7th Grade: Team Acadia and Baxter

We have wrapped up the unit on proportional relationships and have taken the summative. We have started our unit on integers. This unit covers absolute value, and adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing positive and negative integers.

Most students are acclimating to the expectations of seventh-grade ELA class. The routine of completing GrammarFlip each week and preparing for SAT vocabulary assessments every Friday is starting to become routine. We had our first Cookie Challenge Week with our SAT test. The challenge week occurs when we have looped our vocabulary words for four weeks, and the assessment is over twenty-four words. The class with the highest overall average on the assessment wins a homemade treat. Both Mrs. Pelletier’s and Mrs. Bouchard’s classes had a wonderful competition, and the winning classes enjoyed their delectable treats. Next time, the competition will be won by the class that shows the most improvement in their overall class average.

In other classroom news, our students have been diligently working on a bumper sticker project for the Greek gods and goddesses. They voted on the other team’s bumper stickers. Each team has two awards: the Apollo Award for best design and the Athena Award for the wittiest saying. There will be six winners in total, who will be announced in the week to come. We look forward to our first creative writing assignment, where students will pick from a choice board and create one original writing assignment based on their choice.

The 7th grade social studies classes are finishing up their Native American project and presenting them to their respective classes. They have done an amazing job! After their project concludes, we will begin our "Early Settlers" unit where we discuss topics such as Jamestown, colony settlements, and motivations of European countries to settle in America.

In Science, we have been exploring the use of microscopes by creating both dry-mount and wet-mount slides. Students have had the opportunity to collect their own samples, work collaboratively in groups, and create scientific drawings to document their observations. In addition, students have been practicing Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) and learning how to use these skills to develop and support scientific arguments.

Ask your student what they have been observing under the microscope and what interesting discoveries they have made!

Spooky STEM 5K & Candy K Race:

When: Sunday, Oct. 25th at 10am & Candy K at 10:30am

Where: BMS

The Candy K is a 1K fun run for kids 10 and under that goes off at 10:30am- complete with Halloween carnival games and candy giveaways. Visit our race website for more details and to register in advance: STEM 5K at Biddeford Middle School

Free T-Shirt for the first 50 registered runners. $20 for the 5K and $10 for the Candy K. Halloween costumes are encouraged!

Dear Team Acadia Families,

We have gotten off to a great start to the school year on Team Acadia! It has been wonderful getting to know your children, and we look forward to connecting with you to celebrate their successes, discuss their progress, and share how things are going so far in seventh grade.

We will be offering Parent-Teacher Conferences on two different dates:

• Wednesday, November 4, 2026: 1:15–6:50 PM November 4th Sign Ups

• Tuesday, November 10, 2026: 3:15–6:30 PM November 10th Sign Ups

We would love the opportunity to meet with you! Conferences can take place in person at Biddeford Middle School or remotely through Google Meet. When signing up for a conference, please indicate whether you prefer an in-person or remote meeting. If you select a remote meeting, we will happily send you a Google Meet link before your scheduled conference.

We value the partnership between home and school and appreciate the opportunity to work together to help your child have a successful year. We look forward to seeing you and sharing all the great things happening on Team Acadia!

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you in November!

Warmly,

The Team Acadia Teachers

I hope your student is talking about the 7th grade big adventure to the Ecology School in Saco, Maine. This trip is a unique opportunity for your student to attend 3 days of Ecology education. It is a 3 day, 2 night adventure at the Ecology School (River Bend Farm, Simpson Road in Saco). All meals and snacks will be provided to students. They will be staying in dorms on the farm. Please check out the Ecology School Website for more information.

Team Baxter will leave from BMS on Monday, October 26th at 9:00AM and return on Wednesday, October 28th at 1:00 PM.

Team Acadia will leave from BMS on Wednesday, October 28th at 9:00 AM and return on Friday, October 30th at 1:00 PM.

Take a look at the “Packing List” and make sure to prepare your child to stay overnight and spend time outside!

There is ONLY ONE option for dropping off medications for the field trip:

1. Please bring all medications in the original containers, with ONLY the amount needed for our trip, to the BMS PAC on October 26th, 2026 from 8:20AM to 9:00AM. The medical director of the Ecology School will be there to collect all medication that will be going on the trip. If there are any concerns, the Ecology School Nurse will reach out to you. You can reach out to the Ecology School Nurse by emailing (nurse@theecologyschool.org)

• All medications shall be delivered in its original container with a pharmacist label that includes:

• Student name;

• Name of medication;

• The nature (e.g., liquid, tablet) and amount of the medication provided to the school;

• The individual dosage;

• The route of administration;

• The specific frequency with which the medication is to be administered;

• ONLY the amount needed for our trip (2 days and nights);

Please note: Medications will NOT be accepted in baggies, old pill bottles, unmarked bottles or containers of any kind. The medications all must be delivered in its original container with a pharmacist label- NO exceptions.

*IMPORTANT*

• ALL Over The Counter Medications (ie: Melatonin, Tylenol, Midol, Pamprin, Pepto Bismol, Cold Medicine, Lactaid, etc) are also required to be brought in on Monday October 26th at 8:20AM to 9:00AM in the original container.

• Medications will NOT be accepted by teachers or the BMS nurses- NO exceptions*

Thank you for your support and understanding in taking the required steps to ensure your child’s medication is administered safely and in accordance with our school health policies.

Our goal on this trip is to accommodate all students. We highly encourage students to spend the night because many don't end up regretting missing out on this wonderful opportunity!

Here are the options for pick up and drop off if your student is unable to stay overnight:

DROP OFF AT THE ECOLOGY SCHOOL:

1. We have a van that will transport students when they arrive at BMS on their normal school bus that will transport them to the Ecology School.

1. Families can drop off their students at the Ecology School at 8:00AM.

(Address of Ecology School: 184 Simpson Rd, Saco, ME 04072)

PICK UP AT THE ECOLOGY SCHOOL:

1. You can pick up your student at the Ecology School. We recommend picking between 7:30PM-8:00PM.

*If your student is NOT staying overnight… Please send their Tiger Time teacher an email and let them know what drop off and pick up methods you will be using. If the pick up option does not work for you please let us know and we will see what arrangements we can make.*