Welcome to the 2021-22 school year at Bucksport Middle School! We are excited to have you all back and are looking forward to another great year.
Classes will begin on Monday, August 30th. We will continue to start school at 7:55am this year. Breakfast is served at 7:30am and students can go to their homerooms starting at 7:40am. Students can arrive as early as 7:00am and must be in their home rooms no later than 7:55am. Dismissal is at 2:35pm Mondays-Thursdays and 1:35pm on Fridays.
In-Person Instruction
We are currently planning on returning to school with all instructional programming being delivered to students in-person. In-person learning will be five days per week. Unless medically necessary, required by a student’s IEP/504 plan, or due to required isolation or quarantine as a result of a positive COVID-19 case, virtual or remote learning will not be offered to students when in-person instruction is available.
Health & Safety
Based on current CDC recommendations, RSU 25 is requiring that all students, staff, and visitors wear a mask while indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Students and staff will also need to wear masks on all school transportation. We will be maintaining our cleaning & disinfecting practices, as well as daily symptom self-checks for students and staff before coming to school. Students will not be cohorted by homerooms this year and will move from classroom to classroom. Physical distancing of 3 feet will be implemented when possible, but is not intended to reduce our ability to offer in-person learning to all of our students.
Supplies
Supply lists for each grade were sent home at the end of last school year. Supply lists are also available on the BMS
website.
Student Schedules
Each student’s course schedule can be access via the Infinite Campus
student and parent portals. If you need assistance accessing the parent portal, please contact the main office.
Food Service
Breakfast and lunch are provided at BMS. Students will be eating in the cafeteria this school year. Breakfast and lunch are both free of charge to all students.
Lockers
At this time, 7th and 8th grade students will not be using lockers. Students participating in athletics will have access to locker rooms, but in limited numbers.
Arrival/Dismissal
The school building will open at 7:00am for students. Students will need to report to the gym until breakfast is served at 7:30am or homerooms open at 7:40am. Parent drop off will be at the south entrance. Parents may begin signing students out for parent pick up at 2:20 and should park in the south parking lot. Students will be released for parent pick up at 2:30. Bus dismissal will begin at 2:35 and walkers and after school activities will be dismissed at 2:45. All dismissal times will be one hour earlier on Fridays.
Visitors
Visitors will be allowed into the school building, but must wear a mask. Between 8:00 and 2:20, parents will need to be buzzed in through the east entrance [between the library and auditorium].
Open House
Due to the ongoing pandemic, we will not be having an open house this year.
New Staff
We will have several new teachers joining us this year. Britney Blair is our new school counselor. Matt Smith will be on the 6th grade team and teaching 5th and 6th grade math. Cody Davis will be joining the 7th grade team and teaching 7th and 8th grade math. Justin Smith will be on the 8th grade team and teaching 8th grade math. Chandra Cote will be teaching 6th & 7th grade ELA and will be on the 7th grade team. Josh Brady will be our new physical education teacher and Athletic Director. Sidney Eckert and Sarah McKenzie are new to our special education department. There will be a long-term sub covering Kyle McGeechan’s math classes during the first trimester. We also have a new school secretary in the main office, Alicia Fairbank.
Sports Information
The following sports are offered in the fall at BMS:
Cross country: grades 5-8.
Football: grades 7-8.
Golf: grades 5-8.
Soccer: grades 6-8. If we cannot fill our teams, we will open it up to 5th graders.
The first practice for football will be 8/19, 4:00pm. Practices for other fall sports will start on 8/31. A reminder that before students can practice, parents must submit all required paperwork on RankOne. This includes a sports physical within the last two years. If you have any questions about fall sports, please contact Athletic Director
Josh Brady.
Allergies
Please be aware that several members of our school community are sensitive to common foods including blueberries, garlic, and any type of nut. As we strive for a school community that is inclusive of everyone, please be sure not to bring any items with garlic into school and make sure that any items containing blueberries or nuts are well packaged and not consumed in common areas. We appreciate your precautions to help keep all members of our school community safe.