Dear Biddeford High School Students, Staff & Families-

We've had a great fall with clubs, activities, sports, spirit week, homecoming, PRIDE Days and all of the other fun initiatives that we have been working on at BHS.

Please take a moment to read our newsletter and note our calendar for alternative schedules, parent teacher conferences, an asynchronous day with students not in the building and the end of the first quarter!

As a reminder, phones should either be placed in lockers or in the teacher-provided receptacle during instructional time, and should not be kept on your person. Let’s keep up the great work and continue building a strong and focused learning community together!

In addition, we will be posting the BHS Daily Announcements on our website at https://www.biddefordschools.me/o/bhs-apc and there is a link to bookmark below.

Thank you again for a great start to the year. I look forward to all that we will accomplish together.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Jacques

Principal, Biddeford High School

• October 18: Senior Photos Due & Final Deadline to purchase pies for Thanksgiving (See Class of 2026 Fundraiser Here)
• October 22 & 23: Challenge Day for 10th Grade students
• October 25: End of 1st Quarter!
• October 26: Odyssey of the Mind Fall Fun Day
• November 3: Daylight Savings Time ends (Clocks back 1 hour)
• November 5: Election Day (Asynchronous Day - students not on campus)
• November 6: Early Release Day (12:25pm) & Parent Teacher Conferences
• November 6: Parent Teacher Conferences
• November 11: Veteran's Day- No school
• November 15: College & Career Fair

The School Committee voted to provide asynchronous learning for students who attend Biddeford High School (Grades 8-12) and Biddeford Regional Center of Technology on Election Day- Tuesday, November 5th. We expect a high voting turnout with the presidential election and other important referendum items, leaving parking at a premium.

• Students will not report to campus and access their asynchronous work through their Google Classrooms with directions provided by their respective teachers.

• Staff will continue to report to work but are asked to carpool, if possible, and park furthest from Tiger Gym, where voters are entering.

We hope this early notification will allow for advance planning.

To kick off Red Ribbon Week, October 23-31, we are partnering up with Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition and the Biddeford Saco Rotary Club to feature a screening of the documentary Screenagers: Under the Influence, which addresses vaping, drugs, and alcohol in the digital age. The event will be held on Wednesday, October 23rd at 6pm at the Thornton Academy Auditorium, followed by a panel discussion and resource fair. We hope our middle and high school parents are able to attend.

The Telling Room’s annual creative Writing Contest invites youth from all over Maine, ages 6 - 18, to show off their writing. A panel of professional writers and youth selects one grand prize winner, a winner from each of Maine’s participating 16 counties, and submissions are considered for publication. All forms of creative writing are considered, including poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, and songwriting. All submissions must be submitted by November 15th, and all the details are listed on The Telling Room’s website.

Are you a high school-aged student in Maine interested in food justice? Encourage them to sign up for the Maine Youth Food Council, hosted by Full Plates Full Potential! An added bonus - students who join are eligible for a $600 stipend!

Running throughout the 2024-2025 school year, the Maine Youth Food Council is a coalition of students working to address food insecurity in their communities in a series of virtual and in-person hybrid meetings. Centered on youth voice and choice in the school food system, students will engage in conversations that will help to enhance Maine's school food systems, and ensure that every child, teen, and young adult in the state has access to nutritious meals.

You can learn more about the council here and here - and we encourage you to share these with your students!

The Biddeford Education Foundation (BEF) is pleased to announce its 7th Annual Pillars of Pride Dinner and Silent Auction. The event is scheduled for October 19th at 6:00 pm at The Lincoln Hotel in Biddeford. This year, the guest of honor will be the Rotary Club of Biddeford Saco. This charitable organization has not only provided substantial donations for scholarships, programming, and students in need but also contributes countless volunteer hours to make our school system a better place, and we are excited to celebrate their members.

Tickets are on sale for $50 each, which includes entry to the event hors d’ouevres and one drink ticket. All proceeds support the needs of students that fall outside of the regular school budget. Through grant monies and fundraising efforts, the BEF is able to provide food, clothing, rent relief, and teacher mini-grants to enrich students' educational experiences. For more information, please contact skane@biddefordschools.me.

Congratulations Keelie Gregoire!

Keelie is the Biddeford High School Student of the Month for the month of September! Kellie was honored in a celebration ceremony hosted by the Rotary Club on October 10th.

Biddeford High School is partnering with Tooth Protectors Inc. to offer Preventative Dental Care here at school on December 2. Services are available for students WITH or WITHOUT dental insurance.

Services are FREE to those with MaineCare, self-pay fees are listed on the permission form, and other dental insurance can be billed. To participate, please fill out this form or click on the below button to complete it online.

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.

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.

We may send text alerts in addition to email messages regarding important changes in the school day. Texts will be coming from a 98900 number. Please be advised this is a legitimate number, and blocking it could affect future messaging.

The School District has partnered with Talking Points to bring families a two-way translated communication tool. Please see the information below for more information and how to download the app.

• Android users: Download the app here

• Apple users: Download the app here

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
  

The Device Protection Plan is strongly recommended for students in Grades 5-12. These students are considered to be in a “one-to-one take-home” device program. They are allowed to keep the device with them and may end up with the same device for several years.

For Problems/Issues with Devices:

Students/parents should immediately inform the student's teacher, who will then contact the Technology Department. This will keep the teacher and others at the school aware of the situation and the remedy.

Daily meals are also listed in our School App!

• Download for Android: https://bit.ly/3fu8z4q
• Download for iPhone: https://apple.co/2QFUBST

Elias Fletcher, Assistant Principal

Adam Flynn, Assistant Principal

Dennis Walton, Athletic & Activities Administrator

Email: mjacques@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