allow extra time for walking from the parking area

Enforcement:

• Vehicles parked in prohibited areas will be towed or ticketed

• These restrictions are necessary for school safety and emergency access

• Violations create serious safety hazards for students and staff

If you need to make any changes to your child's transportation arrangements (drop-off location, pick-up location, or bus requests) and have not yet contacted our transportation department, please do so immediately. Over the next several days, we typically receive many last-minute transportation requests that significantly alter our bus routes and timing. For any requests made after Friday, August 22nd, we cannot guarantee that changes will be processed in time for the first day of school.

Please understand that each transportation change impacts the schedule and timing for all families on that route. To help everyone plan effectively and minimize disruptions, we need to finalize routes and schedules as soon as possible. Additionally, our school offices coordinate dismissal procedures around established bus routes, making last-minute changes particularly problematic for overall school operations.

Please send any transportation changes to: transportation@biddefordschools.me and read the below important update with information on walkers, high school parking, and more.

We are partnering with MaineHealth to provide flu vaccine clinics to our students this year on October 3; 9am-12:30pm. Please print the consent form (linked here) and return the completed form to the School Nurse as soon as possible. If you need a copy sent home, please contact the school nurse directly.

Parents must complete all fields on the form, so please use NA if it doesn’t apply. Although the vaccine is provided at no charge for children under the age of 18, there is a cost to administer the vaccine so please include accurate insurance information if available. There is no out-of-pocket cost for children; those without insurance will be vaccinated with the appropriate form completed. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine.

Print & Complete the Consent Form: English | Arabic | French | Portuguese | Somali | Spanish

It is very important for parents to complete the registration process in order to stay connected and informed about your child(ren)’s education. If you have not yet set up your Infinite Campus Parent Portal, or need to make any edits to your information, please do so by clicking on the link below. Step-by-step instructions are available by clicking here.

District-related text alerts are sent from the number 98900, and while families are legally allowed to opt out of receiving these messages, doing so means you will no longer receive emergency updates via text—only by email. If you’ve previously opted out and would like to start receiving text alerts again, simply text START to 98900. Please note that it can take up to 48 business hours for the change to take effect.

Every student will be assigned a school-owned device for the 2025-2026 school year, with the expectation that students and/or parents will be responsible for returning them in similar condition.

The Device Protection Plan is strongly recommended as students are allowed to take home their devices and may use the same device for several years. Device Protection Plan and cost details here.

For Problems/Issues with Devices:

Students/parents should immediately inform the school, who will contact the Technology Department.

In an effort to continue to build awareness around attendance and our procedures at Biddeford High School, we would like to remind you that any student and family that has a planned absence should be filling out out school planned absence form, having teachers sign the form and returning it to the Main Office. The form is also available in the Main Office at BHS.

Stay informed by downloading the Biddeford Schools mobile app! It will allow parents to choose Biddeford High 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
  

Join us for the Biddeford & Saco Rising Family Engagement Event on Thursday, September 18, from 4:30-6:30 PM at Biddeford High School’s Cafeteria. This event is all about fostering community connections between our schools and families. Free childcare, transportation, translators, community resources, and light refreshments.

Transportation will also be provided to ensure the event is accessible to all families. A bus will run a continuous loop through Saco and Biddeford, beginning at 4:15 p.m. at Young School. Pickup locations in Saco include Young School and Fairfield School, while pickup locations in Biddeford include the corner of Bacon and Emery Street and the former JFK School. The last shuttle will depart from BHS at 6:30pm.

Elias Fletcher, Assistant Principal

Adam Flynn, Assistant Principal

Dennis Walton, Athletic & Activities Administrator

Email: mmurray@biddefordschools.me
Website: https://biddefordme.sites.thrillshare.com/o/bhs-apc
Location: 20 Maplewood Avenue, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 282-1596
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biddefordhighschooltigers
Twitter: @BHSTigers3