Bulldog Bulletin
April 17, 2026
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 :
- Week of April 20th - April Vacation
- Monday, April 27th - Administrative Professional's Day (Observed at JFDS)
- Tuesday, April 28th through Friday, May 1st - Spring NWEA Testing
- Friday, May 1st - School Lunch Hero Day
- Monday, May 4th through Friday, May 8th - Teacher Appreciation Week
- Tuesday, May 5th through Thursday, May 7th - Seventh Grade Fields Pond Trip
- Sunday, May 10th - Mother's Day
- Monday May 11th & Tuesday May 12th - Eighth Grade MEA Science Testing
- Wednesday, May 13th - Early Release Day (11:30 Dismissal)
- Friday, May 15th - Eighth Grade Cole Museum Trip
Teacher appreciation week is coming! During the week of May 4th, the Bulldog Boosters will hold a special event for each day to recognize our outstanding staff. Students, parents, and JFDS friends are welcome to send appreciative notes in to teachers.
- The Wednesday, April 8th half-day at JFDS was celebrating the Arts!! Sarah Cousins, Jake Gebhart, and Courtney Harvey, the Music/Chorus, Band, and Art teachers, organized a Spring Into the Arts Day which highlighted a variety of arts, ranging from Visual Arts, Music, MLTI, Theater, and Dance.
- Students were able to select activities of interest and attend three different sessions for an immersive arts experience. Activities ranged from listening to a jazz big band, a percussion ensemble from Bangor High School, brass and woodwind quintets, talks from the Maine Savings Amphitheatre, theatre improv experiences, drawing pet portraits, graphic design art, and hip hop, swing, and Irish step dancing, and more!
- The smiles on the kids' faces as they participated in these activities were priceless- a truly amazing day was had by all! Thank you so much to the members of the community who volunteered their time to bring these artistic experiences to our students and show them what a future in the arts looks like!
On Thursday, April 16th, the Bulldogs hosted all of the Vine Street School during Junior Bulldog Day.
Staff and students organized games and activities for our neighbors as part of a PBIS incentive.
Activities included dancing, crafts, tempo tag, and more.
The Vine Street staff competed against JFDS students in a round of Human Hungry Hippos to conclude the event.
- Eighth Grade math students worked collectively in small groups to understand the Pythagorean Theorem for right triangles.
- Throughout the unit, students used it to find unknown sides, to identify right triangles, and to find distance in the coordinate plane.
- Mr. O helped facilitate learning with the Envision math program, GeoGebra graphing software, and hands-on activities.
- Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Haskins, JFDS students were treated to a visit from members of the UMaine hockey team and Bananas the Bear!
- While the hockey guests joined the games in the gym, Bananas joined students at lunch.
You can now order 25-26 Yearbooks in the office with cash or check for $25.00 each. You can also order your yearbook online through Memory Book for an additional service fee of $2.99.
- Go to https://shop.memorybook.com/login or QR Code
- Click to create an account.
- Enter your name, email, and our Class CODE: 232734M
- Create your own password.
After creating your account, you’ll be taken to the products page.
- Select the one for your student.
- Enter the student name, grade, and homeroom teacher.
- You’ll also see an option for a student who may not be able to purchase one; even one extra book can make a big difference!
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, May 13th
Looking to show off your school pride?
Wights Sporting Goods has an ongoing JFDS school store for hoodies, t-shirts, and more.
Digital Report Cards
Beginning with the second quarter, JFDS will pilot a transition from printed report cards to a fully digital reporting system in PowerSchool. This change will allow families to access grades more quickly and securely, reduce paper use, and provide a more consistent way to monitor student progress throughout the year.
Families have received instructions on how to access the digital portal. If you need assistance accessing the PowerSchool portal, please reach out to techsis@bangorschools.net or call the main office at (207)941-6220.
Families who prefer a printed report card have the option to request a paper copy. To receive a paper copy in the mail, call the main office at (207)941-6220.
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.
Please click the link below for more information about chronic absenteeism.