BIDDEFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

As the month of October comes to a close, we are also beginning to conclude our Fall Sports Season. We are now accepting sign-ups for our winter sports season. Parents are encouraged to contact Karl Lebreux (klabreux@biddefordschools.me) with any questions regarding winter sports at Biddeford Middle School.

The beginning of November brings the close of the first quarter. Parent-Teacher Conferences will occur on November 4th. As the winter months begin to creep up on us, please let us know if we can support you or your family with hats, mittens, warm clothes, or shoes. Lastly, we have partnered with the local food pantry and have been offering a free food distribution every couple of weeks. If there is anything more that we can do to support your family, please be in touch.

• National Red Ribbon Week - October 23-31
• STEM 5K - Sunday, October 25
• End Daylight Savings Time - Sunday, November 1
• Scholastic Book Fair - November 2 - 6
• Early Release (Parent Teacher Conferences) - Wednesday, November 4
• BMS Veterans Day Evening Chorus Concert - Monday, November 9 (6:30 pm - BMS PAC)
• BMS Veterans Day School Celebration - Tuesday, November 10
• Veterans Day - Wednesday, November 11 (No School)

Congratulations to our students of the month for the month of September:

October’s challenge is a BINGO card with cozy, fall, and slightly spooky reading challenges!

Students can complete the squares, have a parent, guardian, or teacher sign off on them, and bring their card to the library once they get BINGO (5 in a row). Completed cards are due to Ms. Ebbrecht in the library by October 30th to claim a prize!

October is Bullying Prevention Month. The counseling team has scheduled a presentation to increase awareness about bullying prevention and to encourage acceptance and inclusion in our school.

❖ 5th grade: 10/20 during Tiger Time

❖ 6th grade: 10/19 at 10:50

❖ 7th grade: 10/20 at 11:40

This parent meeting will attempt to address common misconceptions about Standards-Based Grading and review our current grading Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) at Biddeford Middle School. There will also be time for parents to ask questions, share ideas, and offer suggestions for topics and discussions that would make future meetings meaningful and valuable to our school community.

Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about the dangers of drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t; yet, only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.

Red Ribbon Week (October 23-31), the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the nation, is your opportunity to get the ongoing conversation started. This year’s theme is Make A Difference. Be A Hero. Stay Drug Free.™ Visit www.redribbon.org to learn more about Red Ribbon Week, enter the Red Ribbon Contest to win an iPad and $1,000 for your school, and get tips for talking to your kids about drugs. The life you save may be that of your own child or a dear friend.

We will be having a spirit week to go along with Red Ribbon Week the last week of October, the theme this year is "Make a difference, be a hero, be drug free."

• Monday: Red Ribbon Week kickoff, Red-y day - Wear RED to show you’re ready to be respectful, responsible, and to persevere
• Tuesday: Superhero day - dress up like your favorite superhero
• Wednesday: Rock your differences - wear your favorite band t-shirt
• Thursday: Team Up against substances - wear sports gear
• Friday: community hero day - who do you look up to in your community? Dress like a teacher, firefighter, nurse, etc.

On Sunday, October 25, Biddeford Middle School will once again host the Annual Halloween STEM 5K Race/Walk and Kids Candy K Fun Run (costumes are encouraged). The Candy K Fun Run is geared toward children 10 and younger and includes age-appropriate games and a 1-kilometer fun run, during which participants collect candy and traverse through a decorated course.

BMS students work alongside their teachers in planning and hosting this event. The purpose is to promote a positive community and raise money for school activities and updating STEM equipment at BMS. In addition, students learn many other valuable skills as they work on various planning aspects of the project, such as fundraising, marketing/design, course planning, and race officiating. Register online today!

Biddeford Middle School will be hosting Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, November 4th from 12:50pm to 6:50pm. You will hear very shortly of available times for you to meet with your child's teachers. Please communicate directly to your child's Tiger Time teacher for help to get that set up.

In addition to the available times on November 4th, all teachers and teams will be offering additional time slots to accommodate parents and families.

It’s hard to believe, but the first quarter will end next week. Please be sure you have an Infinite Campus parent account setup so you can view grades and scoring updates on your child’s progress. If you haven’t yet completed the online registration for your students, please be sure to also do that at this time. BMS parents - the portal will open after teachers have had a chance to update scores. If you need information on how to access grades, please refer to this resource.

Also, October 19-23 is Digital Citizenship Week. Some of the most important skills students can learn are critical thinking and problem solving. Common Sense Media offers help and resources to families, not only during Digital Citizenship Week, but all year long. In this month’s update, we would like to highlight the following resources for parents and families:

• Family Webinar: Raise a Critical Thinker for Learning and Life
• Articles: AI Chatbots & Your Child: Age and Stage Guidance and Digital Connections interactive video series for families

Parents and guardians can't directly log into Google Classroom, but they can receive email summaries of their child's class activity. To receive these summaries, parents and guardians must be invited by the child's teacher to be a guardian:

• The teacher adds the parent's email address or an account they share with their child
• The parent receives an email invitation to accept
• The parent can then set up notification settings to receive daily or weekly updates

The email summaries include: missing work, upcoming work, and announcements. This year, parents will also receive a link with the summaries to view the actual classwork stream on Google Classroom. Parents can also use parental control apps like Google's Family Link to limit screen time and allow certain apps at certain times. However, parental controls usually don't work with school devices.

If you have any trouble connecting to your child’s BMS Google Classroom(s), please email the teacher for that class.

The school website and mobile app are two very important resources for parents to access information frequently. The website contains information for parents to know about the school with relevant links and the mobile app allows parents to get push notifications, see the dining menu quickly, access the live feed, sports schedules and scores, important documents, emergency notifications, and more!

• Download for Android: https://bit.ly/3fu8z4q

• Download for iPhone: https://apple.co/2QFUBST

The 2026-2027 student handbook can be found on this website.

MaineHousing’s Eviction Prevention Program recently reopened, providing support for Maine families who have fallen behind on rent and are at risk of eviction. Eligible households may receive assistance with past-due and ongoing rental costs, up to $9,600 in total. Housing stability is closely connected to student attendance and success, so we encourage families in need to explore this important resource at MaineHousing's website.

Email: sdescoteaux@biddefordschools.me
Website: https://www.biddefordschools.me/o/bms
Location: 25 Tiger Drive, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 284-6400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biddefordmiddleschool